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 the University Ex
tension Division.
APRIL 15, 1925
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XI, NO. 22
fl. C. Branaon, S. H. Hobbs. Jr., L. R. Wilson. iS. W. Kalarbt. D D. CarroJl, J. B.Ballltt, H. W. Odain.
Eot,r«d SI .scsnd-clsH mattsr Nsysmbsi 11.1911. at tha Poitafflcaat Chaotl Bill. N. C., andar tha act ef AuKoat 91. I
FOKIY-SEVEN MAGAZINES
Does North Carolina read? The first
answer to this question appears below.
The next few issues of the News Let
ter will present additional studies
showing the reading habits of the
various states, and of the counties 6i
this state, from different angles. The
reader might be interested in preserv
ing the series.
We feel that the accompanying table
is an accurate cross-section of the
reading interests and habits of each
state. Forty-seven prominent maga
zines, having a combined circulation of
26,628,797, or one magazine for every
3.97 persons in the United States, were
considered. This table includes
twenty-one general monthly maga
zines, eight national weeklies, eleven
women’s magazines, and seven trades
or technical publications. Perhaps
only farm papers and the more “popu
lar” types of fiction were omitted, and
these will be considered in a succeeding
article. All of these magazines have
a national circulation, and, although
most of them are published in the
Civil War that development in North
Carplina became an approach to democ
racy as an approach to society itself;
and the approach is not now free from
its barriers. The shadows of tradition
still enshroud the mountains, and un
consciousness to contemporary social
change is evident. In a survey;of
home libraries in certain parts of the
state the author has conversed with
people who express the , opinion that
the reading craze of the present era is
a deviation from the pathsjof our fore
fathers and a disrespect for the Good
Book. From these personal contacts
one is justified in saying that in cer
tain sections of the state there is an
antipathy to reading.
Wealth and Reading
Perhaps another cause underlying
North Carolina’s rank in reading is
economic. There is unquestionably a
correlation between wealth and read
ing. City Markets and Curtis Circula
tions, a statistical study of the circula
tion of Curtis publications in the seven
largest cities of the United: States,
'shows that the best residential sections
North, relative to population they , nearly twice as much as the mid
have a greater circulation in the West'
than they have in their home states,
and can be considered representative.
Covers All Types
In these forty-seven magazines we
have almost all types of reading repre
sented. For the so-called more liter
ary types of fiction, there are the At- ]
lantic Monthly, Scribner’s Magazine, '
and several others. For current com-'
ment there are the Literary Digest, ;
Collier’s Weekly, and the like. For
dle-class Americans, and more than
four times as much as unskilled labor.
From a table on Estimated True
Wealth recently carried in the News
Letter of the University of North Ca
rolina, we find that North Carolina
ranks forty-second in estimated true
wealth per inhabitant. So evidently
the economic factor is a contributing
one. But yet we can hardly feel that
the state that in 1923 ranked first in
the Union in the production of tobacco,
OUR WATER RESOURCES
The water power resources of the
state, while not unlimited are ex
ceeded only by New York, with Niag
ara Falls, of all of the states east of
the Rockies. At the present time the
developed water power of the state
totals around 640,500 horse power,
and in developed power only three
states in the Union rank ahead of
North Carolina. It is estimated
that under present conditions North
Carolina can economically pro
duce 1,250,000 horse power from
her streams, and that with jwell-de-
velopea storage facilities, from two
million to three million horse power
can be developed within the state.
Probably of greatest importance is
the fact that Western North Caro
lina is located in the center of the
vast water power resources of the
South, and with the maturity of the
Super-Power plans this area logical
ly should increase its present mar
gin of industrial leadership in the
South.
^ 1.^ i second m the production of cotton,
pure fiction we have the Cosmopolitan « ^ • ^.u £ l. ^ ^
first in the manufacture of tobacco,
and its associates. For trade publica
tions we have System. For aesthetic
art there are Motion Picture and Pho
toplay. I'’or humor there are Life and
Judge. This by no means exhausts the
types of interest represented.
The number of inhabitants per maga
zine for each state was obtained by di
viding the population of each state,
based upon the 1920 census, by the
combined 1924 circulation of the forty-
seven magazines in each state.
