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 22, 1921
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. VH, NO. 31
Editorial Board i E. 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. 0., under the act of August 24,1912.
TEN MILLIONS FOR SCHOOL HOUSES
MOVING UP RAPIDLY
More than ten million dollars in bond
issues for school buildings in North Ca
rolina, in eighty-seven communities in
fifty-five counties since the first of Jan
uary 1921. Or stating it exactly, $8,-
265,000 has already been so voted, and
$1,860,000 will be voted upon in
Kinston, Reidsville, Goldsboro,
and Louisburg within the next few
weeks; making a grand - total of $10,-
115,000. And still to be added are the
school bonds of unknown amounts soon
to be voted upon in Leaksville-Spray,
Battleboro, and Pinetops.
These ten millions of school bonds
are voted during the first half of 1921
by people who have been hard hit by
the drop in tobacco, cotton, and cotton
textile prices. Our cotton and tobacco
farmers alone are short one hundred
sixty-two million dollars in last season’s
receipts, and our textile manufacturers
are sho^t nobody knows how many mil
lions; and yet most of the communities
voting these millions of bonds for school
buildings, and most of the millions so
voted, are in the cotton and tobacco and
cotton-mill counties of the state.
These local school bond vissues argue
that North Carolina at last believes in
earnest in the wisdom of education. We
have long said and sung our belief in
popular education, nevertheless we
were content to remain hear the bottom
in illiteracy. But at last we have de
veloped money-sense and money-con
science about this fundamental matter
of public schools.
It is the most cheering thing in North
Carolina in this year of business depres
sion.
The State is Alive
North Carolina is moving up rapidly.
We have doubled our investment in
public school properties during the last
six years. In a single year we doubled
our expenditures for public school sup
port. From 12 to 24 millions in prop
erties, and from 6 to 12 millions in an
nual support tells the story. In March
1921 the General Assembly doubled the
total working income of our state schools
of technical training and liberal learn
ing; and further, it authorized a bond
issue of six million dollars as a loan
fund to encourage the consolidation of
public schools. Manifestly the local
communities of North Carolina are feel
ing the stimulus of these courageous
measures, and they are responding with
signal heroism.
For two and a half centuries we have
said in North Carolina that we were
too poor to educate. We now believe
that we are too poor not to educate.
Eighty-seven alert communities in fifty-
five counties are acting upon this be
lief.
And when the pocket-nerve responds
there is no doubt about the depth of a
conviction.
How the Communities RanR
Elsewhere in this issue we are rank
ing these communities according to school
bond issues per inhabitant. It is a prop
er way of throwing these communities
into proper perspective. Communities
and commonwealths cannot be properly
compared on the basis of bulk totals of
' any sort.
The school-tax willingness of these
communities ranges from three dollars
per inhabitant in Gastonia to one hun
dred eighty-four dollars in Monroe, or
so at least in school bond issues since
January 1st of the year.
In the bulk total of school bonds voted
Greensboro leads ajl the rest. But this
bond issue is only fifty dollars per in
habitant, and thirty smaller communi
ties make a better showing. Among
these little communities are Rich Square,
Bunn, Creedmoor, Carthage, Hillsboro,
and Lakewood. Thirteen of-these got
under a school bond burden of more
than one hundred dollars per inhabitant.
Hobbsville and Mbncure beat Greens-
b oro three to one!
Kinston is considering a school bond
issue of nine hundred thousand dollars;
which is ninety-two dollars per inhabi
tant; btit as already noted thirteen
small towns have already voted bond
issues of more than one hundred dollars
per inhabitant—two of them one hun
dred and fifty dollars per inhabitant.
Smithfield in the heart of the cotton
belt voted school bonds amounting to
one hundred thirty-two dollars per in
habitant.
Goldsboro is contemplating a bond is
sue of six hundred thousand dollars,
which is fifty-three dollars per inhabi
tant. Thirty-two cities of the state have
already voted bond issues beyond fifty-
three dollars per inhabitant. Among
these are Morehead City, fifty-nine dol
lars; Carthage, seventy-eight dollars;
Snow Hill, one hundred seven dollars;
and Moncure one hundred eighty-four
dollars per inhabitant.
Salisbury has recently voted a bond is
sue of five hundred thousand dollars,
which is thirty-six dollars per inhabi
tant. Forty-nine towns of the state
have already voted school bonds beyond
thirty-six dollars per inhabitant. When
you check over the list of these brave
little communities, what Salisbury has
done looks fairly small.
As for Louisburg, a bond issue of six
ty thousand dollars, or thirty-one dol
lars per inhabitant, is nothing great.
