Message of the Governor [W. Y. Atkinson] and the report of the State School Book Commission

1"\ESSAGE
OF
THE GOVERNOR
AND
THE REPORT
OF THE
State School Book Commission

ATLANTA, GA.:

w. GEO.

HARRISON, STATE PRIN'fER,

(The Franklin Printing and Publishing Co.)

1897.

GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.

Execntive Department, AJtlarrt:a, Ge1m.'gia,
November 9th, 1897.
To the General Assembly: I herowi't.11 transmit 1Jhe m1ajority and minority repcnts
made by the members of 1tho Schoiol Book Commission, appointed under resolution nnmber 49, of the Geneml A s1 sembly, ,app1soved Decemhc,r 25th, 1896.
In 1ocomlll'ending the c1eati'on of lthis Oommissiou iri 1896, I said:
"The plan aidopted hy tho State fo~ tlt"e pl'inting of tho Hcports of t1h0 Supreme Oom;t, and ,of the rww Code i:-i yielding results of the most satisfactory l'h1araeter. Georgia Reports, whi0h wm'e sold at $5.50 per volume, when printed by individuals on t:heir own a1c1co1mt, ,the State is n10w publishing and selling at a net cost of $2.00 per volume. The ,additional volumes printed after the first edition is ex'hausted are printfxl at a cost ,of $1.00 per volume to the StaJte, and sold at $1.50 per volume."
Under recent conlt:ract for addition1al volumes of Supreme Court Reports, after exhaustion of ,the first edition, tho cost is $0.90 pm V'olume, complete and delivernd 'to rthe Staite.
The Oode of 1882, in one volume, confaining 1482 pages, printed on private account, was sold to the public at $10 per oopy.
Under the act of tli:e General _.-\._sscmbly p1'oviding for t:he printing of the Code of 1895, on Sta:t,e acconrnt, the three

4
n1lnmes, containing 3136 'pages, cost something less than
$+.oo for tho tlnee Yolumos.
T,ho following s'tatemont presents clearly the comparative eost of onr Code published np1on State's aoconrnt under the compc,titivo bid system and what we are actnally paying for the school~books uood by our children in the public schoiols.
CODE.
T111e,e volumes, containing 1,500,000 words cost $4-.00
SCHOOL-BOOKS.
Five School-books, containing 659,000 words cost... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.88
Five School-books, containing 215,000 words cost... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.00
Tho cost of prirnting the same number of words in school-books as in the Code, would be. . . . 9.52
In this calculat~on I have mot computed 1the compensation which must be paid to authiors nor other n e1 cessary ex prnsos which will readily suggest themselves to you. O:rt the other liand, i1t must be borne in mind 1tha,t only a few tl1onsand copies of the Code were printed, while schoolbooks mo issnecl by t1 he hundreds of thousands and their printing should, th'erefore, cos't less.
ANOTHER COMPARISON.
At my request, one of the host equipped and reliable publishing houses in ,the Strube has fnrniRhecl me tho following statement showing ,,~hat is now being paid for school-

5

books in Georgia, and 'at ,v1rnt 1wico 1t would he willing to priHit tho same books in lots of one hundred thonsand.

BOOK,
wentworth's Practical Ari th-

PUBJ,lf,,,JfgH.

P(TB. l'JtlCE.

metic............................. Ginn & Co........... -100 pp.$ .(i5

Third Reader ...................... Ginn & Co........... :?fiG pp. .-.10

First Book in American His-

tory (Eggleston).. ............ American Book Co...22-1- pp. ,(i0

Swinton's \Vord Primer ...... American Book Co.. DH pp, .15

Sanford's Higher An. Arith-

metic ........................... American Pub. Co.. lGO pp. 1.00

Graves New Graded Speller.. Ginn & Co ............ lliO pp. .2-"i

McGuffey's Third Electic

Reader ........................ American Book Co..208 pp. .-1-0

PRH'E BID,
$ .18 .12
.11 .04
.2-1 .10
. H

This ,company is able and willing to take the eo11t11wt, to pnhlish at 1tho prices nmned and givr bon<l to r0111pl,,- with th1oir contract.
You can add to the..cJc prices a fair royaLty to l>c pai<l to the author and dmw your 'Wn conclusions as to whether or not we are being made to pay an umeason1able and unjust tribute to a. lordly trust.
I submit to yon the consirdcration -of the cp1cstrio11, discussed in the majority and minority reports with the confident belief tlmt you possess the wisdom to discern and the courage to apply ,the remedy.

RIGHT OF WAY OF THI~ \VESTl~ltN AXD ATLAXTIC RAILROAD, AT ~IARIETTA.
At the session of the General As;-;embly in 1896, there was passed a resolution entitlcll "A rcsolntion authorizing the Atlanta, Knoxville and .Kortbcrn Railway Company to

6
acquire certain rights in the use of the right of way of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in and near the city of 1\Iarietta."
By virtue of authority granted in said resolution I appointed as arbitrator Hon. Dupont Guerry, of the county of Bibb. His report to me accompanies this message and fully explains the failure to adjust the question submitted.
Since this report of Mr. Guerry and the evidence submitted to the arbitrators, which is now in possession of Hon. W. A. Wimbish, Special Attorney for the \V. and A. R. R., gives the necessary information as to the value of
the use of the property in question, I recommend that there he no further effort made to arbitrate. It is the
State's property, and the only thing necessary to be done is for the General Assembly, if it desires to sell, to pass an act fixing the price at which it may be sold. :From the best evidence at my command, I am of the opinion that we should keep the property or realize for it at least eight thousand dollars.
Hon. Dupont Guerry and Hon. W. A. Wimbish will each be pleased to give you in this matter whatever aid they can render.
I hope this can be disposed of at the present session of
the General Assembly, as the Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railroad Co. is now occupying this right of way and should be required to pay for its use or be removed from its po,;seseion.
w. Y. ATKINSON, GOVERNOR.

