I
The news in this pubPi-
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.
SEPTEMBER 5, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 43
Editorial Boardi E. C. Braason, S. H. Hobbs. Jr.. P. W. Wager. L. R Wilson. E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroll, H. W. Odum.
Entered as eecend-clasa matter November 14. 1914, at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill, N. C., under the act of Augnst 24. 1911.
SCHOOL LIBRARIES GAIN
One hundred and eighty-five school li
braries were established in North Caro
lina in the last school year, Miss Susan
Fulghum, state inspector of elementary
schools, reported yesterday to State
Superintendent Arch T. Allen. The
work was accomplished at an expendi
ture of $43,394.18 of which $9,260 was
THREE MILLION MEMBERS
Three million members, shareholders,
shippers, consignors, and patrons, are
credited to the 11,400 active cooperative
associations, according to a preliminary
estimate by the U. S. Department of
Agriculture. This is a larger figure, •
by 300,000, than that given for the
10,803 associations listed by the De-
contributed by the state and $34,144.18
from local and county sources.
Last year’s activities represented a
great increase over the year previous
due to increased state aid granted by
the 1927 Legislature. The law-makers
in that year increased the annual
amount granted for establishing li
braries from $3,760 to $10,000. This
made it possible for 200 new libraries
to be established in any one , year
instead of 76 as previously.
Rural library work was inaugurated
iu 1901, and until the present upward
of 6,000 libraries have been established.
This does not include hundreds of supple
mental libraries added to the original
nucleus.
During the last five years, the number
of schools given library aid was 481.
A total of $176,096 was spent on these
libraries, of which $24,060 was con
tributed by the state.
The report showed that the libraries
were used liberally by students. Miss
Fulghum stating that “the number of
volumes and the record of the use of the
books give evidence that the library is
becoming a vital force in school work
—both in elementary and high schools.
—News and Observer.
partment in 1926. Some of the in-
CONSOLIDATEDiSCHOOLS
Data recently released by the United
States Bureau of Education show that
in some respects North Carolina’s rural
schools compare very favorably with
rural schools of other states. When
all factors are averaged North Carolina
does not occupy an enviable position in
education, the position of the state
being probably fortieth at the present
time. But in consolidation of schools
and in transportation of pupils North
Carolina has made remarkable progress
and today occupies a position„near the
top.
The data referred to above show
that in 1926-26 only 10.8 percent of all
teachers in North Carolina, ,.white
and colored, taught in one-teacher
schools. Ihere were only seven states
that made a better showing in this
respect. In one state more than half
of the rural teachers taught in one-
room schools. For the entire United
States one-fifth of the rural school
teachers taught in one-room schools.
At that time North Carolina had 2,610
one-room schools, of which approxi
mately one-half were negro schools.
ConsolidationiGains
North Carolina has made rapid
strides in reducing the number of small
schools. The state in 1926-26 had 814
consolidated rural schools, and only
five states had more. About two-thirds
of our consolidated schools have been
established since 1922. The following
table shows the number of consolidated
schools at the close of each school year
since 1922.
Number
consol-
Year idated
schools
white
1921- 22 326
1922- 23 468
crease is because of the larger number
of associations listed, but the greater
part is due to including patrons, ship
pers and consignors, as well as legal
members and shareholders, in making
up the membership figures. The gains
because of including all participants in
the cooperative' enterprises, amount to
more than 776,OhO. Had there not
been losses in membership since 1926,
of more than 476,000, chiefly in the
cotton and tobacco groups of associa
tions, the total membership of today .
would be materially larger than the
estimated 3,000,000. ^
The estimates for a number of the:
larger groups of organizations are as
follows: grain marketing associations, ;
900,000 members; associations market-j
ing dairy products, 600,000; associa-!
tions shipping and marketing livestock, !
460,000; associations marketing fruits:
and vegetables, 215,000; cotton market-1
ing associations, 140,000; associations
marketing miscellaneous proaucts, 190,- j
000; associations buying farm and
farm-home supplies, 398,000.
South Shows Decline
Approximately 70 percent of the
total membership is in the twelve
North Central states, compared with
63 percent in 1926, and 66 percent in
1916. Less than 12 percent of the
membership is now in the Southern
states, compared with 30 percent in
1925 and 16 percent in 1916. The
Pacific Coast states are of about the
same relative importance, in regard to
membership, as in 1925.
Minnesota continues at the head of
the list of states, with Iowa second and
Illinois third. More than one-half of
the total membership is in seven states
and two-thirds in eleven states.
