L
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.
may 2, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 25
Ediloriul Board* E. C. Branson. S. H. Hobbs, Jr.. P. W. Wager, L. R. Wilson. E, W. Knight. D. D. Carroll. H. W. Odum.
Entered as aecend-claae matter November 14. 1914, at the Postofficc at Chapel Hill, N. C., under the act of August 24. 101S,
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN U. S.
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
North Carolina boasts of being the
most progressive state in the Union,
and the state that is developing most
rapidly; but if ratio of building con
struction ,to wealth is a reliable
criterion there are nine states that
surpass this state. At least such was
the case in 1926.
The taiile which appears elsewhere in
this issue gives ^he aggregate expendi
tures for building construction in each
state in 1926, according to the esti
mates of the F.W. Dodge Corporation.
The table also indicates what precent-
age of the total tangible wealth of each
state these expenditures represent. The
amount of wealth in each state in 1926
is estimated by the National Industrial
Conference Board and the United States
Bureau of the Census. According to
these estimates the tangible wealth of
the United States in 1926 was $367,-
900,000,000 and the building construc
tion that year amounted to $6,870,000,-
000. Building construction was thus
equivalent to 1.87 percent of the Na
tion’s wealth. In eleven states, in
cluding North Carolina, the ratio of
building cost to total wealth exceeded
this ratio.
South Active
The greatest building activity was in
Florida, but since this was the year
following the tornado it can hardly be
considered a normal year. Nevertheless
Florida, because of its gigantic building
program, might have held first place
even if the tornado Had not occurred.
The slates ranking next highest, in
order, are New York, Maryland (in
cluding the District of Columbia),
Michigan, and Illinois, all of which con
tain great urban centers. It is en-
co-araging to find five Southern states
among the highest ten. These, in addi
tion to Florida, are Louisiana, Texas,
Alabama and North Carolina. It may
hurt the pride of North Carolina some
what to discover that four of her neigh
bors outdistance her in this respect.
She can not find comfort in the fact that
only three Southern states—Florida,
Texas and Missouri—spent more in the
aggregate for building construction, for
if we rank all the states on the basis of
aggregate expenditures North Carolina
falls to fifteenth place. She can not
claim to be the fifth state on either
score.
Building activity in the South is not
limited to the five states mentioned
above. AH the Southern states except
South Carolina and Arkansas fall within
the first half. Building construction is
dullest in the agricultural states of the
Middle West, such as North and South
Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.
This is not surprising since it was these
states which suffered most from the de
flation in 1921 and in which the depres
sion has been most prolonged. It
Avould be wrong to infer, however,
that these are backward states.
Kansas and Iowa used to be held up as
model agricultural states and the fact
that they have had to curtail capital
outlays in recent years is no sign of
retrogression.
The South is now witnessing great
building activity because it was late
getting started.
Sectionalism Undesirable
No one section of the country should
desire to develop at the expense of
another section, nor is this desirable
from a national standpoint. The
country is now so closely tied together
with highways and railways that all
sectionalism is disappearing. The
movements of population and the
movements in industry which are now
taking place are a leveling-up process,
an adjustment in the interest of fuller
utilization of our varied resources.
New England began as an agricultural
area becausb it happened to be settled
early, but it was not adapted to agri
culture and when the fertile West was
opened up New England’s agriculture
was nearly ruined. New England
discovered then that manufacturing
was more profitable and it became one
of the greatest industrial areas of the
world. Now the South is drawing
some of its industries and New Eng
land is becoming a national playground.
It will never cease to be a great in
dustrial area, however. It has been
over-industrialized; it is becoming
better balanced..
In the same way the South has been i
tooexelusively agricultural. Agriculture ’
has not been able to absorb the sur-1
plus population. The South needs cit-;
ies and industries and it is getting
them. It is also establishing a few
parks and playgrounds and is beginning
to attract a share of the tourist busi- j
ness. j
The Middle West will probably con-1
tinue to be the granary of the Nation;
and it ought to be, for the Mississippi j
Valley is naturally adapted to agricul- |
ture. Yet it is an area which is able
to support great inland cities—St.
Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chi
cago. It has a type of agriculture which
produces a virile and cultured popula
tion. The West has contributed its full
quota to American leadership—Abra
ham Lincoln, James Whitcomb Riley,
Henry Wallace, Lorado Taft, Marion
Talley and scores of others.
