r-r
/
"he news in this publica-
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ipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published^ weekly by the
University of North Carolina
for its Bureau of Extension.
Y 14,1920
CHAPEL HELL, N. C
VOL VI, NO. 34
rial Board i
B. C. Branson, L. B. Wilson, E, W. Knight, D. 0. Carroll, J. B. Bullitt.
Entered as secondKJlass matter November 14,1914, at the Postoffloe at Chapel HIU, N* C , under the act of August 24, 1912
DCTQRS IN THE UNITED STATES
SE HALIFAX BULLETIN
lif ax County: Economic and Social,
s title of the 100-page bulletin that
ust gone to the printers from the
rtment of Rural Social Science at
Jniversity of North Carolina,
is the work of three Halifax men
le University, Messrs. S. B. Allen,
. Travis, Jr., and D. S. Daniel, all
eldon. Its publication was made
hie by the adverfising contracts
the generous spntributions of the
bants and manufacturers of Hali-
jounty. ^
e chapters are as follows:
Foreword.—E. C. Branson.
Historical Background. — D. S.
el.
Natural Resources.—R. S. Travis,
Industries and Opportunities. — S.
lien.
Facts about the Folks. — R. S.
is, Jr.
Wealth and Taxation.—S. B. Allen.
The Public Schools of Halifax.—
. Travis, Jr.
Farm Conditions and Practices.—
. Allen.
Home-Raised Food and the Local
iet Problem.—S. B. Allen.
Where Halifax Leads. — R. S.
'is, Jr.
Where Halifax Lags and The
Out.—S. B. Allen,
lere have been county histories in
irarious states of America in multi-
1 thousands, but North Carolina
e is producing bulletins devoted to .
economic, social, and civic problems
ounties — bulletins that take the
d-ahout and forward look as well
le rearward look at the problems
puzzles of local life and business.
3e Carolina county bulletins make a
r of literature unique in this or any
r state.
lese young men are properly proud
lie grandeur and glory of Halifax
before yesterday. They may well
•roud of their home county. It has
iuced five governors, two supreme
■t judges, five superior court judges,
attorney generals, sixteen congress-
1, a member of the cabinet in Jack-
s day, the democratic leader of the
ise of Representatives in Wilson’s
, and John Paul Jones, the Father
he American Navy,
ut also their minds have been busy
li what Halifax is today dnd what
may be tomorrow.
country clients and charges not in gigs
and sulkies as in the days of yore, but
in motor cars as a rule.
Fewer Country Doctori
Recently we talked with two middle-
aged doctors moving out of a neighbor
ing country county, bag and baggage,
scrip and scrippage. One of them had
$10,000 and. the other $16,000 of uncol
lectable accounts on his books. “It is
not the fashion to present doctor’s bills
out in the country, ” they said. “The
doctor’s pay is a bagatelle, and the
settlement of accounts is slow, so slow
that we cannot keep ahead of the game.
Coufitry people are sensitive and they
feel insulted if they are dunned, as they
say. We have literally lived from hand
to mouth, and we’vs looked in vain for
Elijah’s ravens, so we’re moving out.’’
There is now left in this county only
one doctor for every 53 square miles
and every 1,800 people. No wonder
that more than 300 children in the county
are delivered year by year by untrained
midwives, and that one babe in every
eleven dies during the first year—68
such deaths all told in 1917, and that
three-fifths of these babes died of pre
ventable diseases!
And there are some forty other coun
ties of the state in similar plight.
Ninety percent of the doctors of the
United States own automobiles, accord
ing to the National Automobile Cham
ber of Commerce. And fortunately
North Carolina is among the first twenty
states in country telephone mileage.
A City Concern
If it were not for country telephones,
village doctors with motor cars, and im
proved roads in rapidly increasing num
ber, rural North Carolina would be well-
nigh depopulated within a generation
or two. As it is, the cityward drift of
' country people in this and every other
state the last five years is heading into
a national calamity. Consumers are
notoriously an unorganized, unthinking
mob in every country, but the stupidest
among them is beginning to see at last
that the question of what we shall eat
and wherewithal we shall be clothed
depends on improved conditions of life
in the countryside, on increased effi
ciency, prosperity, satisfaction, and
wholesomeness in the farm homes of
the state and the nation.
The city that is stolidly unconcerned
about the well-being of the people in its
surrounding trade-territory —that ex-
CIVIC PRIDE
Abraham Lincoln
I like to see a man proud of the
place in which he lives. I like to
see a man live in it so that his place
will be proud of him.
