The Library,
Chapel Hill.
The news in this publica
tion is released for the press on
receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published weekly by the
University of North Carolina
for its Bureau of Extension.
JUNE 5,19ia
CHAPEL BILL, N. C.
VOL. IV, NO. 28
fidiiorial Board i E. C. Branson, J. G, deli. Hamilton, L, R. Wilson, R. H. Thornton, G. M. McKie.
*
Entered as second-class matter November 14,1914, it the Postoffloe at Chapel Hill, N, C., under the ^t of Augu-st 24,1912.
TRYING OUT THE CHURCH
England is puzzling at the problem of
farms and homes for her crippled soldiers
when the war is over—farms and homes
of their very own.
The only practicable plan that occurs
to Roland E. Protherp, who heads the
English Board of Agriculture, is for the
Church of England to surrender her glebe
and tithe lands to the government on
some fair basis of transfer.
If, for a purpose like this, the Church
of England voluntarily gives up her vast
estate of lands and rents, it will evidence
real religion down to the marrow, be
cause she will be surrendering her chief
source of financial support.
Ths Established Church owns 650,000
acres of land outright—her glebe lands;
anclQhe rent income from this source is
two and a half million dollars a year.
But her tithes, and rents on lands con
trolled by the churoh and farmed by
leasehold tenants amount to 185 million
dollars a year.
It is too much to expect the private
landlords of England to sell land on any
just basis to the crippled heroes oi the ,
Kingdom—and by the way, fewer than !
six thousand such landlords own -more
than lour-fifths of the land of England;]
but maybe the Established Church has
religion enough to do it, thinks Mr. Pro-
thero.
Maybe so and maybe not. Here is the
crux of the problem of Disestablishment,
now and alwaysi The Church of Eng
land is lord of a vast estate. It is one of
the two or three most conspicuous exam
ples of feudalism left in England today.
And its end as a state church, supported
by ground rents mainly, is in sight.
The children’s game of cltA)-fist is Eng
lish, and Take it off or Knock it off’, is
the English way of winding up most
games, when the end comes.
‘ ‘Sell what thou hast aud give to the
poor,” tried out the spirit of the young
man the Master loved.
And so it will try out the spirit of the
Church of England at some early day.
THE FARMER AND THE WAR
Mr. Herbert Quick, a member of the
Federal Farm Loan Board, who is not
slow to see a point, thus gives some
reasons why the farmer is going to be a
big factor in winning the war. He says:
‘‘The farmer everywhere is a warrior
when war is the only thing which will
make and keep him free—either a war
rior or a serf. He cannot rally to the
colors as quickly as the dwellers in the
cities, because it takes longer to send to
the farms than to the cities the fiery cross
of the call to arms. It takes longer to
call the farmers from the fields tlian the
city dwellers from the shops, for many
do not hoar the first blast of the trumpet,
and others do not at first understand its
meaning; they have not had the time to
^ tidk it over with their acquaintances on
, -etrcet corners, in stores, on cars, in
clubs, and at other gatherings, and in
stead of reading half a dozen extras a
. day the fanner may read weekly papers
Jnstead of dailies, and mast liave more
time in a certain emergency to make up
his mind.”
Mr. Quick has great faith in the farm-
■ ers’ability to win the war. He says:
' “The farmers of this country could carry
the war to a victorious conclusion, even
t. - ■ if all the other nations should quit. The
prest will not quit, but we could win it
I'S^'^without them if we had to do it. The
farmei s of the United States could whip
jGiei many with guns, with the products
of their farms, with their money. Every
fanner in the United States must remem-
Wr that the United States lias a first
IV., !mortgage on every cent that he has. The
if' , spare cent in his pocket should be devo-
If.' .*, (ted to the war. This is the crucial year
' of the war. Our soldiers are at the
front, hundreds of thousands of them in
the trenches and millions more-ready to
go. The whole burden of carrying on
our part of the war and aiding our sister
natio.is in arms rests on the United
States treasury. If the treasury fails,
Germany wins.”—War Savings Direct
ory.
TIGHT-FISTED CITIZENSHIP
The other day we happened to hear of
a preacher who for long years has served
twelve churches and who has never re
ceived frpm them, all told, more than
$100 for his services in any one year in
all his life. He keeps soul and body to
gether by fanning between times. This
story, by the way, comes straight from
one of his church attendants.
