n
The .Library,
Chapel' Hill.
The news in this publica
tion is released for the press on
receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NkjhTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published weekly by the
University of North Carolina
for its Bureau of Extension.
MARCH 20, 1918
CHAPEL HILL, JN- C.
VOL.
IV, NO. 17
Editorial Board i E; G. Branson, .1. (4. doK. Hamilton, L. E. Wilson, E. H. Thornton, G. M. McKie.
Entered as second-class matter November 14,1914, At the
Postofflee at Chapel Hill, N* C., under the act
of August 24, 1912.
IS THE YOUNG MAN SAFE?
A tialf million more of our sons will
soon be called into camp life by the sec
ond draft. The half million young men
of the first draft went out of our homes
into a strange, new life with almost no
direct preparation for it. And the chan
ces the churches missed at that time sug
gest the things we ought now to be do
ing to safeguard the souls and bodies of
our sons in the second draft.
Otherwise fathers and mothers in a
million American homes will be wringing
their hands with the agony of David,
and asking, Is the young man Absalom
sale? and saying, perchance, Would
God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my
soli, my son! The diseases of vice are a
far deadlier menace to the bodies and
souls of our boys than Boche liullets are
to their lives.
Proposed Church Program
The Methodist Recorder of Pittsburg
proposes that the church and Sunday
school authorities everywhere organize in
their behalf a joint campaign of prepara
tion. ' The details of the plan are suggest
ed as follows:
“Conferences in various sections of the
community for six or eight weeks, to !
which all the drafted men in the vi- j
cinity are personally invited. At these
coid'erences a regular course of subjects
might be presented, such as, for example
Why America is at War, Significance of
the Selective Draft? The Marks of a
Good Soldier, How to Get Ready for
the Training Camp, What is a Camp
Like? What to Avoid When One Gets
to Camp, The Compensations of Mili
tary 'I’raining, Religion and the War,
The Soldier’s Place in the New-World
Order after the War. These conference
sessions ought to have careful leadership.
While each should be opened by compe
tent, speakers, military, educational, or
professional, tiiere should be a leader
ship which will conduct a discussion and
draw from the young men their problems
an I needs in the way of information.
They sliould be more than a series of lec
tures or talks. S{)ecial .addresses might
be given at regular church services, mid
week meetings, men’s clubs, and Bible
classes.
“An organized effort might be made
along the lines of the ‘Cleveland Plain,’
now tu preparation, to interview every
one of the drafted men, using for this
purpose wise, reliable, representative lay-
nten. These young men could te met in
surall groups, at convenient times and
places. All evening given to a group of
six to ten would have tremendous mean
ing to the young men, and prepare for
the more extensive work of the confer
ence and classes.
“Bliccial pamphlets on personal hygiene,
atldeties, Bible study, military history,
militaiy organizations, etc., might be cir
culated freely.”
The Need of It
“Vomig men need a bigger motive for
getting and keeping fit than ambition or
liglit. Fully 50 per cent of tlie morale
can be put into them before they leave
home. What this may mean every mili
tary expert can testify.”—The Literary
Digest.
THE BLACK PLAGUE
There are 6.8 times as much venereal dis
ease in the national army and 4.7 as much
in the three American armies combin
ed as all other communicable diseases,
measles excepted, according to reports
made to Surgeon-General Gorgas for the
twelve week period from September 21 to
December 7, 1917.
F’rom these reports figures have been
compiled to show the comparison of ven
ereal with other communicable diseases
in the three armies as follows: Regular
army, venereal diseases 88.0 per 1,000
men, other communicable diseases 13.4 ;
national guard, venereal diseases 115.2,
other communicable diseases 38.8; nat
ional army, venereal diseases, 152.4, oth
er communicable diseases, 23.8.
Community Unconcern '
This condition, declares Surgeon-Gen
eral Rupert Blue, demands the immed
iate attention of civil authorities in every
state. It is evident, lie says, that the
prevention of venereal infection in the
military population is largely dependent
on tlie degree with which these infections
are prevented in tlie civil community.
This imposes upon the civil' health au
thorities tlie duty of forcefully attacking
tlie venereal problem upon tlie basis of
the control of other communicable dis
eases.
That civil communities liave a respon
sibility in controlling venereal diseases in
tlie army is also sliown in reports made
to the surgeon-general. During Septem-
tember and October when drafted men
were mobilized, a large numlier of cases
of venereal diseases, as liigli as 388 cases
per thousand men for tlie week ending
September 28, were contracted in civil
life, mostly in tlie cities and towns from
which tlie men came and tlirough wliich
they passed on tlieir way to camp.—State
Health Board.
fear of physical dangers along tlie path-
Y'ay of indulgence in drink and vice. Ex
perience is convincing that ycuiig men
will resiiond to the higher motives, such
as loyalty to one’s country, one’s friends
and family, and a sense of obligation to
God, when properly presented. Such
motives liold young men steady wlien
fear of consequences utterly fail. If they
caii have sucii motive.s put before them
and accepted before they leave home the
fight for character and military efiicieiicy
ill largely won liefore they reach the
traiuiiig-camp.
