Governor McGraw Says No to Cheap Textbooks and a Cascade Road

OLYMPIA, March 23.—Special.—Governor McGraw today vetoed senate bill No. [blank], the state school book bill, giving his reasons in the following message to Secretary of State Price: The act provides that the state board of education shall compile or cause to be compiled at least sixteen separate school text books, and such others as the board may by a two-thirds vote deem necessary. The board may do the work itself or employ any well-qualified person at a rate of compensation to be fixed by the board. Printing, binding and all mechanical work must be done in the state, and the paper, cloth and other materials for binding can be bought only from residents of the state. The board is to copyright all the works, and the attorney general must bring actions to protect the copyright. When any of the books are completed, the contractor shall deliver them to the superintendent of public instruction, who shall distribute to county superintendents, who shall deliver them to scholars at the cost of printing, publishing and distribution. To do this work an appropriation of $50,000 is made, and the term of contract is five years. The prime objection to approval is that the appropriation is so inadequate that its expenditure would inevitably prove an extravagant waste. The amount is intended to produce at least sixteen text books in quantities sufficient to supply the school children of the state. A careful estimate shows that the cost of production alone would be $112,000, so that less than one-half of the school children could be supplied. Under an act already approved, creating a deficiency would be a misdemeanor. Another objection is that the act would cause a loss of the cost of books now in use. It would also create a form of double taxation: the people would pay the appropriation and then pay for the books at cost. Children of the state should have the best books, not the cheapest. The preparation of text books requires years of experience and thought; this act forces haste and consequent carelessness. California adopted a state series and her text books are admitted to be inferior. For these reasons I withhold my approval. The governor also vetoed senate bill No. 105, the Naches Pass road bill, to provide for a state road over the Cascade mountains to connect eastern and western Washington. He objected that it opened the way to an indefinite outlay of public money; that it departed from the policy requiring counties primarily benefited to contribute; and that it imposed no conditions of co-operation on King, Pierce and Yakima counties. Until the success or failure of the state in executing this work is determined, prudence should dictate the inexpediency—particularly when tax burdens are becoming unbearable—of further use of public funds for state roads. He also vetoed house bill 93 (aid to the Washington Historical Society, $4,000), senate bill 196 (relief of John Dorsey), house bill No. 2 (artesian well in Walla Walla county), and senate bill 320 (legislative manual), on the general plea of economy. He approved senate bill 555, amending the revenue law, except sections 6 to 13, and approved house bill 590 for the eastern and western hospitals for the insane, except certain items.