The first half of the Twentieth Cen
tury will witness the country welded
into an economic unit as well as a
political unit. The shifting of in
dustry, the urbanization movement,
the yielding of marginal land back to
the forest are all part of the process.
And America is becoming a unit social-
lyi and culturally, too, and the auto
mobile and the radio are doing the
trick.
FARMERS FEED ALL
Man builds his castles, fair and high,
Wherever river runneth by;
Great cities rise in every land,
Great churches show the builder’s
hand;
Great arches, monuments, and
towers,
Fair palaces and pleasing bowers;
Great work is done, be it here or
there,
And well man worketh everywhere.
But work or rest, whate’er befall.
The farmer he must feed them all.
— Charles G. Leland, in Poems of
Country Life.
A CLEAN HOME TOWN
PUBLIC WELFARE WORK
Reviewing accomplishments of the
State Board of Charities and Public
Welfare, Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson,
commissioner of public welfare, praised
the officers for their efficient work in
an address at Winston-Salem before
the opening session of the State As
sociation of County Public Welfare
Superintendents.
“Our problem is not only to take
care of the unfortunate classes of our
population, but it is to work to pre
vent delinquency, sickness, poverty and
other social ills,” the speaker declared.
“In short, if we do our work well, we
shall do away with the necessity for
our jobs.” ^
Mrs. Johnson reviewed the progress
made since the reorganization of the
old Board of Public Charities in 1917,
until the present time.
“In the last ten years, the State’s
program has grown until we have 64
counties organized for welfare work
with county welfare superintendents,
although in 1918 only one county,
Forsyth, had such an officer,” she
said.
“The State Board had only one com
missioner and two assistants and to
day we have seven divisions and seven
teen members of staff. Two of the di
visions, those of Negro work and school
attendance, represent part of the work
made possible by three grants from
outside funds.
“You have seen the work accom
plished through the mothers’ aid funds,
set aside by the State and the 76 coun
ties participating, to help keep toge
ther families deprived of their father’s
support” said the speaker, calling at
tention to the fact that 633 families
have been helped since the fund was
started in 1923.
Among other advances the speaker
mentioned the enabling act making it
possible for groups of counties to es
tablish district hospital-homes for the
aged and infirm, changes in the adop
tion law, putting the State prison on
an appropriation basis, abolition of
dark cells and corporal punishment for
state prisoners and laws for the better
classification of convicts.
“Since 1913 the State has increased
the capacity of all institutions for de
fectives, delinquents and dependents, ”
said Mrs. Johnson.
“Your work is important because
North Carolina can not be unmindful
of the welfare of her citizens during
the phenomenal growth she is en
countering in her materia) wealth and
industrial expansion.”—Tarboro Daily
Southerner.
point the way to the action needed for
immediate improvement and future
growth.—The Editors.
1. What are the present industries
of our community, and whst propor
tion of local employment does each
provide?
2. Is there diversification of our
industries, or are most of our industrial
eggs in one basket?
3. Which of our industries have
shown a growth in the last two years?
4. Which of our industries have
failed lo grow in the last two years,
and why?
5. Of those industries that are
growing, what is the attidude of the
management as to increasing their
facilities in their present location, as
compared with locating their added
facilities elsewhere? Why?
6. How have state laws regulating
industrial operations affected our in
dustries and their employees?
7. What cooperation exists be-,
tween our industries and our com-'
munity for further cooperation? '
8. What new industries have been
established in our community in vhe
last two years, I'nd why?
9. What industries have ceased
operations or left our community in
the last two years, and why?
10. Are the consumer products of
local industries stocked by local whole
salers and retailers—if not, why?
11. What has been the record of tax
increases in our community during the
last five years?
12. How does the financial adminis
tration of our local government com
pare with the best business practice of
our community as to budgeting, pur
chasing, accounting, etc?
13. How many of the boys and girls
of last year’s high school graduating
class are now employed in our com
munity? How many felt they must
seek their opportunity elsewhere, and
why?
14. What is being done now to pro
vide opportunities in their home town
for the boys and girls graduating
this year?—Commerce and Finance.