“The examples pf capable young men
vdio have been put out of business as
soldiers and sailors and are out of the
; war-broken in iieaitli and spirit, a dis-
:. app.aintnieiit to themselves and their
' frien'.Is—becau.se of inadequate informa-
■ tioii, should make all Americans, especial
ly religious and educational, patriotic,
and benevoleut organizations keen to do
tlie jnolimiuary educational work wliicli
will largely i>revent such tragedies.
“’rice young men can he aroused to an
apiireciation of the lionor and privileges
which belong to sucli heroic service for
Immanity. It is possible to make them
enthusiastic and eager to become fit to
OUR GOVERNOR SAYS
Today, as never before, the world
needs clean men, for without purity there
can be no power. Dr. Elliott says that
in the French army more men have been
put out of commission by vice than by
bullets. Surgeon-General Gorgas says
tliat any general on the western front, if
given the option, would prefer to take
the casualties created by bullets rather
tlian casualties created l)y vice.
And this is due, not to military but to
civil life. I have recgntly visited three
camps, and my judgment is that the men
in tliese camps are living cleaner and
more wholesome lives than 95 per cent of
men of tlie same age at home. The
army authorities liave carefully safe
guarded tlie men, and have compiled the
records, and tnese sliow tliat in the year
1917 in tlie regular United States army
tliirty-eight out of one tliousand were
sick as a result of iimnorality, while in
September of the same year in the Nat
ional Army, made up of men,fresh from
civil life, 388 out of every tliousand were
afiiicted witli diseases due to vice.
Tliis w'as in September, during tlie
period of mobilization, and by December
tliese 388 per thousand liad been reduced
to 80 per tliousand. Tliese facts will be
startling to every one wlio lias not inves
tigated the subject; tliey were fearfully
startling to me.
Give the People the Facts
In my opinion one of tlie best ways to
fight the spread of vice diseases is to
give tlie people tlie ugly facts. These
facts show that practically every immoral
person is a diseased person, and if people
knew tliat any breach of tlie moral law
would almost certainly incur tliese friglit-
ful penalties this knowledge would oper
ate as a powerful restraint.
A campaign of information in the press
from the pulpit and chiefly in tlie home
would produce gratifying results. I
think the government would do well to
tlirow these figures and cliarts on tlie
screen in every moving picture show in
the land. .False modesty sliould no lon
ger lie allowed to camouflage the fearful
ravages of social vice.
GERMANY CANNOT WIN
Tlie Germans can never win this
war! Even if tlie kaiser defeats Italy;
even if he defeats France; even if he
makes peace witli Russia and Rou-
mania; even if lie continues to have
ids way in tlie Balkans and Poland—
even tiien the kaiser will not be in as
strong a position as Napoleon once
was.
And Napoleon, his armies bled
white with victories, was finally de
feated, and spent his last days in
exile at St. Helena.
Even though the kaiser should be
victorious on land, the victory would
be short-lived, and the spoils would
liave to be returneil and full repara
tion made. Why? Simply because
the United States, Great Britain, and
■Tapan can still shut the Germans
from the seas. With free access to
to the raw-material resources of prac
tically the whole v/orld the allies can
maintain au economic blockade of
Germany until the German people
establisli a people’s government with
which a lasting peace can be made.
The United States and Great Britain
will ne\ er surrender. If worse comes
to worst, they will continue tlie war
against Kaiserism on tlie sea and in
the air until the Germans will gladly
make a lasting peace.
But the kaiser hasn’t defeated Italy.
He hasn't defeated France. The
allies are getting stronger every day
as the United Statis throws her gigan
tic weiglit in man power and resour
ces against the kaser, while the Ger
mans were at theii zenitli in the open
ing days of the war three and one-
half years ago and are getting just
tliat much weaker every day.
The same thing tliat defeated Napo
leon will defeat the kaiser. What?
Sea power. No, the Germans can
never win tliis war I—F'’arm and Fire
side.
attention and calls for action. It reads
as follows:
“The testing time of war lias brought a
national awakening to the perils involved
in tiie diseases of immorality and their
disastrous eft'ects upefn our national
strengtli and well-being. This menace
to the strengtli and purity of our national
life can no longer be ignoreil.
