North Carolina Newspapers

iiUftiMiir The Library, Chapel Hill. |ji ]' I' S'- : The news in this publica tion is released for the press on receipt. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA NEWS LETTER Published weekly by the University of North Carolma for its Bureau of Extension. APRIL 24, 1918 CHAPEL HILL, N. C. VOL. IV, NO. 22 Ediiorial Board i B. C. Branson, .T. G. deR. Hamilton. L. R. Wilson, R. H. Thornton, G. M. MoKie. Entered as secondK)lass matter November 14. 1914, .it the Postofflee at Chapel Hill, N. C., under the act of August .■24, 1912. . t 't*V '• ii r , T.-; T: WE WILL NOT FAIL We are face to face with a nation com posed of people who believe themselves to be supermen, clothed with a God- given message to conquer the world; people led by a ruler who believes him self divinely called to the task just as fully as Mohammed believed it, and with the same weapon—the sword. A German victory means world-wide militarism, world-wide spying and plot ting, world-wide hatred and distrust. It means that every state must become a military camp and every people an or ganized army. It means that war be comes the chief business of mankind. It means that no small state can survive, especially if it be an agricultural state. It means that the mad race in arma ments on sea and land will continue with greatly-increased speed. It means a world in which fear of one’s neighbor reigns supreme, and revenge becomes the engrossing thought of the nations. It means in all likelihood a succession of wars resulting finally in the triumph of a great military Prussianized empire of which all other states, including this our own republic, shall be dependencies, or submissive slaves. Facing this,’the most tremendous chal lenge to human liberty in history, we have made our choice, the only choice possible to a nation of freemen, and we must not fail. We might have said, as said the rich man in scripture: “Soul, take now thine ease; thou hast much goods laid up for many years; eat, drink and be merry.” But, thank God! we chose the better part. AVe have laid our all upon our country’s altar; we have made the great decision—and we will not fail. Chief Justice Winslow of Wisconsin. WE WILL KEEP THE FAITH We have put aside ease and luxury and softness of life so long as this great con test for humanity and liberty rages, and so long as the issue hangs trembling in the balance. We are not, and never have been, a nation of cowards. We have become prosperous and wealthy, but we have not lost our manhood, and we liave not forgotten how' to fight for human freedom. M’^e know' that it means hardship, and self-denial, and sacrifice, not merely for the soldier at the front but for the patriot at home, but these things must not and shall not move us. We remember that we are the sons of men who, hungry and ragged, fought for eight long years against the greatest euqiire in the world to obtain freedom for themselves and for us, their children. Wc have pledged ourselves to be worthy of our heritage, and God helping us we v.'ih t:oep the pledge. Tho spirit of the men who fought at V) hsbarg an-1 Gettysburg and Cliica- 111 Hig'.i, whether they w'ore the blue or the gray, whether they sang Dixie or the Sfc M- Bpjngied Banner, the spirit of these men, 1 say, on whichever side they f night, still lives, and their sons and .gnu Isons have gone forth side by side .j.ii.t shoulder to shoulder to show the v.'od 1 that Americans not only love liln'.-ty. but that they will die for it if H -ha J wii'. uot, sht (iauuot, look In •; w ird. Slie will tight freedom’s fight n -jl will keep the faith. She has •rvr yet failed in a struggle for human tiherty, and now at this fateful hour, when, with dauntie.ss spirit she is enter- Hiig upon thegreate.st of freedom's battles, h'-iiitig with iier the hopes, the fears an I the prayers of humanity itself, she fait. ' -Ohiel Ji.stue Winslow of V.t'ti''ensin. StDE-STEPPING CHANCES M tj. .lohn D. haug.^ton, special aide tn i.nv'eruor Bickett, asks the news- 1, li.-rst call vigorously to the attention if t1, ■ rtc'iinol tea.dier,s of the State the I i til e.t tiie work of the Mar Depart- in '111, is Iieiug seriousiy handicapped by tl, > (>.iiure of fae teachers in many scc- tin!,.; t> respond tn I’resiilent At ilson s a)ipn,..i f.irail in the preparationofoccu- noj.rial cards at the oliice of tlie bocal 111irlH. V/hen thy government made this spe cific call on tlie school teachers of the State it was expected that the teachers everywhere would show their patriotism in willingly and cheerfully responding, and in many localities this lias been the case. In many counties, however, the reports show that the teachers have ig nored this great opportunity to render this great service. If teachers everywhere will agree to perform this duty, the burden on all of them will be light, and each one will have the great satisfaction of having performed his or her duty in a matter of immediate and pressing need.