The news in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published Weekly by the
University of North Caro
lina for its Bureau of Ex
tension.
JUNE 15, 1921
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. VH, NO. 30
Editorial Board » B. C. Branson, L. R. Wilson, E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroll, J. B. Bullitt.
Entered as second-class matter November 14,1914, at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill, N. C., under the act of August 24,1912.
STATE-AID FOR HOME OWNERS
CAROLINA’S FAME ABROAD
The following clipping from a recent
editorial in the Richmond Times-Dis-
patch shows how much North Carolina
is being praised and advertised for its
good roads program;
News comes from Charleston that
West Virginia, to the west, through its
Legislature called in extra session for
that purpose, has voted an issue of
bonds in the sum of $60,000,000 for the
building of good roads. To the south.
North Carolina recently issued bonds in
a similar amount that it might lift itself
out of the mud. To the north, Mary
land, already known as a good roads
state, is spending millions of dollars
each year in the construction and main
tenance of highways that are a joy to
the traveler after crossing the boundary
from the Virginia mudholes that are
called roads only through courtesy.
Already North Carolina is receiving
advertising throughout the length and
breadth of the country by reason of its
progressive action, which is bringing in
new industries, fresh capital and added
inhabitants. It is not beyond reason to
believe that before it has laid a mile of
road out of the newly available funds
it will have received in advertising div
idends a large percentage of its roads
investment. The same promises to be
true of West Virginia, It has proved
true of Maryland. It is true of every
other state that has let it be known to
the world that its emergence from the
mud stage has been decreed.—Lexing
ton Dispatch.
h eld in Swain hall, with Governor Mor
rison as the center of attention and
short talks from several alumni. The
trustees will hold their annual meeting
in the afternoon, a number of special
events for the alumni will take place,
the returning classes will hold their
special dinners, and the day will close
with a special presentation by the Ca
rolina Playmakers and the reception to
the alumni.
Wednesday, June 15, commencement
day proper, will mark the final exer
cises in Memorial Hall, the address by
Mr. Daniels, and the presentation of
diplomas.
The commencement dances under the
direction of W. D. Carmichael, Jr., of
Durham, chief ball manager, will start
Wednesday afternoon and will last
through Thursday night, with more than
a hundred visiting young ladies.— Le
noir Chambers.
THE 126th COMMENCEMENT
With former Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels delivering the com
mencement address, with Governor
Cameron Morrison presenting the larg
est number of degrees ever given at
the University, more than 170, and
with the Rev. Charles E. Maddry, sec
retary of the Baptist State convention,
preaching the baccalaureate sermon,
plans for the 126th commencement of
the University of North Carolina, June
12-15, point to the largest and most im
portant finals in the history of the Uni
versity.
Mr. Daniels' address, the most im
portant speech of the commencement,
will be delivered in the historic Memo
rial Hall on the morning of June 15,
the final day of the school year. From
the same platform Governor Cameron
Morrison, attending his first commence
ment as Governor, will hand degrees
to more students than have ever before
received diplomas in the entire history
of the University. The senior class of
the college ranges up close to 130 men
and women and the number of graduate
degrees will be markedly larger than
ever before. Registrar. T. J. Wilson,
Jr., thinks the total number may extend
as high as 180.
Governor Morrison will be the chief
speaker at the annual alumni luncheon,
the big event of alumni day, June 14.
The full program calls for Sunday,
June 12, to be marked by two important
events, the baccalaureate sermon by
Dr. Maddry, himself a University grad
uate, to the senior class. That sermon
will take place in Gerrard Hall in the
morning. In the afternoon the annual
Y. M. C. A. vesper services will be held
on the campus with the Rev W. D.
Moss, of the Chapel Hill Presbyterian
church, preaching.
Monday, June 13, will be class day,
with the final exercises of the senior
class dominating the scene. The ora
tions for the Willie P. Mangum medal
will take place in the morning and the
final class meeting in the afternoon un
der the historic Davie poplar.
