■The news in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published Weekly by the
i University of North Caro
lina for the University Ex
tension Division.
NOVEMBER 24, 1926
CHAPEL HILL, N C.
THE UNIVEKSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIII, NO. 4
al Baardi ^E. C. Branson, S. H. Hobba. Jr., L. R. Wilson, E. W. Kniahc. D. D. Carroll, J. B. Bullitt, H. W. Odum
Entered as second-class matter November 14. 1914. at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill, N. C.. under the act of Aujruat 24. I9J*
IMPROVED COUNTY GOVERNMENT
PRESERVING PROPERTY
One of the most obvioun means of
economy in any business, public or
private, is to carefully preserve the
physical property. To wear out a ma
chine in three years which, with proper
care, would last live years is equivalent
to paying 66 percent too much for the
machine. To neglect t^ repair a public
bu'ilding when the defect first appears
is to invite a heavy expense later on.
To have public property out where it
can be stolen is just as costly to the tax
payers as if the officials did the stealing
themselves. These are only a few of
the losses which result when no par
ticular official is made responsible for
looking after the physical property of a
county.
Large Investments
cept occasionally by the Grand Jury. As
a result there is rapid depreciation of
road machinery, trucks, etc., abuse of
schoolhouses, court houses, and other
public buildings.
3. Few counties take an adequate
measure of their capital assets and set
up depreciation reserves in any business
like wav.
The suggestions for safeguarding this
major function are that one of the com
missioners, or some other officer of the
county, be selected as the custodian of
all physi'^al property belonging to the
county, that he make frequent inspec
tion of all physical property belonging |
to the county, that he make frequent i
reports to the commissioners and to the i
several boards that have the use ofj
county property, and that effective j
measures be' adopted for placing re- i
sponsibility for the preservation of the I
to the county.— |
Every county in the stale owns sev
eral hundred thousand dollars’ worth of. property belonging
property -Che courthouse and its fur-; ^aul W. Wager,
nishings, the jail, the county home, the j ' —-'■r- • ■ . . —
county farm with its stock and imple-> THE FOUft HUNDRED
NON-STANDARD TEACHERS
There are 3,116 school teachers in
North Carolina who h'&ve not re
ceived as much as a high-sebool edu-
catiim. However, remarkable prog
ress is being made in reducing the
number of non-standard teachers. In
1919-20 one-half of the school teachers
of the state were classed as non-stan
dard, that is, they did not possess
the equivalent of a high-school edu
cation. In 1925-26 only 13.61 per
cent of our public-school teachers
were classed as non-standard. Two-
thirds of them are negro teachers,
one-third are white, and all hut 102
teach in rural schools,—further evi
dence that the rural children of the
s^tate receive the short end of the
educaitionally.
deal,
: funds appropriated for county library
; service.
■ California stands head and shoulders
J above ail the other states, with forty
[three (now 46) out of fifty-eight
[counties appropriating public funds lor
'county-wide library service,
j Ncjfth Carolina has twelve counties
! appropriating public funds for county
I library service. In California it is an out
i and out county wide library propuai-
tion. With us it is a small fund ap-
! propriated by the county to the t -wn
or city library. The twelve counties in
[ North Carolina appropriate a total of
; twenty-four thousand dollars for county
library service.
Tnere are eighteen counties in Cali
fornia each of which appropriates more
public funds to county-wide public li
were made by the twelve North Central
states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michi
gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and
South Dakota, Iowa, Nebra'ska, Mis
souri, and Kansas. The increase for the
ten-year period amounted to more than
a billion dollars. Heavy percentage
gains were made in the southern cotton
and tobacco producing states.
Cooperative busint-ss for the three
Pacific Coast states fell a little short of
doubling f5r the ten years. California
was the leading state in regard to
volume of cooperarivs business in ]916.
Iowa was second in importance, Minne
sota w'as third, and New York was
fourth. In 1925, according to the pre-
minary estimates, Minne.'-ota lea in
volume of business, California was
second in importance, Illinois was third.
ments, expensive road machinery, small
tools, and sometimes mules, harness.
1 comb, should understand the basic princi-
j pies of the social organism he is trying
to serve. He should understand some-
and supplies of hay and grain. It is, Rrant from the Mothers’ Aid Fund has
apparent that the depreciation item is ■ been signed by the State Director,
one which figures heavily in county ex- Py ^ moderate monthly surn, given at a
penses. To reduce the ratio of deprecia- fixed time, coupled with a reasonable
tion is to save thousands of dollars an- amount of supervision by state and
nually. ' county, four hundred mothers, men-
Every one knows that the life of tally and physically capable, have been
tractors, automobiles, trucks, and road helped to keep their children in their
machines depends Is^gely on the treat- ' homes, and to give them freely of their
The 400Lh application for a monthly ! ^f their complexity, something of
the interdependence of groups, and
something of the conflict of interests.
