The Dew« in ihsj putlica- tion^is released for the press on the date indicated below. the university of north CAROLINA NEWS LETTER Published weekly by the University of North Caroliaa (or its Bureau of Extension. MAY 10,1916 CHAPEL HILL, N. C. VOL. II, NO. 24 ElitorUl Board. B. C. Braason, J. ». deR, Hamilton. L. R. Wilson, L. A. Wiliams, R, H. Thornton, &. M. McKie B i5rtr«d ai seoond-olass matter Norember 14, 1914, at the.postoflioe at Clutpel Hill, N. G., ander the act of August 24,191: NORTH CAROLINA CLUB STUDIES EXTENSION LECTURES University profefsors are at this season busy deliverint: ooimneucement addresses anl extension lectures in various sec tions of tiie State. A list of appoint ments recently filled or to be filled in the near future follows: L. A. ^^'illiam^, Sani])Sou county coin- menceuient address, Clinton, April 27. W. D. Toy, The German Universities, Henderson, April 28. W. W. Rankin, Jr., Rural Hall, May 6. M. H. Scacy, Frajiklin, April 27; San ford, May 3; Glen Alpine, May 6; Grid- tou, May 12; Concortl, May 22. Collier Cobb, Fassifern School, Hender sonville, May 10,11, 12. Professor Cobb's lectures at Fassifern will be the second part of a series on nature and man. Their titles will be, resjiectively. Race Cradles, 0^gra[)hy and History in Europe, and Man’s Mastery of Nature. SUMMER SCHOOL LECTURES 'Those who attend the Unix-ersity Sum- Tiier School this year will have an op- iportunity to hear some most valuable and linstructive lectures. Especially ajipro- priate and timely will be tlie series on international Polity and Conciliation by Dr. .1. G. deR. Hamilton, Professor of History in the University. Those who iheard Rabbi Geoi-ge Solomon, of S^avau- iiah, Ga., two years ago will be delighted ito know that this charming lecturer is to toe back this summer. The general sub ject of his lectures will be Representative -Tews of the Christian Era. Other S])ecial lecturers and their sub jects are: Dr. Edgar J. Banks, explorer, author, and lecturer, seven illustrated lectures on Archaeology and Ancient History; Mr. K. D. W. Connor, Secre tary of the K. 0. Historical Commission, on North "Carolina History; Dr. Joseph ;Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, on Recent ■’■Industrial iJevelopment of the State; Dr. Ben/amiu Sledd, Professor of Eng lish in Wake Forest College, on Ameri- ,x;an Litimature; Dr. Thos. E. Finegan, i^eputy Commissioner of Education of ’ JJew YiSrk, on Modern Education; Misa IJeva S. Burgess, Supervisor of Charlotte, N. C., Municipal Playgrounds, on Play- :.grouud!i aud t)rganized Play for Rural ■Schools^ and Dr. Herman Harrell Horne, Profeaf^r of the History of Education and of the History of Philosophy in New York'University, on the History of Edu- ation. WHERE WEALTH IS WILLING Sandhills used to be a term of re- pro.ich to the dwellers therein. It is now worn as a badge of honor, for verily this region now blo.ssoms ars a rose. The southern end of Moore is a land of good sand-clay roads, berry farms, peach orchards, vineyarls, winter cover crops, dairy farms, handsome couiitry homes, good schools, and a buoyant, forward- looking people. It is another reminder of the fact that the last shall be first. A,s Kaufi'man says. Prosperity rarely springs out of profusion. Where iiature does most for man, man usually does least for himself. Prosper ity is most often the result of poverty and l>luck, and the Sandhills prove it. This laud of. scrub pines and black jacks sprouts men withal—tail, strong, upstanding men—which is a main mat ter. Here is the home of our emba.ssa- dor to the Court of St. James. It is the land of Pages, Blues, Grahams, Johnsons, McLeans, McKeithens, Mc- Qtieftns, and other Highland Maes with out number—all of them reminders of the days of Flora MacDonald. A Goodly Land It is a goodly land, made so by this hardy stock of Scotch people, and the homeseekers and investors they have attracted thither—the Tiifts, Roger A, Derby, Bion H. Butler, Clyde Davis, Faires, aud the rest. They have the civic and social mind. They think gen erously in terms of the community. The Page ^Memorial Library, The Eu reka Farm-Life School, The Derby Me morial School, the two Cooperative Cred it Unions, and the Sandhills Board of Trade all witness the fact that wealth is here almndantly willing to invest in com munity weal, aud to lead in progressive enter])rises that contribute to the (-om- mon good. No wonder the Sandhills blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and sintring. A visit to these people takes you again into Isaiah thirty-five. LIVING WITHOUT WORK For an able hodied man or