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.
MARCH 28, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 20
Editorial Boardt E
C. Branson. S. H. Hobbs. Jr.. P. W. Wager, L. R. Wilson, E. W. Knight. D. D. Carroll. H. W. Odum.
B second-class matter November 14. 1914. at the Postoffice at Oiapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24. 1912.
FEWER HORSES ON FARMS
: The cultivation of cotton and tobacco
j does not lend itself to mechanization as
One of the pauses of continued low | production of grain crops. ^
prices for hay and grain is the great i ggsides, the South has always been
decrease in the number of horses and j livestock. Importing its grain
mules in the United States. Since | found it practicable
decrease of
twenty percent in the number of work
animats on farms, to say nothing of
the even greater decrease injtowns and
In fact, horse-drawn vehicles
citljB:
have almost disappeared from city
streets.
This phenomenal decrease in the
number of horses and mules in the
United States has curtailed one of the
major markets for feed products. The
result has been the production of a
■gurplus of feed crops and consequent
low prices. To the extent that these
acres, released from the necessity of
producing feed crops, have been planted
to food crops, it has had a depressing
effect on the price of those crops. It
is estimated that the decrease in work
stock has released, or should release,
six million acres that have been grow
ing corn, six million acres that have
been growing oats, and eight million
acres that have been producing hay.
These acres cannot be planted^to other
grops without doing injury to the
market of these ^Iher crops.
Results of Mechanization
The motorization of the farm has
thus had the effect of curtailing the
market for certain agricultural prod-
acts at the same tim'e that it has
enabled the farmer to increase his
production. This has depressed prices
and lowered the farmer’s income at a
time when he needed more money to
pay for his tractor and buy gasoline.
The magazines are constantly exhort
ing the farmer to motorize and
mechanize his farm operations, and
thereby reduce production acosts. No
lioubt the authors of these articles are
mean that it has economized in the use
of horse power; to the contrary, cash-
crop farming allows the mule to stand
idle many days in the year.
sincereTn their dosire to help the farm
er, but the farmer knows, or^ought to
know, thatthese change9'benefit;society
more than they benefit him. Any
thing thajt benefits society will even
tually benefit the farmers, but the im
mediate results may be disastrous.
Again, writers delight in^Teminding
us how it usel to take several hours of
labor to produce a bushel of wheat but
that now the production of a bushel of
wheat requires only ten minutes. The
implication is that the farraer^must be
prospering. They forget to mention
that a machine is a product of past
labor and that the production of ;,wheat
is simply taking less farm;Jabor and
more city labor, the farmer paying for
the latter when he buys the machine.
The table which appears elsewhere in
this issue shows the estimated number
•f horses and mules on the farms of
each state at the beginning^of the pres
ent year, and what percentage of the
1920 figure each represents.
It will be noticed that the decreases
▼ary from one percent in New Mexico
to 31.7 in Ohio. The largest decreases
are in the areas of diversified farming
in Ohio, Michigan, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri
and the New England states. These
are states which formerly found t
market for young horses in their re
spective cities. There is now no such
market and the number of colts foaled
in 1926-27 was scarcely a third of the
number foaled in 1919-1920. These are
all hay and grain states and they have
lost their market for hay and oats
well as for colts. There are thousands
of excellent grain and livestock farms
in these states that can be bought for
less than the cost of the buildings.
South Uses Mules
The Southern states use mules. The
number of them in use has not de
creased noticeably in many states. In
several states the numbet has increased.
Taken the country over there are more
mules now than in IVviO. There are
more in North Carolina than there were
eight years ago, some 25,000 more. The
cumber of horses has decreased, how
ever, from 171,000 to 106,000. The
horse was utilized for both road and
field service; the mule was mainly a
plow animal. The automobile has thus
displaced more horses than mules.
The South has witnessed proportion
ately less reduction in the number of
work animals than some othei; areas
because of the nature of its agriculture.
THE SIX HUNDRED
The six-hundredth Mothers’ Aid case
has been approved by the State Di
rector of Mothers’ Aid, and a young
widow with five children under ten
years of age, will be helped in caring
for her family by a small monthly
check. Since the work was started in
in 1923, six hundred families have
been helped by grants. Nearly 400 of
these are being helped at the present
time, since the other 200 have become
self-supporting, or have been removed
from the list for other reasons.