Fifty-three towns of the state have al
ready done'better than anything Louis
burg proposes to db.
Winston-Salem’s eight hundred thous
and dollars of school bonds is only seven
teen dollars per inhabitant. And High
Point’s six hundred thousand dollars for
school buildings is only forty-two dol
lars per inhabitant. On a per capita
basis, forty-four cities have done better
than High Point, and only seven school
communities make a poorer showing
than Winston-Salem.
As for Gastonia -what shall we say
about Gastonia? It foots the column
in per capita school bonds issued this
year for school buildings—Gastonia, the
leading cotton textile center of the
South, a busy little city that more than
doubled its population in the last ten
years! It may be that Gastonia has al
ready run into bankruptcy building
school buildings. We do not happen to
know about that, but her forty thous
and dollars of school bonds means only
three dollars per inhabitant, and so far
no community in the state makes a
poorer showing. The program is $800, -
000 for roads in Gaston and $60,000
for school buildings in Gastonia.
The Laggard Counties
No signs of interest in bond issues
for better school buildings are so far
evidenced in forty-five counties,
as follows: Alexander, Alleghany,,
Ashe, Avery, Bladen, Brunswick, Ca
barrus, Camden, Caswell, Cherokee,
Chowan, Clay, Dare, Halifax, Hender
son, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Jackson,
Jones, Lee, Macon, Martin, McDowell,
Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Onslow,
Pamlico, Pender, Perquimans, Person,
Polk, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes,
Surry, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Union,
Warren, Washington, Watauga, Wilkes,
and Yadkin. Alamance has begun to
talk about a school bond issue of $100,-
000.
These areas of inability or unwilling
ness in the main are four; (1) the Tide
water country; except Currituck, Pas
quotank, Beaufort, and Carteret; (2)
the lower Cape Fear region from Samp
son south, Columbus excepted; (3) nine
counties of the northwest from Stokes
across to Avery; and (4) eight counties
in the southwest from McDowell and
and Polk to Cherokee. There are va
rious other backward counties scattered
throughout the state.
Seven counties west of the Ridge
from Mitchell to Graham are areas of
lively school-building interest.
These forty-five laggard counties will
need to get busy in a hurry if they get
in on the six millions the state proposes
to lend to encourage consolidated
schools.
Ten millions of school-building bonds
in this year of hard times is a signifi
cant indication of the mind of North
Carolina. It is the best evidence that
we have had in long years that the peo
ple of this state are heroic in their be
lief in popular education. Rich or poor,
this state is now bent upon educating
all the children of all the people, as
Aycock was fond of phrasing it.—E. C. B.
HIGH SCHOOL CONTESTS
On April 11th, 1913, the first annual
inter-scholastic track meet of North
Carolina was held at the University of
North Carolina. Fifty athletes rep
resenting a half dozen high schools par
ticipated and the trophy cup went to
the High Point high school. From this
beginning in 1913 state high school ath
letic contests, conducted under the aus
pices of the University, have experienced
a great increase in variety, scope, and
popular interest.
The basic idea behind the first track
meet held in 1913 and behind every
high school athletic contest conducted
since has been that it is the Univer
sity’s function to extend a helpful re
lationship wherever possible in the
state; that the boundaries of service
of the University should be co-extens-
ive with the geographical outlines of
the state.
Contests Summarized
1913- 14.— In the fall of 1913 the High
School Athletic Committee, with N. W.
Walker as chairman, representing the
University of North Carolina, began
its work of supervising high school
athletic contests, with the finals in the
various contests centering at the Uni
versity, a work which it has continued
ever since. This committee supervised
the first annual state high school
championship contest in football in the
fall of 1913. The Raleigh high school
won the trophy cup in the first contest.
The committee extended its activity to
include baseball, and in the spring of
1914 the Sylva high school won the
first annual baseball championship con
test. The Friendship high school won
the inter-scholastic track meet of 1914.
1914- 15.— The Raleigh high school
again won the football championship
in 1914. The Winston-Salem high school
won the first annual state champion
ship contest in basketball, in 1915. The
Friendship high school won the inter
scholastic track meet for the second
time in 1915, and the Sylva high school
won the baseball championship for the
second time.
1915- 16.—These contests moved
steadily along in 1915-16 and this year
saw the beginning of the inter-scholas
tic tennis tournament. The Raleigh
high school for the third time won the
football championship, defeating the
Charlotte high school in a close and
memorable final game. The Durham
high school won the 1916 basketball
championship contest. The Friendship
high school won the inter-scholastic
track meet, and the Wilmington high
school won the inter-scholastic tennis
tournament. The Clayton high school
won the baseball championship.
