PAGE FOUR THE CONCORD TIMES PUBLISHED MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS Entered ac swond class mail matter at the post office at Concord, N. under the Act of March S. 1870. J~B. SHERRILL. Editor and Pnhli-her W. M. SHERRILL. Associate Editor Special Representative: FROST. LANDIS & KOHN New York. Atlanta. St. Louis. Kansas City. San Franciaco, Los Angeles nd Bea*tle SHOULD CHILDREN HAVE “HOME WORK.” From the Greenville, S. C., News tve learn that in the Palmetto State there is quite a bit of difference of opinion about giving school children work to be done at home. The Marion. S. C., Star seems to be dead set against the custom, and declares that it is the business of the teachers and not of the parents to teach the pupils. We’re paying out a lot of money, says The Star, to hire teachers and there they go and put off the job on the old folks at home. We find differences of opinion in Con cord and we suppose the same is true in every other city. Some parents worry if their children don't have “home work” and others worry if they do. There ate those who are delighted when their chil dren bring no work home and there are others who accept this as evidence that the child is not doing enough. There are those who sigh when school days come. They take the position that any “home work” given to the children must be done by them and not the chil dren. That seems to cause most of the trouble, it seems to us. We do not advo cate too much work at home, but it does seem to us that the child can better mas ter a subject if allowed to work it out himself. But some parents never’allow that. They think “home work" and “parents' work” are synonymous. They take it for granted that the child can’t get a study and then proceed to get it for the child. ThaCs unfortunate. It’s unfair both to the parent and the child. The parent should not be burdened with the school work of the child and neither should the child be derived of the help received in working out a problem. _ The News thinks perhaps many par ents fail to understand what the schools are for. “It seems to be a fact that in connection with the problems which chil dren are required to work out at home, a great many parents do put anl unneces sary burden upon themselves and at the same time unintentionally do their chil dren a poor service. “If the school is at all properly run, the problems are well within the ability of the normal child to study out and work with out any special outside help. A big part of the benefit of his schooling comes from tackling these problems himself and work ing them out by himself. But there are many parents who seem to think the ob ject is simply that the child get the ‘an swer.’ and they take it upon themselves to work out the problems for the child. Obviously the child gets little benefit at all from this. Sometimes a little help in the way of explanation of some principle the child has failed to understand is quite proper, but ordinarily the parent should require the child to do his school work primarily by himself. “The real trouble about all this objec tion to ‘home work’ is that too many par ents seem to think they must relieve their children of all mental activity and respon sibility in school work. .They fail to real ize that it it is what the child does for himself that benefits him, and that even a ‘perfect’ paper is of no value to him whatever, if it is done by somebody else.” CARRYING BIG INSURANCE POL ICIES. According to figures taken from The Spectator, a national weekly insurance publication, there is only one North Car olinian who carries over $1,000,000 pro tection upon his life. He is A. M. Scales, of Greensboro, an active lawyer, busi ness man and promoter. Other North Carolinians, however, are insured heavi ly. A partial list includes: Charles Cannon, prominent cotton mill ' man, of Concord, is listed by the Specta tor as carrying $500,000 in life insurance. T. R. Byrd, of Asheville, and S. C. Wil liams, of Winston-Salem, are also listed as carrying a half million dollars each. Mrs. B. N. Duke, of Durham, is listed as having $358,590 of life insurance. C. T. Linebach, of Winston-Salem, is put down with $400,000 as is Julian - Price, of Greensboro, president of the Jefferson Standard life Insurance Company. Char lotte has several big policyholders, among them being the following: John H. Cut ter, $700,000; M. L. Cannon, $600,000; Joe B. Efird, $425,000; J. W. Efird, $365,- 000; Paul H. Efird, $380,000; J. M. Mc- Aden, $300,000; W. H. Webster, $200,- 000; W. H. Wood, $200,000. J. H. Separk, of Gastonia, carries $300,- 000. B. N. Duke, of Durham, is listed as carrying $300,000, and Julius W. Cone, of Greensboro, as having $250,000. H. G. Chatham, of Winston-Salem, has $250,- 000 of life insurance and $50,000 business insurance. Bernard M. Cone, of Greens boro, has $200,000. Others carrying $200,000 of life insur ance, according to the Spectator, are: F. Lypes and Fred L. Seely, Asheville, and J. O. Cobb, Durham. Most of these people are wealthy but they have found insurance an excellent risk remover. They have their fortunes invested in business enterprises and while these may seem safe and certain there is always the chance for failure and thev are providing for their families through the medium of insurance. Not many years ago announcement that a North Carolinian was carrying sl,- 000,000 insurance would have created great interest. But such is not the case now. Million dollar policies are becom ing