The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-09-17
School Books for Kansas Short
Iy, Says w. c. Austin.
Discovers Plan Is a Success in
California.
EVEN PENCILS and PAPER
Possibility of Free Distribution
to All Children.
District Rather Than State
Wide Work Preferred.

Free school books for Kansas school
children is not far distant 2ossibil-
ity, according to State PrinIer w. c.
Austin, who returned this week from
Sacramento. Cal. where he investigat-
ed the California plan of publishing
and distributing school text books.
Austin is highly pleased with the sue
cess of the plan in the far western
state and believes that the work can
be even more successfully handled in
Kansas than in California. although he
prefers district distribution of school
books rather than state distribution.
Under the law enacted by the 191
legislature, Kansas will engage in the
printing of her own school text books
and will sell them to the school chill
dren of the state at actual cost. The
plan has been in operation in Califor-
mia for more than 20 years and this
year the state is for the first time en-
gagged in the free distribution of not
only text books. but pencils, paper.
ink and all supplies to the school chill
dren.
Reports which we had received"
said Austin. indicated that there was
much opposition to the law in Califor-
MIA and that the plan would be abol-
ished except for provision in the state
constitution permitting the state to en-
gage in the business. My surprise was
when I found that the people of Cali
fornia were not only quite well salts
fed with the operation of the law. but
were quite enthusiastic for the plan.
Freight Rates High.
Yet, because of freight rates and
the high price of labor. the publication
of books in California costs from thirty
to forty per cent more than the prob
able cost in this state. Even in view
of this fact, some of the books pub
n "a fa dal
smaller cost than the present prices
in Kansas. Several states have now
adopted the plan of district ownership
of school text books, but California is
the first state to furnish books and
school supplies free to her children.
The plan seems perfectly practical and
it isn't at all improbable that some
such plan may be adopted in Kansas
some time in the future. / think I
would prefer, however, the district
ownership plan rather than the plan
now used in California"
Austin went to California nearly a
month ago to study conditions sur
rounding the state publication of school
textbooks and to gather ideas for use
in the work in this state. Because of
the lower wage scales and lesser freight
rates in kansas, Austin believes that
the same textbooks can be printed in
Kansas at from 80 to 40 per cent less
than in the western state. Prices for
book royalties would be about the same
in both states, he thinks.
Information which 1 gathered in
California" said Austin, ''convinces
ME that we will have but little trouble
in securing any copyrights We may
desire and at rather reasonable prices.
California has been able to secure al
most any texts desired and we should
be able to do the same In Kansas"
The first of the new textbooks, the
first to be published by the state. will
be used in the public schools of Kan
sas in 1914-15. 1t will be four years
before all of the textbook contracts in
Kansas expire and complete new texts
are supplied to school children of the
state.