The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-03-26
Hon. C. H. Moon Replies to Hon.

average Ol WE'VE new words on oaCh
page, together with many other
faults. To require such a book to
be taught to beginners five or six
years old is cruelty and educational
brutality. Instead of considering
such books for our children we
should be making laws to prohibit
their use in our schools.
To these statements of mine re-
garding the price and merits of his
pet book, which he has for more
than a year been holding up as an
example of what our school books
should be, and using as the principal
argument for his proposed plan of
State publication of school books,
although these statements attack the
very foundation of his propaganda,
he makes no reply and virtually
agrees to them just as he admits he
made a mistake in the cost of school
books.
He then accuses me of unfaith-
fu1ness to my official duty and dis
loyalty to the people because a book
on civics by Prof. H. S. Bowden of
Blakely, Ga, which was bid at
eighteen cents, was not adopted and
instead book on the same subject
by Prof. Peterman of Kentucky, and
Hon. Hoke Smith of Georgia, was
adopted at fifty-four cents. Mr..
BOwden himself in Watson's Jeffer-
sonian criticises me very severely for
not having adopted his book We
have good reasons for our action.
I submitted the two aforesaid
books to gentleman of the greatest
reliability who is an expert in the
printing business and he pointed out
to me that the book adopted is
larger in size, has more pages,
printed on good paper while the 9TH
er is on inferior paper, and by GER
tain tests showed the workmanship
of the book adopted is superior to
that of Mr. Bowden's book, and he
pointed out that the book adopted
has good index good classification or
outline Of chapters, black letter sub
heads, while Mr. BoWden's book has
not, the book adopted is a good usa-
BILE and durable book in mechanical
qualities while the other is not. He
estimates that in the production the
book adopted cost at least one hunG-
red per cent more than Mr.. BOWden'S
book
AS to it's pedagogical qualities I
have made careful examination of
Mr.. BOWden's book. It is full of
errors, both as to the statements and
as to the use Of English. He makes
many mistakes of fact or history. It
is full of grammatical errors and not
many pages are free from the ordi-
nary rules Of grammar. The book
contains two hundred and twenty
pages, and [ have marked about five
hundred errors.
In my opinion the people do not
want such book adopted for use in
our schools. Mr. McCrory and Mr..
Bowden so far as I know stand by
themselves in advocating it's adop-
ton. I know such books should not
even be allowed in our schools. Our
children should learn facts, not err
rors; they should be taught to use
correct English; they can do neither
if the book is full or errors.
My information is that the author
sought to have it published by some
of the school book publishing COM
panies, but for some reason failed to
make satisfactory arrangements and
then had it printed at his own ex-
pense.
And yet, Mr.. McCrory says that
the Board betrayed the interests of
the people when it rejected Mr.. Bow
denis book.
My greatest fears of Mr.. ETcCrory's-
plan of State publication are that it
would result in putting such infe-