The news in this pubbca-
rion is released for the press on
the date indicated below.
JANUARY 19,1916
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published weekly by the
University of North Carolina
for its Bureau of Extension.
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. n, NO. 8
Editorial Boardi K O. Branson, J. G. deR« Hamlltou, L* R. WiLson, L. A, Williams. R. H. Thornton, G. M. McKie. Knterod as second-class matter November U, 1914, at the postofflce at Chapel Hill, N. C., under the act- of Au^rnat 34,1913.
NORTH CAROLINA CLUB STUDIES
OUR NEWSPAPER PUBLIC
In 1915 we had 326 newspai>ers in Xorth
fOarolina with a combined circulation of
1.406,214. It i.s an average ol thriHi pa-
'lipers for every home iti the state, count-
I ing hoth ractis,
I Back yonder in 1850, we had 51 papers
iwith a conibinel circ'nlation of only
|38,839. That i-j to say there was only one
ijiai^r in circulation for every five families
lupon an average; only one for every
Itiiree families conntinfj; white.s alone.
tremendous increase in our new.s-
Ipaper [niblic in 05 years!
A HARD PROBLEM
In 1850 there wore 73,569 white per
sons in North Carolina, twenty years old
and ove/', who could not read and write,
or 29.2 per cent of all the whites of these
agea. Our rank in this particular was
31st among the 31 states of the (Inion.
In 1910, the illiterate native wliite vo- i
t«rs twenty-one years of age and older in
Korth Carolina were 49,619, or 14.1 jier
k;ent of the total whites of voting age.
Our rank in this particular was 47th
among the 48 state.s. Only Louisiana made
a poorer showing. Counting our illiter-
,ate white women 21 years old and older,
we have more illiteratt; white adults of
fjboth .sexes now than we had 65 years ago.
■Can it l)e that our illiterates are the
erah-like .souls tliat V'ictor Hugo de-
:^cribee in Les Miserables—“who before
.advancing light steadily retreat into the
ifringe of darkness! ’ ’
'Our Moonlight Scliool Campaign in
!North Carolina will throw a flood of light
cjn this question.
throat with Dobell's Solution nighi and
morning.
The FORTIFIC.ATIONS of health and
strength lie in systeniatii; habits. Do not
over-oat noi- permit youi-self to liei’ome
constipated . Drink water freely and avoid
alcohol. Keep your feet liry and your
body warm. i^f>end a few miimtes in
vigorous exercise in the early morning
and again at night; do this with the
windows op’,n. Sleep in the fresh aii', on
a porch or with all your bed room win
dows o|xm. .Stay outdoors a.- much as
passible but keep moving.
The KESERVKS and KEIKI'i )KCK-
MENTS consist in medical care. Do not
try to treat yourself. S'e a piiysician
promptly. Give the health officer your
co-operation
PACKAGE LIBRARIES FOR
DEBATING SOCIETIES
The University Bureau of Extension is
j>reparetl to supply package libraries upon
the following subjects for debate. Packages
are sent free of charge except parcel post
charges (usually from six to ten cents
each way) upon request, and may be
kept two. weeks. Requests should be
;ounteraigned by the principal of the
.school or the pre-sident of the literary
society.
Itesolved, That capital punishment
should be abolished.
Kesolved, That the IJnittid States should
^ant the Philippine Islands their inde-
ipendence.
Jttesolved, That the United States should
extend its system of ship subsidies.
Resolved, That the United States should
fortify the Panama Canal.
Resolved, That women in North (Caro
lina should be ullow'ed to vote under the
«ame qualifications as men.
Resolved, That labor unions an' l)ene-
ncial to society.
Resolved, That the Monroe l>octrine
should be continued.
Resolved, That a commission form of
city government should be adopted in
«very city in North C/arolina having over
7500 inhabitants.
Resolved, That North Carolina should
tinact a law prohibiting all children under
14 years of age to work in any mill, fac
tory or manufacturing jilant.
Resolved, That all international dis
putes should l>e settled by an internation
al court of arbitration.
Resolved, That Congress should provide
for a system af agricultural credit^.
Resolved, That members of the Presi-
•dent’s Cabinet should have the right to
be present and .speak in the House of
Kepresentat i vea.
Resolved, That the United States should
aidopt a system of compulsory military
service.