REPORT
OF
State School Book Commission
G. R. GLENN, Chairman; H. R. GOETCHIUS, ,J. C. BEAUCHAMP,'. W. B. MERRll'T, T. D. TINSLEY,
2\1 E~IHEI\R Of' Co~nllRSION.
MINORITY REPORT
BY
DR. J.C. BEAUCHAMP
ATLANTA, GA., Franklin Printing and Publishing Company
GEo. W. HARRISON, Manager. 1897.

REPORTS.
ATLANTA, GA., October 29, 1897.
1 o His E:ccellency, W. Y. Atkinson, Governot, Atlanta, Ga.: Dear Sir:-The undersigned, a majority of the School
Book Commission, appointed by Your Excellency under the Joint Resolution, No. 49 o.f tihe General Assembly, have the honor to transmit through you their report to the General Assembly, which report is attached hereto.
Yery respectfully, Your o'bedient servants, G. R. GLENN, Chairman.
H. R. GOETCHIUS,
,v. B. MERRITT,
T. D. TINSLEY.
To the General A.ssembly of Georgia: Y onr honomble body, at its last sess1011 adopted the
following Joint Resolutions: "Be it resolwd by the House of Representatives, the
Senate concurring, That the Governor shall appoint four eitizens of this State, two of ,vhom shall be either educators or school officials, one a lawyer and one a business man who is neither a publisher, a bookseller, nor inter-

4
ested in any way in the proceeds of the sale of school books, who, with the State School Commissioner, shall be known as a School Book Commissfon. Said Commission shall inquire into the methods that obtain in other States for furnishing school books for the common schools, and to devise and recommend s,ome plan for providing school bo1oks for the Georgia schools, at a more reasonable cost, if possible; the said Commission to make their report to the next session of the General Assembly. Until the report of said Oommiss1on is received, the Boards of Educxtion of ,the several counties in which school book contracts expire, shall make no long term contracts in the adoption of school books, and the State School Commissioner is hereby instructed to so notify them. The members of said Commission shall receive for their services the same amount as is paid members of the General Assem'bly; provided, the State School Commissioner shall receive no compensation for his services; provided further, s1aid Commission shall not have more than twenty days in which to complete their work.
Approved, December 25th, 1896." Under the above resolution, His Excellency, the Governor, appointed the following: G. R. Glenn, State Scho,ol Commis,sioner, J. C. Beauchamp, Pres. Board of Education, Pike Co., W. B. Merritt, Supt. Public Schools, Valdosta, H. R. Goetchius, Attorney at Law, Columbus, T. D. Tinsley, Business Man, Macon. The members of the Commission met for organization in the office of the State School Commissioner on the :Wth

5
of June, 1897. G. R. Glenn, State School Commissioner, was elected chairman, and W. J. Woodall, clerk of the Department of Educati,on, was elected secretary.
Your Commission, in obedience to the rins.tructions in the above resolution, have diligently inquired "into the methods that obtain in other States for furnishing school books to the common schools" and beg leave to submit the following reprt:
INFORMATION FROM OTHER STATES.
In order to secure the latest and most reliable information as to the methods of selecting and furnishing text books, the following quesfwns were sent to all the State Superintendents:
1. What are the methods of selecting and furnishing text books for the common schools of your State?
2. Does your law require State uniformity? 3. If so, to what extent do you have uniformity? 4. If you have State uniformity, how many books used before the adoption of State uniformity, are still used'? 5. If you have State uniformity, are your cities and towns included unde,r the requirements of the law? 6. If the cities and towns are exempted, do they use any of the books adopted by the State? 7. If you have State uniformity, how long has it been in operation? 8. For how long a term are your text 'books adopted'? 9. How do your books compare in price, quality and

6
subject-matter with the similar books adopted by the States that do not have State uniformity?
10. How do your books, under the uniformity plan. com~are in subject-matter and price with the books used under the system or systems in vogue in your State before the adoption of State uniformity?
11. Is the law requiring State uniformity evaded, and if so, how?
12. Is State uniformity satisfactory to your people? 13. "''hat is your opinion in regard to State uniformity? 14. If opposed to State uniformity, what, in your judgment, is the most satisfactory and economical method of selecting books for the common schools? 15. What is the method of supplying books in your schools? that is, are they supplied by the merchants, or are they supplied by the Boards of Education? 16. Please give us a list of the school books used in your State and the prices at which they are furnished."
Recurring to the first duty imposed by the resolution, that this Commission shall, "inquire into the methods that obtain in other States for furnishing school books to the common schools," from information obtained in
nnswer to the above inquiries, and from personal ob-
servation and correspondence, we are enabled to report the following:
'fhat in the following States there is no State adoptio:p_ or State interference in the matter of text books:
Maine, Vermont,

7
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, ~fississippi.
Total 29.
The following have what is termed State uniformity,

