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.
JUNE 20, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 32
Editorial Uoardi E. C. Branson, S. H. Hobbs, Jr., P. W. Wasrer, L. R. Ilson, E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroll. H. W, Odum.
Entered as Becond-ciasB matter November 14. 1914, at the PostofBce at Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of AnguBt 24, 19iS.
EQUALIZING FUND
This issue carries a table giving the
function in keeping the nation well
i balanced. Mr. Miller undertakes to
I view the town with a calm, critical and
apportionment of the State Equalizing , sympathetic eye. He has done so with
Fund for schools for 19^8-29 compared i modesty and understanding. It seems
with the distribution of 1927-28. AI- should have passed away
though many of our reader's will have , jjefore his book came out.
seen these figures in the daily papers it'
seems worth while to publish them in
this sheet also.
It will be noticed that only ninety
counties participate in the equalizing
fund. Of these, sixty receive increases
this year and thirty suffer decreases. '
Johnston gets the largest increase and
Randolph salfers the greatest decrease.
Randolph’s reduced apportionment is
due, no doubt, to the unanticipated in
crease in property valuations which the
county enjoyed last year. This in turn
was the result of the location thereof a
corporation which pays taxes on several
million dollars of “corporate excess.”
Graham and Rowan suffer the largest
relative reductions.
Board’s Statement
The f'lllowing statement was issued
by Leroy Martin, secretary to the board,
in connection with the figures:
“The State Board of Equalization
meeting May 28 for the purpose of
determining the valuation of the vari
ous counties of the State (these values
to be the basis u^3n which the $3,260,-
000 Stale equalizing fund for schools
is distributed) found that the school
cost, as certified by the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, showed an in
crease of $768,484.66 for the entire
State ovar the previous year. Of this
amount, $532,701.67 represented the
increase hi the 90 participating coun
ties over that of last year.
“The General Assembly of 1927 in
providing the equalizing fund for the
• two-year period did not make provision
for an hicreased fund for the second
year. The increased budget could then
be met only by an increase in valuation
of $133,000,000 above the determined
valuation of last year for the 90 parti
cipating counties alone or by increasing
the rate used in the calculation above
the 40-ceDt rate provided in the law.
After much consideration a decision
was reached to increase the valuation
to such extent that the application of
a 40-ceQt rate would produce a sufficient
amount when added to the equalizing
fund to meet the increased budget.
“Each county of the State was then
taken up and consideration given to the
various factors that influence valua
tions. All district lines were disre
garded and every effort made to regard
the questions presenting themselves
from a State viewpoint. Every county
in the State has been visited by a rep
resentative of the Board and a vast
amount of information concerning the
relative ability of the several counties
to support their schools has been as
sembled. Township maps showing the
land values by townships of every
county have been prepared; information
as to the 'warious types of land has
been procured, and crop values as
certaine)(; and these items, together
with value of town property, corporate
wealth, individual and corporate income
tax paid, are a part of the data used.
“After four days of continuous work,
in reality the culmination of a year s
study, valuations for all the counties of
the State amounting to a total of $3,-
196,860,624 were fixed. This total
value exceeds that placed on the coun
ties by their own assessors by $260,
993,461, but the Board believes that the
values thue fixed represent a basis for
distribution that results in a fair and
equitable participation by all the coun
ties in accordance with their ability to
meet that part of the school cost in
which the State shares."
By the country town Mr. Miller
means any community, large or small,
that does most of its business with
rural districts and derives Ms prosperity
from the prosperity of country pei.ple.
The true country town grows out of
farming districts “as trees grow out
of the soil" is his phrase. Wealth flows
to towns and the best types of country
people also—which is a great present-
day problem.
Mr. Miller thinks that the problem of
town and country is to be worked out
by the men who control rural towns,
INFLUENCE OF BEAUTY
If we could surround ourselves
with forms of beauty, the evil.things
of life would disappear and our
moral standards would be raised.
Through our contact with the beauti
ful we see more of the truth and
are brought into closer contact with
the infinite. Our country has reached
a point where this is no longer a
visionary desire, but is becoming an
actual reality. With general pros
perity, with high wages, with rea
sonable hours of labor, have come
both the means and the time to
cultivate the artistic spirit.—Presi
dent Coolidge.
ings, business organizations, social
gatherings, etc., it becomes possible to
make a very attractive rural civiliza
tion.
To realize this ideal, the country
children and young people must have
school opportunities as good as those
I of cities. Some will say that is impos-
isibie. However, by transporting chil-
! dren to consolidated schools, they are
! often getting opportunities equal to
^ those provided by cities.