less rare and because of this they are no longer unusual. CONSOLIDATING OUR SCHOOLS. In the United States we are gradually getting awav from the one-teacher schools. We still had 160,000 at the end of the 1923-24 biennium, but it is disclos ed by the United States Bureau of Edu cation that 10.000 of them were closed during that biennium. The one-teacher schools are growing into larger schools or are being united with other schools to form central village or open country schools. These larger rural schools gain in number as the small er ones diminish in number, more than 2,000 having been formed during the 1922-24 biennium. At the present time there are approxi mately 15.000 consolidated schools in the United States. They have long been recognized as a means for providing rur al children with educational opportunity equivalent to that provided city children. Consolidated schools, or districts, are established in various ways. The most common method is to proceed under de tailed laws by which the patrons of the schools start the movement and vote up on it at a regular or special election. If a majority of the votes cast in each dis trict, or better, a majority in all the dis tricts or territory included, are in favor of the consolidation, it is effected. Each of the uniting districts gives up its dis trict boundaries and school board and be comes part of the one large district. The advantages of such a procedure are that it arouses the interest of an entire com munity ; the consolidation is thoroughly talked over, and if the school is establish ed it is fairly sure to be a strong one. Union high schools are established un der laws which permit a number of dis tricts to retain their own elementary schools, while all join in maintaining one central high school. The laws responsi ble for such schools,.most common in the western states, have resulted in the es tablishment of some very fine schools. In small communities and sparsely settled regions such schools are not feasible, but in more densely populated areas the un ion high school serves well. In North Carolina no doubt we are keeping step in the matter of eliminating the one-teacher school. Each year we find fewer of the schools and a corre sponding increase in the number of the larger schools. In Cabarrus we are adding larger schools and doing away with the smaller. We still have one-teacher schools and probably will have to keep them for a year or so, but gradually we are getting away from these smaller schools and building the larger type that differ more advantages to the students. 'TIGHTENING THE BANKING LAWS. In 1925 provision was made for the ap pointment of an attorney in connection with the State Banking Division of the Corporation Commission, and The Char lotte Observer thinks ‘‘recent activities in the various courts throughout the State enable one to see the wisdom of the appointment.” Since March, 1925, thirteen bankers have been convicted in North Carolina and either sent to prison or made to make good any shortage that affected the banks with which they were connected. “Whether or not this number of con victions is due solely to the increased ef ficiency of the Banking Division of the Corporation Commission cannot be de termined definitely,” says The Observer, “It is however, the largest number ever convicted over a similar length of time, thus leading to the conclusion that the recent clean-ups have been made possi ble because of the fact that the laws have been tightened considerably and because of the appointment of the attorney.” Mr. I. M. Bailey, the attorney for the department, without pretending to claim any of the distinction for himself, says that the increased number of convictions is due to a greater co-operation between the banking department and solicitors in making information about failures ; Available, and in providing evidence Whatever the cause, the public gener ; ally will applaud the efforts being made to protect money deposited in banks in the State. It is right and proper that a careful check should be made on the banks, and certainly persons guilty of violating the banking laws should suf ler, regardless of’his standing or her , standing. And we should be careful, it seems to us, about graining banks permission to do business. We have scores of little banks in the State that have no chance to make money. They could loan every cent, of capital and still not make enough to pay a decent salary to employes. And it is in such banks that the temptation to defraud is often greatest. The employees don’t get enough money to live on and thev proceed to take enough to balance off/ WELCOME TO THE SYNOD. Concord today opens her doors and hearts to the Presbyterians of the State who gather here for their 114th annual Synod. Nothing will be left undone that might add to the pleasure and benefit of the 300 or more delegates expected in at tendance. Concord is one of the Presbyterian strongholds of North Carolina. Many of the pioneer settlers of Cabarrus came from families which settled in North Am erica that they might worship as they saw fit, Sturdy, Christian men and women were these pioneers, and it was in Ca barrus that two of the early Presbyterian Churches—Rocky River and Poplar Tent—were built. These pioneers had large families as a rule and today one finds in the Concord Presbyterian Churches many descend ants of the first settlers, descendants who are just as anxious as were their fore fathers to carry on the Christian mes sage. It