—E.xchange. OUR BEST SOCIAL AGENCY The free public school is the best in strument through which to promote the new science of community organization and human economy and to achieve gov ernment of the people, by the people, and for the people. So says Dr. Henry E. Jack.son, The Federal Education Bureau Agent who will next fall give a course of lectures at the University of North Caro lina. His subjects are— 1. The Discovery of the Schoolhouse. 2. The Schoolhouse as the Community Capitol. 3. The Schoolhouse as the Community Forum. 4. The .Schoolhouse as a Neighborhood Club. 5. The Hub of the Country-bife MTieel. 6. The Right to AA'ork and to Play. 7. Community Buying and Banking. 8. Politics and the Public Schools. 9. Religion and the Public Schools. 10. How to Organize a Community Center. 11. A bittle Democracy. 12. Free Trade in Friendship. Students with the civic, social mind at the University, in Orange and the nearby counties—especially the teachers and the preachers—will flock in to hear these ad dresses. He is passing on to his audiences the message of President AA^ilson, who re cently said: I urge that teachers and other school officers materially increase the time and attention devoted to instruc tion bearing directly on the problems of the community and national life. Notice the way President AA’ilson con nects community life and national life, and the order in which he names them? The genius of North Carolina has always been concentrated on national and inter national problems. But the day is at hand when it must be concentrated in equal measure upon the problems of the home state, and the home-communities, one by one, and every one. The men who best serve in Imilding up little communities—men like R (\ Hood of Greensboro and M'. C. I^eak of Rock ingham—are after all the men who best serve the nation. ,Vnd if every community in the nation had such men as these in it. onr Democ racy would quickly rise to the highest possible levels. The man who lacks a genuine, generous interest in community problems can hardly be trusted to think ably and generously about national prob lems. That, by the way, is an axiom of the North Carolina Clul) at the I'niversity. WHERE DO YOU STAND? Bliss Carman I'nroll the map of creation To the wavering long black line, A¥here the powers of dark are warring Against the iiowers divine. Here are the fond and fearless Massed in the great brigade. Eager, weary, unselfish. Toiling and undismayed. Each with his lot to sufl'er, 4 Each with his given role. Each with his glint of glory— Behold them! Are you a soul? Willing the worst should triumph, M^illing to profiteer, AVilling to strike for wages, AVilling to shirk and sneer,— Willing to stand forever In Time’s great battle plan, The cumbersome and discarded Camouflage of a Man? down through the Civil War—the farmers have in the end borne their part of tlie brunt. However, I’m not going to dis pute tlie charge that up to the present the farmers perliaps have not done their part toward winning the present war. And 1 admit that this delay is costing us the blood of our boys—the blood of he roes. Ready to do Their Duty But the delay of us farmers is not due to any lack of patriotism. It is due to our lack of appreciation of wliat is required of us. Not all farmers read the daily pa pers, nor do we get together and talk war as you city people do. Neither do we have the thrilling speeches from men who have been Over There and the straight talks that you hear. As a matter of fact, it is the lack of this information that makes us appear to be slackers. We need straight talk from the shoulder, and not some one to brag on us. It takes this straiglit talk to convince a man that it is his duty to buy M^ar Sav ings Stamps and lend his money to the Government. AA’hen farmers are made to see these things as other folks see them, they will not only give their money, but raise more money to give. All the farmer needs is to see his duty.—State AA'ar- Savings Committee. FARMERS NOT SLACKERS Don't put me in a cla.ss with the far mers who say they want the war to last fifteen years longer so tliat they can make money, writes a farmer to State Head quarters on yesterday. Um a farmer and it is true that farmers have made money since the war began, but it is not true, he goes on to say, that all farmers want to make money at the terrible price of life and bloodshed that this war is now costing the United States. Some folks accuse the farmers of being overcome with prosperity and that they are letting down and selfishly enjoying their money. Otlierssay that they are ig- ' norant and don’t know what is going on ' over the seas. Others say they are un- j patriotic. In answer to the charge of farmers lie- ing unpatriotic, 1 want to say and 1 ^ think 1 can speak for a large number of ' farmers—tnat we are as patriotic as any class of citizens in the United States. In .