The membership figure of 3,000,COO
does not mean that that numberofindi
viduals are participating in the activi
ties of the various associations. Many
farmers hold memberships in two as
sociations, some in three and a few in
four and five. The number of different
individuals in the 11,400 associations is
estimated as 2,000,000.
THE TOWN IS THE CENTER
The modern town is not only the
trading center of the community,
but it is the social, educational and
religious center as well. Just bow
far this town will advance or go
back in the scale of a town’s growth
depends altogether upon the people
of that particular city or town.
Each town is a community center.
If the people of the center of things
are alive to the possibilities of the
community it will advance; if not,
there is nothing under the sun that
will keep that town alive. Another
and more progressive town will
spring up and with the more rapid
metboQs of today’s travel almost
any distance is made short in com
parison with that of the yesterday.
There is greater need of civic pride
and civic effort today than ever
before. No town, however well in
trenched, is immune to the constant
reaching out of other cities and
towns after the trade and the pro
gressive spirit and element. It is in
keeping with the modern idea to be
ever vigilant. Keep your lamps
trimmed and burning. Not for even
a moment allow an opportunity that
will advance the welfare of your
home town to escape you. “If
it’s a good thing we have it,” can
not be beaten as a community
slogan. This applies to the merchan
dising and the civic appeals of the
town as well. The town that draws
and secures the trade of all the peo
ple of the community is assured of
success.—Oxford Public Ledger.
AUTO SALES INCREASE
North Carolinians, hard times or no
hard times, are continuing to buy
automobiles this year, figures an
nounced by the state department of
revenue revealing that more cars are
being sold in this state in 1928 than
were in 1927.
Report of sales of new automobiles
in North Carolina for the first six
months of the current year show that
there were ^6,828 passenger cars sold,
as compared with 24,860 during the
corresponding period in 1927. During
the month of June there were 6,008
new cars sold in the state as compared
with 3,376 in June, 1927.
RURAL SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Volumes per White Child Enrolled, 1926-27
In the following table, based on State School Facts, published by the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the counties are ranked according to the
number of volumes in white rural school libraries per child enrolled in white
rural schools. The parallel column shows the total number of books in the
libraries of the white rural schools of each county.
Craven county, with an average of 6.8 volumes per white child enrolled,
leads in the state. Cherokee comes last with 0.2 of a volume per child
enrolled.
The state total of volumes in white rural schools is 632,263, or 1.2 volumes
per white child enrolled.
J. R, Auman
Department of Rural Social-Economics, University of North Carolina
Number
consol
idated
schools
negro
29
33....».
TENANTS KIN TO LANDLORDS
Total
....355
....491
....691
....796
....814
....940
1923- 24 634 &7.
1924- 26 703 93.
1926-26' 696 118.
1926-27 819 121.
There are still many small schools in
North Carolina, but they are disap
pearing at a very gratifying rate. No
one can travel widely and fail to note
that North Carolina has an exceptional
ly large number of first-class rural
school buildings. The fact is that we
hiake a much better showing in school
buildings and in transporting pupils to
consolidated schools than we make in
perhaps any other phase of education.
It is often claimed that our school plant
is ahead of "our schools. That is, we
make a much better showing in school
buildings than we do in education.
Farm tenancy has steadily increased
since 1880, when the census first
made a separate enumeration of owners
and tenants, until now tenant farmers
comprise 38.6 percent of all farmers in
the United States. While the rate of
increase has not been so large in the
last decade, except in certain sections
of the country, the already large per
centage of tenant farmers is viewed
with apprehension by some who fear a
tenant agriculture.
It is therefore desirable to know who
the tenants are and something of their
opportunities for becoming landowners.
Tenants who rent farms from relatives
are much more likely to be interested in
the farm and the community than those
who are renting from nonrelatives,
says the United States Department of
Agriculture. A study of landlords
indicates that 84 percent of tenants
related to landlords in the North and
West are either sons or sons-in-Iaw; in
the South the comparable figure is 60
percent. The son or son-in-law may
pay the same rent as any other renter,
but he has some interest in the farm,
and in most cases in the community.
Among the states in which the
number of tenants is large, Wisconsin
has the highest percentage related to
the landlord, approximately 40 percent
while North Dakota is the lowest, with
slightly more than 20 percent. In
more'than half the counties of the
Central states above 30 percent of the
tenants are related to their landlords.