woai- an to live without work is an ignobili ty for wliose reproof some form of pil lory or stocks or ducking stool will have to be deviswl. Such a one di.sgrares the mother who bore him, the father that fired him, anil the social system that toler ates him. —Bouck White. A LIBRARY IN EVERY TOWN The last issue of the North Carolina jbrary Bulletin has the following stirring article: A Public Library in every town in Nortli Carolina! A thrill of genuine pride and great joy runs through the veins of every loyal North Carolinian and true librarian at the mere suggestion of such a possibility. But it is such a big undertaking we are almost appalled by its magnitude. Can it be done? That is not the question, but rather how can it be done? If Massachusetts can proudly boast of a public library in every town, why cannot North Carolina? If a public library is a good thing for Greensboro and Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh, for Washington and Concord, Aberdeen and Southport, why would it not be just as good for High Point and Hender.'On, Thoiiiasville aud Burlington, Elizabeth City, and many other towns? There are too many towns in North Carolina without ijublic libraries. Why? That is what we are going to try to tind out. North Carolina has 19 towns with a ])opulation of 2.500 or mote wliich have no public liliraries in the true meaning of the term. A few of this number have ■small libraries of collections belonging to study clubs of fcivic leagues, but they have no pu!>hc 'library iti the sense that Charlotte and Raleigh have, or that they are going to have before 1920. UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION LETTER SERIES NO. 73 OUR COUNTY COMMENCE MENTS Nothing has done more to bring our people together and make them know each other better than our annual high school and-county commence'iients. Our ]X?ople meet on Sundays in groups by them.selve8, each (lenomination being gathered together in ita own church. The whole boly of the people in any one com munity seldom if ever meet on Sunday or any other day in the week in any great community gathering. Great Meeting in the Past The old time court week used to bring the men of the community together at the county seat three or four times a year, but the women and the children were not there and therefore the court week gathering was not a county-get-to- irether affair of the kind that the county needed. The old-time college commence ment brought to the college once a year the parents and friends of the graduates, but the occasion was one of dress-parade, senior orations, and literary addre:sses by ambitious politicians or great church dig nitaries. The Fourth of July celebra tions of the ante-bellum days were great national glorifications with brass bands, Idghttown oratory and exceedingly hot weather. The people were there to se- the rowd, to hear the noise, and to shout at CULTIVATING FARM COMMUNITIES Mr. Hugh McRae, Wilmington Personally, I feel that the securing of good land for tenants of the right (luali- -.iications who want to become landowners :is the easiest part of the problem. The biggest work is drawing together the forces which must co-Tjperate in s(^’: 'ng the ])rohlems of c.ropi)ing, marketing. LEADING IN RURAL SCHOOLS One of the features that attracted most attention in the Panama-Pacific Fxposi- tion was the Rural School exhibit of Oregon, a state in which the C ‘nntry | operation of every library, every literary. The Club Women Can Do It A Public Library in every town in North Carolina I It is a big undertak ing, as has already been said, and success depends upon the sincerity, enthusiasm and intelligence of the workers. The campaign must be well and systematically organi^d and the co school is receiving something like a pro- ] social and educational agency secured, per attention, j The active interest of the teaching pro- The Survey iti a recent issue say-: The fession and the women’s clubs must first Improvement of rural schools in Oregon'be enlisted, for these have done more has followed four distinct lines, {I) a plan than any others for the cause of public of standardizing school buildings and libraries all over the United States, grounds, (2) i>arent-teacher associations , ■' = in the village and rural schoo’s, (3) l)oys’ | MATHEMATICS HELP and girls’ clubs and school fairs, !i:id (4) playgrounds and supervised play. Familiar Plans Under the leader.shii> of Hoii J. Y. Joyner, our State Superintendent ( !' Pub lic Instritction, the teachers of Nonh Car olina are famihar with all these idi as and The .