PREPAREDNESS
of the severest and moat wide-
.-apread epidemics of infectious cold® that
this country has ever experienced ip now
i«n iprogress.
Dr. C. S. Mangum, the University phy
sician, has recently mailed to every stu
dent in the University a card warning
him against grippe and colds, and giving
timely advice for their prevention, as
follows:
The AVENUES OF INFECTION are
the THROAT and NOSE. Avoid crowds
and especially avoid those who cough or
sneeze. Always hold a handkerchief be
fore your mouth or nose when you must
cough or .sneeze. Spray your nose and
ABOLISHING THE CROP-LIEN
debate outline furnished by the cla-ss
in Enghsh 15-16, University of North
Carolina.
Resolved: That the crop-
lien law should be repealed.
.\FFIRM.\TrVE ARGUMENIV
I. The crop lien law was a necessary
outgrowth of Ci\il War conditions, j
for
A. The tenant netxled help.
B. His only security was his fu
ture crop.
n. The point of view has changed, for
A. Instead of helping the tenant
it hinders him, for it keeps j
him in debt to his landlord or
merchant, who are frequently
the same man.
111. The crop lien law prevents farm
progress, for
A. It fosters the one-cro)i system
under which no farmer can
prosi^sr, for the holder of the
lien demands ii money croji as
security.
B. It keeps the farmer poor, for
on eight principal farm suj)-
plies, the merchants charge an
average of 62 1-2 per cent in
interest and profits.
C. It forces the crop on the mar
ket at a time which is usually
' the worst for the farmer.
D. The tenant, oppre.ssed as he
is, gets all he can out of the
soil and so exhausts it..
NEGATIVE ARGUMENTS
I. The same need exists .now that exist
ed after the Civil VV'ar, for
There are thousand.s of tenant
farmers in the South that need
help.
II. The remedy for the abuses of the
crop lien law is for the farmcir to
raise more of liis own food suppli&s.
III. The accusation of extortion on the
part of holders of liens Is not valid,
for
A. The charge tfiat they demand
exce.ssive intere.st is not jjrovtxl.
B. Interest on such loans must be
high, for the risk is great,
due to uncertain se(!urity.
C. The farmer can protect himself
by having his case examined
by the coiir( us to his rate of
interest.
IV. Bad farming is not a re.sult of the
lien but a cau.«e for it, for
A. Good farming would produce
more |food supplies and so
necessitate smaller liens.
V. A repeal of the law would result in
driving many familie.s from the
fanns to the cities, for
A. The lien is their only insurance
of a living on the farm.
THE TRUE UNIVERSITY
SPIRIT
Dr. Edward Kidder Graham
The true university spirit requires
an uncoiu|u‘rable, uni'ompromising
passion for the discovery of newitrnth
for its own sake; it requires also an
equally vivid passion for propagating
through the youth it instructs the best
that ha-' been hitherto thought and
said in the worlil; ami it no less re
quires in the same spirit of free and
complete, circulation that it extend
and release this truth without let or
hindrani'e throngh the people whose
institution it is, that it may quicken
them with the creative spirit that it
supremely cherislies, and be in turn
quickenel by their creative and fruc
tifying spirit.
In this way it not only “turns, ' in
Arimld’s phrase, "a stream of fresh
and free thought” upon the state’s
stock notions and habits, but the
state turns on the university’s stock
notions and habits an equally reviving
stream of fresh and free thought. So
the university would kxse none of its
fineness and power, its sweetne^^s or
light; but it would gain what .James
warned it that it must have if it would
hold its lealership—“the robust
tone.’ ’
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LETTER SERIES NO 58
TAX BURDENS IN NORTH
CAROLINA
The cost of our State government in
1912 was $1.46 per inhabitant. It was ex
actly the same in South Carolina. It was
more in 46 states. In Georgia, for in
stance, it was 11.92, in Mississippi $2.29,
in Virginia $3.22, in Wisconsin $5.27, in
California $7.98, in Nevada $10.45.
The ligures for all the states were pub
lished in the University News Letter,
March 24, 1915. They were taken from
a recent Census Bureau Bulletin.
