'Sfl
The news m 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.
fARCH 3, 1920
GHAPEL HILL, N. G.
VOL. VI, NO. 1.5
liiurial Board i ffi. C. Branson. L. K. Wilson, E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroll B. Bullitt.
_1|
Entered as second-class matter November 14, 1914, at the Postofflce at Chapel Hill, N, C.,' under the act of August 24, 1912
BUYING CARS IN CAROLINA
OUNTY TRAINING SCHOOLS
There is a constant demand for more
lan two thousand recrn^ts eve?y year for
le schools ol North Carolina, but only a
sry small part of these are heino trained
ad prepared for this important work. It
evident, therefore, that all the educa-
onal institutions of the state need to in-
rease their interest in teacher training,
n^ that the state should provide atouce
ther facilities for supplying the teachers
) seriously needed for her army of near-
■ 850,000 children of school age.
The need for .nore and better teachers
felt in all tlie counties of the .state at
lis time. And the nefd is for
le preparation of teachers for the
iral aehool. Eighty percent of tlie cu
re rural population are rural., And the
iial school is known to ,')e lclicient in
THE MENACES OF TENANCY
e skill of its teacliers, although it is al-
itted oil all eide.s that the hoys and
ris of the country regions are entitled to
good and effective instiuction as the
>ys and girls of the town and city en-
y- _ .
Whether we wish to admit it or not, it
eins that the time has come for the
unty to face its increa.‘reil iiidividiu^l
sponsibility in seeking'out and training
; owii^teacher.s. The task is now peeu-
ir y the cmiiiTy’s and nm,-t conthice. to
niuil the state meets tlie obi igatimi fnl-
Tbe promising jouiig jieople of the
unty must be souglit out ai.d provision
1st ill some way he made for training
em for teaching in tlie rural school,
le source of supply would thus be in
cased and by the kind of teaehers wlio
nld be trained to give \ery clfective
■vice to the thousands of country boys
d girls for wlumi educational opportun-
' equtd to that enjojed by the city chil-
en IS not now provided. .4s acompan-
1 measure for providing equality of op-
rtunity better salaries must he provid-
. .Such provision will in a short time
miiiate many of llio elenieius wliich
w prevent teaching from being an at-
ctive profession or vocation, and only
this way wflf the best minds be at-
Tlie North Carolina Club of the universi
ty turned its batteries on tenancy last night
and at the end of the battle the defensive
works of the system that protects tenancy
were smashed worse than the Hindenburg
linw Tlie meeting, on the general subject
of home and farm ownership, was in line
wjtli the year’s work of, tlie club in the
formulation of a reconstruction plan for
the state.
To tlie present system of farm tenancy
were laid mosCof the evils of farm life.
AikT yet “to tliose exceptional farmers
wlio have a desire to own their own
home.s,” said Myron Green, of Jlarsh-
ville, chairman of the committee submit
ting recoaimeiidations, “our present SjS
tem offers little encouragement, but
rather discourages farm, ownership. To
tlie industrial laborer who desire.s lo own
his own home we likewise offer no en
couragement except in a few rare instan
ces.’’
Constructive Remedies
Specific recommendations submitted to
theclui) to remedy the situation were (1)
a progressive or graduated laud tax simi
lar to that of Xevv Zealand; (2) an im
proved sy.-^tem of rural credits; (3) a
written contract between the landlord
and thejessee; (4) long term leases; \*(5) '
tile adoption of a crop-lien ri aiding in !
terms of- food and feed crops as well as |
money crops. I
In Xorth Carolina 52 percent .of all
dwellings are occupied by tenants, said
4V. I-i.'Kifkinan, of Piea--ant Garden. Of
tli(j 1,180,000 tenants in the state, one-
tliird ai-e wliile, tvio-tliirds colored.
Where tlie city population is most liighly
develojied, tlie ratio of liniiie ownersliip
is low. Greensboro makes tlie best sh.ow-
ing of any ciiy in the state,-but even there
62 per.lent ot the [reople liVo in rented
buildings, tn Aslieville, Charlotte, and
Wihiiitigton the proportion is 67 percent.
In Kaleigh 70 percenr are homele-s; in
Durliain 71 percent; undin Winston-Sa
leiii 72 peicent.