Alumni will hold the center of the
stage Tuesday, June 14. The election
of a president of the general alumni as
sociation to succeed R. D. W. Connor
will be one of the principal events of
the business meeting of the association
in the morning. President H. W. Chase
will speak to the alumni, and in addition
to a number of routine business matters
to be transacted there will be short ad
dresses by representatives from each
of ^ the re-union classes, 1861, 1871,
1881, 1891, 1901 1906, 1911, 1916, and
1921.
The annual alumni luncheon will be
DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION
Edward A. Ross
The mediaeval church taught the
children of the common people what
was essential to salvation, but had
no idea of educating them to rise in
life. The state at first institutes
universities to provide it with trained
servants, but as it gains in social
purpose it pushes general education.
In fact, the spirit of a government
may very well be guaged by noting
its policy with reference to the dif
ferent grades of education.
If it is generous in elementary
schools but stingy in high schools, it
reflects the ideas of the comfortable
classes, who can pay tuition. Only
when it opens an educational path to
the summit for every youth able to
climb the Parnassian steeps is it in
the way of democratizing knowledge.
STATE LOANS TO FARMERS
California has loaned a million dollars
to hand-picked people who want to be
come farm owners or home-owning farm
laborers. Two farm colonies have al
ready been started—one near Durham
in Butte county, and the other at Delhi
in Merced county. The state legisla
ture has authorized a further bond is
sue of ten million dollars to extend the
experiment.
The two farm colonies already settled
under this plan cover fifteen thousand
acres. The settlers pay in advance five
percent of the purchase price of the
ready-made farm and forty percent of
the improvements provided thereon by
the state. The balance is paid in twenty
to thirty-six years at five percent, on
the amortization plan.
The Farm Settlement Board, with
Elwood Mead as executive, prepared
the farms in these two colonies, and
set them in seed crops and fruit trees,
erected the homes and outhouses, the
school building, the community center
building, the stock-show building and
automobile camping sheds, and laid out
the athletic field, swimming pool, and
tennis courts, the open-air auditorium,
the greenhouses and experimental gar
dens—all in advance. What the settlers
bought was ready-made farms in com
munities already organized and equipped
for comfort and companionship.
The clearing of forest lands in lonely
places no longer appeals to prospective
farmers, and the county or state that
expects to populate its waste places in
the primitive fashion of frontier days
will fail.
And by the way, the Kingdom of Sol
itude in North Carolina numbers twenty-
two million acres at present. It is a-
round eighty-five million acres in Cali
fornia. But California is going at her
problem hammer-and-tongs, and other
states will be wise in our opinion to fol
low suit at the earliest possible mo
ment.
The Need is Urgent
“If we are to maintain high soci^
and economic ideals on the farm, if
American farmers are to be able to
clothe and educate their children”, says
Elwood Mead, “then there must be in
this country, as there has been in west
ern Europe and Australia, constructive
action by the government which will
open to American farmers and farm
workers the opportunities for land and
farm ownership formerly afforded by
free land. This cannot be left to pri
vate enterprise because the incentive
to the action is social and political and
not money-making. The reasons that
led Australia to advance hundreds of
millions of dollars to building up a sound
rural civilization must sooner or later
constrain other American states to a-
dopt the policies of California.
‘ ‘Some adequate system of advice and
credit is needed to enable wor"thy land
less people with little money to become
farm owners, and, in this way, avert the
growing dangers and evils of tenantry.
From being a nation of farm owners,
we are rapidly becoming a nation of
tenant cultivators. Half of the land in
some of the richest agricultural states
is now farmed by tenants. As a rule,
the leases are short, most of the ten
ants remaining only one or two years
on any one farm. In this, and in other
particulars, the conditions of these ten
ants are lyorse than in European coun
tries because law and custom have not
thrown safeguards around tenantry in
the United States as in other countries
where tenantry is an older institution. ’ ’
AMERICAN LITERATURE
The Women’s Clubs Section of the
Extension Division of the University
of North Carolina offers as the State
Federation study course for 1921-1922
an outline on Studies in American Lit
erature, by Professor C. A. Hibbard of
the English Department of the Univer
sity. It is not designed to be of histor
ical interest as the program for 1920-
1921, on Our Heritage, was, but it is
an attempt to outline some of the most
important American writers with some
of their most characteristic produc
tions. In the sixteen meetings devoted
to this study opportunity is afforded for
reading by all members of the groups,
and it is hoped that each member will
avail herself of the opportunity of
reading along the lines of each meeting
with those who have special papers to
prepare. This will make all take an
active interest in the proceedings and
will make it possible for all to join in
the discussions.