^yar—from tlie French and Indian every THE SOUTH AND THE WAR The South has put its whole heart into the winning of this war. There is no sentiment for peace in that section, and no weakening spirit. Nowhere else is the man in kliaki so much in evidence now, for camps and cantonments are every where, and everywhere the soldier is well received and most cordially treateil. Pos sibly, the South is prospered by the army camps, but if this is true, it is largely be cause of the fitness of the section for the purpose; and the business zeal with whicli tlie people are meeting the de mand is worthy of all praise. Nowhere are the personal sacrifices vliich the prosecution of the war involves more cheerfully borne than in the South; no where is the war more distinctly felt to be everybody's war. The women join in every sort of saving activity, tirelessly performing'the work of the Red Cross auxiliaries and stimulating contributions to its treasury. As a token of the uni versal and compelling power of the pre vailing sentiment, it may be noted that in no section of the union are the nat uralized citizen so zealous or so loyal. In many southern cities there are large Ger man colonies, but no disafl'ectioii, no hy phenated spirit is discoverable among them. This war has welded North and South as they were never welded before. This sentiment of reunion was iiideed evident in the Spanish-American ,war, when M’heeler and Eitzliugh I,ee were at the front, but that small war led to no such searching of hearts, to no such popular emotion, as that which now prevails. Nowhere is the will to victory and the will to work firmer or more active than in the South. AVe are witnessing a “un ion of hearts none can sever.’’ What ever the sacrifice may be that both North and South may umiergo, the strong pull together will hear an eternal fruit of sympathy.—Boston Transcript. WAR-GARDEN PATRIOTS The impossibility of finding farm la borers is the great obstacle which stands in the way of all projects for raising food upon idle land. A'egetables will not plant themselves, nor weed themselves, nor harvest themselves. In the agricultural districts of France wiiere there were literally no men left, the problem of land cultivation became so serious that the editor of the Paris Matin started a campaign to impress upon the women of France the necessity for pro ducing food and to arrange transportation lor them to farms and outlying fields. An instructor of several hundred boys and girls read the Matin each day and agreed with its editor. If the thing were possible, he determined that his school children should help. Ruth AA'right Kauffman, traveling about France for The Ahgilantes, found that last year 2,3(K» acres close to Paris were being cultivated by school boys, who make the work a real sport. She talked with M. Lavarenne, the professor who liad started the movement in a single field with volunteer boys and then had gone on to send out squads of girls with a teacher in charge to do the same work. “It you know anything about the up bringing of French girls, ” Mrs. Kauff man writes, ‘ ‘you know that it' does not admit of novelties. Farm-work for nice girls was unheard of. They might make red-cross bandages. But farm-work, never!' They were not peasant children! It would soil their hands; it was too hard work for growing girls I It would be too hot in the sun! Nothing would grow! “They will be serving their country,’’ M. Lavarenne declared to the parents; ‘ ‘it will do them physical good; it will make them feel worthy." As a result of his persistence a field at the back of a factory was lent—for the duration of the war. The factory em ployes laughed; girls could accomplish nothing. They Were Girls The field was an old disused pasture- field, full of stones and hard and unpli- able. AVith their own small hands, the girls prepared several acres. The plough ing was, of necessity, done by hand. Now, except when the weather is impos sible, a certain number of volunteers come each day. They give up their leis ure. They plant potatoes instead. It is a very flourishing looking field. Nobody laugh-s any more, unless it is the girls while they work. Some days there are as many as eighty, who l)end to their tasks for a few hours and then return; some days there are only two or three; but the work marches; the girls are rosy- cheeked; and there aren't any bugs on the potatoes! The onions are the poorest of the crops. The girls are worried about the onions and wonder whether it is the fault of the soil or of the sloping ground. The cab bages, on the other hand, are luxuriant; the beans, which already clamber up be tween rows of potatoes, are in splendid form; and the peas and lettuces are anxious to be plucked. The girls plan to farm until the end of November and recommence in February. In that way, they will start another year with well-prepared ground. I asked IMousieur Lavarenne whicli did the better work, tlie boys or the girls. “The girls, ’ ’ he finally admitted. ‘ ‘ A'ou see, they are more docile than the boys, and more persevering.” He laughed a little: “Boys, when they are annoyed about weeds or worms or the crookedness of a row of turnips, will have discussions. If they are very much annoyeil, they will throw dirt in one another's faces, and that delays their work so much.”