The country district school should
i give excellent opportunities when com
petent persons are hired as teachers. |
It may be able to give the personal at- |
: tention to each pupil which the crowded
; city school is often unable to give.
The country people will not get
There was also the consideration of
beauty. Canada is somewhat less
tolerant than the United States of
clutter and ugliness on the highways.
Soon, no doubt, this will be the rule
everywhere. Cities and towns, un
fortunately, will be cluttered up and
uglified needlessly long after the rural
sections have regained their original
beauty.
Even in the country, however, the
cleaning up of the highways often fails
to accomplish its full purpose, because
of the billboards permitted to deface the
scenery on private property along the
roadside. That is the next thing to get
after. It is harder to handle, because
people insist that they have a right to
do what they like on their own prop
erty. Progress can be made, however,
“I will neither make nor oppose in
terlocutory motions, unless they are of
uy iiicii vY.iv. J.ggj jjjjpQrtance.
They should not squeeze all possible ^
out of farmers as is often done. i "I will take no appeal unless 1 am
Instead they should co-operate with satisfied that a substantial error has
the farmer population. At present been committed and that, a new trial
there is much prejudice on both sides, should reasonably give a different re-
The country folks often look on town • suit.
people as smart Alecks and parasites. ■ The As.sociation of the Bar of the
On the other hand, the townsmen often . City of New York endorsed the spirit
consider the farmers to be vulgar and purpose of this credo at a recent
rubes. The average New Yorker looks meeting and its action has inspired the
on nine-tenths of Americans as rubes. New York Evening World to comment
The town groceryman objects to farm- as follows: “Canons and credos have
ers ordering supplies from mail houses , long found more or less ready accep-
in great cities like Chicago. But the ' tance among bar associations. They
farmer says that the village grocer is formulate the higher standards of the
high-priced and unattentive. Then ^ Bar and are fine things to point to at
there is rivalry between the cities and banquets and similar gatherings of the
rural districts in politics. Again city , profession,
people object to being taxed for good “The bar association of this city,
roads and schools in rural communities however, can now claim credit for
which can not support themselves. The . something more. They can point to
small towns often side with the cities, the current daily proceedings at the
Miller says they should mediate be- New York County Court House in
tween the two or ally themselves with ■^hich ambulance-chasing lawyers are
the farmers. already squirming under the probe of
To New York Main Street’s culture Justice Wasservogel and Chief Counsel
is crude. Yet it is desirable to the Kresel. This very real, practical and
farmer. The town has better preach
ers, physicians, health protection, and
many fine entertainment opportunities. I ^^king them see that ugliness al
But the radio supplies that need.
When libraries and reading rooms are
movies. The farmer often thinks that
he is excluded, although the town peo
ple often make themselves at home in
the country. Again the country is con
servative and the towns are more
radical. This statement may sound
strange but it is true of business meth
ods and social customs if not of
politics.
Mr. Miller thinks that the little town
active move toward safeguarding the
standards of the profession by direct
action against unscrupulous members
thereof was petitioned for by the New
York bar associations themselves.
“Such direct action makes the canons
and credos a hundred-fold more impres
sive.”—Federal Council of Churches’
Bulletin.
established in all country towns, as
they should be, then they have an op
portunity which brings culture close to
the people.
It will cost some money to provide
the rural districts with all the benefits
of city life. But people of wealth will
live in the country more and more, and
their taxes will help provide' these
advantages,—Pulaski (Va.) Southwest
Times.
ways lowers property values, and
beauty raises them. —Gastonia Gazette.
BEAUTIFUL HIGHWAYS
The province of New Brunswick,
Canada, joins the long list of states and
provinces on this continent that are
banishing advertising signs from the
highways.
’ The action was hastened by a modern
program for numbering and marking
highways for motorists, it was found
that the effectiveness of the traffic
signs was often lost because of adjacent
oillboards or other signs which obscured
the road marks or at least distracted
the motorist’s attention. For effective
ness and safety, it was imperative to
sweep away all but the official road
signs.
ELIMINATE ILLITERACY
If in , seven years 6,000 of the 7,000
illiterates in Buncombe County could bo
rescued from the plight in which Mrs.
Elizabeth Morriss found them, it should
not bs a baffling undertaking to bring
all of the 200,000 illiterate men and
women in North Carolina under the
influence of such schools as have been
established here through the leader
ship of Mrs. Morriss. She has done
the pioneer work that was called for
and has shown what can be achieved.
It remains only to extend the same
system to all parts of the state and
the interest which the educational
leaders at Raleigh this week displayed
in the movement is most encouraging.