8
but in all cases, several series of text books are designated, from which a choice can be made:
Idaho, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia.
Total 4.
The following are experimenting with State uniformity in one form or another:
Utah, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Kansas, Indiana, Missouri, Delaware.
Total 10.
It is proper to say that the last named State has but three counties, and the city of Wilmington is exempt from the operation of the law.
Kansas has just passed a bill that is attacked by the press of the State, and seems to be objectionable to the best edueational thought of the people.
Indiana has a State contract system, but from the personal observation of some of the members of this Commission, we are of the opinion that the books furnished

9
thereunder are inferior both in mechanical execution and educational value, 'being reprints from old plates long since discarded by the educational public.
Texas has recently passed an experimental uniformity bill, but the law will not go into effect for some time, and no books have as yet been designated.
California is the only State that has undertaken to publish its o1 wn books. The experiment has cost the State, according to the late report of the Secretary of State, something like $1,700,000. Deducting the estimated value of the manufac1turing plant, material on hand, plates or books which have been condemned as educationally worthless, and the stock on hand of the same books, finished and unfinished, all being valued in the report at $348,701, we find the net cost to the State of the school book enterprise has been $1,351,299; so that the interest on the $1,351,299 inves,ted at s:ix per cent. would furnish books practically free to all the children of California. After all this expenditure however, the Governor recently withheld Ibis approval of a further appropriation for State publication, though the plan is incorporated in the State Constitution.
In those States having State uniformity, the books are selec,ted by the State Bo,ard, or by a School Book Commission. The Commission after selecting the series of 'books,, advertises for bids, reserving the right to reject any or all bids, etc. The State law usually provides also that ten to -twenty per cent. shall be allo,wed the merchants for handling or supplying the books to the people.

The percentage allowed varies with the number o.f dealers and the quantity of books handled.
In some of the States, the books are furnished direct through the county authorities, as some county merchants refuse to handle them because fewer books are used in sparsely settled counties, and the profit is small when the books are sold at publishers' prices.
In some of the States having uniformity, the larger cities and towns are exempt from the operation of the law; but in others, as Louisiana, there is no exemption; even the city of New Orleans is compelled to use the books adopted by the State Board. In s,ome of these States, publishers are required to have depositories and books are supplied from these to the schools. The depositories are usually the book-stores.
Corning now to the second! duty imposed upon the Commission by the res,olution to "devise and recommend some plan for providing sdhool 'books for the Georgia schools a,t more reasonable cos,t, if possible," we find that there are several methods in vogue for supplying schools with books:
1. The Free Book Method. The following States furnish text books free: Maine, :Xew Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Maryland; total, nine.
While in some States, as in Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota, free books are permitted locally when so authorized by vote of the people of the school district. In all of these States, the cities, counties and disitricts select their own books and the Boards of Education buy them direct from the publishers, and the children are supplied ab-

11
solutely free. The money for the purchase of the school books is taken from the school fund. The only kind of m1iformity that is rcqnired in these cases, is county) township, district or city uniformity. The average annual cost per child for the books thus supplied in these States, as reported. rarely exceed fifty cents, and in some cases the oost is as low as thirty-one cents per pupil enrolled. 'l'he life of a bo,ok is variously estimated from
thrPe to five years, and this in States where the school sessions are from eight to ten months, each year. Iv
Georgia the average school term is about four and n: " lialf months.
2. Another method adopted by some States that do not have State uniformity, and where the books are not snppliPd free, allows the county, district or city Board of Education to select the books to he used in the schools and these are purchased from the retail merchants, who contract with the publishers and sell them usually at the list prices furnished by the latter, receiving from the publishers twenty per cent. discount as commission. This is the system which is in vogue at present in Georgia.
:1. Still another plan prevailing in a few States, counties, districts and cities, is for the local Boards of Education to buy the books at an agreed (generally twenty per cent.) discount and rent them to the patrons at a small fee.
4. ~\.nother plan is knocwn as the State uniformity plan. There are two kinds of State uniformity. In or., instance. the State becomes its own publisher, and each

12
county is required to purchase the supply of school books of the State, as in the case of California, to which reference is herein made. The other plan of State uniformity is by contract, and provides usually that the legislators fix the price at which each kind o,f text book is to be contracted for, or charged for, and the State Board of Edneation is required to get the best books obtainable for the fixed sums. In some eases the State becomes responsible for the payment of the books needed and appoints agents or merchants to distribute them for a consideration that is agreed upon. There are ten States as herein before enumerated, to-wit: Utah, Montana, :XeYada, ,vyoming, ,vashington, Oregon, Kansas, Indiana, Missouri and Delaware, which use one or the other of the plans of State uniformity as described under this head.
After carefully examining the pr~ces at which books are fnrnished in all tho States of the Union, we incline to the opinion that the best sdhool books are sold at nearly the same prices by ,all publishers. New York and J\fassac1msetts, tho St,atos in which most of the sd10ol books are pnblished, pay tho same prices, with the same discounts allowed, as other States in the Union pay. Abont 20 per crnt. discount -on tl1e publishers' list price is allowed in all the States alike, county boards, towns1hips, States and the lurgest dealers purchasing on substantially the siame term~. ,Yhenover tiho rate of discount is increased, it is in consi(lcration of security for all purchases made and payment for senices of distribution, as in cases where cost involved in ordering, handling, distributing and collecting is paid for