Be honest, but hate no one. Over
turn a man’s wrong-doing, but do
not overturn him unless it must be
done in overturning the wrong.
Stand with anybody that stands
right, and part with him when he
goes wrong.
 . .
advancement of the community is ren
dered by the director and mechanic.
Often, between school sessions (in the
summer time) recreational and educa
tional activities are promoted in the
afternoon for children and adults.
In the evening a moving picture en
tertainment, usually consisting of six
reels, is given to the general commu
nity meeting. At this meeting county
agents such as the superintendent of
schools, superintendent of public wel
fare, health officer, home demonstra
tor, farm demonstrator or other invited
speakers, help the community with com
munity betterment, organization, rec
reational activities, or educational fea
tures. As a result the school in many
localities is rapidly becoming the center
of social and community life.
A special feature of the service is
COUNTRY HOME CONVENIENCES
LETTER SERIES No. 18
A HINT FOR CANNING TIME
Now that vegetables are gp’owing in
abundance in the gardens and many
kinds of fruit rapidly ripening on the
trees the season for canning is at hand.
The high cost of food stuffs of all kinds
makes it necessary to save'by canning
for winter use all garden and farm pro
duce not actually needed for daily con
sumption by the family. This is a big
job and especially so for the farm.wife
as it is on her that the burden of the
work falls. The scarcity of hired help adds
to the difficulty of the task. The house
wife must not only plan her every-day
work systematically but she must be
equipped with every convenience for
doing it quickly and efficiently. She
must have time to save these fruits and
vegetables and also keep her health and
strength during the fatiguing summer.
A housewife who has installed in her
home a farm lighting set with the add
ed conveniences of a water system and
electrical household appliances has de
cided advantage over her neighbor who
has none of these electrical servants.
For example, it has been estimated
that many farmers’ wives are lifting a
ton of water a day—that is in lifting it
from the spring or well, carrying it to
the kitchen, pouring it into the kettle,
' pouring it out of the kettle into the dish
I pan and from the dish pan out of doors.
. When you take into consideration the
cooking of three meals a day, the scrub-
the promotion of the incorporation of
rural communities under Chapter 202 of washing etc., this does not seem
" — "" such an enormous estimate, and when
his bulletin ought to be in the hands to grow fat on a lean countryside
ivery readfer, thinker, and leader in
if ax county, The public school teach-
ought to thumb it through thorough-
No teacher ought to be allowed to
ch in the county who knows less
ut Halifax than this little bulletin
teach him. It ought to be a text-
k 'for the high-school seniors.
^ith its 400 comparisons of Halifax
h herself over a stretch of years and
h every other county in the state,
larries abundant food for thought by
chers and preachers, merchants and
nufacturers, farmers and bankers
ie.
fheeditionis small—3,000only. Copies
1 be secured from the advertisers
1 contributors. The people that want
lies will need to apply at once.
—is stupid beyond words. Happily the
really alert chambers of commerce in
our cities are beginning to see this fun
damental fact clearly and to act upon
it vigoro'usly, as for instance in New-
bern and Gastonia.
DOCTORS IN CAROLINA
Inhere are 2,267 doctors in North Car-
na. They serve two and a half mil-
in people settled in 48,740 square miles
territory. Which means on an av-
age one doctor for every 1,100 people
id every 23 square miles of area.
On the 'basis of territory per doctor,
orth Carolina ranks 26th among the
ates of the Union. See the table in
iother,5olumn.
Eight Southern states make a better
lowing, as follows:' Kentucky, Ten-
3ssee, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Ar-
insas,' South Carolina, and Louisiana;
id six a poorer showing, namely, Mis-
ssippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida,
ew Mexico, and Arizona.
The doctors like the preachers are
ieing out of the country regions.
Iready there are a score or more of
Junties in North Carolina without a
^ngle doctor or preacher living out in
countryside. Instead they live in
le villages and towns, and serve their
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Headquarters: State Board of Educa
tion, Raleigh, N. C. Staff: W. C.
Crosby, director; J. S. Black, assistant
director; J. B. Williamson, director of
mechanics; Mrs. Clair S. Thomas, li
brarian; Miss Sarah Sanders, director
of physical education.
Activities
The Bureau of Community Service is
a state agency, operating directly under
the State Board of Education. By
means of an appropriation of $26,000 a
year, this Service^ promotes recreation
and community advancement through
rural schools.
j In operation, the county constitutes
! a unit and the work in each unit is under
I the direction of the County Superin
tendent of Schools and his Board.