Apart from the obligation which the
state owes to the unfortunates who in
their youth lacked the advantages that
are now genera), the elimination of il
literacy from North Carolina in the
next five years—and we believe that it
could be eliminated in that length of
time, or perhaps much less—would be
worth many times the cost of such an
effort, in ridding the state of what is
today one of its ugliest stigmas.—
Asheville Citizen.
BUS TRANSPORTATION
The News and Observer, of Raleigh,
should bridge the gap between itself, attention to the fact that a Sea-
and its country neighbors and perhaps ; Line officer has resigned to
between itself and the large cities. It; charge of a big line of trucks to
must improve its appearance, become j operated in Georgia and Florida. It
the right sort of town, and seek after | ^^^^t thousands of crates of
cultural progress. It must no't seek • g^^awberries are being hauled in trucks
after bigness but after perfection. | Eastern North Carolina to Rich-
Then a finer spirit will arise. 1 Baltimore and other Eastern
A greater future is drawing near. ; markets. The Henderson (N. C.)
City business men are showing the | oispatch reports that half-a-dozen
farmer how to make more money, i trucks passed through that town a few
Journalists are aiding in developing | ggo en route to the North,
community planning. The drift to the ^ handling of fruit of many kinds
cities will go on and the farmers are be-; trucks is developing at a rate
coming a minority. Yet their products | gggj,(.giy realized. In Florida the reg-
will thereby become more valuable as ^ truck service carries a vast
they are more needed. Past civilizations ; Qf freight from Jacksonville to
have decayed as a result of too much ; lower part of the state, with return
movement to the cities. We must pre- Jacksonville. Indeed, some
vent this in America. Mr. Miller ; j^yegtigations have been made by auto
thinks that our future lies in the small; interests looking to the handling
APPORTIONMENT OF EQUALIZING FUND
For 1928-29 as Compared with That of 1927-28
The following table shows what each of the ninety participating counties
received last year from the State Equalizing Fund for schools and what each
will receive this coming year.
All of the $3,260,000 appropriated by the legislature will be distributed this
year except $100,000 which is reserved as an emergency fund. Sixty counties
receive increases, most of which are small. The largest increase goes to John
ston county. Thirty counties suffer decreases, several of which are quite large.
Randolph is cut from $67,706.68 to $14,397.84, this being the greatest absolute
decrease suffered by any county. This is due, no doubt, to the fact that Ran
dolph’s valuation last year ran far ahead of the estimate of the State Board
of Equalization. Graham and Rowan witness the greatest relative decreases.
Department of Rural Social-Economics. University of North Carolina
TOWN AND COUNTRY
“Town and Country” is the title of
a book by Elva E. Miller, issued by the
University of North Carolina Press
at Chapel Hill. Various aspects of
town life in America have been de
picted. Sinclair Lewis and Sherwood
Anderson have emphasized the mean,
narrow, spiteful, gossipy, ugly, hypo
critical side. On the other hand, Wil
liam Allen White and Ed Howe have
decribed the sweetness and wholesome
ness of the life in small towns, and
the freedom, neatness and cleverness
of their inhabitants, as well as their
towns.—Asheville Citizen.
A LAWYER’S CODE
Mr. Justice Proskauer of the Supreme
Court of New York State in a recent
address on a new professional psychol
ogy as an essential for law reform
proposed a credo for lawyers which is
as follows:
“I will join with my adversary in
waiving a jury trial wherever and when
ever it can be done without the sacri
fice of a fundamental right.
• ‘I will join with my adversary in sup
porting a trial justice in fair comment
upon the evidence, and reasonable direc
tion to a jury on the facts.
“I will join with my adversary in
fair concession of undisputed facts.
“I will not put an adversary to his
proof in respect to facts whose exis
tence my client admits.
‘•I will refrain from merely formal
or technical objection to the admission
of evidence. .
“I will cooperate with the trial jus
tice and my adversary to secure a
speedy, prompt and complete presenta
tion of the facts of the case.
of a large part of the citrus fruit crop,
taking it to concentration points—such
as Jacksonville and other places—for
final shipment by rail or water. The
rates for freight on the trucks that are
operating in Florida in competition with
the railroads are said to be very much
lower than the roads are offering. We
have seen only the beginning of the
development of passenger business by
automobiles and freight business by
motor trucks. We are witnessing the
beginning of a great revolution in trans
portation.-Manufacturers Record.
COUNTRY AND CITY
A research institute is to be estab
lished at Columbia University, the pur
pose of which is to plan for the de
velopment of a rural civilization equal
in every human aspect to the civiliza
tion of cities. Such an aim as this
would have been almost impossible in
the days before automobiles, when the
rural people were more isolated. But
in these times when the rural family
can jump into its automobile and short
ly be in the nearest town, attending
church,'entertainments, society meet-
County
1928-’29
1927-’28
County
1928-'29
1927-’28
Alamance
...$51,626.36..