A glance at the table shows that
tbere is a wide variation in the read
ing tendencies of different states. The
people of California seem to be read
ing more than those of any other state,
receiving one magazine for every 1.84
people in the state; in fact, reading
nearly seven times as much as the
people of Mississippi and nearly five
times as much as the people of North
Carolina. Excluding the District of
Columbia, Oregon and Washington
rank next. Following these come
three other western states, Wyoming,
Nevada, and Colorado, and then some
of the New England states follow
next. North Carolina ranks forty-
third, with one magazine for every
8.77 persons in the state. Only Arkan
sas, Georgia, Alabama, South Caroli
na, and Mississippi rank below her.
This is a very significant fact.
Why Such Low Rank
Why is it that North Carolina ranks
forty-third as a reading state? We
would hesitate to give her such a
rank in other things, for instance, in
natural resources and production.
Of course, no one can say that this
or that factor is responsible for North
Carolina's rank in reading, and the
following remarks are made more to
stimulate thought and reflective think
ing than to give information.
Certainly North Carolina's low rank
in reading is not climatic. We have a
varied and favorable climate. Neither
is it topographic. The greater part of
the state is made up of piedmont and
coastal plains. Geologists recognize
that mountainous regions are less fa
vorable to contact and that the inhabi
tants of such regions perhaps may be
more backward. Only a small part of
North Carolina is mountainous. How
ever, we notice that West Virginia, a
mountainous state, ranks ahead of
North Carolina and that the mountain
ous states of the West rank high,
reading more than twice as much per
inhabitant as North Carolina.
Tradition
Perhaps one factor contributing to
the reading situation in North Carolina
is tradition. It was not until after the
second in the manufacture of textiles,
and fifth in all crops produced, should
rank forty-third in reading.
Racial Factor
The racial element may come in as a
factor. But this is not altogether ex
planatory. Because thirty percent of
our population is negro does not ex
plain why California reads five times
as much as we do. From the Truth
about True Story we learn that True
Story in California is read by one
white literate family in every seven; in
Illinois by one in eight; in Connecticut,
nine; New York, eight; whereas in
North Carolina it is read by one white
literate family in every twenty. Also
the foreign element in the North part
ly offsets the negro element in the
South. Statistics show that the for
eign element reads only one-tenth as
much as the native element. This does
not include the publications in their
own languages.
Rural and Urban Ratios
Perhaps another cause of North
Carolina’s rank in reading is isola
tion and lack of contact. Urban peo
ple read more than country people. '
Out of a circulation of daily newspa
pers totaling 29,902,053 in 1924, 24,527,-
457 went to urban dwellers. From
these figures we learn that people in
cities read more than 4.5 times as
much newspaper matter per capita as
those in the country. But, on the
other hand, we notice that Iowa, a
farming state, ranks fifteenth, and
that Nebraska ranks eighteenth, where
as North Carolina ranks forty-third.
Undoubtedly another cause of our
non-reading habit is lack of reading
facilities. Does reading follow facili
ties as trade follows the flag? Is this
the key to the situation?
Reading and Efficiency
To what extent doj reading and
community efficiency go hand in hand?
There is a very high correlation be
tween the ranks of the states in read
ing and other so-called measures of
intelligence and progress. The states
that have efficient school systems read
extensively, and vice versa. Also the
states that read more are proportional
ly the states that produce leaders.
The correlation with the birth-state of
the persons whose names are in Who’s
Who in America is 86. Again the
states that rank high in inventive ge
nius, as shown by the number of pat
ents taken out, rank high in reading.
North Carolina’s rank in the number
of patents per 1,000 people in 1924 was
forty-fourth.
In considering all these possible
causes and effects one wonders which
is the cause and which is the effect.
Are people hampered by tradition, be
set with poverty, denied contacts, be
cause they lack the facilities for read
ing and do not read; or do they not
read because of the tyranny of tradi
tion, the pangs of poverty, and the
lack of contacts? At least we know
the facts.' For the first set of facts
seethe accompanying table. —Orlando
Stone, Institute for Research in Social
Science, University of North Carolina.