13
by the county, district or municipality. Ohio is the only State that takes advantage of this proposition. This State has only township uniformity, not St,ate uniformity, and seems to gain some advantage in price by dealing direct and guaranteeing payment of all bills to the publishers.
In examining the price of books in these States that havC' uniformity, we find 1:Jhat nom:, of them buy the best books ,any cheaper than they are purchased in Georgia. South Cal"olina for instance, has on:e of the plans for State uniformity, and many of the books on the South Carolina list are used in Georgia counties and cities, and die people of South Carolina pay the same prices for their books tlrat prevail in Georgia, many of the books tha,t are used in South Carolina
being shipped from Atlanta. The same may be said 0
Virginia, a Stato t!hat has State uniformity -to a certain extent. The official price-list of the books used in Virginia is the same as that under -which the books are sold in Georgia, and the same is true of ::\[issonri, Louisiana and other States.
ESTHIATES AS TO THE COST OF SCHOOL
BOOKS.
:From the best information at our command, there i~ much misapprehension in regard to the cost of school books. Some haYe an idea that the annual school-book bill of Georgia, for instance, runs into the millions of dollars. From compiled statistics that 'iVe ,haYe from publishers who sell books in this State, with the estimates furnished from the indi,,iclnal counties, attested by local authorities, we believe

14
that the annual common school book bill of the State docs not exceed $150,000.
It has been impossible for your Commission to ascertain definitely, the annual consumption of school bO'oks. As a matter of information and without vouching for the correctness of the statement, we beg to say that in a public address deli-rnrcd 1at the National Educational Association in J\filwankee during the present year, certain conclusions are stated -which, perhaps, are as reliable as any ascertainable data. In this address it was stated that the annual use of books in the 'Gnitcd Skrtcs aggregates $7,403,676, and the cost and profit of the business -was estimated as follows:
]danufactnring, including royalties tn authors.. $3,064,525 r:xpcnse of selling and distributing, including
dderioration of mac1hinery, shelf-worn stock, had debts, rents, taxes, insurance, salaries, freight, postage, advertising, interest on $10,000,000 inYested in the business, agents' salaries and expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,DDS,000
Total ............................. $6,062,523
Compare this total cost of school hooks per annum, $7,40:3 676 wit1h the total expenditures in the l~nited States
' '
for public e<lncation, as by repo~t of tho United States Commissioner of l~dncation for the year '05-'96, $186,4,i:3,780, it appears that the school-book bill forms abont 4 per cent. of the total cost for other school expenses.

15
ARE THE CHEAPEST BOOKS THE BEST?
"Cheap" is a misleading term. An article may be low-
priced, but not be cheap. It isnot necessary for this Commis-
sion to call ,attention ,to 1:lhe fact that so-cialled cheap books, after all, are not the best books. Everything that has ever been produced in this world has cost something. "Of m,aking books there is no end," bnt school books that haYc real merit, and deserve t,o live, are compariativiely few. A good book is like a great poem~it is born. There is a certain p(,rsonality in a successful book that giYes it individuality aud keeps it ,ali,se. It is the strong individual expression of some living teacher, ,ho has expressed in that hook the best part of himself. These living books are attractive and popular and successful, simply because of the strong personal power that resides within the hook. The best boob that a1re now used in ,the schools have eomo from a great many sections of the country. Ro one State has ever had, nor can h1 ave, a monopoly on the greiat teaching power of this world. Georgia could no more control the best school books at an arbitrary price, which her law-makers might fix, than she could control, at an arbitrary price, for the children of the State, the best of any other commodity, manufactured anywhere in the country.
The books that are regarded, by the highest ecl11'C'ators of this country, as the best books, hiave been horn urnler open and unhindered competition. This competition h1 as not only preYailocl among those who have written the hooks, lint among those who haye published them. A strong writer has pnt this phase of the question in the following language:

16
"There is ,a shallow and dangerous popular belief, unliappily now rife in many St,ates ,and communities, that ::i school hook is only so much printing and binding and that an~-lwdy can produce it on short order, at its mere mechanieal cost, and that the results produced by its use in the schools will be just 1as satisfactory as the use of any book whatever. This is an emphasis of the evil of the text-book rontinc in its worst form. State uniformity, State publication, State contracts in the interest of mere ,cheapness, are i,~ outcome. I refer to the makers of school books as mtthors, not editors, because a real school book is a creation. The host thought that can be put into printed pages, in the rnost skillful form tha:t genius can contrive, under the great stress of c,ompetition to produce the most excellent, is none too good to help out and :supplement the teaching ability of the anrage te,aehcr, 1and give life and reality to the subject tang"ht. Such hooks can only be produced where there is the freedom ,of an open and ambitious competition, and -where, without fear or fayor, merit shall -win, and where tl1e rewards of success are worthy of this intense striving. ~\ ncl every publisher knows to 11is dear cost how much oftener he fails than succeeds, eyen under this condition."
It should be rcmeinbcred in considering the question of fixed prices for hooks, that when hy legislatiYe ernactment, the prices are fixed under a uniform plan, ,that instant the State shuts herself out from that healthful and needful c,,mpctition -which insures her children the best. ,Yhen, by legislati.-e enactment, low prices are fixed for text books, tl;c children of our St1ate ,are debarred the pri.-ilege of rbhe h-st pnhlirations, as the publishers of the best books de-