In the extreme Eastern and in thg far
Western states a larger proportion of
counties have a lower percentage of
related tenants.
The fact that so large a proportion of
tenants are relatives of their landlords
is significant, says the Department,
because such tenants are likely to have
a degree of concern in the upkeep and
care of farms comparable with that of
an owner operator, and many, are
operating as tenants preparatory to as
suming the full ownership of the prop
erty by inheritance or some other
mode of acquisition. —U. S. D. A. Clip
Sheet.
OUR LOCAL RURAL ROADS
The United States Bureau of Public
Roads has recently issued data on
county and township roads by states
for the year 1926. These data exclude
state highways. North Carolina is
reported to have 66,311 miles of county
and township roads. This mileage is
divided between non-surfaced and sur
faced. There were 43,890 miles of non-
surfaced roads, of which 20,369 miles
were unimproved and partly graded,
anS 23,631 miles were improved to
established grade and drained.
The surfaced county and township
roads had a total mileage of 21,421.
This mileage is classified by types as
follows: (Rank refers to how North
Carolina compares with other states.)
Rank Type of road Miles
1 Sand clay and top soil 17,846
24 Gravel, chert, etc 2,689
10 Bituminous macadam by pen
etration 261
22 Waterbound macadam 237
11 Portland cement concrete 237
3 Sheet asphalt
8 Vitrified brick 82
17 Bituminous concrete 26
4 Total miles surfaced 21,421
With 21,421 miles of surfaced local
rural roads. North Carolina ranks
fourth among the states. Only Indiana,
Minnesota, and Ohio have more miles
of surfaced local roads. North Caro
lina’ ranks first in total mileage of
sand-clay and top-soil local rffads. In
fact more than one-fourth of all sand-
clay and top soil county roads in the
United States are in North Carolina.
Many states have only a small mileage
of such highways, due to lack of sand,
clay and gravel. North Carolina has
ap Abundance of these road-bmldmg
materials, and we are relying chiefly up
on these materials for the construction
of our county roads, and also for much
of our state highways. The table above
shows how we rank in other types of
Lfaced local rural roads.
Rank County
Total
Volumes
per
white
Rank County
Total
Volumes
per
white
1
Craven
volumes
.19,398....
child
enrolled
....6.8
47
Henderson
volumes
.. 6,020....
child
enrolled
....1.2
2
Warren
.. 9,361....
...3.9
47
Graham
.. 1,840....
....1.2
2
Scotland
.. 3,880
3.9
47
Gates
.. 2,342....
....1.2
4
Currituck
.. 3,600...
3.2
47
Gaston
..12,391....
....1.2
5
Pamlico
.. 6,146...
2.8
47
Forsyth
... 9,888....
1.2
6
McDowell
.. 9,680...
.....2.6
56
Avery
... 3,800....
....1.1
6
Greene
.. 7,000...
.... 2.6
66
Catawba
... 8,982....
.... 1.1
8
Durham
,. 6,734...
2.6
56
Chatham
... 6,160....
.... 1.1
8
Vance
.. 4,466...
2.6
66
Davidson
... 7,263....
-.1.1
10
Bladen
.. 7.610...
2.4
66
Franklin
... 3,392....
1.1
11
Washington ..
.. 3,081...
2.3
66
Duplin
.. 6,776....
....1.1
12
Lenoir
.. 8,280...
2.2
66
Tyrrell
... 1,162...
1.1
12
Polk
.. 4,241...
.... 2.2
56
Rutherford ..
...10,467...
1.1
12
Camden
.. 1,876....
2.2
56
Rowan
... 8,087...
1.1
16
Halifax
.. 3,811-
2.0
66
Onslow
... 3,468...
1.1
16
Richmond
.. 7,018...
1.9
56
Iredell
... 6,896...
1.1
16
Carteret
.. 4,709...
1.9
67
Rockingham.
.... 8,134...
1.0
18
Chowan
.. 1,800....
1.8
67
Jones
... 1,780...
1.0
18
Northampton
.. 5,240...
1.8
67
Haywood
.. 6,101...
1.0
18
New Hanover
.. 2,029...
1.8
70
Stanly
... 6,491...
0.9
21
Bertie
.. 5,822...
1.7
70
Pender
... 2,200 ..
0.9
21
Granville
.. 4,029...
1.7
70
Lincoln
... 3,624...
0.9
23
Mecklenburg..
..13,796...
1.6
70
Jackson
.. 3,681...
0.9
23
Montgomery..
.. 6,042...
