ntury such wide and constant use?

[Character Building]

The best answer to this question may be drawn from the many newspaper
articles which appeared in Western and Southern papers after the death
of one of the authors. There is general recognition on the part of the
writers of these articles that while the books served well their purpose
of teaching the art of reading, their greatest value consisted in the
choice of masterpieces in literature which by their contents taught
morality, and patriotism and by their beauty served as a gateway to pure
literature. One editor, who used these books in his school career, said,
"Thousands of men and women owe their wholesome views of life, as well
as whatever success they may have attained to the wholesome maxims and
precepts found on every page of these valuable books. The seed they
scattered has yielded a million-fold. All honor to the name and memory
of this excellent and useful man."

[What Constitutes Real Value]

One of the wise men of the olden time cared not who wrote the laws if he
might write their songs. Among a people devoid of books the folk-songs
are early lodged firmly in the mind of every child. They influence his
whole life. The modern schoolbooks--particularly the readers--furnish
the basis of the moral and intellectual training of the youth in every
community. The McGuffey Readers, from their own peculiar inherent
qualities, retained their hold upon the schools until in some states
laws were passed which in their operation caused schoolbooks to be
regarded as commodities estimated almost solely upon the cost of paper,
printing and binding. The value of these material things can easily be
ascertained and compared; but unless the print carries the lessons that
help to form a life the paper is wasted and the pupil's most valuable
time is misspent. The teaching power of a schoolbook cannot be weighed
in the grocer's scales nor measured with a pint cup. In the field open
to free and constant competition, the books best suited to the wants of
each community will in the end succeed. It was under such conditions
that the McGuffey Readers won and held their place in the schools.

End of Project Gutenberg's A History of the McGuffey Readers, by Henry H. Vail

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE MCGUFFEY READERS ***

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