Our County Tax Burdens
Elsewhere in this issue we give the per
capita cost of County governments in the
OUR SCHOOL COMMENCE-
MENTS I
One of the biggest things in North Car- I
olina and one of the most valuable fac
tors in the uplift of the state is the scliool
commencement of modern times. Before*
the (Tivil War and for many years follow
ing it, great crowds attended the college
commencements, for these were practical-
I ly all of the
{General Educational Meetings
in reach of the jxiople. Buttt)day, ne^ir-
ly every village and coimty has its annu
al school commencement, and at least
Ten Times More People
i attend these school and county com-
menc^^ments than attend the comment'e-
ments of the higher educational institu
tions. These annual country gatherings
are
The Mainsprings of Life
in the state, and they are the milestones
in the (xiucational process of the land.
More nervous yet loyal energy i,o sjwnt by
teachers and pupils in their pi-eparation
for
The Commencement Festival
than is spent by any other e]U}il num
ber of people on any other public func
tion. .-Vlready, this early in the year,
many teachers are writing around for
suitable matter for their pupils to pre.sent
at the next commencement, and soon the
long and
Unite.il States in 1912, as they appear m
another Census Bulletin given to the pub
lic in 1915.
The North Carolina Club has merely
re-arrangel the tigure.« so as to show the
rank of the states in this particular.
In an narly issue '.ve shall publi,«h a
table arranged from the same source ex
hibiting the per capita cost of county gov-
erinuents in North Carolina in 1912.
North Carolina Ranks 37th
The cost of coujity government ranges
from 38 cents ptir inhabitant in Vermont
to $20.69 in California. In North Caro
lina the average per inhabitant was $2.99.
Thirty-six states were more heavily tax
ed for (‘ounty support.
In Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina
the figures are smaller. In all the other
Southern States, they are larger—in Okla
homa $3.38, in Georgia $3.61, in Texas
$3.65, in Kentucky $3.76, in Tennessee
$4.44, in Ixjuisiana $4.55, in Florida
$7.52,
Where County Costs Are
Heaviest
The i>er capita burden of county gov
ernment in Oldham county, Ky., in 1912
was $7.04; hi Troup county, Ga., $7.52;
in Dillon county. 8. C.,17.80; in O.sage
county, Okla., $8.41; in Monr«^ county,
Mo., $9.93; in Luna county, N.Mex.,
$10.68; in Cecil county, Md., $11.38; in
Polk county, Tenn., $13.53; in DeSoto
county, Miss., ^!16.09; in Vernon county,
La., $16.63.
But now look at Pecos county, Texas,
with $45.60 per person invested in public
progress and prosperity! And St. Lucie
county, Fla., with a county tax burden
of $53.75 per inhabitant!
The heaviest per capita county-tax bur
den in the United States is $54.82 in Lin
coln county, Montana. Against such
figures as these. North Carolina’s average
of $2.99 looks small indeed.
Where County Costs are
Lightest
In the New England States the per
capita cost of county government issmall,
because county government is here a small
detail. The township, or as they say the
town, is the real unit of taxation and con
trol. In the South the township is mere
ly a name on the map. Only of late, years
are we establishing school-tax units small
er than the county.
In New England the county is barely
more than a name. Democracy there
calls for smaller areas of organization and
control; a thing which is worth our
thoughtful study in Southern States.
Our Three Big Problems
The three biggest problems in North
Carolina are (1) I^arger stores of accumu
lated wealth, (2) Larger public revenues,
Tedious But Profitable Drill
for the final display will be^jin. .Mong
with the music and the singing, and the
speaking and the acting there should
come something of a more serious and at
the same time equally valuable nature.
It would lie exceedingly
Entertaining and Valuable
to have a few of the pupils in the up
per grades prepare short essays on Iwal
history. 1'he audience w'ould take great
interest in such .subjects as Our County’s
Part in the Revolution; Historic Places
in our (bounty; Some Old Schools and
Schoolma-sters in our County; The In-
creiuse of Wealth in our County since the
Civil War;
Our Leading Industries
Our beat paying Crops; Our Xatural
Resources; f)ur present Mucational Sta
tus; Taxation and I^iblic Education in
ourC/Ounty. These subjects are among
the many subjects that any audience
would like to hear di,scus,sed at i;om-
mencement providing that the reading
of no pajter would re(|uire more than five
minutes.
