Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-22

family, and suggests a remedy. The
subjects treated editorially are: VOL
c0tt Gibbs, Otis Tuition Mason, the H.
K. Gushing laboratory of Western Re-
serve university, the convocation week
meetings at the Johns Hopkins univer-
sity.
The closed book list is the business
POLITICAL system par excellence Of the
public schools, says John S. Roberts in
the HouSekeeper for January. It means
the elimination of all competition after
the adoption of the book. Every scholar
IN the state must use the prescribed
pook. There is no alternative. This
system is bad enough in itself. But if
1T were possible to change the books
each year, by adopting new publica-
tlons, the result could be tolerated The
closed list, however, carries with it
what are known as periods of exclusive
adoption; that is, books are adopted for
exclusive use for the periods of four,
nVe, SIX, or even eight years. During
that period no changes can be made, no
new books added, no old ones dropped
The book firms that get these contracts
nave monopoly of the sale Of books
| during the period of adoption. There
is only one book in each subject. or one
book for grade; it is the only one that
may be used in the schools Of the entire
state for from four to eight years!
| The state completely surrenders its
right to improve it's school books dur
ing that period, bars out all other com
panies from the field, and prohibits the
children from using the later and newer
books, no matter how superior they
may be. Consequently, these state
adoptions are very valuable-they are
worth hundreds of thousands of dol
lars to the firms obtaining them. The
profits on each book may be small but
who would not be satisfied with small
profits if each child of q state con-
tributed his mite? AS the alderman
said when making his sixth speech on
the same subject: 81 am a man Of few
words, but I say them very often"
1t is surprising to note the long list
of states having exclusive state adop-
tions.'' They are Virginia, West Vir-
ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama,
Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Ken
Missouri oklahoma. Texas, Montana,
South Dakota, New Mexico, Idaho, Ne
vada, Oregon and California
In most of these states adoptions are
made for the entire state; in a few for
counties. In all these cases, however,
adoptions are exclusive and are made
for a considerable number of years.
The issue of Harper's Weekly for
January 2, 1909, is an automobile num-
Der and besides its usual features de-
votes several pages to articles descrip-
tive Of automobiles. Among these is
one by Larry McKilwin, entitled Keep
ing the Land Yacht Shipshape" which
contains numerous valuable hints to
prospective purchasers and owners. In
Motor Clubs of Five Nations" Harry
Wilkin Perry describes the national
automobile clubs of America, England
Italy, France and Germany. Alfred H
BartSch tells of '"The Rise of the Mo-
tOrcycle'' and advises upon the advan-
tages and disadvantages of different
makes of this poor mans motor car
whose use he advocates for poor and
rich alike. can Arrested Pursuit. is
the title of a charming automobile
story by Louise Closer Hale. In the
third and last of his series of articles
entitled "Lawless New York" Victor
Rousseau sums up the facts previous
ly presented upon the breakdown of
the machinery of law in that city and
suggests remedies. George V. L. Bar
ton writes from Jamaica concerning
| ''Haiti'S Refugee DespOt," the aged
Nord Alexis. Charles Henry White
contributes a humorous sketch of "The
Vanishing Day Reception in the Fine
Arts building, New York, which is il
| lustrated by Dan Sayre Groesbeck
| This issue contains many additional
features of current interest.