North Carolina Newspapers

The news in this publi cation is released ^or 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. SEPTEMBER 8, 1926 CHAPEL HILL, N C. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS VOL. XII, NO. 43 Editorial lloardj C. Branson. S. H. Hobbs. Jr.. L. R, Wilson. E. W. Knigrh^ D. D. Carroll. J. B. BulUtt. H. W. Odum. Entered as second-class matter November 14. 1914. at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24. 1911 TAX WEALTH AND TAX RATES OUa TAXABLE WEALTH • On a per inhabitant baiiis Forsyth is the richest county in the state, on the tax books. The’ table which appears elesewhere ranks the counties accord ing to woa-lth listed for taxation per inhabitant for the tax-year 1924, and is based on the 1926 reportvof the State Commissioner of Revenue, recently off the press. Forsyth leads in aggregate wealth listed for taxation; and in wealth listed per inhabitant. She al'^o has the lowest aggregate county tax rate in the state. Durham and Guilford follow hard on the heels of Forsyth in taxable vi'ealth per inhabitant. Wilkes again proves to be.the poor est county in the state on a per in habitant basis. , on the tax books. Wilkes lists upon an average only $465 of wealth per inhabitant, or less than against property. However, the varia tion in the county rate alone is 'worthy of note. And it may be said that the county rate follows no rule. Generally the rate is low to medium in wealthy counties, and high in very’ poor coun ties. But there*' are many exceptions to any rhle that can be fqj’mulated. The rate depends on tl^ wealth, and the willingness of the people to spend on improvements. A rich county spend ing liberally will have a high rate. A rich county without much county pro gram will have a low rate. A poor county muse have relatively a high rate, no matter wh'at its program, while a poor county that attempts to set the pace, or even to hold its own in schools, roads, etc., finds itself strug gling under a heavy.^tax burden. AN INSTINCTIVE NEED A man’s work should mean more to him than a mere means of liveli hood. He should draw from it happiness, contentment, peace of mind. This he can do only if he looks upon his work as contributing some thing worth while to the lives of his fellow-men. ^For men are so built that the consciousness of rendering service is an instinctive need of their being. Those who have not. this consciousness are certain to be un happy, whether they do not work at all or work up to the limit of their-powers, and whether the mone tary return from their work is small or great.—The Uplift. churches or the University “Y” headquarters. Large Bible Study Groups An amazingly large number of Univer- The county rate for school purposes finp fourth the average fw ¥orsstb. i only, ranged in 1S24 from 27 cents in j gity students have already been engaged It is hard to believe that Wilkes is i one county to $1.62 in another county, | regularly in studying the Bible under noorer than Dare Macon, Clay and oth-I according to the Commissioner’s report, the auspices of the University Y. M er counties that might be mentioned, ! The school rate alone in several conn- but the tax books show her to tank i ^esjs higber^thanjte aggregate rate last in the state in wealth. The state average of wealth listed for taxation in 1924 was $1,010 per im every family. One county in the state I a bad road is too great an expense to has enough ears to give its entire popu- tolerate that I have hopes that our la'tion a ride at one time, with a sufh- j state will also see that reckless and cient number over to do the same thing | lawless driving is also too expensive, for the people of any one of the smaller ' A highway police for North Carolina counties. No wonder that the Univer-i will be not only a great step forward sity of North Carolina News Letter sees ! in making our highways safe, but it the rapid approach of the day when ! will next to the good roads themselves walking in the Old North State is no; be the greatest money saver of any longer a means of changing one’s geo-1 new thing recently established, for graphical position, but only a sport in- ■ state police will cut down by hundreds dulged in by professional walking clubs, of thousands of dollars the present The saturation point for automobiles has great outlay for funeral bills, hospital had to be revised upward continually. ; bills, and repair bills, a thing few have Once it would have been thought to be j thought about. .Automobile accidents a car for every family. But there are i form one of the big costs of automo no w 20,000,000 automobiles in this coun-; bile operation. A good state police sys- try, which is just about one to every