Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/209

208 Department of Public Instruction Reorganized.Upon the appointment of State School Superintendent Simpson, a meeting of the State Board of Education was held in the Governor's office to reorganize the department of public instruction. There were present: L. F. Grover, Governor and ex-officio President of the Board; S. F. Chadwick. Secretary of State, and Sylvester C. Simpson, Superintendent of Public Instruction and ex-officio Secretary of the Board. The Board appointed President B. L. Arnold of Corvallis College, President Thomas M. Gatch of Willamette University, Professor A. J. Anderson of Pacific University, Professor John W. Johrfson of the Portland schools, and 1. Allen Macrum, principal of Oregon Qly Seminary, to act in conducting examinations of teachers and in adopting a uniform series of textbooks for the schools of the State. In July, 1873, the following textbooks were adopted for use in the public schools of Oregon for four years beginning October 1, 1873: "Thomson's New Primary Mental, New Rudiments of Arithmetic and new Practical Arithmetic; Brooks' Normal Mental Arithmetic Monteith*s Introduction to Geography and Physical Intermediate Geography (Pacific Coast Edition), Beginners' Grammar and Clark's Normal Grammar, Barnes' Brief History, Peter Parley's Universal History, Spencerian Penmanship and Copy-books, Robinson's Higher Arithmetic Brooks' Algebra and Geometry, Anderson^s General History, Hart's Composition, Steele's Fourteen Weeks in Physiology, Natural Philosophy, and Chemistry, Woods' Botany and Florist, and Bryant and Stratton's High School Bookkeeping." On September 22d of the same year the Board, upon the recommendation of a majority of county school superintendents, adopted the Pacific Coast First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Readers, with HopkinsManual of American Ideas in lieu of a Sixth Reader; and the Pacific Coast Spellers replaced Webster's Elementary Speller, which had done service as primer, first reader, and spelling book in many schools. The printed course of study