The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1920-12-17
TIE SCHOOL TEXT BOOK ADOPTION.

On the first page of this paper appears a news item from
of New Orleans, Of date of November "a, in Which State sSp nt
lntendent OF Education, Prof. ". F. Bond, comes to the defense
IN the Times,Picayune at the time it appeared and did not know
OF it until a few days ago.
We were the first, we believe, to give expression to the gen.
era protest III the minds of the public againt the very exorbi-
tracted for by the state text book commission. This we did in
our issue of November 10.
out we dld call attention to certain facts and asked the reason.
six more basal and thirty-four more Supplemental books $ or 1ns tbe
parents OF mississippi than the former text book commission
at their zenith" Would any business man now turn turn in and
co for shoes and clothing at present prices for five years?
we asked why the commission adopted a speller in two parts
at a cost of IL cents, when Tennessee adopted a speTer COM
fLEIE IN one book for Is cents. We asked several other uues-
BOND states that in the event any other state gets a book con-
bases this statement on IS Section 4 SIse of f1 tha Go;de h IL 1aos ao ht
the State Superintendent overlooks the little sentence in that
section which reads where like conditions as are now prevail
companies and which his own language as to price conditions
reinforce and fortlfy. But even without that sentence, the
afu q nyi to D stin mpSseE as as to fuTnShing The same book or books
Example, II the contract is made in Arkansas, why the book
comp company an, viii Just add. a few pages that specially Identifies the
not the same book" sold % dDii in Missis So 8 5nat s onr s snd t send it is
t e. hlt GverI0oks the fact that the book companies have learn
him bread and butter. NA""' '''ueS s'hs
The Times-Picayune article quotes Prof. Bond as having
sac that the commission had to examine 700 books and that
t tg 81 couId not be done justice IN three weeks" Sec I
ing days for the commission because it states that the compen-
81 5au nonI 81 o I'll the commission shall mot exceed thirty days" And
IL "ouId De charging almost extreme ignorance to the commits y
TO- x noid that 1t was SO unfamiliar with the books to be con +
sI4ereo that 1t had to consider them from A. to z. during the
thrtyo days We assume, of course, that our State Superin-i
tendent will not hold that the members of the commission were y
not educators OF known character and ability" as required by N
Section 1894 Of the Code of 19O6-"educators of known char. "
a;te ana ability" certainly ought to have been fairly familiar W
commission. D'"e ~ on 'he ii
a.. IL tnere was no we'll directed plans by any one to forestaIl !"
al action II the commission, then the whispered words about Al
a omlheh deita educator being invited to Jackson and clos fo
ecu III d room at a MOTEL and told that he could get a place q n 81
- commission provided it was known how he would vote N !"
CERTAIN BOOKS, IS the widest sort of vaporings. We know Moth 10
what "s said" "o nc o"S repeating 81
we had not thought of our State Superintendent as being OF
Tor the personnel of the text book Commission and
nd really regarded him as the presiding officer of the BODY I
ana as largely acting in an advisory capacity only l?).
It is natural for a newspaper man to ask questions and be-
i.s III d somewhat Interrogative state of mind. we ara inst q ~.
o on e schooI h = kn ow who 10; was behind the move for revising"
ing a2cs concerns ns;t to give the people of Mississippi a SO per cent lit lit
price. In other words, if it had nt been for +;s yo
revised law, the children of Mississippi would have ooHan > bn
new geography by giving their old one and paving 50 cents for
l. Or Tor a like exchange for new book II. thew would o;vo cal
,,nelr old geography and 80 cents instead of having fo nav 81 "
what is true OF biographies is likewise true of other school uo
books 0ei Mo
Almost ANYBODY knows, who knows anything at all that ]
ne 1919 prices OF paper and labor were not very much nndar the