The news in publica-
boa is released for the press on
^ date mdicated below.
the university of north CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published weekb' by the
Usivosity of North CaroltDa
(or its Bureau of Extension.
EPTEMBER 6,1916
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. n, NO. 41
jjarial Boardi B.C. Branson, J. leBi Hamillou, U R. Wilson, L. A. Williams, R H Thornto C»
ill. McKie. Entered as second-claaa matter November 14,1914, at the«postoffice at Chapel Hill, N.C.i under the act of Augtist 24,1918.
NORTH CAROLINA CLUB STUDIES
INTERESTING FACTS
Soine interesting facts about the baby
ath ratf last year in North Carolina are
hat the counties having the highest death
tes were in general those counties known
0 have one or more of the following con-
itions; a low percentage of white popu-
atioii, a low per capita wealth, and a high
ircentage of illiteracy.
And conversely, those counties having
le lowest baby death rates in general
ave the greatest per capita wealth, the
-St schools and the largest percentage
{ white population.—The State Health
oard.
POVERTY SLAYS CHILDREN
Some time ago the death rate of chil-
ren in Pittsburg, Pa., was studied by
nvestigators sent out by Miss Julia 0.
athrop, Chief of the Children’s Bureau
f our Eederal Government.
They discovered that infant death rates
ere highest in homes having the lowest
-lily incomes; and lowest in homesen-
oyiiig the largest family incomes.
TJie safety of children increases as the
tandards of living rise; and peril to the
ives of children increases as poverty in- j
usages. ]
Children’s lives depend, then, on our
liefs alxmt Poverty—the complicated
“uses, tJie manifold consequences, and
he meliorating remedies.
We say meliorating, because after we
ave satisfied all the demands of econom-
e justice and tender charity, we shall
ave the poor with us still.
The laborer is worthy of his hire, said
he Master of Men. If we really believed
bat in Cliristendom, we should go a long
'ay toward curing the increasing pov-
rty of the world.
THIN PICKING
The note-shaving and loan-sharks are
n short commons in Durham ; at least
round tlie Carr mills.
The Employet^s Fund for the 1,500 mill
lands amounts to about {10,000. It was
atributed by the Company, but it is
anaged by directors chosen from the
peratives.
It is an emergency fund, loaned in
mall amounts in cases of illness, death,
nd other unforeseen distresses. The in
rest is 6 per cent, and the loan is paid
ff at the rate of a dollar a week.
Tiie greatest loss any one year has been
only $17, and the loans are without se-
urity other than the established good
putation of the borrowers.
THE FIRST REPORT
~We have known about and chronicled
I Dumbe-of times schools having a school
r>ig but it has remained for Laurel Hill
chool in Sampson county to report on the
movement.
The pig at this .school develojjs his
queal and his fat not oiJy from the dis
carded portions of the children’s lunches,
i)Ut tlie parents and patrons are raising
’felvet l>eans, rape, grain, and clovers as
ifurtJlier .supplement to piggie’s enjoy-
ent.
The principal, Miss Bessie Daughtery,
las had lier efforts supplemented by Mr.
J. W. Pearson in developing the com
munity pig idea and wiiile Laurel Hill is
not at all piggisii the folks they are plan
ning a pork barrel campaign of their own.
As a result of tlie enthusiasm aroused
-over this school pig tlie number of pig
club members jumped this year from 10
■to 30, and the best of the whole idea is
’the fact that the school has become a real
icoauuunity center for Laurel Hill.
A NEW DEPARTURE
The Federal Education Bureau on J uly
25 sent out a news letter to the press of
the United States concerning the Travel
ing Postgraduate School for Practicing
Physicians in North Carolina, promoted
tiie University and State Health
Basird.
This enterprie is of national signifi-
!»nceAnd is attracting national attention.