He lives in an area of tight-fisted re
ligion. The contribution of the church
members of his faith in his county to
missions, church orphans, church schools
and ministerial relief—four of the very
noblest church causes—averaged less
than 5 cents a member last year.
In this same region of the state in 1915
we found in one county 33 churches with
4,000 members who averaged less than 3
cents a year per member for these four
causes.
In another county in the heart of the
state we found that the burden of
church support averaged only $2.05 a
member per year. This figure covers
white churches of all denominations,
town and country; and all expenses
wliatsoever—salaries, missions, running
expenses, education, everything. It is
interesting to note that*the average for
the negro churoh members of the county
was exactly the same.
Which is to say, the burden which re
ligion lays upon a church member in this
particular county in the run of a year is
just about enough to buy a good scythe
blade.
Twin-Born and Twin-Grown
The areas of tight-fisted religion and
tight-fisted citizenship have been accu
rately mapped up by the North Caro
lina Club at the University, and these
maps are extremely significant.
So, because they show plainer than a
pike-staff that the areas of tight-fisted
religion are also the areas of tight-fisted
citizenship.
They are areas of poor schools, shabby
school houses, high illiteracy rates, poor
roads, and half-starved country editors.
They are areas of opposition to taxation
for any purpose whatsoever.
They are areas of civic stagnation as w'ell
as church stagnation. Tight-fisted religion
and tight-fisted citizenship go together.
They are born twins and boon compan
ions.
The man that tightens his grip on his
purse when his church appeals to him is
dead sure to oppose taxes for public
schools, public roads, or any other pub
lic enterprise. The man w'ho will not sup
port his church liberally cannot be
counted on to support anything that
costa him even a few cents extra.
And it’s true the other way around.
When people line up against taxes for
better public schools they usually con
vince themselves that they are too poor
to give anything for better church schools.
The less willing people are to give to
any good cause the less willing they are
to give to every good cause. On the
other hand, the more they give to any
one good cause the more willing they are
to give every good cause.
Nothing loosens the skin of hide
bound souls like giving—giving for any
unselfish purpose whatsoever.
A Tight-Fisted Convert
I’m dead opposed to bond issues for
state institutions, is what one of theSrich-
eat owners of country property in North
said to us on the train the other day.
What about the million dollar endow
ment fund you are trying to raise for
your church schools this year? we asked.
I’m opposed to that too, he said; with
war taxes, state taxes, county taxes,
school taxes, and every other kind of
taxes, we are taxed to death in this
state.
The pity of it is that this one man
could give a full fourth of his church
school endowment fund and never feel it;
but as it is he is sure that he and all the
rest of us are headkl straight for]the poor
house.
And it’s more a pity that, rich and
poor alike, we are weighed down in
North Carolina by poverty of spirit far
more than by poverty of purse. The poor
in spirit and the poverty-stricken in spirit
are two very diflereut classes of people.
We can never have too many of the one
or too few of the other.
FORCE AND FAITH
The Kaiser has wagered his crown
and sixty million subjects that ideals
do not pay.
If he wins, we lose two thousand
years of ethical growth, and every
coiKiuered domain shall become a
Teuton harem.
This war must decide whether Force
or Faith shall inherit progress.
iMorally, mentally, and officially,
Germany has declared for paganism.
The infamous repudiations of the em-
pir^e, the unbridled savagery of officers
and men, the profanation of Christian
altars, the abandonment of civilized
usage, the elevation of prostitution to
patriotism, the decoration of assassins,
the sterilization of Armenia, the sack
of Belgium proclaim that Berlin has
deliberately canceled the Decalogue.
AVe are fighting Cod’s enemy—fac
ing the supreme menace of earth.
The Huns of old, at worst, were
simple raiders, with no ambitions be
yond those of loot and lust; their path
was a thin, grim line across a page of
history. But these modern vandals
would poison every M'ell of truth,
would trample spirituality in the mire;
they’d glut their greeds and bates
upon our souls.
Should their red v ill be done, the
scales of Justice would be weighed
with sltells alone; no national guaran
tee would hold; expediency would be
the highest law.
How dare we plan and dream and
hope until our roads and homes and
liberties are safe? How may we oper
ate the vast, involved machine of
commerce if an outlaw power can, at
whim, invalidate treaties and con
tracts and universal credit?