is these men and women, and others who have moved in, who are offic ially entertaining the Synod, but the en tire city feels an interest in the visitors and is entertaining semi-officially. It-is a Presbyterian gathering in the strict sense of the word, but it rs a Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Re formed and Associate Reformed meeting in the larger sense, for these denomina tions are vieing with the Presbyterians in the determination to make the meet ing here one of great moment and bene fit. It is fitting, too, that the Synod should recognize the efforts of the First Presby terian congregation in building a magnifi cent edifice of worship by meeting in that edifice. Nowhere in North Carolina is there a more dignified Church struc ture. or a more simple and beautiful House of Worship. It is a fitting testi monial of the devotion of its members and offers a perfect setting for the im portant sessions of the Synod. • FOR “NORTH CAROLINA DAY ” “North Carolina Day” comes on Octo ber 12th and as it is supposed to be cele brated, especially in the school, State School Facts has quite properly suggest ed that the history of the State be the 'subject for discussion. It did more than make the suggestion. It has compiled interesting data which every resident of the State should know. For this reason we are printing the sug gestions in a special edition of The Trib une to appear at an early date. In brief and concise form such State facts as how North Carolina derived its name, accounts of the earliest settlers, our earliest forms of government, the first town, some of the first laws, how the schools were started and many others are described. Other lesser items, yet facts which everyone should know, describe the State Flag, the State Flower, the State Song and the State Motto. \\ e trust every child who can get ac cess to one of the papers will read and preserve data concerning the State. And we hope further, that grown ups like wise dill study the data and make them selves familiar with it. We should cer tainly know as much as possible about the State, not only at present, buL~the State of the past. TIME TO CALL A HALT. With 40 persons killed and 443 others injured in automobile accidents on the highways of North Carolina during the month of August alone, it is time for the people of the State to pause and give se rious thought to the causes of the grow ing number of fatal and near-fatal acci dents in the State, says R. A. Doughton, Commissioner of Revenue. And we add a hearty “amen”. Some thing must be done to awaken the peo ple to the need of more care on the high ways. It is criminal to allow such con ditions to continue in North Carolina. Details of Mr. Doughton’s report for August, a complete one, shows that it is safer to ride any other day in the week than Saturday. The report shows that 71 of the accidents occurred on Saturdays and 10 of these were fatal. Sunday came next with 63 accidents, 12 of these being fatal. This indicates that the heavier traffic on the highways on Saturdays and Sundays materially contributes toward increasing the number of accidents. Here is one phase of the treport that may be surprising—the largest number of the accidents occurred between 8 and 9 o’clock in the morning, 30, and of these five were fatal. The next largest number was between 2 and 3 o’clock in the afternoon, with 26 accidents. The largest number over a period of hours, however, was between 2 and 7 p. m., the number rising again between the hours of 8 and 11 p. m. Only six accidents oc curred during the entire month between 1 and 6 a. m. and none of these was fa tal. Os the 566 drivers involved in the acci dents 441 were men and only 125 women. Os the 40 killed,. 37 were men and three women. There are no records to prove it, and we don’t want to discredit the women, but no doubt there are more than four times as many men as women driv THE CUrYVAntu i imeo ers in the State. However, it indicates that the women are as good as the men at : least, and that is more than ijiany men are willing to concede. Do your riding during the middle of the week and between 1 and 6 a. m. seems to be the lesson drawn from the figures. ANOTHER EXCELLENT PROGRAM AT THE “Y”. ' Concord people are assured of another excellent winter program at the Y. M. C. A. Secretary H. W. Blanks and Physical Director C. C. Nixon are working on the .schedule, now and have progressed to the point where it is safe to say the patrons of the association will have one of the best programs in history this winter. Again this season Mr. Blanks plans to offer a program that will be beneficial to adults as well as youngsters. In many cities the Y. M. C. A. does not seek a program that will extend from six year old youngsters to middle-aged men and matrons, but in Concord such a program is desired and is arranged. The Y. M. C. i A. here is operated for the benefit of ev ery boy and naturally- a program calcu lated to benefit persons of all ages has to be arranged. There will be gym classes for every body, and athletic teams for young men, older men and young women. The chil dren will enjoy mass activities for the most part, with hours set aside for them several times each week. There will be entertainments by not ed artjsts and religious gatherings calcu lated to attract persons in all walks of life. Since it has been possible to inter est many employed boys in the recrea tional and social activities of the associa tion more emphasis this