The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-09
FREE BOOKS FOR
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Fuller Ordinance Gains Friends
as Councilman Look Back
on Cost.
PATRONS WANT TO BE HEARD
Claim That Changes Which Are
Often Made Are Heavy
Tax on Parents.
PATRONS WANT TO BE HEARD

Quite a number OF organizations. in
Guiding several of the Public school
Mothers Clubs. desire to be heard in
favor OF the Fuller ordinance proHid-
ing free books for public school chill
dren Several Councilmcn have already
expressed themselves in favor of the
proposition, provided 1t can be accom-
plished at anything like the low esti-
mate placed on II by Mir. Fuller. while
others favor as a substitute an inquiry
into the cost of school books and the
reasons for the frequent chanEes
One member OF the Cduncil has a child
in the second grade at the public
school. for whom he has purchased
four different Second readers this ses-
sion. Another has 4 child in n higher
grade. for whom a number of cxpen-
sivc textbooks were ordered, in which
no lessons, he says. have ever been
assigned, and which were apparently
an entirely useless expense. as the cdi-
ton will have been changed before an
other child in the family, now just q
year behind. reac.es that grade.
VIII Cost $4,000 IA Year.
The Fuller resolution places the cost
OF free books for the first year at
$4,000. Several partons OF the schools
cay that 1t Is entirely too low. About
1000 pupils Mt the John Marshall High
SAtO NV soSb oS,tA 1880
session to furnish themselves with
books costing more than $40 each. so
that the High school textbooks alone
would take up the entire %appropria-
tion II the city were forced to pur-
chase at the prices charged to patrons
under the agreements with publishers
entered into by the State Board OF
Education.
So far the School Board has prcserv-
"a a rautrnl attIt,thas II hno talon M
action favorins froe textbooks. nor
has 1t defended itself against the Oft
repeated charge made by several Coun-
cilmen and others that. especially in
the lower grades. books are changed
arbitrarily and frequently. to the cx-
pense and annoyance of patrons. One
Councilman Will bring to the hearing
the four Second Readers he has pur-
chased this term: another will bring
hooks ordered on his sons list. never
yet opened and In which no lessons
have been assigned or eIrort made to
use in any part of the school curricu-
lum.
Say Rulings Arc Arbitrary.
Protest Will also be made against
the rule that children attending kin
derEartens must drink milk at the
midday recess. Some children do not
like milk. and there are 4 few to whom
! Is uUdltTaCLlNe. . instances nave
been reported where children have
been withdrawn from school because
OF this rule. More serious complaint is
made by patrons of the use of certain
copyrighted blank forms. Formerly a
scent writing pad suflced. Now Zach
child must be provided with a copy
righted spelling blank" a form book
merely ruled 10 certain specified re-
uuircments, and costing several times
the price OF a simple exercise book of
equally good paper and binding. Sew
ernl Councilman, discussing the school
book situation last night. informally
said that so long as present conditions
continue, compulsory education was out
of the Qudstion-that the school book
burden on parents who have several
children in school was already excess
sive. and that hundreds of children
were now being Withdrawn for no
other reason than the excessive cost of
books. the. arbitrary rulings of the au-
thorities. land "the perpetual changes
which prevent II child moving from one
schooi to another from using the same
books. or OF transferring them to
younger brothers and sisters.
Grndcs Not Uniform.
One case was reported of a man with
two sons in exactly the same grade.
but attending different public schools.
Yet one child uses a '.econd Reader"
while the other uses a stopping stones
READER Not even are the books uni
form throughout the city In the same
grades.
The Fuller resolution viii come up
Tor a public hearing before the Coun-
Gil Committee on Finance next week.
II is believed that the school authori-
ties will be requested TO get up more
careful M of the exact cost of
supplying textbooks TO all pupIlts.
along lines already adopted by the
school authorities of North Carolina.
~here boo.s are rented for the session
by patrons at a fixed rate Of so much
per pupil, the charge increasing as the
pupii advances from grade to grade.