Civilization is too extensive, too vul
nerable to be policed except by confi
dence and honor.
Whatever the price we spend, ideals
must be made to pay.
Because otherwise to-morrows would
be lived in fear and degradation, we
shall battle on until THE AVORD is
irrevocably mightier than the Sw.ord.
—Herbert Kaufman in The Cosmq-
politan.
An Open-Hearted Religion
^■*6 need a religion that preaches open
heartedness in all worthy causes wnatso-
ever.
Tight-fistedne^s punishes the state, but
also it punishes the church. It shrinks
aud shrivels the souls of men, and keeps
the civilization of a whole people on
miserly levels.
The blessedness of giving is a great les
son the Master taught; but it has been
poorly learned anywhere in Christendom.
The conversion of wealth into welfare
and well-being—civic, social, and spirit
ual—is a fundamental lesson of life; and
the church must lead men into it.
AVe need greater wealth in North Caro
lina; but above all the things, we need
greater willingness to surrender it freely
for church support, for church schools
and public schools, for better roads, bet
ter attention to public health, for the Red
Cross, and the Army Y. M. C. A.; for
war savings stamps and liberty bonds;
for every noble cause whatsoever.
AVillingness in any fine purpose leads
into willingness in every fine purpose;
and reluctance toward any one of these
causes leads into reluctance toward them
all.
They stand or fall together, as we are
likely to learn this year.
THE QUAKER SOCIAL CREED
The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of
Friends a year ago appointed a Social Or
der Committee to consider “the present
day application of efforts to promote th e
Kingdom of God on earth, particularly
as it relates to social, political, aud in
dustrial conditions.” This coinmittee
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LETTER SERIES NO. 149
GREENSBORO. FRONT!
The city of Green*lhoro is taking long
strides in educational progress these days.
At the first meeting of the city Board of
Education after the supreme court valid
ated the recent election, a resolution was
passed which raised the school taxes to
the limit—50 cents on the $10(1 and $1.60
on the poll.
Superintendent Archer has just sent us
the following bit of information, which
shows again how the spirit of equality in
educational privilege is growing in
Greensboro.
“The Board of Trustees, believing that
the profession of teaching is of prime im
portance ia the business and spiritual life
of the City of Greensboro and recognizing
the fact that the State of North Carolina
has recently passed legislation making it
incumbent upon teachers to attend a
summer institution every other year. Re
solved :
1. That this profession be put upon a
definite business basis throughout the
year, and salaries paid regularly to every
teacher on the first of each mouth:
2 That the schools be conducted for a
period of forty weeks;
3. That the minimum salary for white
teachers be fixed at $660 per annum;
4. That the minimum salary for negro
teachers be fixed at $420 per annum; -
5. That the details of a contract to be
signed be worked out by the superinten
dent and a committee of three representa
tive teachers, this contract to be at once
just to the City, and generous and just to
the teachers who may sign it.
A study of the above resolution will im
press the teachers of the State as being a
really progressive step forward in our
profession. The time is past when just
any young man or young woman who has
“finished college” can step into the
school room and carry on adequately and
skillfully the work required and expected
of a trained teacher in the modern school
system. Teaching is no longer a pin
money proposition, but a dignified pro
fession, which has for its objective char
acter building and community building.
Only the skillful, earnest, and devoted
teacher can make her work effective in a
community through the medium of the
school; and it is this kind of teacher that
the City of Greensboro is anxious to em
ploy and to retain.
has formulated and prepared a set of
principles interpreting Christian respon
sibility as embracing not only 'personal
integrity and the maintenance of high
. ethical standards in business and home
I conduct, but all aspects of modern social
I and industrial life.
I These principles are followed by the
recommendation of practical, initial
steps towards a partial realization of the
ideals set forth, as follows:
1. A sympathetic study of the condi
tions of labor and the causes of poverty,
with a desire on the part of employers
of labor, whether m office, industry, or
household, to learn wliether the life of
their employees be only a monotonous
struggle for existence or whether their in
come and circumstances be su'ch as to af
ford healthful recreation and adequate
means for mental and spiritual develop
ment.
2. An investigation of schemes for the
democratization of industry, for the re
placement of competition by cooperation,
and of all methods by which an equitable
distribution of the products of industry
may be achieved.