4. WATER POWER SURVEYS
Last week there was described the
reasons for, and results of 1 than can be obtained in any other way
the large power companies when
connection with the lines of these com
panies is possible. When this is done
it results in two things, abandonment
of a large investment in power plant,
and non-utilization of an important
natural resource which exists right at
the plant.
How Remedied
How chn these matters be remedied?
The answer is by having made a
thorough investigation of the entire
stream and carrying out the recom- j
mendations for development of the
stream as a power entity. The chief
purpose of the investigation is to de
termine three prime facts: (1) dis
cover storage sites on the upper part
of the stream which can be developed
so as to hold flood waters and deliver
them as needed in the dry seasons, (2)
discover undeveloped power sites on
the river where relatively large
amounts of power may be generated,
and (3) plan for the interconnection of
present and new plants for transmis
sion lines. Under this scheme the
river would be completely developed
for all of its fall, the flood waters
would be in large part conserved to
useful work, and power wherever gen
erated would be fed into a transmis
sion line and carried to wherever it
was needed. An existing mill develop
ment could continue to produce power
for sale even though local conditions
caused the mill to shut flown. By
building stora,ge reservoirs existing
power plants are often able to double
their output, through having water
during dry periods.
Cheaper Power
If t,he water powers on our smaller
streams are developed in the manner
outlined, cheaper power can be pro
duced for local use in many instances
ests, and the smaller apparatus needed
is often cheaper per unit of power in
stalled. Second, the distances which
power has to be transmitted for use
are short, and the losses in transmis
sion are less than in the case of the
large companies where power is sent a
hundred miles or more. Third, the
voltage at which power is transmitted
is relatively low, from 1,100 to 22,000
volts, whereas the large companies
have to transmit at voltages from
66,000 to 100,000. The cost of trans
forming tile power from the high vol
tage of 100,000 volts to a voltage of
say 6,600 volts for use in machinery
is very great and falls usually upon
the power purchaser. The cost of
transforming the lower voltages is
much less, and often power can be
transmitted at the voltage used.
Fourth, the supply of power is known
and there is no need to go long dis
tances to new sources for power. . Ih
the case of all the streams mentioned,
and numerous others, there is ample
power available to meet demands for
a long period in the future, and no in
crease in power rates will be neces
sary. The large power companies are
having constantly to go farther awav
for new power, which increases its
cost, and hence the tendency for in
crease m power rates. In regions
where there IS no local power of anv
magnitude, or where local power can
not be economically developed the
seryices rendered by the large power
bScTaT •'igWy
methods,
water power investigations on the I even by purchasing from large power
streams of the state which have not 1 companies. The reasons are^ obvious,
yet been developed to any considerable ; First, the unit costs for development
extent. It might be thought that a) of new storage and power plants are
water power survey on a stream which | often less than for the large plants of
was pretty well covered by small wa- j the big companies, because no railroads
ter power developments would be a
waste of time. This is not the case.
An analysis of the situation which ex
ists on streams like the Deep River,
Haw River, Henry’s Fork, Little Ca
tawba, and others presents the follow
ing outline:
There are from ten to twenty water
power developments scattered along
the length of the stream. The dams
range from ten to twenty feet in
height. The installations vary from
150 to 600 horsepower in water wheels.
At nearly every development there is
also a steam power station of about
the same size as the water power in
stallation, because the flow of the
stream gets so low in the summer ^s
to produce no power, and the steam
plant has to be put into service. Near
ly all the ponds above the dams are
or highways have to be relocated, land
can be purchased cheaper by local inter-
Where conditions exist
such as described above, municipalities
and indmitnes „i|i well to consider
thoroughly the latent possibilities in
herent in nearby streams before be
ing dazzled by proponents of “suner
power.” ^
In the next issue there will be des
along
the lines described, which was made lfl?t
State Department of Conservation
and Development (then the Geological
Survey) in cooperation with the mill
interests on the river. The economica
development of the valuable water rt
sources m the smaller streams is a dis-
fanct concern of the state, and the
Deep River investigation has provided
a striking illustration of methods by
SlelooaS / atteam may be efficiently
developed far beyond its present can-
acity and greatly benefit existing
plants.—Thorndike Saville. ^
does north CAROLINA READ
The Circulation of 47 Magazines in 1924
The following table shows how the states of the Union rank as readers of
the forty-seven leading magazines of the United States, covering all type of
magazines. The table is derived by dividing the population of Lch state b '
the combined circulation in each state of the forty-seven leading magazines
With nation-wide circulation, covering the year 1924 ^
California leads with one magazine for every 1.84 inhabitants upon an aver
age. Mississippi comes last with one magazine for every 12 !