^Esctension Training in Medi*
cine
“Extensiou training in medicine for
^regular practitioners is essentially a new
'isjiarture. The Bureau of Education has
just received an account of an apparently
promising experiment in this direction
undertaken during the present summer
by the University of North Carolina in
cooperation with the State Board of
Health. The outline of the plan is as
follows:
“Groups of six towns situated relative
ly close together are selected as the terri
tory for a single instructor. In each town
a class is formed, composed of physicians
from the town itself and from the sur
rounding country. A skilled scientist is
then brought from one of the centers of
medical progress, to give instruction for
16 w’eeks in each circuit of towns. His
procedure is to lecture to the class in the
first town on Monday morning, for ex
ample, and to hold a clinic in the after
noon. On the next day he proceeds to
another town, lectures and holds another
clinic, then to another, and so on, return
ing to the first as soon as the round
is completed. Each class thus gets
15 lectures, with accompanying clinical
demonstrations, during the course.
Two Schools this Summer
“The University has already inaugurat
ed two such courses which are being giv
en by specialists in children’s diseases.
Each class section numbers from 10 to
15 physicians, and a total of about 150
physicians are already in attendance.
The expenses are borne by the physicians
taking the course. The University and
the State Board of Health with the aid
of a local secretary in each town, manage
the course. The University selects the
lecturers.” ,
BIGGER AND BETTER THAN
EVER
It really looks as though The State
Fair in Raleigh, October 16-21, were
going to reach high water mark.
Under the leadership of Mr. Leonard
Tufts, the president, backed by Mr. Biou
H. Butler, Colonel Pogue, Captain Par
rish, Colonel Cameron and other devoted
public servants of this sort, the Fair this
fall promises to be bigger, better and
more significant than ever before.
The weather permitting, the State Fair
attracts enormous crowds from every
quarter of the state, and if a county has
any livestock or farm, orchard, and truck
crops, or industrial products that are
really worth showing, this is the place
and the time to get into the public eye.
W'e wonder a little about Orange. Is
it possible for Orange to have an exhibit
that w'ill demonstrate our advantages,
opportunities, and possibilities?
We have a mighty good county, but
the folks that know about it are too few.
It is worth while to settle new farm
families on our 359 abandoned farms. It
would boost things in Orange tremen
dously.
A PLAN SUGGESTED
Speaking of uniform county account
keeping, standardized annual balance
sheets, and auditors of county book
keeping, Mr. K. S. Millsaps of Statesville
writes;
‘ ‘The idea is a good one. Make the
matter the duty of the State Auditor, and
let him appoint one man in each Con
gressional District to look after the audit
ing of the books in his district the tirst
year after his appointment, and then in
the second district the next year, having
each alternate district auditor represent
a difi'erent political party. For instance
let District One be a Democratic District,
Two a Republican district and so on.
Then let these auditors alternate as do
the judges, one following the other.
“Some counties are Democratic and
others are Republican. This auditing
board will be non-partisan, and no aud
itor would dare put up a false audit
in any county or city (and the cities neei
the public auditors as much as the coun
ties) for fear the next auditor would call
“This number of auditors could audit
the books of the counties and towns
each year, and I feel sure the public
would be glad to pay the bill. The fact
is I doubt if there is a county or town
in’the State that would not save money
by having such a system of public audit
ing.”
CAN HAVE WHAT IT
WANTS
When a common or universal pas
sion for productive achievement is once
definitely aroused in a community, the
achievement will follow as a matter of
course.
Any community can have as beauti
ful a country-side as it wants, provid
ed it wants it seriously enough, and
with sufficient unanimity, to spend
the time and energy necessary to
beautify it.
Any community can have as moral
a community as it wants, under the
same conditions.— Dr. Thomas N.
Carver.
UNIVERSITYJSCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LETTER SERIES Ne. 89
ON ALL-FOURS
Forest fire damage appears to be ex
cessive in free-range areas, and flood de
struction greatest in the mountain coun
ties where forest fires were excessive
last spring. They go on all-fours, as the
old-time lawyers used to say.
The following items by Mr. J. S. Holmes,
our State Forester, are highly signi
ficant ; ]
“Of the eight eastern counties which,
showed the largest amount of fire damage
last spring, five are almost entirely free-'
range counties, two are in the throes of ,
deciding whether they will be free range '
or stock law counties, and the eighth,
Bladen has only recently adopted the
stock law.
