The news in this publica
tion is released for the press on
the date indicated below. No
credit need be given.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
• Published weekly by the
Bureau of Extension of the Uni
versity of North Carolina.
DECEMBER 23, 1914
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. I, NO. 6
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LETTER SERIES NO. 8
'Sditorial Boardt E- C. Branson, J. Gr. deR.
■ Hamilton, L. R Wilson, Z. V. -Tudd, vS. R.
Winter.^.
Entered as second-‘‘.la s matter November 14,
1914, at the poatoliice at Chapel Hill, N.C.,
under the act of August 24,1912.
CAROLINA CLUB NOTES
The Pity of It
More than 90 per cent of tlie couutry
:scho(jl children in tlie United States
’Jie.ver get beyond tlie cLenientary trades.
Around ninety-l'our [ler cent of high
school pupils stop sliort of a diploma;
and only about 3 per cent of them enter
collefjes and univfersities.
The Church Affiliation of Uni
versity Students
A.ccordiufr to church atHliation the stu
dent body of the (Tniversity of North
Carolina this year is divided ms follows:
Presbyterian 155, Bajitist 234, Episcopal
116, Methodist 290, Christian 23, Hebrew
15, Lutheran 15, ('allmlic 6, Friends 6,
Moravian 6, Universalist 3, (iennan Ke-
formed3, Unitarian 1, Adventist 1, Holi
ness 1, Armenian 1, Congn'gational 1,
and All Saints 1.
What Becomes of Our Ameri
can Feed Crops?
Consumed on farms; ’orn 85.5 per
cent, oats 72 per oent, b;;rlcy 47 per cent,
hay 83 percent. The snr]>l uses for mark
et are; Corn 14.4 per cent, oats 28 per
«ent, barley 53 per cent, liny 17 per cent.
Thirty-nine per cent of the A-alue of
tliese feal stuffs is consimied by horses
and mules, 17 per cent l>y swine, 16 per
cent by milk cows, 12 jkm- cent by other
cattle, 4 per cent by she«p, 3 per cent by
poultry, 2 per cent by human bein.es, 2
per cent for seed, and 5 per cent ^fx-s tf>
other uncertain purposes.
A Giant’s TasK
Tiiree and one-half million country
childreri, or nearly 30 per cent of them
all in the United States out of
'’Sfchtiol in the census year.
Denmark and North Carolina have just
about the same population. But in Den
mark only 370 country childreii \\er(^ iiut
of school in 1910.
In North Carolina, the number of chil
dren out of school was 221,000. Of t^ji-s
number 186,000 were white children, and
109,000 were white children liA'ina' in tlu^
country regions.
Here is a giant’s task; but .\orth Car-
>olina face.9 it with a giant’s courage.
Calmness and Solitude
At present we have in North Carolina,
liponan average, only 20 sheep, 23 cattle,
and 48 Ivbgs per thousand acn-s!
And Our uncultivated, wilderness an>a
iis twenty-two nullion acres!
'Col. Mulberry Sellers once said: Every
body knows there aint no money in calm
ness and solitude.
Our small honre-owning farmers in
North Carolina ought to be trebled in
number during the next ten years, and
our empire of wastt; places hrouglit into
productive uses.
There is indeed too little money in
calnmess and solitude.
Needed; A Hundred or So More
The Current Topics Club at Kocky
Mount is a genuinely democratic body.
The members are the biisiness people,
bankers, manufacturers, artisans. t(^ach-
ersand doctors, lawyers and preachers of
this brisk, bustling, business cc-nter.
Every Monday night for three- yeai's
they have broken bread together at 6; 15
o’clock in the Y. M. C. A. building—
which, by the way, would do crt-dit to a
icity many times larger.
Apparently the membership is limited
only by respectability and a t\v('nty-live
cent piece for a seat at the board; and
surely there never was such another hite
for two bits!
But the get-together feasfof reason and
flow of soul is still more wonderful. Tt is
tonic and quickening to the intellect and
spirit.
The concerns of the conumniity and
the affairs of the big wide world are
brought under able review week l>y week,
by the men at home and by guests frc)m
abroad.
The club idea is simple, easily practica
ble and possible anywhere. There ought
■to be a hundred siich clubs in North Car
'd a.
A FIFTEEN DOLLAR LIBRARY
The following list of books was cijni-
piled recently by the Librarian of the
University in response to a letter asking
for a S15 library suitalile for a school
literary society:
Extension Series Bulletin No. 2—Ad
dresses on .Education for Use in Declaim
ing; No. 5—Initiative and Referendum;
No. 6—Public Discussion ajid I>ebate;
No. 11—Ship Subsidies. Supplied free by
the Bureau of Extension.