1.6
70
Alexander....
... 3,102...
0.9
23
Moore
.. 6,130...
1.6
70
Hoke
... 1,628...
0.9
23
Orange
.. 5,000...
.... 1.6
70
Davie
... 2,763...
0.9
27
Macon
.. 6,600 ..
1.6
70
Caswell
... 2,502...
.... 0.9
27
Pasquotank...
.. 1,996...
1.6
70
Caldwell
... 4,010...
0.9
27
Nash
.. 9,828...
1.6
79
Harnett
... 6,926...
0.8
27
Dare
.. 1,947...
1.6
79
Cabarrus
... 4,992...
0.8
27
Hertford
.. 2,900...
1.6
79
Stokes
... 4,737...
0.8
27
Edgecombe....
.. 4,844...
1.6
79
Mitchell
... 2,752...
0.8 ,
|-^3
Guilford
..13,964...
.... 1.4
79
Columbus
... 5,686...
0.8
33
Hyde
.. 2,063...
1.4
84
Yadkin
... 3,206...
0.7
33
Wilkes
..12.500...
1.4
84
Madison
... 4,262...
0.7
33
Anson
.. 4,143...
.... 1.4
84
Beaufort
... 3,310...
0.7
33
Pitt
.. 7,960...
1.4
84
Burke
... 2,632...
0.7
33
Person
.. 3,693...
1.4
'84
Brunswick.. .
... 1,893...
0.7
33
Perquimans...
.. 2,582...
1.4
84
Randolph
... 4,660...
0.7
40
Martin
., 4,407...
1.3
90
Lee
... 1,316...
0.6
40
Robeson
.. 9,211 .
. 1.3
90
Sampson
... 4,763...
0.6
40
Wake
..12,061...
.... 1.3
92
Ashe
- 3,200...
0.6
40
Wayne
.. 6,727...
1.3
92
Yancey
... 2,6C0...
0.6
40
Cumberland ..
... 6)486...
1.3
94
Johnston
- . 6,380 .
.. 0.4
40
Alamance
.. 6,401...
1.3
94
Alleghany....
.... 860...
0.4
40
Buncombe
..16,617...
1.3
94
Watauga
... 2,000...
0.4
47
Wilson
... 4,449...
1.2
94
Cleveland
... 3,700...
. ...0.4
47
Union
...10,272...
1.2
94
Clay
... 601...
0.4
47
Transylvania
.. 3,144...
1.2
99
Surry
... 2,740...
....'.0.3
47
Swain
... 4,606...
1.2
100
Cherokee
... 776...
0.2
CITY SCHOOL LIBRARIES
City Group I
Volumes
Volumes
per
per
Rank City
Total
white
Rank City
Total
white
volumes
child
volumes
child
enrolled
enrolled
1
Greensboro..
...27,823....
4.7
6
Asheville
.11,272....
....1.6
2
High Point ..
...18,236....
3.2
5
Winston-Salem 11,066....
1.6
3
Wilmington...
... 8,623..
...1.8
7
Charlotte
.12,321....
...1.3
4
Durham
...10,871...
1.7
8
Raleigh
. 4,612....
0 9
City Group II -
1
New Bern....
... 3,364....
2.4
6
Elizabeth City.. 1,926.,.
1.3
1
Wilson
2.4
7
Kinston
.. 2,687....
1.2
3
Concord
... 4,349...
1.8
8
Rocky Mount.
.. 3,100...
1.1
4
Salisbury
... 6,260...
1.6
9
Gastonia
.. 3,448...
0.8
4
Henderson,...
... 3,028...
1.6
10
Goldsboro
.. 1,234....
0.6
City Croup
HI
1
Washington .
....5,000...
3.9
9
Smithfield
. 1,512....
1.8
2
Tarboro
... 3,700...
3.4
10
Mt. Airy
. 2,400....
. ...1.6
8
Hickory
... 4,000...
2.9
11
Lexington
.. 8,120...
1.6
o
Burlington ..
... 6,290...
2.9
12
Shelby
. 3,650....
....1.4
6
Roanoke Rapids 6,100...
2.8
13
Reidsville
.. 1,700....
1.3
6
Statesville....
... 6,374...
. ...2.7
14
Mooresville....
. 1,937...
1.2
7
Greenville....
... 4,284..
....2.6
16
Morganton ....
. 1,400...
1.1
8
Fayetteville .
.... 3,300...
1.9
16
Dunn
.. 900...
1.0