It was in April, 1927, that the father
in this six-hundredth family, who was
a worker in the mills, was killed in a
street car accident. Since then the
mother has worked hard to keep her five
children with her. She has been running
a boarding house and has made a small
income, but this supplemented by help
from friends has not been enough to
care for the children comfortably. The
county superintendent of public wel
fare has kept in close touch with the
family, and after having physical ex
aminations made, the case was ap
proved. The . Mothers’ Aid monthly
cheeks will lighten the heavy load
which the mother has been carrying
and will let her devote more time to
her small children.
In helping the six hundred, a finan
cial value has been set by the state and
counties cn a mother’s care and she
has been made to feel that she
is doing the state a real service by
rearing her children in a normal healthy
way.
The six hundred are healthy, fine and
straight-forward women. They are
alive to their responsibilities and grate
ful for the aid. There is little chance
of finding their children out of school
when they should be there, and the
children keep out of juvenile court.
The mothers are by no means made
more dependent by the help, since a
large number have become entirely self-
supporting, and their monthly checks
have been discontinued.
North Carolina's six hundred are
THEY GOT EVERYTHING
I have repeatedly said after being
in each State of the Union for two
consecutive years, that North Caro
lina has made the most progress in
the last five years and Texas is next.
It seems a surprise to people who
don’t travel around much to hear
this. Perhaps they hadn’t heard of
anything that either one of these
two had done. But I want to be im
partial, and I want to be fair, and
that is what I absolutely believe.
Course we got a lot of them that
are humming. But like Oklahoma,
and California, and Florida and a
dozen others, they have been im
proving over a longer stretch of
time. They have been'great for
quite a while. But North Carolina
just looked like it popped up over
night. They got everything.—Will
Rogers.
1905 there has been a notable increase
in the number of associations formed
each year. The years 1912 and 1919
recorded marked increases, and 1920
holds the record for the formation of
cooperative organizations with nearly
1,4U0 associations formed that year.
Two-thirds of the associations active in
1926 were formed after the beginning
ofl916.-U. S. Dept, of Agriculture
Press Release.
but a new earth. Still greater is the
work of poet and prophet. They teach
us with what will to meet meanness,
uncleanness, cruelty, treachery, and
hate which are everywhere among men
and in all human institutions.
You must go down with the Son of
Man into the thick of the struggling
multitude. You belong with them.
You are of one blood and like passions
with them. You must march with
them.—W. L. Bryan, President Uni
versity of Indiana.
being brought to renewed vigor and
economic indpendence. The state and
counties are not pouring out money,
they are investing it in the greatest
crop North Carolina faas-her children.
-Public Welfare Progress.
LOOKING AT LIFE
What one thinks of life as a whole,
and of almost every moment of it, de
pends upon whether he sees it from
the first or the second or the third of
three distances—far off in the glow of
romance, close up to its ugly worst, or
inside where life makes its upward
flight. These three views show the
three estates of men.
The first is the paradise of children,
poets, Santa Claus; it is the view of
those who thought the French Revolu
tion, the Civil war, the World war
would put an end to war. That view
will not do for any of us who find a
world peace of bloodshed and whole
sale starvation not less dreadful than
the World war. No wonder we have
the great pessimist8-Moliere,.Schopen-
hauer. Swift, Nietzsche.
Nevertheless it is possible to know
the worst and not be a pessimist, to
meet the worst without fear, without
surrender. The scholar at his best
does so. The scholar undertakes to
destroy the plagues, yellow fever,
tuberculosis, syphilis, and the^rest.
The scholar .undertakes to fight
poverty by finding new and_ unlimited
energies in place of coal and, by fur
nishing the conditions for economic lib
erty which underlies political .liberty.
The scholar knows the physical hells
better than anyone else and he is not
afraid. Withoutj fear, without haste,
without rest, he goes about to destroy
[them and to make not a new. heaven
CONGRESS AND THE BARGES
The barge service of the Inland
Waterways Corporation on the lower
Mississippi River saved shippers $1
900,000 last year. That is equal to a 6
percent return on more than thirty
million dollars, something over three
times the capital investment in this
Federal waterway line.