“We appeal for action not only by our
national government and by State Boards
of Health, but also for drastic action by
city and county ofhcials in our own State.
“IVe repeat our former declaration for
State-wide adoption of the Guilford
county public morals law’ for making
property owners responsible who rent
houses for immoral purposes, and we
urge our churches and liealth autliorities
to give the crusade against immorality
the same determined support they have
given the campaign against alcohol.”
THANH GOD FOR BRAVE
WOMEN
It was a woman that presented to the
Social Service Conference in Raleigli the
other day tlie subject of the Black Plague
and its ravages in the sacred circle of the
liome, tlie penalties paid by innocent
mothers and defenseless children for the
sins of tlie fathers, the right of cliildren
to be well born, and the need for a wise
overhauling of our marriage laws.
It was Mrs. Clarence A. Johnson of
Raleigh, the president of the State Feder
ation of Women’s Clubs. It was bravely
done and no more important word was
spoken by anybody during that entire
session.
The cire menace to Cliristendom of
social vices lias been camouflaged long
enough. The subject has too long been
under taboo. Tlie light of full intelli
gence must be turned on it before we are
likely to get busy witli it; and a splendid
W’onian leads the way in North Carolina.
Dr. Prince A. Morrow’s. volume on
Marriage and the Social Evil ouglit to be
in every intelligent home; also the Social
Hygiene quarterly. Single iUeii in Bar
racks in tlie Marcli World’s Work will
help sensible people to get their lieads
out of tlie sandbanks of prudery aud to
right-about-face in the defense of society
against an ancient, hoary evil.
Tlie danger bulks up far bigger tlian
most people tliink, and for any man or
woman to be stupidly ignorant about it
is now inexcusable. The Bufl'alo survey
sliowed, for instance that, for every vic
tim of tuberculosis the great' White
Plague, tliere were eiglit victims of vene
real disease the great Black Plague tliat
curses tlie race.
A Social Service Program
And it was tliree noble women tliat
stood as sponsors for tlie constructive
program adopted by tlie conference—
Mrs. W. F\ Woodward, Miss Amy Sliel-
don, and Miss Daisy Denson.
An important detail of tliat program
I sends up a danger signal tliat clialleuges
OUR NEW WAR.LEAFLET
The University of North Carolina has
now published 13 separate leaflets on top
ics pertaining to Democracy and the
War. These special studies and outlines
by members of tlie University faculty
have been much in demand for study
clubs, reading courses, scliools, and other
organizations, as well as for individuals.
They are published by the Bureau of Ex
tension.
Number 14 -in the series will be pub
lished this week. This will be a book
of about 100 pages, written by members
of the University Department of English,
under the direction of Dr. Edwin Green
law. It is entitled: National Ideals in
British and American Literature. The
booklet is in tlie form of a syllabus,
with comprehensive reading lists in the
various fields of study. The chapters
treat the following topics: 1. From the
beginnings to Shakespeare; 2. The Eng
lish Renaissance; 3. The Rise of Modern
Democracy; 4. Democracy under Queen
Victoria; 5. American Ideals; 6. The
Rise of Imperialism; 7. The War and
Democracy: Materials in State papers
and public discussions; 8. The AVar and
Democracy: Alaterials in Personal Nar
rative and in Literature of the Imagina
tion. Tire appendix contains sliort read
ing lists.
Texas Follows
The state autliorities of Texas have
just wired-in a request to be allowed to
issue a two thousand edition of our War
Leaflet No. 11—“Selections for Speaking
in the Public Schools, (1) AVashington,
Lee, and Idncoln, and (2) The Present
Crisis.”
BUSY FOLKS WARNED
AA'e have received the Year-Book of tlie
Norfli Carolina Club at the University of
North Carolina. Ordinarily a Year-Book
is very dry reading, and it is used more
to give an air of interest and respectabil
ity to a home tlian for any practical use.
Unless a man has time to spare, vi;e ad
vise him to avoid even _ a glance at this
book, because if he once begins to read,
he will go through it from eggs to apples.
It gives in a most interesting manner
tlie resources of tlie State, and its revela
tions are surprising. There is scarcely a
subject that is not touched upon, farm
and forest wealtli, that from fisli-
eries and mines, tlie lianks and the per
capita deposits, and the government of
the State. It reflects great credit upon
tlie University and is full of promise for
the future.—Presbyterian Standard.
PELF FOR SELF
We have just received a copy of the
North Carolina Club Yeaf-Book for 1916-
1917 and we desire to thank you for it.
It is certainly very interesting reading,
and we wish every state in tlie union liad
such clubs for tlie promotion of tlie possi
bilities of our nation.