In each county where the service is
operative the State Bureau places an
automobile truck with a portable elec
tric lighting system and moving picture
machine. A woman director and a
mechanic are employed and ten school
centers are selected to constitute the
circuit or fielii of activities in the county.
Each of these centers is visited by
the outfit once every two weeks. The
director arrives at the school before
the children are dismissed (when school
is in session) and conducts games, ath
letics, storytelling, and other recrea
tional and educational activities. Clubs
for women, boys and girls are organ
ized and any possible service for the
the Public Laws of 1919, which provides
for the election of local officials for
promoting local government within the
school district, similar to town or vil
lage government. Several communities
are finding this • valuable means of
crystalizing and making effective the
organization in their district.
Cost of Operation
From their appropriation the State
Bureau purchases the automobile truck,
picture machine and other equipment,
including the films shown. The cost of
this equipment constitutes most of the
one-third of the total cost of the unit
in a county for a year,
the Bureau agrees to supply. The re
maining two-thirds of the required op
erating expense is met by a ten-cent
admission charge to each entertain
ment. If a county falls behind in its
share of the expenses the State Bureau
supplies the deficit to a limited extent,
while, if there is a surplus it keeps the
same. This arrangement prevents com
mercializing the«service.
The Films
The supply of films is selected, pur
chased and kept by the State Bureau.
These are sent out in balanced pro
grams, usually consisting of six reels—
two of which are dramatic or historical,
two purely educational, and two are
good clean comedy. Educational reels
frequently treat some process of farm
ing, animal husbandry, dairying, manu
facture, studies in animal or vegetable
life, etc.
Extent of Operation
The first county circuit was organized
in 1917, in Sampson county. Six coun
ties were organized the first year in
spite of war conditions. Now there are
twenty counties operating regularly
and 45,000 people are reached monthly.
Other counties have made application
for the services of the bureau but for
lack of funds they cannot now be served.
Bibliography
1. Plan for, Organizing Local Rural
Communities—Leaflet (Outline of Ch.
128 Pub. Laws 1917).
2. Report, Bureau of Community Ser
vice 1917-1918. - Pamphlet (Out of
print).
3. Reprint, An Act to Repeal Chap
ter 128 of the Public Laws of 1917, Md
to Provide for the Incorporation of Ru
ral Communities.-Pamphlet.
4 Physical Education in the Public
Schools, 1919.-A. E. Howell, Simerin-
tendent of Public Welfare, Wayne
County, N. C.
the time and strength that are expend
ed in doing this work are taken into ac
count, the advantage of a farmer’s
wife who has running water in her home
is clearly seen.
Then there is the convenience of elec
tric light. Besides furnishing bright,
safe and cheerful illumination, there is
the great amount of time and energy
saved from cleaning and filling kerosene
lamps and lanterns. The helpfulness
of an electric /churn, cream separator,
washing machine, electric iron, dish
washer, and vacuum cleaner should all
be considered, as the saving in time by
their use is estimated to be anywhere
from ten to fifteen hours a week—quite
an item during the busy canning season!
The service of an electric fan during
the hot summer months in the heated
kitchen, dining room and bed room can
not be determined in hours and minutes.
The comfort and health it affords and
the strength and energy it furnishes
are incalculable.
It has been satisfactorily demonstra
ted that the automobile and tractor
have improved the efficiency of farm
work. They are solving some of the
labor problems and have enlarged the
power of production. A still greater
advantage in farm management and
production can be obtained through the
use of electrical appliances, and it
should be the aim of every farmer to
see that his wife is not handicapped by
th^ lack of these conveniences for meet
ing the demand for canning farm and
garden fruits and vegetables in larger
quantities than ever before to insure
an adequate food supply during the
winter season.—A. N.
great charitable institution like this
the tax-payers foot the bill. And most
of them are glad to do so.
Those who compare the amount of
taxes paid by the citizen at present
with the amount in the good _ old days
of extremely low tax rates fail to take
into consideration the tremendous pro
gress of North Carolina. In 1848, when
ever the State laid its hands on a man
or woman or child it did so for one of
two reasons—to send him to jail or to
which amount the poorhouse. At that time no other
institutions were mam tamed. _ Ihere
were no charitable institutions in North
Carolina then—no hospitals for the in
sane, no school for the feeble-minded,
no institutions for the deaf and the
blind, no industrial home for girls and
women, no school for wayward boys, no
sanatorium for the treatment of tuber
culosis. All these have been established
in comparatively recent times. Is it
any wonder that taxes are higher now
than they were in 1848?