The viewpoints of a movie director, for
instance, Aiming salacious stories, and
of a welfare director may be, and
often are, directly opposed. One is in
terested in. a policy which will yield
profits, the other is interested in social
well-being. The public official must be
ment which they receive, both when in love and care. When the man of the , detect^ and understand tremds,
use and when idle. Naturally the labor- family dropped out, by death or some j tomorrow s neeas cannot be fully
brary service than the twelve counties and Iowa fourth,
of North Carolina appropriate all told, j The change in relative importance of
California has twenty-six counties that! the states between ISIS and 1926 was
interested and are inclined to be care
less. The same is true to a lesser ex
tent in the use of co.urthouse furnish-
ing.s, supplies and equipment at the
county home and elsewhere.
No One Responsible
The taxpayers can be protected only I ggjj straight-forward women. They
by a definite representative whom they j g^e alive to their responsibilities and
can hold responsible. It is true that the i grateful for the aid. There is little
county commissioners are responsible in i gpance of finding their children out of
a way but how can three or five men j school when they should be there, Tiiey
living in different parts of the county,
and devoting only one or two days a
month to county business, perform this
duty adi-quately? Responsibility must
be centralized. This does not mean that
a new,office need be created; it is only
necessary that some particular official
be charged with the responsibility. This
work could very properly be delegated
to the purchasing agent or to one of the
county commissioners. He should keep
a constant inventory and make a peri
odic apprai'^al of all county properly.
He should examine and check the deliv
ery of al! new purchases. He should
see that all Tools and machinery are
properly housed. He should keep a
check on the consainpCion of coal, oil,
feed, and all jai! and courthouse sup
plies. He should observe the condition
of the plumbing and the heating sy
terns, and the state of preservation of
all public buildings, and should join the
grand jury on their trips of inspection
School Property
I believe the jurisdiction of such an
official ought to extend over school
property, for the investments are large
and the neglect is deplorable. The abuse
which some of the schoolhouses receive
during the summer months is disgrace
ful-window lights broken, pipes leak
ing, doors found open, books and furni
ture strewn about in general disorder.
Probably more damage is done to the
average schoolhouse during the four
months of idleness than during the eight
months of use. The care of school trucks
is sometimes just as much neglected.
During those scorching days of last July
several school trucks in one county stood
out unprotected. One man, in another
county, was using a school truck to haul
wood.
A Major Function
The County Government Commission
in its report recognizes the care of
physical property as one ,of the seven
major functions of county government
and the need for centralized responsi
bility. The report states as follows:
“The failure to preserve physical
property results in decline and loss of
property and an additional tax burden
in the following ways: '
1. Property may be lost or stolen and
not detected, because no one is held re
sponsible for the same, and there is no
regular or systematic inventory.
2. There is no frequent inspection ex-
Kern County Free Library, $94,142 for
o4,843 population; Madera County Free
Library, $21,268 for 12,208 population;
Plumas County Free Library, $10,649
for 5,681 inhabitants; Trinity County
Free Library,.$4,427 for 2,551 inhabi
tants.
The 'following, taken from Library-
Extension,, is the record for the twelve
North Carolina counties that appropri
ate public funds for library Bervik.e lor
country people.
Burke County. Contract with Morgan-
ton Public Library. $300 for
rural pup. of 10,430:. *
Chowan County. Contract wit;i Eden-
ton Memorial Library. $jlo for
rural pop. oi 7,872.
Durham County. Contract with Dur
ham Public Library. $4,000 for
rural pop. of 20,600. (County also
appropriates $240 to the indepen-
ing. The training must include a study ' dent Negro Ijibrary atDurnam.i
of..social situations and social trend.s. j Forsyth'County. Contract with Win-
It must include an intimate knowledge [ sion Salem Public Library. $i,5U0
, of government as an agency of society. ! for rural pop. of 28,874
are by no means made more dependenl knowledge of society, this | Guilford County. Contract with Greens-
$4,UUU lor
15 and 1926 was
appropriate more than one dollar per i caused kAtgely by the great increase in
inhabitant annually for county library I the number 6f livestock shipping associa-
service, and several other counties just i tions and in farmers’ grain elevators,
under one dollar per inhabitant. The ' The development of large-scale cotton,'
following are a few typical cases: Ala- tobacco, wheat, and milk marketing
meda County Free Library, $47,389 tor associations was also an important fac-
43,U74 population; Colusa County I’Yee tor. The big increase in memliership of
Library, $iu, 956 for population of 9,290; associations marketing dairy products.
ers who operate them are not financially I other cause, the state and county have ; ™‘'t unless they are anttcip,ated today.