The County Newspaper Always
a willing and powerful friend of the
schools will delight to publish these pa
pers and in writing them the children
will get together in permanent form much
valuable data for hituri' hi.storical stu
dents.
and (3) Largt^r williugne.ss to convert our
wealth into weal.
 )ur undeveloped resources call for capi
tal. Our farm regions need mor' cash
ffir operating expenses and marketing
purposes. AVe need iiuinwed public
roads and liighway inaintenancj funds.
We need to invest liberally in public
health and sanitation; in wliole-time
health offi(«rs and community nurses; in
hospital facilities for our afflicted—the
victims of tuberculosis, pellagra, epilepsy,
insanity, feeble-mindedne.ss. blindness,
deafness, and old age.
We need more money for our orphans
and our old soldiers. We ne(Ki better
school advantages for all the people, and
inmiensely increased public library facili
ties. We neei] larger support for our
Normal .Schools, our .Agricultural and
Mechanical College, and our University.
We need greater wealth, greater public
revenues in our state treasury and our
county treasuries, and a greater willing-
ne.ss to convert our wealth into welfare
and weli-l)eing. And our wealth is great
er than our willingne.ss.
Making Brick Without Straw
In bygone days North Carolina w'rought
miracles with meagre tax revenues: but
we are now making brickjwithout straw.
We are not likely to work any more mira
cles under present circumstances. We
are now at the end of our tether in North
Carolina.
I Too Little For Public
I Education
j The other day the Wisconsin legislature
I voted $7,080,000 for public education
i alone. It is more than the expenses of
jour .State government for all purjios^vs
I whatsoever.
i The burden of Public Education in
I North Carolina is $1.76 per inhabitant.
‘ It is less in South Carolina and Mississippi
alone. It is more in- 45 states. It is $3.48
in Te.xas, $4.15 in Oklahoma, $7.48 in
Nebraska, and $10.54 in Montana.
As a result, our public school money,
! per child of .school age in 1913-14, was
only $8.01. The per capita fund was less
in Mississippi alone. It was more than
$20 per child in 20 Stales; more than $80
apiece in 13 states: more than $40 apiece
in 5 states; and in Nevada it was $52.67
for every child of school age in the
State.
How can North Carolina hope to sponge
out an overplus of illiteracy with a school
fund that averaged only $8.01 per (diild
of school age in 1913-14?
The school fund averages of Kentucky,
Maryland, Tx)uisiana, New Mexico, Mis
souri, Texas, and Oklahoma are more
than twice as large as ours in North Caro
lina.
Without larger weulth, larger public
revenues, and larger willingness in North
Carolina we must be content to trail the
rear in the forward marcli of Americ.an
stiites.
PER CAPITA COST OF COUNTY GOVERNMENTS, 1912
CENSUS BUREAU BULLETIN, 1915,
Average for the United States $4.49
Rank States
Per Capita
Rank
States
Per Capita
1
California
$20.69
24
New Mexico,
$4.10
2
Nevada
17.18
26
New York
4.09
3
Montana
15.64
27
Minnesota
4.07
4
Arizona
11.78
28
Kansas
3.98
5
Oregon
10.83
29
Kentucky
3.76
6
Idaho
9.57
30
Texas
3.65
7
Washingtoc
9.43
31
Georgia
3.61
8
Colorado
9.19
32
Oklahoma
3.38
9
Wyoming
7.71
33
Wisconsin
3.37
10
South Dakota
7.62
34
West Virginia
3.09
11
Maryland
7.59
35
Pennsylvania
3.06
12
Florida
7 52
36
Michigan
3.05
13
Iowa
7.25
37
North Carolina
2.99
14
North Dakota
6.79
38
Arkansas
2.58
15
Utah
5.93
39
Illinois
2.57
16
Mississippi
5.52
40
Alabama
2.33
17
Nebraska
5.32
41
South Carolina
2.28
18
Ne\v Jersey
5.10
42
Virginia
2.13
19
Ohio
5.03
43
New Hampshire
1.71
20
Louisiana
4.55
44
Massachusetts
1.23
21
Tennessee
4.44
45
Maine
1.07
22
Delaware
4.28
46
Connecticut
.68
23
Indiana
4.17
47
Vermont
.38
24
Missouri
4.10
Rhode Maad
No report