3. The making of investments in the
spirit of service rather than of self-inter
est, investigating as far as possible, the
industrial conditions lying back of securi
ties and favoring those investments that
have a social motive, even if returning a
low rate of interest.
4. A re-examination of the Quaker
testimony for simplicity in the light of
modern conditions. This may involve,
for some, the voluntary renunciation of
the acquisition of wealth in tlie interests
of brotherhood; for others, the applica
tion of surplus to remedial rather than
ameliorative measures for social readjust
ment; and for ail, an avoidance of ex
penditures which may give rise to envy
or unworthy emulation.
5., The daily practice toward all of
that sympathy and goodwill, which ia
more than indiscriminate kindliness, in
volving, as it often will, risks to person
al security and ease that can be taken
only in the spirit of faith and love.
TENNESSEE LAW AND ORDER
The other night in Nashville, Tenn.,
300 representative citizens of the state
met in the AYilson Auditorium of the
Y. M. 0. A. and organized a state-wide
Law and Order League aimed specific
ally at Lynching and Blind Tigensm—
gigantic evils in Tennessee and many
another state.
In passing we may say .that Mr. Roper,
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
exhibits North Carolina to the public as
tlie champion illicit distillery state of the
Union. It is a bad eminence that we
enjoy, and, it suggests a Law and Order
League in Nortli Carolina.
Tlie purposes of the league in Tennessee
are phrased for the imblic as follows:
1. To bring about, by a campaign of
education and by all other lawful means,
tlie development oi a sound public senti
ment that will lead to the prompt and
certain enforcement of existing laws for
the preventioa and punishajent of crime.
2. To aid in the preparation and en
actment of whatever new laws may be
necessary for securing early and effective
punisliment of crime and maintenance of
law and order.
3. To create and arouse a more active
public sentiment in the young and old in
favor of the euforOement of law and to
combat the evils of lawlessness.
4. To cultivate a spirit of liigher re
spect for the majesty of the law, for the
officers by whom and the agencies by
which it is administered, and to uphold
the officers of the law in the proper per
formance of their duties.
5. To hold public meetings, prepare
and distribute literature, provide lectur
ers, and to urge the pulpit, press and
schools to stress the necessity for the sup
pression of crime and the maintenance of
aw and order, to the end that mob vio
lence and at least the more serious crimes
shall be condemned by public sentiment
and certainly punished by the established
processes of the law.
That these statements are plans for ac-
don and of deliberate intentions to sup
press mob violence is shown further by an
outspoken protest:
AA’^e protest with all the emphasis we
can command against barbaric atrocities.
VA'e condemn any official who may be
held responsible for the overthrow or
jion-enforcement of law. But we are
forced to confess tliat the silence of the
oest people in_ the presence of this dis
tressing situation and their unwillingness
CO grapple with it have helped to produce
the conditions out of which have sprung
lawless and frenzied mobs and timid offi
cers of the law. We believe that the over
whelming sentiment of the citizens of tiiis
community and state is against this be
trayal of law and order, but it needs to
be organized into definite action.
SHAMING THE NATIVES
A few days ago a Jew here in the city
ca-lled me into his store, saying that he
wished me to write an important letter
for liim. In his broken English he told
me what it was all about: “There are
four persons here in the store who are
not liable to military service. I want you
to write to the government, asking that
it advise me of a way in which I may do
something for the country” was in so
many words what he said.
I interrupted him here: “The most
practical way for you to serve is to buy
Liberty bonds or thrift stamps, conserve
food, etc.” “But I want to do more. I
am buying $500 worth of stamps and am
trying to reduce expenses by watcliiug
the little things,” was his reply. I must
admit that I was a little opposed to writ
ing tlie letter. I saw no necessity for it.
It'seemed to me that he was already do
ing no trifling bit towards winning the
war. But he insisted aud I wrote tl;e
letter.
This Jew has been in America only
eight years. He began work in New
York at three dollars a week. His me
of the English language is still quite unin-
telligable to many of his customers. But
the spirit of practical patriotism he has
shown is not to be overlooked. AA^e may
read of the work of America’s adopted
sons in this struggle; but the beauty of
this incident is that lie is right here
among us.—N. G. Gooding, U. N. C.
Student.