The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-04-09


about the school book bust
ness in Georgia. He says that |
have for months advocated the use
of the Ontario primer in our schools,
and that I want to put cheap and
worthless school books in the hands
OF the country children.
I will say that if I have advocated
this then I deserve the scorn and hat
red of the children of Georgia, and
if Mr.. Moon has falsely accused me
OF so doing, he deserves the scorn
of the truth loving people in Georgia
This is fair proposition. The best
way to determine what I propose to
do, is to go to the record, and let it
speak.
My bill provides as follows: "That
there shall be created a special Text
Book Commission, composed of the
Governor and the other members of
the State Board of Education
Section g. Be it further enacted,
that the State Superintendent of
Education shall edit, secure, or pre-
pare the manuscript for the fifth
reader, copy books, and a primary
history of the United States, and sub
nit the text of these to the special
Text Book Commission, and when
approved by said special Text Book
Commission, said Superintendent
shall have said texts electrotyped, in
Guiding drawings, half tones, and
such other work as may be necessary
and copyright the same. Said work
to be let to the lowest bidder, etc.
Now there you are. did have in
the original bill the primer and first
four readers, but Prof. Brittian in
sisted that the text of a primer was
almost unpurchasabIe and that he
knew of no one in Georgia or the
South that could prepare the text Of
a primer, and to get a favorable re-
port so as to make the experiment,
I had to accept what he was willing
should be tried
Now submit to the people of.
Georgia if his charge that I want to
put worthless school books in the
hands of our country children is true.
He occupies the position of build
ing inspector of school books for our
children. Under our plan, he in
spects the building after it is COM
pleted. Under this plan he is COM
PEELED to inspect each brick, the
lime, wood, and everything that goes
into the building. He inspects the
letters, words, sentences, chapters,
and both the texts and context.
Why does he object to this? His
position as inspector is of much more
Importance, than the inspectors du-
ties of building; and what would
you think Of the city authorities in
Macon if they should employ an in
spector of public buildings that did
now know how to build house. Not
only how a house ought to be built,
but to know how to build one.
know he will insist that it requires
inspiration to write a text for a
school book, but this is met by au-
thority given our State Superintend-
ant to Secure" the text and he
could do this under royalty con-
tract.
Under this bill, before the book
can be put in the hand Of the child,
it will be inspected by the Superin-
tendant of Education, and also the
State Board, thus making every let
ter in the book subject to six differ
ent inspections before it is put in the
hands of our children. How near
the truth did he approach when he
charged that I wanted to put in the
hands of our children cheap and
worthless books?
His other statement that I had
deceeded from my position that we
are spending in Georgia for school
books about one million dollars, is