“Of the seven western counties, at least
four of them have been the heaviest suf
ferers from the »cent floods. An intimate
relation exists between these facts, but
the exact extent of that relation I am
not prepared to state. ’ ’
RANK INJUSTICE
The Teacher’s Money
School committees hold a most responsi
ble position and they generously serve
the community free of charge. There are
hundreds of school committeemen in
North Carolina whose work for the chil
dren is a service which merits and re
ceives the hearty thanks of all of the
best people of the community.
A Point of Law
The duties of the committee are clearly
defined and they should be performed in
strict compliance with the law. It is a
fact that no part of the school fund of
one year shall be used to pay school
claims of any previous year! Every one
knows that the law says what it means.
Paying Debts
Last year the committee iu a certain
district made a contract with a teacher
for an eight months term. The teacher
worked away smoothly and in the best of
spirits for six months and then came a
rude shock. The secretary of the, com
mittee notified her at the end of the sixth
month that the term would be cut from
eight months to seven months in order to
get money with which to pay for some
desks bought on credit the year before.
Gross Injustice
It is clearly illegal and unfair to violate
a contract with any one and especially
with a teacher who has made a contract
in good faith. A teacher who has been
employed at forty dollars a month should
not be forced to give up a month’s salary
as a contribution towards buying desks
for the community.
Unfair to Children
Neither is this arbitrary shortening of
the term fair to the children for whose
benefit the money was apportioned to the
district. They had money enough for an
eight months term and they should have
had it. May be that this one month waa
the last one that many of them would
ever be able to go to school. Of course,
debts must be paid but the teacher should
not be forced to pay them at the expense
of herself and the children. The school
law provides a way for paying for furni
ture without taking money from the
teacher’s salary and closing the doors of
the school for even a day.
GREAT AND SMALL
A sign of greatness is to be greatly in
terested in great things, and little inter
ested in little things.
A sign of littleness is to be little inter
ested in great things, and greatly inter
ested in little things.
The size of a man is measured by the
things he gets excited about.
Tea-pot tempests are a sure sign to
small souls that the whole universe is
wrecked.
The great soul is comfortably certain
that the sun will rise on time to-morrow
morning, subject to the Constitution of
the United States, as Artemus Ward said
it would.
Pint-cup thinking about big-scale
things, and big-scale interest in pint-cup
things has always been humanity’s sorest
handicap.
The clamor of the crowds for-signs and
wonders nearly broke the heart of the
Master twenty centuries ago.
And the multitude is still hungry! for
signs and wonders.
The Perils of Pauline draws bigger
crowds than Public Health and Sanita
tion, the country over.
LAST SPRING’S FOREST
FIRES
The flood damage in Western North
Carolina intensifies rather than obscures
our interest in the prevention of forest
fires; for the average man traces some
relation between fire and flood, though
what that relation is may not be definite
ly known.
Last spring this state suflered more
from forest fires than for many years.
The North Carolina Geological and
Economic Survey which has been gather
ing information on the losses sustained
has just made public the following fig
ures.
Twenty-eight eastern counties report a
total damage of more than 13,500,000,
while seventeen western counties mention
nearly $500,000 loss. The counties suf
fering the greatest fire damage are listwi
below, in order of the greatest loss: }
Eastern Western {
Carteret $1,030,000 McDowell $125,000 ;
Bladen 1,000,000 Burke 79,000
Craven 281,000 Haywood 75,000
Pender 210,000 Wilkes 36.000
Beaufort 206,000 Caldwell 35,000
Duplin 161,000 Avery 23,000
Pamlico 122,000 Stokes 20,000
Brunswick 117,000 I
It is interesting to see the reasons given
for this great spring conflagration. A-
bout half of the fires were said to have
been caused by carelessness in burning
brush, grass and rubbisli on the farm.
Most of this burning was unnecessary,
for the best farmers now recognize that
it pays petter to plow under rubbish or to
use it to prevent erosion. The remaind
er of the fires were chiefly set by rail
roads and sawmills. Many of the cor
respondents strongly urge a state appro
priation for putting in force the new tire
law, while some suggest a law to prevent
all burning after March 15th. The ap
pointment of forest wardens in all wood
land townships, in accordance with the
new law, would go far toward preventing
a recurrence of such a series of destruct
ive tires. It is hoped that the next legis
lature will make this possible by provid
ing an adequate appropriation.—J. S.