family, and they are being turned out faster than ever. How long is it since a person would have been regarded with a mixture of pity and contempt if he had hazarded the guess that some day there would be more automobiles in the United States than telephones? That incredible condition has come to pass. — N. Y. Evening Post. habitant, and only 24 counties ranked above that amount. Some Contrasts The table will prove most interesting to one who stops a moment to com pare the rank of various counties. As a rule the urban counties rank up toward the top. These are followed by some coastal plains cash-crop counties, several of the less urban piedmont counties, and a sprinkling of counties that appear out of their proper order. The counties that rank toward the end of the table-are generally mountain and tidewater counties, along with a few counties that appear to be slightly out of place. ' The’rank of McDowell county among the wealthy group of counties is rather interesting. McDowell is not gener ally thought of as a wealthy county. But she ranks ahead of Iredell, Cabar rus, Wake, and many other counties that are generally conceded to ^be richer than she. Richmond county ranks well up in the table. Montgomery rankingclo.se after Wayne and Pitt, is also interesting. Johnston, tlie leading agricultural county of the state, with feW negroes, ranks forty-first on the tax books, be low Davie, Lincoln, Stanly, and other counties not generally considered wealthier than Johnston. Swain and Madison appear to be about as wealthy as Jonnston, on the tax books. And Edgecombe, another of the fifty leading ! crop counties of the United States, | SCHOOL OF RELIGION ranks forty-eighth, below Tyrrell, Per-1 President Chase holds that it is the son, Madison, Swain and others that ^ educational institutions, might be mentioned. Edgecombe dpes whether denominational or state-sup- not heal Jackson ipuch, on a per in- ported, to teach their students the C. A. The attendance at weeky Bible- study groups conducted in the different dormitories and fraternity houses proves that University students are keenly interested in the Bible. Figures for the fail quarter were announced at a banquet at the Carolina Inn, given by the University “Y”-honoring the group with best record in attendance. The Y^ M. C. A. sponsored the plan, but attendance was purely voluntary, Bible-study courses, and that the aver age' attendance at each meeting was 450, indicating that those enrolled took | the matter seriously and were faithful [ in attendance. Meetings were held by in many other counties. The tax rate for county government purposes only, ranges from 8 cents in Graven to one dollar in Madison. The rate depends upon the wealth and the interest of the county in county government activities. The county-wide special rate varies from nothing reported by a few coun ties to $1.01 in Olay county. The special rates are for road bonds, bridges, courthouses, jail, hospitals, health, and so on. j Rate and Burden ! It should be borne in mind thatj the fact that a county has a high j tax rate does not necessarily mean j different groups which met weekly that the tax burden is excessive, for j different dormitories and frater- the property may be listed at a low | houses with student members lead- percent of its true value. A county l discussions, may have a moderate tax rate and yet j have as heavy a tax burden as other counties with high rates. The tax bur den is the result of two factors, (1) the percent the tax value is of the true value of the property, and (2) the tax rate. There is not much uniformity in listing property, so it is impossible to know Whether the tax burden is really heavy or light. The rate may be an indication of the burden. «On the other hand it may be misleading. It depends on local conditions. Which reminds us again that there is no reason whatsoever why all prop erty in North Carolina should not be listed at its true value, or at'some uni form. percent of its true value. FOR SAFER HIGHWAYS Our roads are better located and better engineered than I have seen in any of the states from Carolina to Canada, and in that pespect I believe that we lead the world. But Pennsylvania and New York set us an example in safety, brought about by good laws, rigidly en- I forced by capable police,' which we can ! follow to great benefit. A Pennyslvania man tells me that it is cheaper to hire tern will cut that coat by hundreds of thousands of dollars, besides saving many lives and thousands of serious injuries. I am confident we have the best sys tem of roads in the Union. But I fear we have one of the worst systems of operating them. And after seeing the methods followed in Pennsylvania and New York, 1 can imagine no reason why in our state we should tolerate our I present inefficient, murderous system any longer. The next legislature ought to provide a really efficient state police, one that will enforce good road laws, stop‘the slaughter on the roads and the destruction of cars, and make travel more of a pleasure and less of a danger and a dread.