\pril niunber of the High Sciiool ' Bulletin contains a very helpful article on School Mathemat- nancuig, and the doing of such things , tary rural school agent s are necessary to coirununity growth. In my o])inion the i)roblems must te •orked out in one or more complete com- unnties, where every success is encour- ging to all of the members of the coni- lunity, ] The present conditions are due to in- ividualism, and we can not expeet much i])rogress where each unit works alone in n effort to conqtier all the obstacles of he universe. Farmers and Farm Communities We cannot afford to give to one family, r to a number of widely scattered fami- ies, the thought and effort that are arecessary to success. It is like it would e if one tried to raise alfalfa by plant ing the seed 50 feet apart in a field. The weeds would take the field aud the alfalfa would not be worth the cutting. As a matter of fact when we arrive at the point when we give as much thought to the cultivation of agricultural commu nities as has l>een given by scientists to the [cultivation of alfalfa, we may begin to see our way clear to decided progress. When it comes to the problem made "Clear in your article “Another Two-Sided Difficulty,” where are we to turn for scientific data and for instructions as to just how to prepare for the success of the individtial and the growth of the com munity? plans. Mr. L. C. Brogden, our elemen- and his school supervisors :n eighteen col^lti^^ have long been working vigorously along every one of these hues. And the results abim- dantly justify the policies here in Orange j;- (j and every other i>art of the State. j _ the Teaching of High ics. The difficulties encountered by univer sity students are pointed out, their causes analyzed, and suggestions made as to ways and means whereby the student may be helped' Copies of tlie bulletin may be secured upon request from the Bureau of Exten sion or from Prof, N, W. Walker, Chap- Grasshopper School Teachers COUNTRY ILLITERACY IN THE UNITED STATES The tables that have recently appeared in the University News letter, ranking the states in certain important i)articulars, have concerned agriculture mainly, be- ' cause 1,700,000 of our people live in the the oratory but they were not there to have a good social time. A Contrast Our modern county commencements are bringing together the people of the entire county. Men, women and chil- (hen are there thrilling with community pride and meeting one another from every nook and corner of the county. Neighborhood isolation, for the time be ing, is broken up, and county spirit and a county-wide acquaintance spring up and become vital factors in building up a tetter county hope and a stronger (tounty faith. A Summary It is .safe to say that at the many coun ty commencements which have been held in North Carolina this spring ten times more men, women, and children have met together and enjoyed themselves for one good day than have attended all the college commencements in the state dur ing the same time. At these county com mencements no church lines separate the people into denominational groups, and no party lines roi>e them off into political parties, but for one good day in the year people meet for a common purpose aud celebrate another year’s progress in the great forward movement for the educa tion of all the children of the county at public expense. The county superinten dents are doing splendid service in work ing up these annualconunencements. problem of Rural ^Vealth. We have been trying to find explanations and remedies for the small, the pitifully small, per cap ita farm wealth of otir country popula tion. North Carolina ranks high in the total volume of farm wealth produced from year to year and high in tlie [)er acre yield of crop values; but low in values produced per farm worker and almost as low in per ca]uta country wealth. And this fact is fundamental. It crip- |>les, hinders and retards everything, every business, and everyboily in the ■itate. It concerns farmers, bankers, business ]>eople in general; and social ser vants like teachers and preachers in very particular, because their success or failure largely depends upon the wealth and the willingness of the people they serve. These tables have been charted in graphic ways and placed side by side, by a group of thoughtful students at the tJnivLrsity. When the eye takes in at a glance tlie range of startling correspon dences, the impulse to hunt down causes, consequences and remedies is irresistible. They are a standing challenge to intelli gence and patriotic concern. Illiteracy and Poverty Are Twins Perhaps the most significant fact that ajipears