Unfortunately our people are given too
mucli to the idea of accumulating wealth.
We doubt whetlier one-tentli of one per
cent of tlie people of this country think
about the good of the community in
whicli they live. Their main thouglit is
tlie accumulation of pelf for self. We
judge from tlie Year-Book tliat tlie idea of
this society is the promotion of the com
mon weal of tlie people of North Carolina.
AA^e tliink it is about time for the people
of the whole United States to begin tliink-
ing in terms of tlie common good, aud we
sincerely liope tliat other societies of sim
ilar character Aill be formed in all parts
of our country.—Powell, Gerard and Co.,
Chicago.
CANADA AND THE WAR
It lias been many times said that tlie
world will never again be as it was be
fore tile war. The saying applies with es
pecial force to the Dominion of Canada.
Tiie loose ties tliat bound lier to tiie
Britisli Empire before the war can never
again be so loose.- The practical demon
stration of loyalty by the Dominion, Aus
tralia, and New Zealand in the early au
tumn months of 1914 definitely settled
tlie relationship of Greater Britian to
Great Britian for all the years to come.
To be sure, the time had long gone by
when Canada could be spoken of, with
any degree of accuracy, as “belonging”
to the British Empire. Canada had long
been conscious that she was a part of the
Empire as certainly as England herself.
Her answer to the threat of disruption of
that Empire was a spontaneous one, evi
dencing the spirit of idealism and loyalty
that have long been hers.
Whole-Hearted Canada
On August 4, Great Britian declared war
against Germany. On September 24—
seven weeks and two days later—33,000
trained and fully equipped soldiers were
ready lor embarkation at Quebec on the
Megantic, the Lapland and a half dozen
smaller transatlantic liners—30 ships in
all. By the spring of 1915 the force had
increased to 60,000, a number equal to
the British army landed in France in the
first month of the war. In a year’s time
it had grown to 90,000, more than Eng
land’s total forces engaged in the Crimean
war. By the end of 1915, Canada’s forces
were 120,000, twice the American army
in the Spanish war. By the end of April
1916, the enlistment was over 310,000,
and a few months later it was announced
that 210,000 had been trained, equipped
and sent over-seas.
Now Canada’s program calls for a per
manent force of 400,000, attended by an
expenditure of one and a quarter million
dollars a day. These figures assume their
true meaning only wlien it is rememijered
that Canada’s population is less tlian
8,000,000 souls.
Her Gift of Men
Tlie thirty-tliree thousand soldiers that
tlie fleet carried into Plymouth sound
October 14, 1914, was the largest freight
of soldiery that had ever been borne
across the Atlantic. The significance of
Canada’s contribution to the war does
not lie, however, in the size of her forces,
nor in the speed with which she trained
and equipped those forces, remarkable as
that is, but in the part that the Canadian
troops have played on the battle front. A
few months later this force of 33,000 saved
Calais. AA’hen on the battle field of
i.angemarck the French broke under the
clouds of asphyxiating gas let loose by the
Germans and left the northern end of the
Canadian line in the air, tlie Canadian
troops stood fast. How they fought
through the day and niglit and througli
another day and night, is the story of the
liattle of Ypres. By May 1915 tlie Cana
dian loss at Ypres was 6,000; by June it
was 8,000; and by August 10,000.
Her Gift of Treasure
While the Canadian government lias
increaseil the national debt from $300,-
000,000 to a billion dollars, Canadians
liave been giving, as free contributions,
other millions to the Canadian Patriotic
Fund. This fund is used for assistance
in cases of need to the wives, tlie chil
dren, and the dependent relatives of the
men who have gone to serve in the army
and navy. This is in addition to tlie gov
ernment’s provision for those left beliind.
By the end of 1914 these ontriglit contri
butions to the Canadian Patriotic Fund
amounted to $2,000,000. In 1916 twelve
million dollars was contributed. Tlie
year 1917 furnished $35,000,000.
.“Fight or Pay” lias become the watcli-
word. Canada’s giving for war purposes
lias become well nigh universal. The
contribution of a day’s pay per montli or
per quarter is general tliroughout the Do
minion. The Patriotic Fund represents
tlie free will ofl'ering of a generous people
and is in no way connected witli the Fed-
eral*government.
It seems hardly possible tliat Canada’s
idealism of Empire will not yield returns
in tlie development of a new meaning of
what the British Empire is. Ypres, Hill
60, Ahmy Ridge, mean the re-making of
the loose constitution of the British Em
pire in its relation to its component parts.
Verdun bespeaks the re-birth of Old
France; Ypres the awakening of Young
Canada.—G. K. G. Henry, N. C. Uni
versity Faculty.