Arizona republican., 1912-06-30
Free Text Books

not to put the free text book law into operation until next year is said to have resulted from a sudden alarm at the extent of the appropriations which have been made for public purposes, some of them Wasteful of the public funds There was mania for the creation of useless offices to provide berths for the faithful, with salaries which would be regarded as princcly cmolument for political services. ren- dered or to be rendered
 There was no other reason why the law could not be effective this year, but We have learned that the authori- ties requested an opinion of the at torney general outlining the kind of an opinion required, postponing the operation of the law for one year on the ground that the time would be so short that contracts could not be ar ranged with the publishing houses.
 The supposition of the authorities evidently was that the people" whom they do not credit with great wisdom would never stop to consider that in this age of the world much urgent and important business is transacted wholly or in part by telegraph.
 Arizona merely found itself unable to pay the salaries of needless off cials and commissions meet other un- usual expenses as well as necessary ones and still have money left for the purchase of free text books to which the democratic platform of last year committed the party and to the faithful carrying out of which prom ise all democratic candidates pledged themselves.
 That a free text book law is good one is not to be doubted. Free text books should be a part of free school system; for it has happened in the past that on account of the in ability of parents to buy books their children have been shut out from the advantages of the free schools.
 But our law is needlessly extrava gant one; that is needlessly eXtrava- gant not as to the purchase of the books for the first year but as to the maintenance of the system. There arc to be no secondhand books. A book used by one pupil can be used by no other. This arrangement was doubt less intended as a precautiOn against microbes. Proper precautiOn should of thing as the Immigration of a book which could thus be made to take the place of a dozen books without men acing the health of the user of it.
 Beside the transmission of book from an older child to a younger one of the same family (now prohibited) would add little to the probability of the communication of microbe ail- ments from one member of a family to another.
 It has been roughly estimated that the text books would cost the state s100,00O the first year That esti- mate is entirely too rough. quar- ter of d million is much nearer the amount. Before the postponement of the operation of the law was ordered the school authorities of this county had begun careful estimate, district by district, of our requirements. There are siXty-five districts in this county. The estimate for the smallest district was $S4. For such districts as Lehi and Buckeye it was more than $400. Though the estimate for the county was not completed it was believed it would not fall short of $25,000 About half that much would be needed for the Phoenix schools alone.
 It is no wonder the state authori- ties felt that they would not have time to make contracts with the book con- cerns.