is this: In general, the j;realer the country illiteracy in a state, the smaller the wealth-prodncing and the wealth-retaining power of farm popula tions. Iowa, for instance, has the least coun try illiteracy in thy United States; also it produces the largest farm values ]>er farm worker and enjoys the greatest per capita country wealth. On the other hand, Louisiana has the largest ratio of country illiteracy and only one state is poorer in per capita country wealth. Alal:>ama stands last in rate of country wealth and fourth from last in the rate of coiuitry illiteracy. Between these two extremes the line of ))ros)>erity rises, with trifling variations, as country illiteracy decreases, lllitt‘racy tmdoubtedly breeds poverty. Sense and Sentiment Evidently, illiteracy is an economic as well as a social problem. Excessive illit- cacy in a state rcduces to a minimuu both the wealth-producing and the wealth- retaining power of country peo])le; and in this matter negro illiteracy is just as fatal as white illiteracy. The economic necessity for curing it appeals to aelf-de fensive business instinct—to sense wher*. ever sentiment is weak. We can ill afford to have nearly a fifth, of our country people suffer the disabling effects of illiteracy. Our country illiter ates in 1910 numbered 240,752, Nearly 9 of every 10 illiterates in the state were country dwellers; only 30,745 were uriian dwellers. Nearly a fifth of all our coun try people were illiterate. Our rank in this particular was 41st; our rank in farm wealth production was 45th, and our rank in per capita farm wealth was 44th. However, we tind hope in the fact tiiat North Carolina made a more effective as sault upon white illiteracy during tlie last census period than any other state in the Union, New Mexico alone excepted. And our Moonlight School campaign is a still further attack upon the .same itrob- lem. In the sticcesss of this campaign, North Carolina is a close second to Kentucky. One fundamental difficulty limits the value of these and all other good things in cotnmon-school education in North Carolina: the plague of school teachers who swarm into and out of the school dis tricts of every county every year, very like a plague of Kansas grasshoppers. , - j , j Recently we foimd one connty in which open country outside all incorporated two-thirds of the country schools are be- towns of any size whatsoever; because ing tau>^ht by brand new teachers, and our civilization is as yet dominantly another in which three-fourths of the rural; because our mvestmeut in the busi- country schools have changed teachers ness of farming 11^910 was *537,000 OoO 1st ear : or nearly as much as we had invested in "‘This''"kaSoscopic change of teachers railroads and manufacture combined; is a chronic affliction in every state of the ' and because our agriculture creates great- Union It reduces to a minimum the er wealth from year to year than any value of every dollar silent in public edu- other single agency in the state-more cation How can country schools of than manufacture in the census year by, permanent and increasing influence grow , $80 000,000. The conservation of our i out of a condition like this? Such whole-; agriculture and the culture of our coun-, “lie chan.es would bankrupt a cotton , try people are therefore the biggest prob-, mill anywhere in a season or two, or any lem in North Carolina; so tor both the other business whatsoever. And it spells Church and the State, bankruptcy for our dreams and plans of ^ Retaining Wealth, the Big public education in this and every other ^ Problem i is a practical problem that ought to ' These tables have alF been worked out be Lived, aud solvel speedily. ' with special reference to the fundamental COUNTRY ILLITERACY IN THE UNITED STATES 1910 Census Rank State Per Cent Rank State Per Cent 1 Iowa 1.6 24 Connecticut 5.2 2 Nebraska 1.7 26 Montana 5.6 3 Kansas 2.1 27 California 5.9 4 Idaho 2.3 28 Pennsylvania 6.1 5 Oregon 2.5 29 Rhode Island 6.3 6 Washington 2.8 30 Oklahoma 6.5 7 South Dakota 3.1 31 Nevada 7.5 7 Indiana 3.1 32 West Virginia 9.4 9 North Dakota 3.2 33 Delaware 9.5 9 Illinois 3.2 34 Maryland 9.9 9 Minnesota 3.2 35 Texas 10.9 9 Wisconsin 3.2 36 Arkansas 13.6 9 Ohio 3.2 37 Kentucky 14. 9 Michigan 3,2 38 Tennessee 15. 9 New Ham|)shire 3.2 39 Florida 16.2 16 Utah 3.3 40 Virginia 17.2 16 Maine 3.3 41 North Carolina 19.6 18 Wyoming 3.5 42 New Mexico 22.4 1« Vermont 3.6 43 Georgia 23.2 20 New York 3.9 44 Mississip|)i 23.8 21 Massachusetts 4.2 45 Alabama 25.2 22 New Jersey 5. 46 Arizona 26.1 23 Missouri 5.1 47 South Carolina 27.7 24 Colorado 5.2 48 Ijouisiana 38.