winter will be laid on their religious training. They will be invited to take part in the serv ices and to become leaders of various rc ligious groups. In addition to his work at the associa tion building, Mr. Nixon will conduct physical exercises at the various public schools of the city. This work was in augurated by the Y several months ago and has proved popular and of great benefit. Through this service many youngsters who do not attend regularly .the classes at the Y receive benefit from the association’s program of activity. There is every reason to expect the 1927-28 winter program at the Y to be the best in its history. t WHAT WAS GAINED? Miners in the middle west have agreed to return to their work and the six months strike, the longest on reebrd in America, has been called off. % And what was gained by the strike? \Ve are told that under the agreement ending the strike the operators agreed to pay just what they were paying when the strike started. They have decided now that the wages can be met all right, de spite the fact that six months ago they said such prices were impossible. Why the change? What has happened to make such wages possible now when they were impossible six months ago? The coming cold weather may have had something to do with the settlement. The operators realize that the public must have coal and no doubt they see in the approaching winter months an ex L cuse for a rise in prices. They haven’t mined much coal during the strike, so they can argue a shortage now when their prices are raised. In the long run the public will pay for the strike as it always does. It doesn’t cost any more to mine the coal now than it did before the strike but that doesn’t make any difference. The operators have the strike as an excuse and they may be expected to take advantage of it. WINSTON-SALEM STATE’S RICH EST CITY. Wealth seems to follow population in North Carolina.^ Winston-Salem has the largest assess ed property valuation among the seven largest cities of the State while Greens boro claims \ the lowest tax rate, accord ing to figures released by the State Board of Assessments. Since the Twin City claims more citi zens than any other city in the State one would judge that wealth is more evenly divided there. That is not the case, we imagine, due to the large negro popula tion in that city. No doubt tobacco plants give Winston-Salem the lead in property valuation. The seven ranking cities are: Value Tax Rate Charlotte $123,070,296 $1.16 Winston Salem 5128,243,340 1.00 Greensboro $90,208,223 .84 Asheville $85,152,540 1.24 Durham __ $71,721,785 1.40 Raleigh __ $50,125,000 1.15 Wilmington __ __ __543,879,458 1.00 < j THE GREAT CABARRUS PAIR. Because it’s popularity and influence has spread to surrounding counties the Cabarrus fair has changed its name. Hereafter it is to be known as the Ca barrus District Fair and nine counties are included in the district where people can speak of it as “my fair.” It’s just a week off now and unless all signs fail it will be the greatest fair in the State this year and one of the great est in the South. It’s easy to use super latives in discussing fairs but we believe such utterances in this instance are back ed by the facts. We certainly know of no bigger or better fair in this section of the country, and persons who make the rounds vouch for the fact that it’s one of the biggest in the South. Certainly there can be found here fea tures found as a rule only at the State Fairs. The show coming to the Cabarrus Midway plays only State Fairs as a rule. It comes here this year because it recognizes the Cabarrus Fair as one of unusual size and distinction. Thousands will be here this year, so you may as well plan now to be among the crowd. There will be races, free acts, shows, the bark of the vendor, fire works, exhibits and everything else that it takes to make up a successful fair and then above all else there will be your friends. They’re not going to miss it, so you might as well plan too, to be here. “CONSTRUCTIVE ECONOMY.” Charlotte Observer. Speaking informally yesterday afternoon and ap parently with no thought of its political effect. Governor McLean gave utterance to a few thoughts which only a practical statesman of great propor tions couid think. While attending a luncheon given in his honor and with only a few intimate friends gathered around him. the Governor explain ed that he, like all true Scotchmen, had been misunderstood. Especially had he been mi binder stood by the people of the State. Governor McLean said, in regard to his stan«. against Smith. These newspapers, and the other T ed a story that Simmons working like all blazes , 0 t " the time that statement X Overman arrived iX ? t asked tag newspaper men suavit.i he sought to disabn v *'4 Rt.eh an idea. The j, lm „ r ** ij for Smith, neither was he r he for or against any candidate. Then he went looked like Smith would C X H quite an admission. R llt th*, n *H it as his opinion that the sonth**^A in the election. That was other McAdoo folks have if ‘ ? Hrot * been saying right and left t W would play heck with the nj, bnut ftI * outh - Even the fefp beeen accused of fearing the this state should Smith be nomi " e<" know. j tn Mr. Mussolini's the rate in Italy has l J . ust . uc ces*or 58 1 nouncement that bis » Detroit News. , What has become who stayed at hr>nl . ‘ brea d in .j. She couldn't k*ve the b RepU blif* it would burn? Z^^— A breakfast room of the big j obp , * ' breakfast in the kitchen.