Bliss—Encyclopedia of Reform. By
Funk & W'agnali. $7.50.
Bryce—American Comnionwealth, ab
ridged. By Macmillan & Co. $1.75.
Ringwalt—Briefs on Public tjuestions.
By Longmans, Green t Co. $1.25.
lUackstone—New Pieces That Will
Take I’ri.xes. By Hine,'^, Noble A El-
dridgc. ^1.25.
Three ^linute Declamations. By Hines,
Noble & Eldridge. Sil.25.
Roberts—liules of Order. By Scott,
Eoresman 'c Co. ^i.75.
World’s Almanac and Encyclopedia.
By New York ^\'orld. $.25.
Kf)bins—High Si-hool Debate Hand
book. By A. (■!. McClure & Co. Ifl.OO.
ROAD ENGINEERING PRIZE
The University of North Carolina has
been included in a select list of twenty
American institutions which will be given
®50 each to be awarded to that student of
the senior class in civil engineering who
presents the best papier on some subject
pertaining to bituminous roads or pa\'e-
ments.
The prize is ottered by the Barber As
phalt leaving Company of Philadelphia.
The otfer of this prize is based on the
work done by the University in the cc.mrs-
es in Engineering and by its students
who are now engaged as road engineers,
among whom are the following: "W. L.
Spoon, of Alanuince County, senior high
way engineer of the Office of Public
Roads, A\'ashington, I). (1.; Briait S.
Dram^, of Mecklenburg County, chief
engineer in charge of municipal improve
ments, road surveys, etc., Oiarlotte;
Robert G. Lassit.>r, of Granville County,
'■contractor in charge of pavement corv-
struction in Raleigh; C!harlesR. Thomas,
•fr., of Chicago, 111., associate editor of
Engineering and Contracting IMagazine;
N. C. Hughes, Jr., highway engineer of
Halifax Comity; R. T. Brown, highway
engineer of Orange County; R. P. Coble,
higliway engineer of Lee County; J. B.
(Jlingman. highway engineer of JMadisjn
CoTinty; James V. Pi’ice, superinti'udent
of roads in Rockingham County; .1. L.
Phillips, of Lenoir County, and Peyton
Smith, of Lynchburg, Va.
COMMUNITY SERVICE IN
WAKE COUNTY
The last day of Comnumity Service
Week in A\'ake County was celebrated in
Raleigh with a great round-up meeting
of teachers, corrunitteemen and corn-club
boys. Till' tiu(5 noti' was struck that
Every Day is (Jomnumity SerA’ice Day in
Wake Cciunly.
Tliree-miuute reports of community
activities were made by teachei's; and j\Iiss
Edith Royster, xVssistant Superintendent,
gave a .suunnary of community activities
for the |)ast yx^ir, showing that interest
had beeii taken in and aid given to better
school buikiings and grounds, more and
better school equi])ment, longer school
terms, better salaries for teachers, do
mestic science iu the schools, and that in
nmnerous other ways voluntetu- -workers
have helped to advajice ('ducational and
racial interests. The result of the vf)lun-
tary etibrts of th(' year in money was $9,-
596.16.
Luncheon Served
iVtine expression of the spirit of (!om-
umnity Service was the wholesome and
delicious luncheon served to the as.s(>ni-
bled crowd, giveii by tlie i\lerchants
National Bank, prepared by a connnitto(‘
of ladies,—Mrs. .laques Busbee, Mrs.
George Smnmey, and INIiss Sleiter and
ser\'(>d by ten Raleigh High School girls.
Corn Club Boys
Wake County leads the State with 318
members of the Corn Club. I'he boys
made a fine shewing as they mai'ched
with their full.eared corn stalks.
Twenty |)ri/es were awarded to the
boys. Among them two scholarships to
the A. (k M. CoUege by the (lonnnercial
National and Citizens National banks,
and two cash ])rizes by the County Farm
ers’ Union.
PERMANENT FREE GOV-
ERNMENT
You can believe that permanent free
goverument is po.ssible only if you also
believ e that public opinion can be lead
by clear thinking, sound judgment,
and ripe experience.—F. A. Vanderlip
of the National City Bank, New York
SIGNIFICANT WORK IN
HALIFAX
In answer to the recent request to the
County Superintendents to send in, for
the UNH\'ERSITY NlvWS LETTEr’ an
account of significant work, Dr. Harrison
of Halifax sends the folluwing interesting
communication.