17
cline to e111ter their books in competition with cheaper and less valuable ones.
The State has reciognized county uniformity as practicahlc and besit, in tliat 'her present law provides for that system. The fi1amers of the present }aw seem tio have had rn vie\\' the development of local authority and local responsibility. ,Ye belie've that this idea should be fostered an<l encouraged by Hie Legislature. Local control is as good policy in school a-ffoirs as in political affairs. The Legislature, therefo1c, should encourage, rather than diminish m cnrtrril tho m1thority of the c1ounty boards of education. To qnoto from the btest 1nessage from ,our honored governor:
"The State has alroady gone for enough with its interforenee in county matters, a,ncl the t1 ime has arivcd wl1en the counties should insist upon retaining all power now vested in them by law."
The .Act of 1887 alrca<ly 11rovides for a county board of eclnca,tion, a county school commissioner a,nd the ,adoption of text hooks for oach county. ,Ye believe that tthere can be an amendment to the present law, which, while preserving this plan of county adoption, will give to our people school books ,at a minimum price, which price should not bC' more than a fair and reasonable pr'ofit upon the origirnal cost of the publicrution of tho books.
A plan is already in ope1,ation in some of t:he cities of the State ,d1ic:h has been very carefully carried out ,and which fnrnishes to the pupils the scl10ol buoks at an average cost of from 40 to 50 cents per pupil. This plan has been for years in successful operation in the city of Columbus.

18
There is no reason why the details of such a plan could not be a:dopted by each Oounty Board of Education, so as to make it 1applioable fo each county. It is generally conceded that school books can be furni'shed at a price not exceeding 50 cents per annum per pupil for the common schools; and at 1Jhis price the cost ,of publication could be co,-ered and a fair profit thereon would be left both to the publisher. and to the agent or middle-man, who would neccssiarily be rquired to 'handle the books.
Therefore we would recommend, first, thiat inasmuch as the cmmty has come to be regarded as the school nnit of the State, lc't the authority of the County Board of Education be enlarged so that they shall have Hie power to ,adopt any one of the several plans for supplying school hooks. The County Boiard should have the authority to prevent any extortionate rates on ,the part of anybody in the suppl;- of hooks by purchasing them, if necessary, direct .from the pn blishers, rand supplying the people at cost. In order to oht1ain the best books at t.hc most reasonable prices, the County Boards should always in.-ite competition and consider the merits of books offered by tihe numerous publishers. If the Oonnty Boards do not think it best to handle the books themscl.-cs in this way, let them be authorized to farm out the privilege of supplying the hooks to one or more merchants, making contracts with such merchants so that they shall retail the hooks at a stipulated price, and require the mercharnts to gi.-e bond, if necessary, for the faithful performance of ,their contracts.
U ndcr this plan, the county boards handling the books rl1ernsclvcs or the dealer can he a1 uthorized to purchase the

19
books from any child who has to change its residence, making proper per cmrt1age of deduction for wear ,and tear of such books.
Second, authorize the County Boards of Educ1ation to buy the books and rent them to the pupils at such foes as may cover the first cost and ordinm7 ,vear and tear during the first five years conkact.
Third, in snch counties as may desire the free book system, authorize the County Boards to furnis:h them free, under such plarns 1a,s they may ,adopt.
Your Commission recommends also that the County ]3oards of Education sll'Oukl file with the State Board of Education all contracts for school books now existing with the publishing houses, witrl1in twenty days after the passage of 1m Act requiring the same, mid t1iat all fruture contracts for school hooks onrtered into by said board with any publishing 11011s0, should he filed with the StatD Board within ten days after tho same are entered into.
The chm,ge is frequently made that the cost of school books is largely enhanced by the frequent changes of text books. In orcle,r to 1avoid this needless .expense and ,to prcnm t freqncnt disruption in courses of stmly and in school work, the cliarnges of school hooks should he rare and only made when absolutely necessary; therefore we suggest that the County Board he not alliowed to change or renew any contmct for tho snpply of school books before the expiration of five years from the time tho conti,aet is made, as proYiclecl by law, without giving at least sixty days notice in one or more newspapers. The sixty clays notice should also be given t,o the publisher or publishers who hold the

20
existing contract. Require the County Boards also to secure the consent of the State Board of Education before changing or renewing any existing contracts, 'before the expiration of five years, the peri1od for which the contracts are made.
In order that the people of 'the different counties may kijow at wha.t price school books are being sold throughout tl1e St,ate, ,Ye recommend that each county board of education be required to 1,cport annually to the State School Commissioner the amount of purchase of all common school books bought by the Board of Educa,tion or by their authorized dealers or agents, showing the price at which they are bought, ,Yith t'hc nnmber and nmnc of each book sold and the price at which it is sold, together with the stock left on hand at the encl of t1 hc year.
In order to incnr the minimum expense in carrying out tl1esc proposed elianges, and to add as little as possible to il1e increased labors of the County Hoards, aud for the fo1,tl1er purpose of ascertaining bryoncl question or doubt, the anunal em1sumptio11 of scho'ol bO'oks in Georgia, ,Ye recommend that no changes he 1T1ade in the school books of the seYeral counties for one year. In this w,1,y, from the reports required, the cxpenditm'es of the State for sc'hool hooks in a normal year c,an be accurately ascertained.
\\Tc snggcst that the County Boards in giYing the repuirecl reports should report the purchase mid sale of books on blanks furnished by the Department of Education, said blanks being arranged to show the number of each kind of hook sold, and the nmnbe,r left on hand at the encl of the yuu, also the price paid for eaC'l1 book, by whom it was sold,

21
togetiher with the tot,al purchased and sold for the year. Said reports from the counties should be consolidated by the State School Commissioner and made a part of his annual report, and the, the ,State School Commissioner, shall in this way, show to the people the amount of the annual school-book bill of the State.
G. R. GLENN, Chairman.
H. R. GO}:TCHIUS, \V. B. :MERRITT, T. D. TINSLEY.

