Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1917-03-20
tCopyright.)
THE LIBRARY COMMISSION

THE LIBRARY COMMISSION
The only states in the union with
out library commissions are in the
extreme south and west, yet the
Thirty-Seventh General Assembly
threaten to abolish Iowa's commits
sion because it is not money maxi
ing institution. There is little won
der that the American people are
called money grabbers" when it be-
comes possible for things like this to
occur.
Economy should be exercised in
proper places, but money should be
spent unstintingly for all purposes
uplifting and essential to public well
fare. A state which appropriatcs
$4,000 for the prevention of tuber-
culosis among cattle and hogs and
abolishes the appropriation for books
for its rural communities and towns
and communities without Libraries
has something wrong with it's leg
islature.
Economy in pork barrels is we'll
and good, but economy in education
and moral issues savors of political
decay and nothing more. The Ii
brary commission was created in
March, 1910. Four hundred stations
were at once established by the trav-
cling librarian and this number has
grown in the last eight years to
1,4OO stations. Should this commits
sion be abolished, twelve or fifteen
schools of Hamilton county that now
are regular subscribers to the travel
ling volumes would be without bene-
fit.
l The rural communities more than
any other in the state, need the bene-
fit and influence of the travelling Ii
braries, although, strange as it may
seem to the careless observer who
supposes free libraries may be had
Everywhere in the rich state of Iowa,
4 there are only 1874 free public IL
braries in the state. There are six
counties in Iowa without any free
libraries of any description except
this travelling library, coming from
the state library in Des Moines.
There are seventeen county seats
with no public Libraries.
| y>1,a 80 oil =
Iployed in the work of establishing
permanent stations, making up the
lists for shipping to those who re-
|quest books, ETC., amounts to less
than $4,000. Especially is this COM
mission of great benefit to the school
teacher and her pupils who are bent
on especial research work in his
tory, as so many country schools are.
Perhaps some of the members CT
the Thirty-Seventh General ASSENT
ly can remember back in the COS
the 7O's or the sos, when they at
tended the little district school. The
teacher usually had one extra vol
ume of a reader or history text
book, other than the one being stu
died. These two books and perhaps
speaker formed the library. At
ter the lessons were learned for the
day she would let those who asked
first, take those extra volumes to
read. You sat two in seat that
one book might go farther. Yes.
some of those senators and represen-
tatives will say. Eyes, we did this,
and look where we are today"
All, yes, but that was thirty, for
ty and more years ago and that sys-
tenn was the best the community or
state afforded. There is far better
to be given now, and that should
not be denied the young people of
the rural communities today, wheth-
err We have good roads or not;
whether we display our fat cattle in
100000 barns for one week OF the
year or not: whether we have hog
lcholera cures or not.
Several of the present established
free libraries of the state We're help
ed into existence by the travelling Ii