Finding and Mending Broken
Links
The greatest ol)stacie to progress in tlie
schotils of Halifax is lack of contact and
cooperation between teacher and patrons.
As an example, in one of our one-teacher
schools, the teacher is well trained, has
had several years experience, and is now
teaching for the second time in the same
community. She got along well with th‘
children and the commiuiity seemed to
be well satisfied.
Superintendent Finds Weak
Link
On a visit to this school, I found the
enrollment and average attendance so
poor that I began to make iu(iuiry and
incidentally learned from the teacher that
she kiie«’ very few of the parents, had
never visited any of their homes and had
ne\'cr held meetings of her patrons.
Visits Homes
Soon afterward, I sent the Assistant
Superintendent uito this conununity. She
visited i)ractically all of the homes and
planned for a patrons' meeting. The
teacher stated most positively that the
patrons would not come out; but toiler
surprisi', every home was represented at
the meeting. All had a good social time
and discussed school problems freely.
When the meeting adjourned the teacher
and the patrons felt that they really
knew' each other for the first time.
A Patrons’ Club Formed
As a re.sult of this meeting a patrons’
club was organized and has since held
meetings monthly. Funds were sub
scribed for a school suj)per which was
given for the benefit ')f the school.
Enrollment and Attendance
Improved
As a direct result of this meeting, the
enrollment in this school has greatly in
creased and the average' daily attendance
is much better. Altogether tliere is a
finer spirit in the connmmity. Instead
of passively accepting the school as some
thing given by the St:ite and county, the
people are now' actively seeking to coope
rate wit.li the tt'acher in making improve
ments.
The Movement Spreads
In order to facilitate this work, I hav('
printed a form letter. .Fiist before the
Assistant Sii])erint-iKlent goes to a com-
numity to spend a week, 1 scikI this let
ter to the teacher. Siie signs it and sends
it to all of the patrons, inviting tlunn to
meet the Assistant Superintendent on a
fixed day. Out of these etibrts there have
been organized, in a munber of eomnm-
nities, sewing and cooking clubs which
meet weekly at some neighbor’s house.
In this way jiot only are the people
learning some practical things, but teach
ers and patrons are coming into closer
touch. Teachers are learning the di>.sires
and needs of the jteople and the iH'0]ile
are learning that the .sc1k)o1s are trying
to be of genuine service.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT AND PUSH
IN GATES COUNTY
Comnumity Service Week, says T. W.
Costen, meant a great deal for Gates
County. Satui'day the 5th. was a bad
rainy day, but notwithstanding this fact
about one hundred representative people
gathered at the court-house and discus.sed
“Good Roads’’, “The Whole-Time Health
,011icer”, “The Farm Demonstration
.Vgent”, and other questions of inh'rest.
The meeting was so full of enthusiasm
that the meeting adjourned to mt-'etagain
on the 11th. This meeting was also large
ly attended and mass meetings were called
in each Township in the county to meet
not later than the 9th of Januai’y to dis-
A Reminder and a Suggestion
In the devi'lopment and progress of the
public schools in North Carolina during
the past thirty years no single agency
has contributed more to help the leaders
in the w ork than the daily and weekly
papers of the State. They have at all
times giA'en their aid and influence to
public and i)ri\ ate etf'orts in every nook
and corner of North Carolina. , Many
localities however, neglect to get from
the newspapers the help and assistance
that tliey are always ready to give? to the
schools.
The Press and the Schools
The otlierday one of the daily newspajiers
in North Carolina printed a half page
of interesting infor-mation about
the city schools. The articles were writ
ten by pupils who gavci in clear-cut sen-
tenses short but accurate accounts of the
work in the schoolrooms, the improve
ments being made on the playgrounds,
the athletic association and its \'arious
teams, the debating societies, the nmsi-
cal association w'ith its glee club and or
chestra, and the prf>granis for the obser
vance of Community Serv ice "Wc'elv by the
various schofils.
In fact, regularly every weelv fully a
half page is given to the schools of, the
c.ounty. In Johnston, AVake, Forsyth,
and many other oounties the same use is
made of the press e\-ery week and in this
way spirit and enthusiasm art' aroused
and quickened. This consideration of
the interests f)f the schools is splendid
and the work of the pupils is fine and in
spiriting for any school. Tt keeps par-
University’s Interest in Public
Discussion
One of the most obvious privileges of a
free citizen is that of active particijtation
in public discussion.