MINORI,_""Y REPORT.
To His Excellency, Governor '\V. Y. Atkinson:
My Dear Sir:-I have ,hesitated to disagree with the distinguish_ed gentlemen who have been my co-lab01crs in the inyestiga,tion of tho school0book question; yet, entertaining the views I d10, I feel that I can better present them in a separate report, which I .ask Your Excellency to transmit to the General Assembly for whateYer considemtion it may be doomed worthy to receive.
Very respectfully, J. C. BEAuCI:-L\.~IP.
October 28th, 18D7.
COST OF SCHOOL-BOOKS.
'J'n the Gowral . L~so111bly: In reply to the question, "'\V1hat is the average cost of
books per pupil in ,the common schools in your county?" the replies of county school commissioners y'aried from scYer1 cents to fiTe clollm'S. Estimates from :the data at prcsent obtainable, from any source, must be considered an approximation only.
'\Yhatever may be the average cost per pupil for schoolbooks, o11e fact ;;tancls out in bold relief, m1d that is, that pn hlislwrs of school-boos receiYe as much to-day as they di(l fifteen years ago. In spite of the fact that ,rn haYe passe<l through one of the most destructive periods of finan-

24

cial depression known in the history of our country, when values in every species of property have fallen to the lowest ebb, yet school-book companies have not reduced the price of their books except in occasional instances.
True, children get books now ,at some lower figures, but this has been brought about by publishers contracting witli county boards of education to sell books to children at listprice, 1and proposing to send books by mail from headquarters if retail dealers refuse to sell at prices designated.
Thus, the publisher, under pressure, has forced the merchant to sell at his contract figures and ,accept such discounts as the publisher may see proper to give.
"\Yhatever reduction bias been made is a:t the excpcnse of the retail dealer.
By reference t,o the Publishers' T:mde Annual, a volume issued yearly by t1he book trade, it will be seen that the prices now received by the publishers ,of common school books are ,the same in most inst:ances, as was received in 1882.
For comparison, here are some of the boolrn used in the common schools of Pike, with list-price now a1 nd 1882.

18D7 Price. 1882 Price.

Swinton's "\Vorel Primer.. . . . . . . . . . .15

.15

Swinton's "\\~ord Book............ .18

.18

New Gradecl Reader N. 1......... .18

.18

N cw Grac1ecl Reader No. 2 ........ . .2D

.2D

Xew Graded Reader Xo. 3 ........ . .40

.40

New Graded Reader No. 4 ........ . .50

.50

Xew Graded Reader No. 5 .... _.... . .85

.85

Robinson's Primary Arithmetic.... . .18

.18

Robinson's Rudiments Arithmetic .. .

.32

25
This comparison could be extended at length, but the above is sufficient to illustrate the point.
The usual discounts to merchants ,were allmved all alonO' h)
but in recent years the book c'omparries contract to furnish pupils these books at what is termed wholesale ,or list-prices, and i the merchant refuses ,to sell ,at such price he is forced out of the business 'by the publisher, ,vho advertises ii: the county papers to send books by mail prepaid at listpncc.
The merchant has no cause 'to complain at the county or State. The book companies compel 1him to bear the burden 0 all reductions ,flrnt have been made.
The materials that enfor into the make-up ,0 books consist 0 paper, type, typesetting, eleot1,otyping, engraving, binding and copyright.
It is improbable that these articles have 'been so fortunate as to escape the effects of the financial panic through which we have passed, and ,the shadows 0 which still hang so gloomily around us.
In ,order to get something more than supposition, howeYer reasioniable that may have been, a lettm of inquiry was aclc~ressed to the Franklin Publishing Company and Foote & Davies Company, 0 Atlanta, Ga., both large publishing houses; the one having ,the contraet :for Stiate printing and the other haYing just corn:pleted the revised Code, in a handsome manner. These publishers ,,ere asked to giYe the comparative cost 0 material going into the manufactnre 0 hooks now ,and ten or fifteen years ago. The replies arc appended and speak for themselves.

2G
Atlanta, Ga., ~0\ngust 28th, 1897. Dr. ,T. C. Beauchamp, '\Villiamson, Ga.:
Dear Sir:-Replying to yom favor of August 26th, beg to say everything in our line, as in all ot1hel'S, has been reduced, in bhe last fifteen years to a go,c,d large per cent.,n1 should say thirty~three and a third per cent., on an average; paper has been reduced nearly fifty per cent. Of course this is only an estimat.e, but we t:hink is, in the main. correct.
Yours very truly, The Foote & Davies Co., Per J\I. }I. Davies.
Atlanta, Ga., August 27, 18D7. Dr. J. C. Beauchamp, '\Villiamson, Ga.:
Dear Sir:-In answer to yom favor of the 26th inst., !here has been no reduction in the price of first-class standard ledger papers. '\Ve are paying the same prices for lahor, fO'l' typesetting, we lmYe yia,icl for ten years. Tlw1,e is a slig1h't rednction for typesetting hy hand within the prese11t month. In t,he blank ho,ok dopartment the prices remain unchanged. In chernper grades of paper, t.here has been a Toduc:tion-sa,\" twenty per cent. C.onsiclerrtble reduction in e111graving-we wonlcl say twentv per cent. in certain dass:es of eng1ravillg-.
Ver_y truly yonrs, The Franklin Printing & Pnh. Co.,
}">0r J no. S. Prather, Jr.
,\n aYerage reclnction in price of matcria,l ellrtoring into tl1e make-up of books of thirt_v-thrce per cent., and on