1916- 17.— The Charlotte high school
in the fall of 1916 won the football
championship. Winston-Salem won the
state high school basketball champion
ship in 1917. Oak Ridge won the doubles
of the tennis tournament and Wilming
ton high school won the singles. Friend
ship high school again won the trophy
cup in the track meet, and the Cherry-
ville high school won the baseball
championship.
1917- 18.— The Charlotte high school
in the fall of 1917 for the second time
won the trophy cup in football. The
Durham high school, in 1918, evened
matters up with Winston-Salem by
carrying off the trophy cup in basket
ball. 'The Asheville high school won the
tennis tournament. Friendship high
school repeated her past performance
of carrying away the trophy cup in the
track meet, and the Winston-Salem
high school won the baseball champion
ship.
1918- 19. — Due to the war conditions
and the influenza epidemic, no football
contest was conducted in 1918. In the
spring of 1919 Winston-Salem carried
the rubber away from Durham by
winning the basketball championship.
The Wilson high school won the tennis
tournament. Friendship for the sixth
time won the track meet, and Red Oak
carried away the baseball trophy cup.
1919- 20.— The Chapel Hill high school
won the football championship in 1919.
The Wilmington high school won the
basketball championship in 1920. "The
Wilson high school for the second tirne
carried away the honors in the tennis
tournament. Friendship high school
continued her success in the track
meet, ’and the Greensboro high school
won the baseball trophy cup.
1920- 21.— The Chapel Hill high school
for the second time won the football
championship in 1920, defeating the
Monroe high school in a final game
marked by the great playing of both
teams. Chapel Hill high school won the
basketball championship m 1921, de
feating the Charlotte high school m a
very close and exciting final game. Oak
Ridge won the doubles and Raeford
high school won the singles of the
tennis tournament. Chapel Hill con
tinued her athletic successes by win
ning the track meet. Red Oak high
school won the baseball championship.
Value of Contests
What these contests have meant to
the students, to the schools, and to the
communities for the last nine years can
hardly be estimated. The physical de
velopment of the athletes has been
greatly aided. Alertness of mind and
quickness of decision have been called
into play on the part of contestants and
COUNTRY HOME CONVENIENCES
LETTER SERIES No. 58
LIMITATIONS OF FARM ELECTRIC PLANTS
We have received many inquiries on
the subject of the selection of the pro
per size electric plant to be purchased
for fulfilling a variety of requirements
to be found around the house and barn
of the farm home. This discussion is
intended as a guide for those of our
readers who have this matter under
consideration.
It is a well-known fact that power
plants are built to supply any demand
of power. It is almost equally well re
cognized that the average size farm
electric plant will only furnish from
two to three and a half horsepower.
Why should there be this limitation? It
is solely a matter of economy, as can
be seen from an analysis of the situa
tion.
A Typical Case
Suppose we take a typical case. A
farmer wants an electric plant to fur
nish lights for his house, two or three
out-buildings and a barn. Also he will
expect his plant to supply power for |
operating a water system for house j
and barn, running a washing machine, i
churn, cream separator, grindstone, !
and for heating an iron and possibly
to run other small electrical devices re
quiring a small amount of power. A
two to three and a half horsepower
plant would fill the bill if this- were all,
but in addition there is an ensilage
cutter and a wood saw to drive, the en
silage cutter taking fifteen horsepower
and the saw five horsepower, or a total
of about seventeen horsepower required
in plant capacity, provided every
thing is not operated at once.
A Matter of Economy
In order that a power plant shall de
liver the most, power for the least
money it is necessary that it run at very
nearly full load all the time. Now if
one should get a seventeen horsepower
plant for- the case cited above, then it
would operate practically all the time
in supplying a load of around two
horsepower and only very seldom would
it be called on to drive the saw and en
silage cutter and thus be loaded up to
capacity. Fifteen horsepower would
therefore remain idle most of the time
although paid for in the original invest
ment which cost many times as much
as a plant would when large enough to
furnish the average needs. The farm
electric manufacturers have taken this
matter into consideration in designing
the small plants and this fact accounts
for their limited capacity when recom
mended for home use.
We would suggest that a separate
engine or if available a tractor be used
for all heavy power work and that the
plant purchased for the home be only
large .enough to supply the daily needs
for power.— W. C. W.
all the other benefits of organized ath
letics have accompanied. The attend
ance and scholastic records of many
boys in the high schools have improved
by reason of the fact that a student
must attend school and pass his work
before he can represent his school. High'
school athletics have been conducted on
a high plane, and the Contests for the
trophy cups have been attended with
a fine spirit of sportsmanship on all
sides. High school students in various
schools have come to mingle with each
other and to know each other. They
have visited the University for' the
finals and have come to know the Uni
versity. The interest of communities
in the schools has been greatly stimul
ated. School spirit and tradition and
loyalty have been built up in a great
many Carolina high schools.— E. R.
