The Lexington advertiser., 1930-01-02
News and Views
From State Capital

Jackson, Miss, December 2S, 1929
"The Bilbo Textbook Commissions
Christmas present to the school children
of Mississippi-higher priced school
books, no exchanges, no using old
books" Thus the Greenwood Common
wealth describes the result of the recent
adoption of elementary school books by
the new commission appointed by Gov
Bilbo
at was unnecessary and unwise.
very much regret this wholesale change,
which | consider to be unnecessary and
which l did everything possible to pre-
vent. The newly adopted books in
several instances cost more than the old
ones and are no better. The action of
the majority of the Commission will cost
the patrons of the schools more than
100000 for new school books" Thus
State Superintendent w. F. Bond de-
scribes the result of the adoption by
the Bilbo Commission. Supt. Bond is
member of the commission by virtue
of his office, but he was in minority.
number of peculiar and interesting
incidents attended the actions of the
commission, first and last, all of which
cannot be told in one story. The most
regrettable and illegal action on the
part of the commission was the at
tempted injection of Gov. Bilbo's propos-
ed state printing plant into the regular
order of business. This, however, was
stopped when the Mississippi Press As
Sociation, acting on behalf of the school
children of the state, sent it's attorney,
Judge Paul B. Johnson of Hattiesburg,
before the commission to protest against
the opening of consideration of any bids
on textbook plates or manuscripts in
the adoption. Judge johnson cited the
illegality of such action and made it
plain to the commission that their ac-
tions would be liable to attack in the
courts, should they overstep the bounds
as laid down in the laws under which
they were acting. The commission
promptly and unanimously decided that
the bids on plates and manuscripts
would not be opened or considered in
connection with the adoption and thus
the state was saved from the embarrass-
ment of an attack -on the textbook COM
mission from that angle
1t will be remembered that Gov. Blbo,
who is not a member of the commission
and who should have no more to do
with controlling the actions and votes
of the members than any other citizen,
called what has become known as the
"rump" meeting for the purpose of re-
questlng bids on plates and manuscripts
from book companies. This meeting was
held in the Governors office; the chair
man, Mr.. Bond, was not notified nor
invited to attend; only four nembers
attended and being short of a quorum
by one member, Gov. Bilbo, who acted
as chairman, called another member
over long distance telephone and at
tempted to make up the quorum in that
way.
When the hand of the Governor and
members of the commission who at
tended the trump meeting were called
by the Mississippi Press Association, /
through newspaper articles and its at ,
torney, Judge johnson, the governor
tried to laugh the matter off and to
direct criticism from himself and mem
bers of the textbook commission by
another verbal attack on Bob Brown,
Secretary of the Mississippi Press AS
sociation and Tom Hederman, editor of
the Clarion-Ledger.
That Gov Bilbo was serious and had
passed at least measure of this seri-
BUSINESS to members of the commission |
appointed by him, was manifested by his !
recent statement, 81 do not believe that
any book company expecting to have it's
books adopted in the state would decline
to give bid on the leasing of its plates
and manuscripts" The Press Associa-
ton recognized in that statement a !
threat directed to the book companies :
who, through business policy, refuse to
lease their O11taS and c,nte Il
would appear that Gov. Bilbo had in
mind limiting the bids from school
books to those companies who would
lease plates and manuscripts, several of |
which companies were active on the !
sidelines assisting the governor in his