In Pensacola 2,000 school children
joined in a clean-up campaign. It is
another impressive example of what
children may do to make life cleaner
and better in urban centers. Children
have been playing in all the progres
sive cities of the country in recent
years, and it is properly looked upon
as a very important part of their
practical education. It teaches them
many useful lessons in civics, and at
once brings them face to face with
the vital fact that health and beauty
go hand in hand.
It is interesting to note also that in
these clean-up efforts children often
are very much more efficient and thor
ough than are grown persons. Youth
is wide-eyed. Youth sees more, and
sees more accurately, as a rule, than
age, when it comes to rubbing out
the ugly spots in urban centers. The
range of vision seems to narrov/, and
the eyes become slower and duller,
as we age. Youth sees many things
not picked up by the eyes of older
persons. Children are not likely to
overlook anything in these clean-up
campaigns where they are interested
in what they are doing.
It is useful work, useful from the
standpoint of the health and beauty
of the city, and useful, too, from the
standpoint of the children who take
part in it, for it helps them to acquire
the habit of keeping the home town
clean, beautiful and healthy.—Atlanta
Constitution.
test your town
The following questions were pre-
pared by the New England Council’s
Committee on Public Relations and
Community Organization, and sub
mitted to New England’s industrial
communities with the comment,
“Honestly answered, they will show
any community the strong and weak
points of its industrial condition, and
WlLSONi’S MASTER FARMER
Mr. H. B. Bradshaw of Stantonburg
sold tobacco on the Wilson market this
week as he usually does but the most
interesting thing about bis farming is
the fact that he farms for a living and
makes it at home. He has sold from his
tobacco crop $4,600.00 worth of to
bacco, will kill 3,000 pounds of bacou
and sell some 30 head of pure-bred pigs.
He has gathered 60 bushels of peas,
200 bushel^ of sweet potatoes, 100
bushels of fall crop white potatoes,
saved hay and forage to last through
the winter, and sufficient corn for his
stock for the whole year.
SOUTHERN COLLEGES
Reports from 170 Southern institu
tions, for the fall term of 1927, show a
total enrollment of 122,006. Baptist
senior colleges had 16,023 students, 11,-
179 being either Baptist or expressing
a preference for the Baptist denomi
nation; the Methodist senior colleges,
one institution not reporting, had 13,-
802 students, 8,797 being either
Methodists or expressing a preference
for the Methodist denomination; the
Presbyterian senior colleges, one insti
tution failing to answer questionnaire,
reported an enrollment of 7,471, 3,664
being Presbyterians or expressing a
preference for the Presbyterian de
nomination. The Episcopalians have
only one senior college, the University
of the South, and out of 303 students
enrolled, 186 were members of the
Episcopal Church.
In Baptist schools 69.9% of the stu
dent body ate affiliated with the Baptist
denomination; in Methodist institutions,
63,7% are Methodists; in Presbyterian
institutions, 49.0% are Presbyterians;
and in the one Episcopal institution,
613% are Episcopalians. The non-
sectarian colleges and universities had
a total enrollment of 16,311; the state
universities, 36,217; the state colleges,
26,744; and all other denominational
institutions, 6,438.
The state universities and colleges
have slightly more than one-half of the
total enrollment; the denominational
colleges have 36.1%, Baptists leading
with 13.2% ; Methodists ,11.3%; Presby
terians, 6,1%.-Report of Southern
Baptist Convention.
Mr. Bradshaw has raised a family of
eleven children and has made a profit on
his farm every year for 30 years, except
1920. He has never bought feed for
his stock but one year since he began
farming and has bought only four
pounds of lard in 30 years. He can
gather vegetables for his table every
day in the year. He diversifies and
farms for a profit, therefore he makes
cotton and tobacco only as excess crops
to supplement and give his stock and
boys work to keep them out of mis
chief. Two of his tenants follow his
plan and have cleared money every year.
—Wilson Daily Times.
THE LIFE OF A DOLLAR
In order to get a line on the life and
adventures of a dollar bill, the Wauke
gan, Illinois, chamber of commerce
started out a new bill some time ago,
with a circular attached, requesting
every person handling the bill to make
a notation of its use.
Here is the history for fourteen days,
changing hands for service:
Five times for salary.
Five times for tobacco.
Five times for cigarettes.
Three times for candy.
Twice for men’s furnishings.