—The Pilot. The records revealed that a total of 601, or approximately one^fourth nf the and a New York man says police are student body, were enrolled for the - ! police than to pay hospital and funeral also cheaper than automobile repair bills. North Carolina is so keen in seeing that WORK AND LIVE We are in the great age of transition from the drudgery of life to the enjoy- m,ent of life. The idea is rather general that the chief curse of life is to work for a living. Thinking men know that work is the salvation of the race, morally, physically, socially. Work does more than get us'our living: it gets us our life. —Henry Ford. IT WORKS THAT WAY Crime has decreased one-half ii^ the Croatan Indian community in Robe son county since the state began to furnish good schools for the education of these wards of North Carolina, W. A. Young, formerly of this county, who has been conducting a summer nor mal school at Pembroke, was informed by some of the peoiile of that section. Much is made of it when a person of intelligent education commits a griev ous crime, as sometimes happens, but this does not change the fact that ignorance and crime are companions. The best educated counties have the least crime and have the best enforce ment oUIaws. But one does not have to go as far, ajvay as the Croatan settlement of Robeson county to find convincing proof of the salutary effect of public educa tion. There are communitfes in this county that furnish striking examples habitant basis on the tax bboks. Is Christian method of living. He is deeply Mitchell county actually richer than ^ interested in any step that may lead to ^ Union and Nash? It appears thus on , perfection in the performance , in this regard; and it is not necessary the tax books. These are merely a few ! ,his duty. In fact, he recently ap- j to point any of them out for Mr. Young, attract the eye in TAXABLE WEALTH AND TAX RATES. 1924 ' In the following table the counties are ranked according to the amount of wealth listed for . taxation per inhabitant for the tax year 1924. The parallel column shows the aggregate county tax rate per $100 of listed property. The table is based on the 1925 report of the State Comfnissioner of Revenue, just off the press. Forsyth has the largest amount of property listed for taxation per inhabi tant, $1,899, and the lowest tax rate, 65 cents. Wilkes ranks last in wealth listed for 'taxation per inhabitant, while Clay, which ranks 97th in listed wealth, has the highest tax rate, $2.26. State total wealth listed for taxation $2,711,783,919 or $1,010 per inhabi- S. U. Hobbs, Jr. Department of Rural Social-Economics, University of North Carolina Taxable wealth of the cases that glancing over the^tabie. The low rank of many of the great cash-crop counties, generally considered fairly wealthy, is largely explained by two factors,, namely the largg negro population ratios, and the excessive larm tenancy rates. In Edgecombe, for instance, 83.6 percent of the farm ers are tenants, and the negro popu lation ratio is very high. The tax bur den on farm property is borne by the relatively few farm owners, and it falls heavily' on them. The same is largely true of the rest of the coastal plains counties. The tax falls largely on land, and the land is owned by a rather small percent of the people. The poorer counties in which the bulk of the people are white farm and home owners olten rank abov^ the richer agricultural counties, or counties generally conceaed to be wealthier. Large farm properties are not likely to be listed at as near their true values as small farms owned by their operators. Tax Rates The aggregate county tax rate varies all the way from fifty-five cents in Forsyth to $2.26 in Clay. This refers to the count5^-wide rate paid by every pecse.n listing property. In addition there »i'e speciei taxes for additional school faeiJities, drainage districts and so on, paid by local districts, townships, etc. 'Bhe inoorpor-ated places have their additional city taxes. The county tax is often not half the rate assessed proved a step that most state-supported : who is well acquainted with the advances institutions have avoided .