27
the item of paper of nearly fifty per cent., as stated by the Foote & Davies Co., is not an unreasonable estimate, when the reduction in pri~e o.f everything else, for tihe last ten or fifteein years is taken into consideiati:on.
The cost and profit in publishing school-books are unknown quantities, except comparatively, as before indicated. No estimates are available except those furnished by parties materially ~nterested, to whose interest it would be for the cost to appear as large as possible, and the profit on a correspondingly small scale.
If there has been a reduction of one-third in the ciost of making school-books ,as compared wibh ten m fifteen years ago, it is not unre'asonable or unjust to the hook companies to expect them t1 o make some concessions as well as the retail dealer. But concessions of this chamc1ter are not usually made voluntlarily.
The assumption that school-books are .too high does not appear to be unreasonable or unwarrant,ed.
METHODS OF SECURING CHEAPER BOOKS.
I concur with the majority of t:he Commission, that in some counties in Georgia books are to be obtained as cheap as in some S1Ja,tes where State uniformity prevails.
This, I believe, h'owever, to be due to t:he agitaition of the school-book question, ,and ,to the very :fact that many State,s have already enacted State uniformity laws, and a strong te111dency in othe,rs to do so.
And our State is thus reaping, to some extent, where she has not sown-the fruitJS of other l1abors.
I agree also with the concl11si1ons of the majority, that

28
where from any reason, State uniformity is undesirable, the Ohio plan iis i:lhe bes1t yet devised for securing cheaper books.
But I cann:ot asoont to tihe propog,j,tion that State uniformity 1has noit lessened the price of school-books without discrediting the testimony of State school officials, who have been courteous enoug4i to respond to the inquiries of the commission.
As to whether a Stafo contract for Georgia (which necessarily includes State uniformrty) would further reduce the price of school-books, I would not positively affirm or deny; but that it llas reduced the pri'ce in tihose States trying rt from prices obtained before the Sitait1e contract system prevailed, we must admit, or else reject the statement by State School Oommissioners in reference thereto.
Without designing to make this paper lengthy or tedious, some extracts from Sitaite School Commissioners 1are presented.
"\Vest Virginfo., :Miinnesofa .and North Carolina are referred to as having tried Sta'te uniformity and abandoning it as a failure.
The Sta:te superintendent of vVest V:irginia schools, in
a communication to the Commission, says: "Had State uniformity for many years, was satis:fia.ctory, but tJhe method of selecting books (by Zegisfotw1c) icas not satisfactory." (All italics made so by me).
,State Superintendent Schools, :Minnesota, says "An advantage gained by a State umformity law is that if the law be prope11ly administered, t,h'ere is a great pecu.ruiary saYing to the part11ons of sch!ools, and many districts will haYe a better series of books than if the selections were left en-

29
tirely to teachers or boards. A great objection to State uniformity is that people get the notion that there is a job in ,it for those who administ,er the law. They therefore become diisconteinted and evade compliance with its provisions. We had State uniformity for nineteen years, and while a superior series of books wru; furnished and at low prices, the law was unpopula1 r and was to a large extent a dead letter."
It will be seen tha:t in neither West Virginia nor Minnesota was Sbate uniformity abandoned because it did not secure good books at low prices, but for other reasons.
State Superintendent Niorflh Carolina, writes: "I think State uniiomnrity is the best plan." "The books ought to be furnished much cheaper on this account." ""\Ve ought to get more systematic work done wherre State uniformity is the law."
State Superintendent of Louisian,a writes: "St,ate uniformity secures concessions from publisheTI! that could not o1 thenvise be obtained; protects from frequent change, and is a step towards organized educational work on a grand scale," State Superintendent of Indiana schools says: "St.ate uniformity is satisfactory to people-books r.re 25 per cent. cheaper than before---some, books are quite as good but otlhers not up to the highest standard." State Superintendent of Idaho writes to commission: "Books are decidedly sitperior in quality and subjectmatter to books used before State uni:Bormity and half cheaper."

30
State Superintendent New Mexico says: "State uniformi:ty in operation six years, satisfactory, and books far cheaper than formerly." Missouri has had State uniformity for six years iand it has proven so satisfactory th:at the contract has recently been renewed for five years. State Superintendent South Carolina says: "Have State uniformity; satisfactory; books cheaper in price; grade same." Iowa is investigating the subject 0 State uniformity, the LegislaJture, under resolution, having directed the State School Oommissioner to report on the ma't:ter after a <thorough investigation. Three States have ,ad:opted State uniformity during the present year-Montana, Kansas and Texas. State Superintendent 0 Kansas in a letter to the commission dated May 11th, 1897, says: "Books <have not yet been adopted, owing to the fact that the constitutionality 0 the law has been questioned by the trust, which is trying to thwart the will 0 the people, and continue 1the sale 0 t:he books at exhorbitant prices.'' "There have been a large number 0 propositions submitted to the commission by responsibZe companies, ,offering a ,'?fries of the very best books printed at the prices stipulated in tlhe iaw." ."I 'have no ear 0 the final decision 0 the 0ourt, and am sure that the law will be held 1Jo be constitutional and operative, when 1the oommission provided for in this act will at once proceed to adopt a series 0 books for the State