Twice for shaves.
Once for automobile accessories.
Once for bacon.
Once for washing powder.
Once for garters.
Once for tooth paste.
The dollar was spent twenty-seven
times, but it never got into church or
theatre, and was not used for amuse
ment in fourteen days. It was new
when it started out, but when it came
back it was soiled, wrinkled and de
jected.—Durham Herald.
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN 1926
And Percentage of Tangible Wealth Which It Represents
The following table gives the estimated expenditures for building con
struction in each of the states in 1926, and the states are ranked according to
the ratio of such expenditures to total estimated tangible wealth. The esti
mates of tangible wealth are made by the National Industrial Conference Board
and the United States Bureau of the Census. The estimates of construction
expenditures were made for most states by the F. W. Dodge Corporation. The
figures followed by an asterisk were independently estimated. This table is
adapted from a table on Economic Resources and School Costs which appeared
in a recent issue of the University of Virginia News Letter.
The total estimated tangible wealth of the country in 1926 was $367,900,-
000,000 and the estimated expenditures for building construction $6,870,000,000.
Building costs thus represented 1.87 percent of wealth. In eleven states the
ratio exceeded this average and five of these were Southern states.
Florida had far greater building construction in proportion to wealth than
any other state, but this was partly due to the replacement of property de
stroyed by the tornado. New York, with its great metropolis, ranked second,
and Maryland, including District of Columbia, third. South Dakota had rel
atively less construction than any other state.
North Carolina’s building construction amounted to $102,640,000 which is
equivalent to 1.94 percent of its estimated tangible wealth in 1926. Nine
states witnessed relatively more building activity, among them Florida, Louis
iana, Texas, and Alabama.
Department of Rural Social-Economics, University of North Carolina
Expend!-
Percent-
Expend!- Percent-
ture
age of
ture age of
for build- tangible
for build- tangible
Rank State
ing con-
wealth
Rank State
ing con- wealth
struc-
which
struc- which
tion
this re-
tion this re-
1926
presents
1926 presents
1 Florida
$ 247,603,260...8.74
26 Arizona
18,160,977^.1.17
2 New York
.1,646,610,000...3.67
26 Delaware
7,342,600...1.06
3 Maryland
.. 190,146,600...2.84
27 Vermont
10,374,900...1.04
4 Michigan
.. 366,831,400...2.67
28 West Virginia..
66,348,600...1.03
6 Illinois
. 668,648,100...2.63
29 Idaho
18,098,968*..1.01
6 Louisiana
. 87,646,100...2.20
30 Oregon
;-i9,942,661*..1.00
7 New Jersey....
. 293,003,300...2.12
31 Colorado
36,249,945*.. .96
8 Texas
. 232,411,800...2.02
32 Maine
22,276,600... .96
9 Alabama
.. 69,097,200...1.98
33 Washington
66,909,170*.. .93
10 North Carolina.
.102,540,400 ..1.94
34 New Mexico ....
9,163,601*.. .92
11 Ohio
.. 407,142,300...1.88
36 Virginia
49.549,100... .87
12 Rhode Island...
. 41,386,000...1.84
86 Arkansas
26,673,600... .84
13 Missouri
. 209,782,900... 1.80
37 Montana
21,376,606*. .82
14 Kentucky
. 73,117,600...1.74
38 Minnesota
78,827,600... .79
16 Georgia
. 78,634,200...1.72
38 Utah
14,302,346*. .79
16 California
. 296,812,681*.1.69
40. Wyoming
8,217,348*. .72
17 Massachusetts
. 266,064,600...1.68
41 Kansas
49,233,600... .67
18 Connecticut....
. 102,600,600...1.66
42 South Carolina.
18,217,700... .66
19 Pennsylvania ..
662,683,400...1.64
43 New Hampshire 9,692,600... .69
20 Tennessee
. 67,373,300...1.37
44 Nebraska
36,264,400... .67
21 Mississippi
. 33,832,100...1.33
46 Iowa
60,396,800... .49
22 Wisconsin
. 117,197,100...1.28
46 North Dakota..
9,062,400... .32
23 Indiana
. 131,201,600...1.27
47 Nevada
1,872,S07«.. .30
24 Oklahoma
68,260,100...3.26
48 South Dakota..
7,666,900... .22