..$66,798.86
Lee
. ...23,340.98...
--26,167.91
Alexander
39,625.26..
...37,349.11
Lenoir
12,143.14...
19.668 60
Alli'ghany
Anson
. ...16,637.00..
43,896.37..
...16,676.07.
...42,710.68
Lincoln
40,661.72...
...40,730.28
Ashe
68,963.84..
...67,141.29
Macon
44,496.29...
..40,143.63
Avery
36,692.92..
...33,636.88
Madison
61,518.17...
-.49,111.62
Beaufort
37,080.42..
...63,087.73
Martin
32.192 16 ..
..33,923.43
Bertie
60,692.68..
...60,306.83
McDowell
11,760.08...
..10,610.68
Bladen
43,943.00..
.. 44,704.44
Mitchell
16,643.46..
.. 16,016.78
Brunswick
29,828.41..
...28,740.70
Montgomery.
36,925.03...
..41,663.29
Burke
23,863.76..
...22,289.71
Moore
26.668.97...
..26,998.86
Caldwell
40,629.30..
...37,646.02
Nash
67,667.22...
..73,994.72
Camden
12,092.10..
... 6,660.68
Northampton
46,426.00 ..
..46,321,74
Carteret
38,612.76..
...36,693.49
Onslow
36,113.74...
-.32,559.86
Caswell
27,634.40..
...24,409.22
Orange
23,419.08...
..21,629.69
Catawba
44,266.38,.
...43,847.98
Pamlico
33,300.69....
-.36,276.73
Chatham
32,812.66..
...30,691.83
Pasquotank ..
3,969.52...
.. 4,083.61
Cherokee
43,918.97..
...42,207.87
Pender
37,721.26...
..36,077.31
Chowan
11,204.60..
...10,232.86
Perquimans..
22,612.69...
.23,663.74
Clay
16,606.24..
...14,366.70
Person
32,864.67...
. 27,292.63
Cleveland
47,736.47..
...47,201.93
Pitt
11,787.16....
... 6,178.06
Columbus
79,968.42..
...82,766.21
Polk
30,895.19...
..29,320.85
Craven
13,488.96..
... 8,661.36
Randolph
44,397.84..
...67,706.68
Cumberland...
60,802.00..
...47,611.04
Richmond
23,129.24...
...20,169.04
Currituck
17,890.94..
...14,926.98
Robeson
72,007.85...
...82,869.51
Dare
22,618.76..
...18,876.73
Rockingham .
41,634.42..
...29,912.07
Davidson
66,032.66..
...64,185.69
Rowan
1,790.96..
...13,264.76
Davie
21.616.96..
...21.664.93
Rutherford....
46,642.12..
...60,214.44
Duplin
62,611.15,.
...66,902.68
Sampson
82,331.67...
...86,100.04
Edgecombe ...
19,128.34..
...24,301.68
Scotland
10,691.37..
...10,416.63
Franklin
61.967.29 .
...64,029.84
Stanly
29,167.76..
...19,603.69
Gates
26,124.24..
...23,212.73
Stokes
62,819.38..
...62,234.80
Graham
838.66..
... 9,173.57
Surry
67,096.66..
...66,782.96
Granville
23,834.09..
...22,737.74
Swain
13,434.88...
...10,840.17
Greene
23,872.01..
...21,864.26
Transylvania
17,143.78..
...20,776.47
Halifax
16.260.03..
... 4,620.66
Tyrrell
16,026.13..
...12,424.16
Harnett
67,914.86 .
...72,238.87
Uiiion
88,941.91 .
...97,720.12
Haywood
37,766.63..
...38.469.87
Vance
7.776.07..
... 3,666.62
Henderson....
22,086.14,..
....25,944.71
Warren
43,858.68...
...41.621.64
Hertford
31,429.06..
31,2'>3.46
Washington..
19,267.90...
...20,361.06
Hoke
10,678.37..
.... 7,499.27
Watauga
38,767.26..
...36,366.18
Hyde
27,893.68..
...27,648.06
Wayne
.....*.13,217.21,.
...11,"5.98
Iredell
34,383.07..
...37,139.31
Wilkes
88,704 PO...
...96,1-1.73
Jackson
31,875.14..
....26,902.98
Yadkin
49,069.72..
...48,677.72
Johnston
74,126.76..
...66,646.56
Yancey
37,231.68..
...85,224.00
Jones
20,762.44...
....20,647.44
Total
.$3,160,000.00¥3,126,674.03