The first meeting is given over to a
study of Our Nature Writers, includ
ing Thoreau, John Muir, and John
Burroughs. A sincere study of this
meeting '^ill undoubtedly increase
one’s interest in and appreciation of
flowers and birds. Why does not every
woman spend a part of her time in
learning the habits and traits of our
North Carolina birds? Could anything
be more interesting and more useful
than a knowledge of the plants and
flowers peculiar to North Carolina?
Would not this knowledge stimulate
one to make a special study of the
many varieties of some of our flowers
such as the iris, the spirea or hundreds
of others worthy of special study? The
first program of Studies in American
Literature shows how some of our
foremost American writers made birds
and flowers a large part of their lives
and how they can be made a part of
ours.
It is unnecessary to describe each of
the sixteen meetings contained in the
booklet, but two others are of unusual
interest, those on the Contemporary
Literary Magazines. The history of the
publications of our literary magazines
parallels closely the development of
American Literature. To know just
what these magazines have done, to
follow their vicissitudes and victories,
to see the reputations they have made,
for [themselves and their contributors,
is the object-of the study of this pro
gram, writes Professor Hibbard in an
introductory paragraph. If this pro
gram stimulates some of the women to
read our best magazines and our best
newspapers regularly and to try to get
a picture of what is going on in the
world around us, the study course is
worth while.
At the end of the program is a list
of the. books referred to in the course
of study and also a list of the maga
zines with their places of publication.
' One book has been selected which
COUNTRY HOME CONVENIENCES
LETTER SERIES No. 57
WATER SYSTEMS—II
THE HYDRAULIC RAM
In all sections of the country where
the land is rolling many springs are to
be found near farmsteads, but located
at a level considerably below that of the
buildings. Frequently the only source
of water for the house is just such a
spring, and too often the job of carry
ing the daily supply of water falls on
the women of the household. Or it may
be that some distance from the barn is
a stream of relatively pure water flow
ing in abundance and that the water of
this spring could be profitably used in
barns or yards if the water could be
easily and economically gotten to them.
The hydraulic ram serves just such
purposes as these and might be de
scribed as a type of pump or engine
which utilizes the power derived from
a large part of the water of a
flowing stream to lift a small part
of this water and deliver it at some
point above the level of the stream it
self and some distance from it if de
sired.
Simplicity
The ram is really simple both in con
struction and operation though its ac
tion is often regarded as little short of
magical by those who do not under
stand it. It is made up of five essen
tial parts, consisting of the drive or
supply pipe, a waste valve, a check
valve, an air cylinder, and a discharge
pipe. The operation of the ram is as
follows; water from the spring or other
source of supply flows down the supply
pipe which is laid with considerable
fall, and entering the base of the ram
begins to flow out of the waste valve
which is open. The momentum of the
water rapidly increases until the waste
valve is closed then acts like a hammer
opening the check valve in the bottom
of the air chamber. Flow continues
until the air in this compartment has
become sufficiently compressed to
check the ffowing'^ater, at which point
the check valve closes. The compressed
air in the air chamber forces water out
through the discharge pipe to the point
of use. Meanwhile the waste valve
has again opened and the above opera
tion repeats itself resulting in a pulsa
ting ffow at the end of the discharge
pipe.
Essential Points
There is a definite relation in size be
tween the supply and delivery pipes,
the former usually being twice as large
as the latter. lu order not to confuse
these two pipes it is to be remembered
that the supply pipe is the one which
conducts the water from the spring or
stream and furnishes the driving power
for operating the ram, while the deliv
ery pipe leads from the ram to the
house, barn or other point of use, sup
plying from 1-7 to 1-10 the amount of
water that flowed through the supply
pipe. The elevation and length of the
delivery pipe is limited by the total fall
of the supply pipe, the amount of water
available, and the amount desired at
the point of delivery. Rams must al
ways be placed at some point below
the level of the sourcq of water supply.