All good citizens rejoice in the estab
lishment of the Orthopaedic Hospital,
said the Governor. “Its mission is to
heal the crippled, the lame and the halt.
The word orthopaedic means the right
sort of feet. The man who is in direct
need of treatment in this hospital is the
fellow'who gets cold feet when we talk
about raising taxes to maintain such in
stitutions as this in North Carolina. “—
News and Observer.
UNCONSIDERED SOCIALISM
Using the term in a broad sense, ev
ery act of government may be described
as socialistic—that is, society, acting
together, does for all what would be
otherwise left to individual action.
Our schools are socialistic; they pro
vide by taxation for a system of in
struction that would otherwise be left
to individual initiative Md enterprise.
Our road system is socialistic both in
the city and in the country; the people,
acting together, do what otherwise
would be left to individual effort or to
voluntary associations of individuals.
Even our courts of justice are socialis
tic; they are tribunes established by
law, and supported by taxes, a substi
tute for the old plan under which each
individual enforced by personal violence
what he regarded as his right.
The feuds that survive in remote
mountain regions furnish us illustra
tions of the condition which would exist
everywhere, if we had not carried the
socialistic idea far enough to establish
orderly government.
Our post office is a very long step in
the direction of socialism. It carries
for a small cost the letters and papers
which would be distributed at a much
greater cost if the mails were left to
private monopoly. The Government has
recently extended the activities of the
Post Office Department. Rural delivery
was established, then came the parcel
post, and now we have the postal
savings hank, each invading, to a cer
tain extent, the field of individual and
corporate activity. _
And so in the cities. Nearly all the
municipalities own and operate city wa
ter plants, and many of them city light
ing plants.—'W. J. Bryan, in Collier’s.
DOCTORS IN THE UNITED STATES
States ranked according to the number of square miles per physician in 1919.
Based on the figures of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce.
Department of Rural Social Science
University of North Carolina
COLD FEET
Speaking at Gastonia oh the oc^sion
of the cornerstone laying of the North
Carolina Orthopaedic Hospital, Govern
or Bickett, as is his custom on ah oc
casions these days, turned the discus
sion to taxation.. It was, of course, the
natural and logical thing to do. For
every time the State establishes a
Rank State Average Sq.
Number of
Rank State Average Sq.
Number of
Mi. per Dr.
Doctors
Ml. per Dr.
Doctors
1.
Rhode Island .
. 1.4..^.
762
25.
S. Carolina ...
.22 ...
1,433
2.
Massachusetts.
..1.5 ...
6,494
26.
Louisiana ....
.23 ...
2,060
3.
New Jersey...
..... 3,163
26.
North Carolina
23 ....
.... 2,257
4.
New York
..3 ...
16,877
28.
Mississippi,..
.24 ...
1,975
4.
Connecticut ...
..3 ...
1,701
29.
Oklahoma
..26.5...
2,672
6.
Pennsylvania..
11,496
30.
California....
27 ...
6,929
7.
Maryland
..6 ...
2,268
31.
Maine
.28 ...
1,179
7.
Illinois .'.
..6 ...
11,096
32.
Kansas
.31 ...
2,668
9.
Ohio
8,089
33.
Minnesota....
.33 ...
2,666
10.
Indiana
4,766
34.
Nebraska ...
.39 ...
1,960
11.
Delaware
..9 ...
264
36.
Washington .
.41 ...
1,698
12.
Missouri
.10 ...
6,963
36,
Texas
..43.6..
6,246
13.
Kentucky
.11.6 ..
3,483
37.
Florida
..46 ..
1,296
14.
Tennessee. ..
.12 ..
3,481
38.
Colorado
..60 ..
16.
West Virginia.
.12.6...
1,769
39.
Oregon
..84 ..
1,157
Lfi
14 . .
4,004
40.
S. Dakota ...
Ill ..
696
16.
N. Hampshire.. 14
666
41.
N. Dakota...
116 ..
604
18.
Vermont
.14.6..
663
42.
Utah \
..172 ..
...... 488
18.
Virginia. f
.16.6..
2,552
43.
Idaho
.180 ..
458
20.
Georgia
.17 ..
3,442
44.
Montana
.226 ..
661
21.
Wisconsin —
..20 ..
2,817
46.
New Mexico.
.251 ..
456
22.
Michigan
.21 ..
2,810
46.
Arizona
.344 ..
333
22.
Alabama
21 ..
2^530
47.
Wyoming
.387 ..
254
22.
i
Arkansas
..21 ..
2,687
48.
Nevada
.696 ..
159