To enable the citizj^n of North Carolina
to enjoy this privilege, the University is
working in at least two waj's: first,
through the Extension Biu'eau in initia
ting and promoting throughout the State
liigh school debate and public discussion
clubs; and second, in providing means
for practice at the University itself.
All Freshmen registered as candidates
for the A. B. degree are required to take
Public Speaking I. a coui-se which is
concerned largely with the discussion of
subjects of current inten'st.
Enlargement of the Navy
The condition of the cotton market
and the j>art great navies are playing in
controlling internatioiujl trade in time of
war have raised again the question of the
adequacy of the navy of our own country.
The question will undoid)t(*dly be one
of the most important before the present
Congress. School literary societii's and
debating clul)s niiiy well feel, therefore,
that in debating the (]uestion of the in
crease of tht Unitf'd States navy they an^
taking part iu a nation-wide di.scu.ssion
of tirsli importance.
cuss ways and means of si>cuiing Good
Roads.
A strong commitU'e was also ap))ointiKl
to discuss a farm demonstration agent
with the Boat’d of County Commissioners
at their next meeting.
We feel that these two things are as
sured for Gates county. We feel that it
isa(|uestion of only a short time when
a whole-time ottic(*r will be employed
by the county.
The peoi>le in Gates were greatly in
terested and the harmonious spirit shown
by all was indeed commendable and
satisfying.
The teachers and the school committee
men were the aggressors in these luove-
ment-s.
About four out of every five in the cen
sus survey favored a road tax, and the
great nuijority wanted consolidation and
bettc^r dwellings after roads were secunKl.
ents, children, and teachers interested
and informed, about the work and prog
ress of the schools, it gives the pupils
most excellent training in the reportorial
art, and it helps to promote school pride
and self-respect.
How about Your Schools?
What are the boys and girls in your
school doing to keep the public informed
about the educational interests of the
county and the hopes and dreams of
fhose uho are charged with the care and
management of the schools? There ought
to be a short letter from eadi school in
the county paper every week. At tirst,
the j)upils may be bashful and afraid to
“try their hitnd” atletter-wriling, orthey
uuiy think that there is nothing to write
about; but the teacher should encourage
them, should talk to them about that
which the school is doing, should lead
them into an eyesight to see the things
and a pen-.strok(“ to tell things that are
taking place and that are of interest to
the friends of (■dncation in the coimty.
College Men and Home Papers
 )nr T^niversity students read their home
papers with a great deal of interest and
they are always anxious to learn all that
they can of that which is being done at
home so that they may use this kno\'5-
edge in their county club meetings here
at Chapel Hill. It is hoped therefore
that all teachers who read this will en
courage their pupils to write letters to the
papers and thus let the w ork of the school
be known. The newspapers want to help,
the .schools :ind their help is, powerful for
good.
Resolved, “That the United
States Navy Should Be
Greatly Enlarged
In debating this (juestion Uie following
pohits may prove helpful:
Affirmative Arguments
1. Our navy is not so large as the
navies of [lossible (‘iiemies.
2. Our coa.sts are hardly fortified at
all, and w(> need more battleships to pro
tect them from foreign invasion.
3. AVe need a greater merchant ma
rine, but such a marine would be useless
in war time without a large navy to pro
tect it.
4. The best guarautee of peace is an
equipment for self-defense, which a large
navy would furnish.
Negative Arguments
1. For .'.nierica to inc^rease hei' navy
would be for her to question the possi
bility of international peace.
2. A navy is the most,expensive kind
of protection that a, nation lias to suj)-
port.
3. The money necessary for a material
increase would give nuicli larger returns
on the investment if used for schools and
colleges, and would not be usc“d to em
phasize war.
4. Our citizens are protected iu every
nation by international laws, and we do
not need a greater merchant marine if
other nations can trans])ort more (^Ii(‘aply
than we can.
STATE-WIDE INTEREST
Tlu're is ample evidence that the entire
State is interested in the Correspondence
Study Courses at the Uni\-ersity. Repre
sentatives of the^ following 10 counties are
now at work: Duplin, Camden, .lohn-
ston, Lincoln, New Hanover, Stokes,
Guilford, Caldwell. Halifax, L(>noir.
Farmers, editors, teachers, ministers,
are discovering tiiis new opi)ortunity to
secure helpful guidance in study al3ng
their particidar line. The idea is spread
ing rapidly.
Inquiries are coming in daily from
every section of the state asking for spe
cific information. A post card addressed
to the Extension Bureau will bring you
full information if you are at all interest
ed. Can you attbrd to let a, chance like
this go w'lthoiit looking at it?
A DEBATE FOR SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC
DISCUSSION CLUBS