^ecaus’e of ! made here in the past scores of years, the great delicacy of the situation in- j jj^rth Carolina lias always had a bad volved in the old question of separation | erime record. But that tecord is get- of church and state. Reference is to j better and will continue to get the establishment in Chapel Hill of a j better as our people become an educated to University students. ' The purpose of the school, the charter for which was recently granted, will be to provide non-denominational religious instruction in the Bible for University : uur progress ... students desiring the course. The plan [ been remarkable. we are but about twenty-five years on our way of real progress in the univer sal diffusion of at least a good ele mentary learning in North Carolina. But -and Rev Mims Thornburgh Workman, of!—from right down at the bottom- Littie Rock, Ark., pastor of the Pulaski | that it will take a generation or so yei Heights Methodist Church in Little ■ before the best results are obtained, Rock-a man of high attainments ini We might equip ourselves for ^educat- scholarship and religion—has accepted j ing the peo] ' the headship. The University will be I the process asked to give credit for courses properly j much slower one. completed. j a gradual process. The school will be under the control' crime is gradual, of a board of directors composed of the great weapon of education itself is But the the local churches, two representatives ! —Lexington Dispatch, from the University Y. M. C. A., and! two representatives from any other j OUR MOTOR CARS religious body represented in Chapel j ... HTII that may elect to participate. The ; Is there any limit to the nui pastors of the local churches and the ; automobiles the country can i Lcretaryof the University Y. M. C. A. ’ More striking than pictures of t will be ex-officio members of the board. | less procession on Fifth avenue are fig The board will be responsible for the ures from an agricultural salary of the head of the school, all! North Carolina. Ten years ago expenses of which are to be apportioned ; “mmonweaRh had one motor rar for Rank County Tax rate listed per iphab. Rank Forsyth ... $.66.... $1,899 51 2 Durham ... —.... 1,868 61 3 Guilford ... .80.... 1,839 63 4 Mecklenburg . ... 1.10.... 1,718 54 6 Buncombe ... .80.... 1,713 i 65 6 Gaston ... LOO.... 1,677 66 7 New Hanover ... 1.20.... 1,274 1 67 8 Scotland ... 1.13.... 1,199 68 9 Rowan ... .92.... 1,198 59 10 Richmond ... 1.40... 1,183 60 11 Wilson ... 1.32... 1,176 61 12 McDowell ... 1.13..,. 1,172 62 13 Iredell.-'- ... ~ ... 1.156 63 14 Wake ... .85... 1,126 64 16 Transylvania ... ~... 1,122 65 16 Vance ... 1.29... 1,103 66 17 Cabarrus ... .95... 1,087 67 18 Catawba ... .81... 1,086 68 19 Moore ... 1.10... ],064 69 20 Pitt .. 1.00... 1,060 70 20 Cleveland ... .75... ........ 1,060 71 22 Pasquotank... ... 1.11... 1,066 72 23 Wayne . . 1.00... 1,043 73 24 Alamance .... 1.37... 1,017 74 26 Stanly .... LOO... 1,002 76 26 Montgomery.. .... 1.48... 998 76 27 Chowan .... 1.12... 985 76 28 Rutherford.... 96... 981, 78 29 Henderson.... .... 1.50... 973 79 30 Craven .... 1.26... 970 80 31 Lincoln .... 1.50... 967 81 32 Orange .... 1.10... 941 82 33 Davie .... 1.33... 936 83 34 Beaufort .... 1.66... 932 84 36 Lee .... LOO... 931 85 36 Caldwell .... L18... 919 86 36 Davidson .... 1.16... 919 87 36 Rockingham. .... 1.43... 919 88 39 Lenoir .... 1.42... 909 89 40 Halifax .... 1.36... 908 90 41 Johnston 96.. 889 91 42 Hoke .... 1.666. 884 91 : 43 878 93 ! 44 Madison .... 1.65,. 873 94 46 Alleghany .... 65.. 862 95 Ue Person 1.10.. 86C 96 , 47 Tyrrell .... 1.19.. 838 97 1 48 Edgecombe.. 783 831 98 J48 Cumberland . 82( 99 Jackson .... L40., 817 100 Taxable wealth Tax rate listed per inhab. Haywood $1.36... Surry..s 1.10... Duplin 1.175.. Harnett 1.00... Greene 1.61... Granville 1.37... Carteret 1.45... Robeson Martin 1.20... Anson 1.07 .. Mitchell 1.26... Washington 1:43... Nash 1.1' . Fender 1.26... Chatham 1,22... Currituck 1.77... $811 811 810 797 789. 781 771 759 757 754 751 749 745 740 730 Perquimans 1.60 721 Hyde 1.02 Gates 93 Burke 1.06 Polk -1.675 Jones 1.15 Bladen 1 30 Hertford 1.35...;.. Pamlico 1.77.,^... Camden 1.36 Union 1.34 Columbus 1.43 Alexander 1.53 Randolph 1.00 Nocthampton.. 1.10 Bertie 1.35 Warren 1.60 Watauga 1.35 Stokes 1.67 Sampson 1.20 Brunswick 1.27 Ashe 1.43 Cherokee 1.20 Yadkin 1.30 Graham 1.40 Onslow 1.29 Caswell 1.75 Franklin 1.11 Avery 1.70. ... Yancey — Clay 2.26 Dare 1.75 'Maoon — Wi’rices 1.58.... 713 712 703 702 701 694 691 688 685 685 670 660 668 652 661 646 621 610 607 588 665 559 ‘ 561 560 550 547 538 624 511 487 473 469 466 among the groups represented. The ! every 140 inhabitants. Today it has one school, will probably use one of the local j for-every seven '1923 Tax rate not reported for Durham, motor car for almost | Robeson, Yancey, and Macomcounties. Iredell, Transylvania, C«ml»»rlani,