Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-02-11
BOOK TRUST ACTIVE
Joins In Effort to Defeat Pro
posed Reforms In School
System.
RESIDENTS OPPOSED
Strength of Opponents Of Commission
Plan Probably Will Result in Re-
drafting Bill in Modified Form to In
sure Its Passage = State commits
sion and Uniformity Will Prevail.
Special to Times-Republican.

! Specia! to Times-Republican
OF agents of the book trust, working i'll
conjunction with the rural school of.
ficials and patrons, sincerely opposed
to the measure, has made it apparent
that the commission bill can not pass
the legislature in its present form, ant
/, that a measure iderably modified
| will have to be drafted in order to in
sure its passage.
! Agents believed to be representing
the demands Of the school book trust
have been active in the rural districts
of the state Of late, and have found
small difficulty in bringing about Or
ganized opposition to some features OF
the bill.
| That county superintendents also are
fighting proposed changes in the
school law is made evident from the
presence in Des Moines Of three SUI
perlntendents appointed as special
| legislative committee at the last ses-
sion Of the State Teachers Associa-
| ton.
In the western part Of the state a
fight is being made by book companies
against the bill, on the proposition that
school authority will be all vested in
the state superintendent and the gov
ernor, and that the state schools will
be run from Des Moines.
Lobbyists Arc Active.
The county superintendent. while
waiting for a hearing before the COM
mittees att the state house. held a
meeting with opponents of State Su-
perintendent Riggs, one of the results
being a circular in which no names are
given with, the exception of one Des
Moines lawyer, in which the bill Is de-
nounced in unmistakable terms.
The proposed change is named as
one for which the college men are
responsible, placing the schools in
the control of the colleges, and as an
act to make the state Superintendent a
school czar.
AZ least Oile- OI tHG COIlIillLISeS Oh
the legislature heard the representa-
tiyes of the county superintendent
yesterday afternoon and the other will
probably do so in the near future.
One senator a day or two ago re-
ceived a petition with 700 names bear
ing the mark of extensive work on the
part Of a force which is fighting the
bill upon a large scale.
The school book phase OF the bill is
responsible for the larger part Of the
fight. It reads that there shall be un-
iformity In all counties, but that Ill
books used must be first passed upon
by the state educational commission
and the price fixed by them This is
the process In vogue in Indiana The
price of school books is very low IN
that state.
May Redraft Bill.
After a long discussion of the pro-
posed school law, at which six county
superintendent spoke for or against
the bill, Chairman Paul e. Stillman, Of
that he would advocate throwing away
the famous commission bill and draft
ing committee substitute that will
differ from the commissions bill in
several important particulars, while
still providing the county unit for rural
schools.
Unanimous opposition to the COM
missions bill from rural districts the
state over will make dts passage abso-
lutely impossible" said Mr.. Stillman
''The people are up in arms against the
bill and an attempt to pass it now
would result in defeat for the entire
measure because Of this crystalized
sentiment against the bill as a whole.
II believe the original bill should be
thrown away and the committees
should get together on an entirely diff
ferent law 1t now looks as tho this will
be the outcome Of the present mud
die.
divorced from the bill and considered
as an abstract proposition it seemed
to meet the approval of majority Of
the committee, and while several i'm
portant notifications are demanded, we
could retain the best features of the
commission bill while drafting a sub
stitute that would remove opposition
and stand a chance of passing.
What Is Wanted.
$50 far as have been able to Judge,
the committee wants something like
this; a county board with county uni
formity of text books and of teachers
salaries, the board to have general SUI
pervision over all the schools and to
decide all matters not purely local.
"a township board of three members
instead Of nine as at present, to re-
spond to the wishes and needs of the
township and have authority in all
matters of purely local nature. Three
instead of nine because under the ex-
listing law each member of the town.
ship board runs the school of his own
district and lets the others do the same.
If we have but three to township, the
best interests of that township and not
Of each member of the board will be
considered
ELECTION of county superintendent
by the people instead of his appoint
>rr The bad eff