31

of Kansas ,at prices whieh you will see are about -one-half the price charged by the book companies, where there is no law regulating the price of books."
Below is the maximum price at which books can be sold under St.ate contract law in Kansas, and price paid for same grade books in my own county of Pike. The merchant is allowed a discount of 20 per cent. to pay freight and handling books. AHow same on Kiansas books and still the Kansas list is less by 26 per cent. than the Georgia 1ist:

Kanc;;as Price.
Spelling Book................... .10 First Reader.................... .10 Second Reader... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 'f1hird Reader.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Fourth Reader.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Fifth Reader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Intermediate Arithmetic.. . . . . . . . . . .25 Complete Arithmetic.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Elementary G.eography.. . . . . . . . . . . .30 Complete Geography.............. .75 Elementary Grammar. . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Oomplete Grammar.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 U. S. History.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Georgia. Price.
.18 .18 .29 .40 .50 .85 .32 .68 .54 1.30 .35 .60 1.25

It is urged tha1t State uniformity is undemocratic and pat.ernalist.ic. The people of Georgia, in their aggrega:te capacity as a Sfate, h1aye established a system of schools, open ,to every child of school age, absolutely without cost.
These are Sta'te schoo1s, supp01,ted by 1:Jhe State, and the

right to prescribe ,regulations 1as to teachers and book, taught cannot be denied by ,any principle ,of right or logic. The doctrine of individ1J1al liberty or local self-government must have some limilbation-must concede someibhing to government, or else if carried out to its last analysis, rwtould bB subversive of all law and government that did not coincide with ,tJhe particular views of individuals. The State has no concern wiith ,the cigar ,or ciorset bills of her citizens, and the compari,="m of the cost of these 1articles with the school-book appears to be rather far-fetched.
As a political principle, what constitutes 1the difference in uniformity for a Starte and uniformity for a county~ If the principle is vn:,ong for a State, wherein is it right for a county.
It is the province of good governmernt to protect the weak against the encroachments of ,the strong. Sometimes c1om bina,tions of ,capital become so powerful that the individual citizen is powerless to assert and maintain his rights.
Suc!h a condition of things some years ago resulted in the creation o.f ,the Georgia raih,aad commission, 1and we hear no complaint that this legislation was undemocratic or paternalistic.
It is claimed tha,t one set of text-book: would be unsuitable for all sections of rthe State.
Evidence seems to be wanting to show such peculiarities in the mental make-up of our children of different sections, as to require different books from ,vhich to learn spelling, reading, etc.
It appears that the principles of arithmetic and grammar al'e the sam il all over 11:ihe coun'try. Is it absolutely neces-

33
s,uy to have so many books on the same subject, the principles of which never change?
The Publishers' weekly asserts that theve are published in this country:
134 different readeTs or series. 116 different spellers or series. 151 different arithmetics or series. 159 different grammars or series. 88 different geographies or series. 50 different copy-books or series. 80 differellJt U. S. histories or series. This is, no doubt, complimentary to t;he enterprise of publishers and au:tihors, but it is claimed :that the publication of school-books is an experiment, ,and success or foilnre must be tested by practical work in bhe school-room. If ,this be true, then somebody is charged up with the cost of making ,the experiment, for t:he publisher is not in the business for fun. Earlier in our country's history, a no inconsiderable munber of men were deve1oped under the one 'te:x:t"book system, whose names will always adorn its pages. I would not advocate ,any legislation that suppressed healthy, legitimate competition. It is stated 'as an argument against State uniformity, thait no school-book company would sell a whole State books any cheaper than they would ,a single county. "\Vhere is the competition under existing conditions? Looks raither contrary ,to sound business principles, and somewhat like a combina,tion, if not a trnst.
The objections to State uniformity, either from a political or educational st,andpoint, are not so formidable, but

34
they may be overbalanced; if by adopting State uniformity the 6000,000 school children in the State can secure books at less cost, without lowering their quality.
A book commission composed of the chancellor of the State University, president of some other leading college, ~ superintendent of some city system, ,and a J,eading 1teacher ir. the common schools, with the State school commissioner, could be appointed by the governor. This comnuss10n could fix a standard of subjecrt-matter and medrnnical make-up of school0 books-fix ,a minimum price on same and adve11tise for bids. If 1the book companies refused to bid at prices named, t1hen the commission be empowered t,) compile, or b1 uy copyright of books ,and conkact for printing to lowest bidder. I am informed some of the foremost -educafors in the State have manuscript ready for printer, of books us11d in the common schoo1s.
If considered best, one book, or series, could be adopted at a time, at intervals of three or five yeiars; thus bringing Oh the change gradually.
The State does not undertake to give a child a highschool or collegiate education, and as most city ancl local systems go farther than the State-devoting as much as half or more 'of their time -to studies higher than the State prescribes, and contributing as much or more than the State towai,ds the financial support of schools, it might not be amissto exempt these systems from the opemtios of a uniform text-book law, if such an one shonlcl be aclopted by the State.
Respectfolly submitted. J. C. BEAUCHA:1IP,
)fember State School-book Commission.