The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-07-19
increased 25 per cent.

Both the method and the saving
in this exchange provision may il
lustrated with the Readers. By the
contract the old Johnson Primer,
which, when new, cost the children
- cents, has now an exchange value
of Is cents. That IS to say, an old
Johnson Primer and 10 cents will buy
q new Wheeler Primer, the retail
contract price Of which is 25 cents.
Or the same Primer and 10 cents will
buy a new Wheeler First Reader, the
contract price of which is 25 cents.
In the same way, an old Primer may
be used at this valuation of Is cents
to help pay for any reader, first,
second, third, fourth, or fifth; where
as, in the past Primer could be ex-
changed only for Primer. Further
an old first reader, which cost 20
cents when new, has by contract been
given a money value Of 5 cents and
may be USED to help pay for a Primer
or for any Reader.
In the case of the Biographies. the
cd Primary Geography, which was
discarded by the Board, and which
cost when new SO cents, has by con-
tract been given az exchange value
Of 90 cents, being only 1G cents less
than it cost when new. That is to
say, an old primary geography and
% cent swill pay for the new book
adopted. Or the old Primary Geog-
raphy and SIS cents will pay for the
new Advanced Geography. So, too,
the old Advanced Geography and %
cents will buy the new Primary Geog-
raphy. Could any one deny that
money has been saved to the State
Cost to the State.
It has been claimed that, the Board
by its action wantonly destroyed
property values estimated at $780,
600. This sum is just "a few thous-
and less than the cost Of all the
school books bought in South Caro-
lima during the years 1906-19l1.
How preposterous this claim is will
appear from the following:
It assumes that all these books,
even those bought FIVE years ago, are
still in usable form in the hands of
the children and are now worth what
they cest when new. 1t assumes also
that if all the old books had been
rea jopted, the children Of the State
would not have had to buy any new
books during the coming FIVE years.
It forgets that each book now in the
hands of the child has not only paid
it's price in use, but is by contract
given an added definite value, ap-
proximately fifty per cent. of its orig
inal cost.
The following analysis will show
that the apparent loss to the State
would in reality be only about s16.-
600 a year for the fve-year period
or only about 2-3 cents per child
instead of the alleged loss Of $780,
900. AS it is claimed that the loss
was entailed by the assumed eighty
per cent change, then the entire val,
ne involved would be upon this eight
per cent. or upon 100000 instead
Of s500,000. It is, however, general
| " estimated by teachers and exper'
lienced book men that the average
life Of text book, especially in the
lower grades, is from one to three
years. On liberal allowance then
the books bought during the frs'
three years of the last adoption per
iod are not usable in class, though
by the contract they have been giver
an exchange money value. This re
duces the possible loss to the books
bought during the last two years, OF
| to two-ffths of 100000, that i:
s160,0o0. Now, not only have these
books paid their price in actual use
but they have an actual value Of fifty
per cent of their cost when new
This reduces the alleged loss to $780,
loco. IF this loss be distributed ovel
la period Of five years, a legitimate
distribution, inasmuch as the assum
ed loss covered that period, thi:
makes a so-called loss of $4,000
year. This leaves a so-called loss o.
$4,000 "a year to be distributed
among the 100000 and more chill
dren in the schools, or about four ans
2-3 cents apiece.
Thus, at this slight additional eX
pense Of 2-3 cents, each child II
the State would be supplied with new
and better books. Surely this is gai1
and not loss. For it is a serious IN
Justice to child, an injustice at once
physical, intellectual and aesthetic, t
put into his hands an old, defaced
and filthy book in any study.
| We have gone into these figures OF
the assumption that the statemen
that so per cent. Of the books have
been changed, is correct. The cor
rectness of the statement we do mo-
admit. Exclusive of copy books ane
drawing books, which are destroyed
by use, supplementary English Clas
sizes and duplicates there were So
books on the old list. Of this num-
Der % only were changed, whereas
&c were readopted. Ten were entire
ly dropped from the list. Owing tx
the extension Of the high schoo
course, it becomes necessary to ado
nine new books to the list for high
school use. Let each man calculate
the percentage of change for him
SELF
The foregoing is statement of ths
essential facts of the adoption, Of
the preliminary preparation of the
members Of the Board, and of the
fair and rational view to take of the
cost involved. The undersigned ap'
pointive members have no apology
to make either for the results Of the
adoption OF for the methods used
| 49, IL u ~, JJ