This fall must be as much as two or
three feet and as a rule is made one
foot for every seven foot vertical rise
in the discharge pipe. The length of
the supply pipe should not be less than
8 or 10 times the total fall where this
is five feet or less. A stream or spring
affording a flow of as little as two or
three gallons per minute may be utilized
to operate a ram. As a working rule a
ram can be counted on to lift to a reas
onable height from 1-10 to 1-7 of the to
tal quantity of water supplied it.
Rams are inexpensive both in first
cost and operation and there is practi
cally no limit to the life that can be ex
pected. Their wide and satisfactory
use is testified for by thousands of homes
enjoying the comforts of a modern
water system made possible by the use
of this simple water-operated machine.
-W. C. W.
contains assistance for each meeting.
This book, Pattee’s Century Readings
in American Literature, together with
ten copies of the program, are given
with the registration fee of $5.00, and
other books called for in the program
are loaned by the University Library to
clubs registering for the course. Single
copies of the program are available for
fifty cents each. Sample copies will be
sent on approval upon request.
For further information, write to
the Women’s Clubs Section, Universi
ty Extension Division, Chapel Hill,
N. C. — Miss Nellie Roberson.
been more liberal. They must be yet
more liberal. Truly, since so much, if
not all things, waits on education, gen
erous provision must 'be made for it.—
News and Observer.
WHAT CAROLINA PAYS
Among the many educational bulle
tins gotten out by Hon. P. P. Claxton,
retiring Commissioner of Education,
one of the best and most forceful was
the one recently made public on What
Do We Pay For Education in the
United States? Mr. Claxton presents
the figures for the year 1905-1918, cov
ering the period from the time a child
enters primary school up to the time he
graduates from high school. In that
period Alabama and Mississippi, the
lowest, spent $63 per child; Montana,
the highest, spent $637 per-child.
North Uarolina, next to the very low
est, spent $67 per child. South Carolina
distancing us by just one dollar. The
average over the United States was
$262. Dr. Claxton says;
In a country in which we blithely ac
knowledge that all things wait on edu
cation—the public health, material pros
perity and wealth, social purity, civic
righteousness, political wisdom, the
strength and safety of State and Na
tion, and, finally, the thing for which
all these exist, that is, the individual
welfare and happiness of the people, we
have recklessly (recklessly is probably
the word) spent $252 per child that the
attainment of all these things may be
assured.
And North Carolina spent only a
fourth of that amount! But we are
waking up in this State and, particular
ly since the inauguration of the six-
months public school, have expenditures
A COMMUNITY BUILDER
Twenty-five years ago Eugene Hab-
erman, just graduated from Pennsylva
nia University, went hunting geological
specimens. At Highlands, North Caro
lina, then forty miles from any railroad,
he suddenly felt a passion for that most
vague and most real thing known to
men, which we call Home. He settled.
He located an experimental school,
where for ten years he worked as an
unknown forerunner of Professor John
Dewey. It was a pay school, though
Haberraan did most of the paying, and
he ran a country printing-press for a
living. He built on the doctrine of in
terest, of group effort and self-building
through communal work. He exploited
the local environment. I first met Hab-
erman, an elderly man now, among his
pupils who had , grown to be men. He
was leading a discussion of national
economic policies from where he sat on
a cracker box in the general store of
Highlands. That store was a commu
nity center, and Haberman’sschool was
a community center.—John Collier, in
Hanifan’s Community, Center.
THE BLIGHT OF ILLITERACY
Ignorance is self-perpetuating. Poor
schools may become endemic in a region.
Nevertheless, the intelligent communi
ties must submit to be governed in part
by the representatives of the dark-
minded districts.
No wonder they resort to state com
pulsion or state financial aid to level
up educational opportunities within the
state and advocate Federal compulsion
or Federal financial aid to level up with
in the nation. Nor is this tendency to
nationalize education peculiarly Ameri
can; it is, in fact, world wide.
All progressive people are coming to
feel that the child’s schooling is too
much a social concern to be left entirely
to the discretion of. the parents or even
of the local community. —Edward A
Ross in The Principles of Sociology.
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