The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-03-22
Free Text Books in schools.

lot of arguments advanced for and
against free text books, but the real
test by which the merit or demerit of
the plan must be judged is the actual
experience of cities where the plan has
been put into operation
The expense connected with free
text books in Kenosha would be some
where in the neighborhood Of FIVE
thousand dollars. The bulk of expense
would probably be paid by people who
at the present time are not privately
buying lot of text books for children.
The man who pays the most taxes usu-
ally pays the least Of the text book bill
under the present regime. The bill for
text books is one of the big bills that
Kenosha must meet every year and to a
lot of people it is one Of the hardest
| bills to meet. Because it is hard for
many people to buy books for the large
| families of children, lot of the child
rem are forced to 60 along for weeks
in every school year without the proper
working tools of scholar. There is
an infinite sadness in the thought that
some of these children must suffer the
pangs of a poverty which deprives
them of the books they need. True,
the amount spent by the city to buy
books for the poor annually, would be
| only a few hundred dollars. Some of
the parents are too proud to have the
Ia1f 49, ho l. Il L 4
| the children must wait until the rather
meagre family exchecquer will stand
the strain which must come from the
purchase of the books.
For years a small part of the cost
of text books has been paid from the
general fund of the school. Such books
have been uniform for all schools and
there has been decided improvement
in work done on account Of this uni
formity. The big question which seems
| to be considered in connection with the
| free text books is the fact that con-
siderable proportion of the children Of
Kenosha do not get their elementary
education in the public schools of the
city. On the other hand these children
are educated in parochial schools which
feature religious education along with
secular education. This fact is no
bar to free text books.
Already the special schools of the
city, manual training, domestic economy
and business classes, have been shrown
open to the children of these schools
and this establishes precedent for the
city furnishing to the children of the
parochial school such secular text books
as they may be called upon to use on
the same basis that they are furnished
to the children Of the public schools.
The very fact that the men and women
who under parish organization operate
parochial schools and by them lift from
the shoulders of the public in general
the cost of education of large number
of children in the city annually, should
provide for these people every consid-
GRAFTON in the question of text books.
These children are entitled to have
from the general fund of the city an
amount which would provide for them
text books so long as these schools are
willing to arrange their secular course
Of study so that it will meet with the
sanction of the Board Of Education. It
is most important that children who
are to be graduated into the Junior
High school and the High school, have
uniform training and with system of
free text books this uniformity can be
secured. The plan would not suggest
in any way any interference with
the religious training Of the children
and such books as may be used
in this work might be provided as
at the present time.
Some people have raised the ques-
tion that free text books would bring
the danger of contagion. This is en-
tirely foolish as every year books are
sold in Kenosha stores which have been
used by other children. Modern
methods of sterilization leave no chance
for disease germs to be carried in the
books. The free text book idea is the
modern idea of education. It offers
every child an equal chance. It takes
out of the life Of the children many a
little tragedy and the cost of it to the
individual taxpayer would be so small
that it would probably be less than
he actually s,expends annually in
buying the books for his own family
Of children. RIB. S.
With a plan for universal free text
books among the children of Kenosha
the plan has so many things to recon-
mend it that the members of the
Boardof Education who would refuse to
adopt it, must be considered just lit
tie short sighted in looking for the best
interests of the schools
Germany has answered in no uncer-
tain language to the demand of the
United States for freedom of the seas
The lives of twenty-five American sail
ors should come pretty nearly being
worth consideration as an covert = act
We must protect other American sailors
rather than seek to avenge the death of
the men who are gone America q sole