A great deal more might have been
saved had there been facilities avail
able, for the barge line had to turn
down thousands of tons it could not
carry. The statement of Middle
Western grain dealers that they would
have shipped several million bushels
more if the service had permitted does
not make pretly reading when it is
considered that a saving of over three
cents a bushel was lost thereby. A
still greater saving was lost to sugar
consumers of the Middle West and
Northwest because the line could
handle less than half the 1.369,000 bags
6acb month. And the Wheat
Belt paid more for its sisal because so
much of it had to be shipped by rail
instead of at the lower combination
rail-water rate.
An investment that safely promises
a distinct monetary gain is justified.
It is justified still more when it helps
to relieve the burden of a great section
that is suffering from transportation
disadvantages. Both good business
and square dealing are on the side of
congressional action to build up the
inland waterway system to a stale
where it can meet its opportunities.—
Country Gentleman.
OUR NATIONAL PARK
The gift of $6,000,000 by the Laura
Spelman Rockefeller Memorial to the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
fund insures the successful completion
of that ambitious project, whereby the
eastern section of the United States
will obtain a great- park rivaling in
magnitude the Yellowstone, Yosemite,
Grand Canyon and Glacier ^National
Parks.
The proposed area is 700 square miles
in extent, including mountainous coun
try in eastern Tennessee and western
North Carolina. Scores of peaks tower
more than 6,000 feet and hundreds top
6,000 feet. Nearly half of the area is
covered by virgin forests, in which are
found red deer, black bear, elk and
abundant smaller game. More than
400 miles of trout streams are there.
The value of this great park to the
eastern part of tbe United States is in
its close proximity to three-fourths of
the population of this country. The
generous action of the Rockefeller
Memorial; in doubling all contributions
up to the sura of $5,000^000, means an
immediate gift of $4,913,000, as that
much has already been secured for tbe
park purpose. The $9,826,000 thus
available is expected to be sufficient to
purchase the land in the proposed area.
—Lincoln County News.
buying, and greater number of luxuries
in homes, the American people, on
June 30, 1927, had $36,000,000,000 de
posited in savings accounts.
In 1921 the national income was $62,-
000,000,000, and it has increased every
year since. In 1921 the average
per capita income was $1,637 and in,
1928 it was $2,210, an increase of 36
percent.
“This income indicates tbe highest
standard of living for the population
of the United States ever attained in
this or any.other country^” the Bureau
declared.
“This great increase in income is not
the result of an increase in the price
level, for the average price of con
sumed goods was actually less in 1926
than in 1921.’’—Public Service.
U.S. STANDARD OF LIVING
The American people last year at
tained the highest standard of living
ever reached in the history of the
world, according to a report of the Bu
reau of Internal Revenue.
In 1926 the 117,000,000 people of the
United States had a total income of
$89,682,000,000, an increase of 43 per
cent in the five years ynce 1921. The
experts in the Bureau of Internal
Revenue stated that this year tbe
national income will equal or slightly
surpass that of last year.
Officials believe that daring the pres
ent year commercial conditions are
more nearly normal than at any time
since the war. In spite of the increas
ing standards of living, installment
STATE HIGH SCHOOLS
State high schools in North Carolina
have shown remarkable growth since
the passage of the first high school
act by the General Assembly in
1907, figures made public by the State
Department of Education reveal-
In 1907 there were a number, of city
and town schools but rural high schools
were virtually unknown. Under the
authority of the 1907 law about 146
rural schools opened, making a total of
about 200 high schools in the stale.
Last year this number had increased
to 800 with an enrollment of approxi
mately 100,000 students, as compared
with an enrollment of 10,000 in 1907.
Not every county in the state boast
ed a high school back in 1907, but today
there is at least one in every county
from Cherokee to Currituck.
In 1916-16, the first year for which
figures were available, there were only
a few more than 1,000 high-school grad
uates, whereas last spring more than
10,00o boys and girls, white and colored,
graduated from the high schools of the
state.
Attendance in state high schools last
year was 86 percent of the enrollment
for whites and 80.6 for negroes. 'Ihe
percentage in city schools was greater
for both rai-es than in rural schools.—
News and Observer.