Rankin, Assistant Director, University
Extension Division, in U. N. C. Exten
sion Leaflets, 'Vol. 4, No. 9, May 1921.
TEN MILLIONS FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS
Communities Ranked According to School Bonds per Inhabitant; 87 commu
nities, in 65 counties; $8,255,000 voted since Jan. 1, 1921; $1,860,000 pending;
total $10,115,000: three towns not reporting—Leaksville-Spray, Battleboro,
Pinetops.
Based (1) on Report of the State School Superintendent, May 28, 1921, and
(2) on the 1920 Census of Population.
Department of Rural Social Science, University of North Carolina.
Rank Community
Per Cap.
Total
Rank Community
Per Cap. Total
Bonds
Bonds
1
Moncure
...$184
$25,000
38
Cooleemee
....$50
$100,000
2
Hobbsville '.
... 150
30,000
38
Greensboro
SO
1,000,000
3
Mars Hill
....137
50,000
43
Cary
47
30,000
4
Smithfield
....132
260,000
44
Elizabeth City...
45
400,000
5
Four Oaks
....129
75,000
44
Whiteville
45
75,000
6
Scotts
....126
25,000
46
Carrboro
44
50,000
6
Belwood
....125
50,000
47,
Mt. Holly ......
43
50,000
8
Colerain
....116
25,000
48
High Point
42
600,000
9
Middlesex
....108
75,000
49
Siler City
40
50,000
10
Snow Hill
....107
75,000
49
Lenoir
40
150,000
10
Farmville
....107
190,000
51
Canton
39
100,000
12
Woodville
... 105
40,000
62
Woodland
38
15,000
13
Stem
....102
25,000
63
Salisbury
36
600,000
14
Fairmont
100
100,000
54
Spruce Pine
....3'6
25,000
14
Bald Creek
....100
10,000
54
Oxford
.... 35
126,000
16
Kinston*
.... 92
900,000
54
Greenville '..
35
200,000
17
Lakewood
.... 90
36,000
57
Louisburg*
31
60,000
18
Hillsboro
.... 85
100,000
58
Calypso
30
12,000 ,
150,000 '
19
Carthage
.... 78
75,000
59
Lexington
.... 29
20
Ramseur
.... 74
76,000
60
Fayetteville
28
250,000
21
Troutmans
73
26,000
60
Wilson
28
300,000
22
Granite Falls
.... 68
75,000
62
Morganton
26
75,000
23
Weaverville
40,000
62
Hamlet
26
100,000
24
Creedmoor
.... 64
25,000
64
Duke
25
' 25,000
26
Moyock
.... 63
26,000
65
Forest City
22
60,000
26
Selma
.... 62
100,000
66
Cherryville
21
40,000
27
Spring Hope ....
.... 61
75,000
66
Wake Forest ....
.... 21
30,000
28
Stovall
.... 60
26,000
66
Spencer
... .21’
50,000
28
Catawba
.... 60
15,000
66
Kernersville
21
25,000 ■
30
Lincolnton
.... 59
200,000
70
' Henderson
20
75,000
30
Morehead City ..
.... 59
176,000
70
Waynesville
20
40,000
32
Bryson City
.... 67'
50,000
72
Winston-Salem..
17
800,000-
32
Wadesboro
.... 57
150,000
73
Pantego
15
6,000
34
Reidsville* .
.... 66
300,000
74
Fuquav Sprines .
14
7,600
35
Rich Square
.... 53
25,000
75
Mt. Pleasant....
13
10,000
36
Goldsboro*
.... 53
600,000
76
Milwaukee
10
2,000
35
Biscoe ,....
.... 53
40,000
77
New Bern
8
100,000
38
Welcome
.... 50
30,000
78
Fork Township..
.... 7
25,000
38
Potecasi
.... 60
10,000
79
Gastonia
3
40,000
38
Bunn
.... 50
7,500
*'Vote pending in Kinston, Reidsville, Goldsboro, and Louisburg.
Not listed for lack of population figures: Cheowah Graded School Dist.,
Graham Co., $26,000; Emma, Buncombe Co., $50,000; Sharon, Iredell Co., $20,-
000; Small, Beaufort Co., $5,000;, Victory, Gaston Co., $50,000.
Not listed for lack of information about total bond issues proposed: Leaks
ville-Spray, Rockingham Co.; Pinetops, Edgecombe Co.; and Battleboro, Nash-
Edgecombe Counties.