—The Arigilaiites. deemed man and stands or falls with Christ. “The altruism vital to democracy we have said is inseparably related to the re ligion of the Christ. They therefore stand or fall together. Tlie church may be influential and wealthy as a social or ganization and yet materialistic in lier sentiment and low in her ideals. Sup ported by such a church democracy will in time beat itself to death on sordid sel fishness. This danger will not have passed when the war is won. The Hope of Democracy “AVe believe that unless the Christian church be purified during the war her doomed is sealed. Unless a purer, more devoted church rises during the struggle—when men stand helpless to avert the catastrophe swooping do^^n upon them, when the darkness settles and even the stars grow dim, when the very foundations are crumbling and mystery envelops every thing, I say if men will not seek God now with surrendered life they will not in the quiet that follows the storm. If this war ends before the church is purified—before the nation is on her knees—I tremble for the future of both church and nation. “It lies with the church these days to determine what the fruitage of the strug gle shall be., If the church is not purged and renewed now, her story will soon be told, her -work done. She will not long be a spiritual force in the world and de mocracy will again perish from the earth’’—Charlotte New's. A GERMAN PEACE For us there is only one principle to be followed and we must recognize no other. AVe hold that Might is Right. AVe must know neither sentiment, humanity, con sideration, nor compassion. AA'e will in corporate Courland and bring into our own population 60,000,000 Russians. The Slav nightmare shall ride us no long er. AA'^e must have Belgium and the north of France. The curse of God is upon the French people; let us consider ourselves fortunate that he has separated us from that people which is as ungodly as it is infamous. The Portuguese colon ial possessions must disappear. France must be made to pay until she is bled white. You may call me a jingo or a chauvinist or anything you like, but what I say is—we must have a strong peace.— General von Liebert, Congress of Ger man Conservative Party, in the Berliner Tageblatt. THE CHURCH AND THE WAR To cultivate the altruistic spirit of Christianity as the inherent principle of democracy is our present responsibility, says Dr. Samuel Dodds, in the United Presbyterian. “Democratic'government is safe only as the spirit of pure Christianity is incor porated into social life—not held merely as a biblical doctrine hut a living princi ple of conduct. History proves that au- tocrat'y is the government of the natural man and is without doubt the govern ment of hell. It also appears that de- mocraev is the ■ government of the re SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS Many cases of failure in the business world are largely due to the fact that the board of managers tries to dictate about matters of which it is entirely ignorant. Corporations have failed ignominioasly because the board of directors made its superintendent a figurehead. Boards of education in school business correspond to hoards of directors in com mercial enterprises. The average board member knows nothing about the tech nical side of the school superintendent’s work. Nevertheless board members in the school business are not always averse to dictating to the superintendent about scliool affairs. THE RICH MAN’S WAR-TAX The war taxes on incomes paid by 30 of our richest people this year will be nearly 120 million dollars, according to The Fi nancial AA'orld. Alore than a fourth of the total Federal war tax will fall on New York City alone —over 800 million dollars. The income tax of John I). Rockefeller will be 38 million dollars; which is hH thousand dollars a day. James B. Duke’s war tax will be 3i4,300 a day. Six men in North Carolina will pay war taxes amounting to more than a thousand dollars a day. Only 6 million people in the United States will pay Federal income taxes this year; 96 millions will pay nothing in any direct way. A close, estimate shows tliat fewer than 20 people in Orange county will be liable for war taxes—fewer than 20 in a popula tion of 17 thousand people. If this is a rich man’s war then the ricli men are paying for it—ill money, and like tlie rest of us in men, bei'ause no exemptions are allovved under our draft law except for physical unfitness, for either rich or poor. .\nd we have yet to hear of any ricit man’s wliimpering. '-J'.