The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-07
URGES
 FREE TEXT BOOKS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.,

use to you in your discussion of the free text book question. Very truly yours, c. M. JORDAN. 'In the majority of the cities a special officer or purchasing agent has charge of the supply rooms and of the distribu- ton. In some cities, like Columbus, O.,
 the public library is made the depositary
 of the school books, and the librarian
 has charge of the distribution. In the case of Columbus, the public library is
 under the control of the board of edu- cation, as Is the case In Birmingham.
 '@The expenses for free text books in
 Cincinnati. from January l, 1909, to De- cember 31, 1909, were as follows: Tn the elementary schools, per cap ita enrolled. 40 cents; per capital aver age belonging AS cents; in the high school per capita enrolled, $2 40; In the high school per capita belonging. s2.s5.
 "The policy in Cincinnati was to add
 one grade each succeeding year. In i1909, they had reached the third year of the
 high school; in 1910 they included the fourth year, and now have all depart
 ments of the schools operating under the
 system In regard to the per capita of
 high school expenditure Superintendent
 Dyer says:
 Tn the High school the largest ex- penditure was the purchase of a complete | set or DOCKS TOT the 0rSC tune TOT the | third grade. This initial expenditure made
 the per capita cost probably twice as
 large as it will be when the High schools
 are completely equipped It is to be
 noted that these figures do not include
 drawing and other supplies.
 "As a result of my investigation, after
 weighing carefully the merits of the pro- posed rental system, I find myself un-
 able to commend it for adoption in our l ;- iot,o l,1 in, and must have some inseparable objec-
 tions in practice, especially in a cosmo-
 politan population such as ours. As the acting United States commissioner of ed ucation suggests, the only logical alter
 native for individual ownership must be | the free system. Whatever our argu- ments or prejudices may favor in this
 matter, 1t is evident that the fre6 text | book system is being adopted Tn the
 more progressive cities of the country
 and that it is destined to become the | universal policy in all the state of the | unions It Is not only the logical alterna- tive of individual ownership, but Is the logical outgrowth of the free public school
 and the natural development of the prin-
 cples of democracy.
 IT, therefore, beg to submit for your
 consideration the following recommenda- | tions upon this subject:
 '1 That the Board of Education shall
 adopt the policy of providing free text l books, and supplies to the pupils of the l elementary schools of the city, under such restrictions as may be deemed ex- pedient and necessary, provided the City | Council concurs and provides the means | necessary.
 | '2. That on account of the initial ex- pense involved, the introduction of free textbooks in the grades shall be gradu- ated. For the first year textbooks may | be supplied to pupils of the three lower
 grades, or of the four lower grades. and l that pupils of one higher grade be in- | cluded each successive year until all the grades of the elementary school shall be | included.
 a, That the Birmingham Public Li- brary be made the central depository for | the school books and general supplies provided by the Board of Education. and | that the librarian of the Public Library with such assistance as may be required shall have general charge of the system | of distribution, in accordance with such regulations as the Board of Education may provide.
 .eThe plan here recommended involves but a comparatively small outlay at the beginning, and will have the advantage | of initiating a policy that Is destined to he adopted sooner or later. As I see | 1t at present the free textbook system | in our schools is inevitable, and I pre- l fer to enter now upon the gradual in-
 stallation of plan that will be right and permanent, rather than to assume re-
 sponsibility for the introduction of a plan
 untried as yet by any city of the size | of Birmingham. and a plan that has not l been accepted or indorsed by any recog- | nized educational authority in the coun- | trv '"