Holmes, State Forrester.
taining revenues, better buildings and
equipments, longer terms, better teach
ers and teaching, better support in the
homes, better attendance and greater ef
fort on part of the children.
For Lack of Knowledge
Tlie movement to educate all the chil
dren of all the people lacks what it most
needs—religious fever and fervor!
As it is, devoted men of God iu our
churches everywhere must utter "again
and again the pitiful laments jf Old
Testament times; ‘ ‘ Israel doth not know.
My people.doth not coneider”; “My
people are destroyed for lack of know
ledge’ ’; “ Where there is no vision the
people perish.”
Popular education in North Corolina
needs the active support of the New
Time Blinister.
THE OLD TIME MINISTER
“The old time minister helped to build
this nation,” said Rev. A. C. Hamby of
Clayton, the other day, “(1) by a fine
personality and a tine life, (2) by build
ing a home that sent out sons and daugh
ters with characters like his own, and (3)
by an active interest in schools and cul
ture.”
“The Old Time Minister,” said he,
“helped to build the nation by inaugura
ting and building our great system of
schools. Being educated, they loved
books and owned good libraries. These
books they shared with others. They
founded academies and colleges. Yale,
Harvard and Dartm )uth were establish
ed by preachers. The preacher was be
fore the schools and colleges, back of
them and in them. In those days there
was scarcely a school of any note whose
principal or president was not a preach
er.”
All of which is true—every word of it!
The whole of this excellent address ap-'
peared in the Smithtield Herald on Aug
ust 8th.
New Time Opportunities
It leads us to say that if now-a-day
ministers, churches and Sunday schools
will stand in and back of the movc'inent
to sponge the shame of illiteracy ofl’ our
map, this heart-breaking task could be
accomplished within the next five years.
It is hard to understand why the Moon
light School Campaign should challenge
the secular conscience more than re
ligious consciousness; why the burden
should be upon Day school teachers more
than upon Sunday School teachers and
church workers; why the state should be
more active in this matter than the
church.
If ministers of sects and sorts would
come up to the help of the Lord against
the sons of illiteracy we could shout great
shouts of Victory against the going down
of the sun.
The great public school problem will
nowhere be solved without the active help
of devoted ministers. Best of all they
can lead theic, people toward larger sus-
CUTE, CLOSE, AND PIOUS
Mrs. Hettie Green and hef- son, E. H.
R. Green, owned the small Texas Midland
Railroad, and she was indignant at the
flood of requests for passes. So she sent
out a card calendar to politicians and all
others who had presented themselves as
candidates for railroad graft. She drew
down the Bible on them.
In this manner it was arranged:
Monday—“Thou shalt not pass.” Num
bers XX, 18.
Tuesday—“Suffer not a man to pass.”
Judges iii, 28.
Wednesday —“The wicked shall no
more pass.” Nahum i, 15.
Thursday—“This generation shall not
pass.” Mark xiii, 30.
Friday—“By a perpetual decree it can
not pass.” Jeremiah V, 22,
Saturday^—“None shall pass.” Isaiah
xxxiv, 10.
Sunday—“So he paid the fare thereof
and went.” Jonah i, 2.—The New York
World.
OLD RAGS
The Federal Department of Commerce
is sending out frantic calls to the people
asking them to save old rags and old pa
per to be used in the manufacture of pa
per.
There seems to be an unusual demand
for paper coupled with an unusual short
age of material from which to manufac
ture it. Everyone is urged to aid in sav
ing, collecting and marketing all rags
and pajjer that can be utilized in making
paper.
The Appeal
Chambers of Commerce and Boards of
Trade throughout the United States are
requested to cooperate with the Depart
ment of Commerce by furnishing to ap
plicants the names of local firms which
assemble rags and paper and sell them in
small quantities.
Teachers can assist in this w'ork by
bringing the matter to the attention of each
pupil in the schools. Have this notice
read to the pupils in the various schools.
Cooperation will be very much appre
ciated and it surely will have definite re
sults.