TOWN FORESTS
The State of New Hampshire now
has 61 town forests with a total area
of 11,643 acres and an established value
of $826,000, according to reports to the-
Forest Service, United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.
Some towns have purchased their for
est land; others have received theirs
from charter. Newington, as an ex
ample, has held title to its land sinca
1710. 'These town forests are being re
forested naturally and by planting of
seedlings as rapidly as possible and are
increasing in value from year to year.
They now serve as recreational areas,
but eventually will bring in a good in
come to towns or cities, helping to re
duce taxes.—U. S. Department of
Agriculture Press Release.
HORSES AND MULES ON FARMS IN U. S.
Number in 1928, and Percentage Which This Is of 1920 Figure
The following table shows the number of horses and mules on farms in each
state on January 1, 1928, according to United States Department of Agriculture
estimates, and the percentage which each is of the 1920 figure.
Tbe census of 1920 showed that there were 19,767,161 horses and 6,432,391
mules on farms in the United States. The estimate for January 1, 1928, is 14,-
641,000 horses and 6,666,000 mules. There has thus been a twenty-percent de
crease in the number of work animals on farms in eight years.
In thirty states the decrease has been even more pronounced. In eighteen
states, mainly southern states, the decrease has been less. Ohio has only 68.3
percent of the number of horses and mules it had in 1920; on the other hand
New Mexico has suffered a decrease of only one percent. North Carolina has
witnessed less than a ten-percent decrease.
Department of Rural Social-Economics, University of North Carolina
INCREASE IN COOPERATION
Discussing the develupment ot agri
cultural cooperation in the United
States, R. H. Elsworth, of the Uniled
States Department of Agriculture,
compared the movement to a series of
waves. “These,” he said, “have not
been of equal magnitude, nor have
they been evenly spaced through the
years. As each wave broke it lost its
momentum. Furthermore, the waves
did not reach the crest in all parts of
the country at the same time. Besides
the big waves, there were minor local
waves and cross waves produced by
various commodity-group developments.
Despite the backwash from the waves,
there has been a material gain through
out the years in the number of indi
viduals participating in cooperative en
terprises, and in the volume of sales
and purchases made on a cooperative
basis.”
In analyzing the development Mr.
Elsworth noted that of 10,803 cooper
ative associations listed by the Depart
ment of Agriculture in 192B only 102
had been organized prior to 1890. Since
Horses Percent
and mules of num-
Rank State in 1928 ber in
(000 1920
omitted)
1 New Mexico 201 99.0
2 Wyoming 196 96.6
3 Texas 1,'48 96,4
4 Alabama 394 92.3
6 Nevada 48 90.6
6 North Carolina 387 90.4
7 Minnesota 824... »87.4
8 Florida 69 86.8
8 Kentucky 679 86.8
10 Iowa 1,170 86.6
11 Nebraska 898 84.6
11 Mississippi 442 84.6
13 Wisconsin 679 84.2
14 Arkansas 482 83.9
15 Utah 166 82.8
16 Tennessee 661 82.3
17 Montana 647 80.8
18 Maine 76 80.0
19 West Virginia 147 79.9
20 Colorado 360 79.8
21 Connecticut 31 79.6
22 Oklahoma 896 79 0
23 Georgia 398 78,7
24 Delaware 29 78.4
Hi-rses Percent
and mules of nura-
Rank State in 1928 ber in
(000 1920
omitted
25 Louisiana 281 78.3
26 Indiana 623 76.2
27 South Dakota 633 76.1
28 Virginia 311....,.,.. 76.0
29 Rhode Island 5 76.8
30 Kansas 1,003 76.6
31 North Dakota 643 74 6
31 Washington 288 74.6
33 Arizona... 110 74 4
34 Maryland 129 74.2
34 South Carolina 221 74.2
36 Oregon 211 73.8
37 California 343 73.6
38 Idaho 221 73.4
39 Pennsylvania 410 73.1
39 New Jersey 67 73.1
41 New York 896 73.0
42 Missouri 944 72.8
43 Massachusetts 37 72.6
44 Illinois 1,046 71.3
46 New Hampshire ... 27 71.1
46 Michigan 484 71.0
47 Vermont 66 70.6
48 Ohio 676 68.3