Stepped in to help the mother raise her! ^ civil servant must be able
family. A financial value has been set! think. He must be a
on a mother’s care and she has been | set the
made to feel that she is doing the state I out of his office, his tools and his
a real service by rearing her children in i He must be efficient, as well as
a normal healthy way.
These Four Hundred are healthy,
representative, aocially minded and alert.
Element of Training
This requires broad and thorough train-
particularly 'fluid milk, was another
reason for big gains in amount of busi
ness transacted in 1925 as compared
with 1916
About 30 percent of ti^ business
handled in 1925 was reported for associa
tions engaged in the handling of grain,
including rice and dry beans. Over 22
percent of the total business was cred
ited to associations marketing dairy
products, including butter, cheese, fluid
milK, cream, ice creanr, and condensed
and powdered milk. Total estimated
business for the associations handling
grain was $750,000,(‘00;for those market
ing dairy products, $535,000,000; and
those marketing livestock,$320,000,000.
Sales by cotton associations amounted
to $150,000,000, and by tobacco market
ing associations to $90,000,000. Toe
associations handling fruits and vege
tables are credited with a total business
of $280,000,000.—Bureau of Agricultural
Economics, U. S. Department of Agri
culture.
by the help since large numbers of
them have become entirely self-sup
porting by following out some special
occupation in which they engaged to
augment their monthly pensions.
North Carolina’s Four Hundred ar^
being brought to renewed vigor and
economic independence. The state and
county are not pouring out money, they
sympathy for social needs, and this
knowledge f the inner workings of
government, cannot come from books
alone, nor from professors w’ho know-
naught but books. It must come from
active contacts with the-soeiety which is
to be servei^
The student should visit factories, 1
slums, jail.s, courts, libraries, council I
Hre investing it in the greatest crop j meeting.s, political gatherings of all i
North Carolina has~her children. | jjg himself, undertake a '
Their spirit is expressed by a letter j gp^^eifie tiisk in social control. Finallv I
written by one of these 400 m(,thers j jjjg training should include a period of :
who has 'succeeded in regaining her ! apprenticeship in ^’hich he proves him- :
health and obtaining a place as post-! competent to work with govern-
-ffistress. “1 like the work very well. | agencies as they are. '
The best of it all is depending on self I
for a living. You know we all feel bet- | ^ Training SchooSs
ter to make our own way. although I. Europe is far ahead of this country in |
Surely do appreciate what the county . its training for governmentservice, but a
HOW GOOD ROADS PAY
The ow'ner of a bus transportation
liuro Fuoiic Library,
rural pop. of 69,411.
Mecklenburg County. Coniract with , operating a number of busses,
• Charioile Public Library, 3926. Partly over hard-surfaced and partly
$6,(100 lor rural pop, of 34,36V. ! gravel or top-soil roads, expresses
New Hanover County. Contract with , costs at least three
Wilmington Public Library. |^ ^ bus-on a
lor rural pop. ot 7,248. ■ road than it does on a concrete
Rowan County. Contract with Sails- ■ course takes into conaid-
bury Public Library. $l,eU0 Rtt upkeep of car
rural pop. ot 10, i78. j ff gas* oil. etc.
Stanly County. Cuntracl wiin Albe-, n^il«age^op^ated by busses
$i,-
marie Public Library, 1926.
200 for rural pop. ol 24,738,
Vance County. Contract with Hender
son Memorial Library. $2,000 tor
rural pop. ol 17,677.
every ciay by the bus-executive quoted, is
;2,3uU miles, one-hali of which is over
gravel roads. This man estimates that if
all the roMs over whicn his busses are’
operated were concrete hi.-^
u.-> saving
VVakeUounly. Concracc with Raleigh be ;.BJ.60 a day. In a year this
t. 1 r a , would amount to $12,600, a sum which
Public Library, 1926. $3,Ui)0 for • , ,, • / . wiiion
: actually greater chan the net yearly
and state did for me.” '! few opportunities for such training bon* [ pr.fit from the elevei busses operated
Mothers’Aid is a plan by which such are appearing. There are thirty-three [County Memorial Library, company in question. Many
worthy mothers are helped to make colleges and universities in this country j Warrencun. $oUU tor rural pup. , authorities are agreed that for heavy
Their own way. May the ranks of the j giving work in government administra-i 20,666.—Library -iilxtension, . cars a saving of three cents a mile is a
Four Hundred be
Welfare Progress.