North Carolina ranks 43rd as a reader of magazines with on; ™ '?'•
every 8.77 inhabitants. The total circulation in the’ United States^”” thfse
forty-seven magazines was one copy for every 3.97 inhabitants
The forty-seven magazines are as follows: Ladies' Home' Journal Good
Housekeeping, Woman’s Home Companion, Delineator, Pictorial Review De
signer and Woman’s Magazine, People’s Popular Monthly, McCall’s Magazine'
Peop e s Home Journal, Modern Priscilla, Vogue, Saturday Evening Post Liter
ary Digest, Collier s Weekly, American Legion, Outlook Life Judire Ch’rl.H
filled with silt, so that very little of Herald, System, Scientific American, Popular Science’ Forest * d St
the night flow of the stream can be Physical Culture, Field and Stream, House Beautiful c’osmoDolit A
Review of Revmws American, Harper’s Magazine, 6hild Life, WoM'^wlTk
Metropolitan. Scribner’s Magazine, American Boy, Atlantic MonthL R d
Book, Century Blue Book, Hearst’s. Everybody’s, SL Nicholas! M^thly -
Photoplay, Motion Picture, Munsey’s, Current Opinion.
Orlando Stone, Research Fellow
Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina
stored, to be used in the day time. None
of the developments are connected by
transmission lines, each being indepen
dent, and taking just what water
comes to it.
Great Economic Loss
In the aggregate, on a givenstream,
there is a great loss in economy of op
eration of the power plants under the
conditions described above. Duplicate
water power and steam power stations
are required at nearly every plant, re
sulting in only partial use of either
and high depreciation costs. A plant
having excess of water power has to
let it go to waste over the dam, be
cause it cannot send surplus power to
another plant as no power lines exist
interconnecting the various plants.
Flood waters cannot be used, because
they, cannot be stored. At most plants
on streams of this character there is
more power wasted over the dams each
year than is used to produce power.
Coal for the auxiliary steam plants
has often to be hauled long distances,
and the steam plants themselves are
usually inefficient, making the cost of
steam power high. The power which
these plants produce is therefore always
costly and usually unreliable. It is no
wonder that there is a tendency for
such plants to purchase power from I
Rank States Inhabitants
per Magazine
1 California l,84
2 Oregon 2.17
3 Washington 2.40
4 Wyoming 2.42
6 Nevada 2.79
6 Colorado 2.92
7 New Hampshire 2.96
8 Massachusetts 3.02
9 Connecticut 3.07
9 Michigan 3.07
11 Ohio 3.09
12 Vermont 3.14
13 Maine 3.31
14 Iowa 3.32
16 Montana 3.37
16 Florida 3.43
17 Nebraska 3.45
18 New York 3,51
19 New Jersey 3.64
20 Minnesota 3.60
21 Illinois 3.61
22 Idaho 3,66
23 Indiana 3.70
23 Rhode Island 3.70
Rank States Inhabitants
25 Pennsylvania
26 South Dakota 3,94
27 Arizona o qc
28 Kansas ‘'‘'V,
29 Utah
29 Wisconsin 4 93
31 Delaware 4
32 Missouri 4 20
33 Maryland.’ 4 55
34 North Dakota 4,30
35 West Virginia 6.08
36 Oklahoma 5 rq
37 Texas
4.01
4.03
.. 0.82
38 New Mexico q
39 Virginia g'gg
40 Kentucky y gg
41 Tennessee
42 Louisiana
43 North Carolina
44 Arkansas
46 Georgia
46 Alabama
47 South Carolina
48 Mississippi 12
7.89
7.94
8.77
9.07
10.28
10.76
10.81
49