increased!—Public
THE PUBLIC SERVICE
The subject under discussion at the
last meeting of the North Carolina
tion, and several professional schools . American Library Assn,
giving training in particular phases of, In California the motor truck takes the
government service. In__these institu-!'books to the country people.: In North
(•unsei vative estimate, while the aver
age motor would save two and one-
half cents a mile by travelling on
tions theory is given from the stand- Carolina the country people must come smooth instead of ordinary roads-
paint of the community, not the indi- i into town to borrow the books from the
vidual, and is supplemented by practical; tov/n libiary. It is doubtful if the coun-
training in the field In Syracuse, for ' try people in the counties listed above
Club at the University was that of j instance, the student is not discharged | make much use of the bbrary service
(raining for public service. Mr. Robin- from the School of Citizenship and PuV provided lor them. Californi'a’s county
lie Affairs until he has done research in ' unit travelling library service seems to
the field as well as within the college be the best means of providing reading
walls, and until he has proved by actual
son Newcomb introduced the subject
with an excellent statement of the
requirements for a public official and
the opportunities in this country and
abroad for securing the necessary train
ing.
A public official is primarily a ser
vant, not a master; and his first duty as a
servant is towards bis master, society.
Unfortunately, and all too often, this
master has dissociated personality, and
speaks with as many voices as tljere are
particular interests; but the public ser
vant must turn a deaf ear to these rather
discordant voices—save as they help
him understand the command coming
from society as a whole. He must
understand this public opinion because
he must interpret it through many de
tailed and rather technical policies which
the public will never know, nor under
stand, but which should nevertheless be
in harmony with its desires. And he
must understand and follow this opinion
as far as possible if democracy is to be
more than a shibboleth.
A government official, says Mr. New-
service in some government department
that he is master of his technique as
well as his theory. The New York
Training School for Public Service is
the outstanding institution of its kind
in this country, and its graduates re
ceive good positions. The number of
such schools will increase with the de
mand for efficient, well-trained.adminis
trators in our municipal, ^ounty and
state governments.
COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEMS
facilities for country people. The plan
should be tried out in North Carolina,
first because she is predominantly a
rural state, and second because she
ranks almost at the bottom as a reading
state. Our dense rural population
couIq be reached over our splendia
highways at a minimum cost per in-
haoitant. What county in North Caro
lina will lead off?
A recent book. Library Extension
published by the American Library
Association, an exhaustive report on
public libraries in the United States
COOPERATIVES GAIN
Business to the amount of $2,400,000,-
000 was transacted during 1925 by the
30,800 farm associations reporting to
There are approximalely 400,000 auto
mobiles in North Carolina. Assuming
that each of these cars travels 5,000
miles ayear and that one-half of this
mileage is on dirt roads our motorists
are losing $26,000,000 a year on ac
count of naving to travel half the time
over ordinary roads. Conversely they
are saving $26,000,000 a year because
one-half ine time they are travelling
over-smooth-surfaced roads.
The automobile license tax and gaso
line tax in North Carolina amounts to
approximately $12,000,000 a year. Our
motorists therefore are saving approxi
mately $13,000,000 a year above all
forms of taxes imposed on autoists in
the cost of gas, tires, oil and automobile
upkeep. This does not take into ac
count, of course the saving of trans
portation time and expense.
Highway experts generally agree
that the saving to the motor vehicle
owners in America, through smooth
surfaced roads, in the course of five
years would sufficient to rebuild the
IT o A • . I I’oads. And this does not take into ac-
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, | count the saving of time and other
according to a preliminary report by the advantages that result from good road;
Division of Cooperative Marketing. This
and Canada, .contains a section on j increase of more than $i,700,-
county libraries. It has listed by states
the counties in which public funds are
appropriated for county library service.
Two hundred and twenty-three counties
are listed, with the amount of public
000,000 as compared with 1915 when the
6,424 associations reporting to the De-
partment handled a volume of business
estimated'at $636,000,000.
The largest gains, measured in dollars,
Nor GO any of the savings already men
tioned take into account the better
distribution of farm and other products
as a result of the increasing mileage of
good roads. The indirect economic ad
vantages of good roads to the com
munity as a whole, some apparent and
some not, are tremendous.-Charlotte
Observer.