The farm tenant is tlie state’s agricul-
COUNTRY COMFORTS
Of all men the farmer lives most in
his home. Ills home and his business
are so interlocked as to make it quite
impossible to say where the one leaves
off and the other begins. The farmer
ha« been working long for land. He
proposes now to be housed comforta
bly. He proposes that his wife shall
have some of the comforts and conven
iences of housekeeping and he chal
lenges the world to produce a house
keeper who more richly deserves them.
Is there any man who labors as
continuously and carries as unremit
ting responsibility as the farmer, and
is there any other housekeeper who
works as long hour.s for tliree hundred
and sixty-five days in the year as does
the fanner’s wife?
Tlie answer to all these questions is:
We are going to have the modern con
veniences for tlie ’ farmer’s wife, who
for the most part doe- her own work
and is nurse, cook and laundry maid
as well as mother and waiter extraor
dinary. Wearegoingto have these
things for her whether we can afford
tliem or not, and the cost is going into
tlie overhead.
Not luxury but comfort is to be the
slogan for .4nierican agriculture, and
at last we are organized to secure it.
Partly by education and partly by in
creased outlay a more comfortable life
iscomii g to the farm —Dean E. Dav
enport, 111 tlie Country Gentleman,
COUNTRY HOME CONVENIENCES
LETTER SERIES No. 1
electric light AND POWER
Since the University of North Carolina
in collaboration with the State Highway
Commission has been supplying free ser
vice to the rural coimnunitres of the state
a large number of requests have been re
ceived asking for as-istance in tlie selec
tion of both water and gas engine power
plants.
A Matter of Arithmetic
Until recently th.e use of electricity for
light and power has been confined to the
towns and cities due. to the high cost of
transmitting electricity from the power
plants ill the towns to the widely scatter
ed rural communities. Since the improve
ment of gasoline and kerosene engines
and the introduction of a more efficient
light, the mazda lamp, the small electric
genei ating^-616111 has become an econom
ic possibility, and a large number of small
plants have been installed to sujiply light
and power for the fioiiie and surrounding
buiidiiigs.
When ^jossible to obtain electric power
from a city plant at a reasonable rate and
I without too high an initial investineut in
I poles, wires, transformers, etc., it is usu-
; ally clieaper in the end to do so rather
: tlian install a small generating plant.
While tlie C( 'Stof gasoline will not be too
grel^t, the initial investment necessary to
install a small individual plant and tiie
cost of iis upkeep will make it more ex
pensive.
Gas-Driven Plants
The essential parts of a small engine-
driven electric plant are, a gas engine,
an electric generator, a switch bqard
with necessary instruments, ami a storage
battery to store the current for use when
the plant is not being operated.
Although the earlier form consisted of
an engine belted to tlie generator the
more recent type has the gas engine aud
generator tailt into one unit and both
connected to the same stiaft instead of
driven by a belt.
The direct connected plant is usually
self-starling similar to that of an automo
bile and will run until the storage bat
tery is fully chargedj then stops automat-,
ically. Current for li^iht or motors is
tlieu supplied ()y the battery as needed.
Tile plant need be run only a few times a
weelj to recharge the battery or when the
current required is greater than the ca-
■pacity of tlie battery.
Ttie voltage of the plant should be con
sidered in each case. Eor the farm or
country home the 32-volt plant with Ifc
cells is preferable to.the 110 volts of tlie
city which would require 55 cells, for the
cost and upkeep of a battery is about
proportional to the number of cells.
Due to the bun.ing of the fuel in the
cylinders of the engine eitlier an air or
wattT-cooled engine must be employed.
Eai'li has its advantages am^ disadvan-
ta.es. However plants of each type are
being manufactured and operate witk
equal satislactioii.—J. H. M.
tural liability. For years he has been
cted to this, ihe most important woik fobbing tlie .soil of its fertility. He moves
a democracy, the proper eduea'ion of from one farm to anoflier, leaving in ids
cliildren. j wake impoverislied land, altaniloned
farms, and a tiain of economic evils tli.-it
soon must be remeiiied or grave econom-
The Advantages
riie plan of the state board of educa-
n to cooperate in the establislnnent of
luty training schools should liceiicotir-
"d and so expanded that teacher train-
t schoo's can be set up in ad the coun-
s of the slate. Among tlife advantages
such schnols are the following:
I. Mok of the sindeuts in such schools
II I efioiii the country and familiar with
mtry hfe; Tlieir' experienie will be
diable for teacliii gin the rur.id si liools,
J. The training .school will lia\e the
ivlti pur|)OSe of |ireparing and training
iit'g men and w’omeu for the s]iecitic
rk of teaching rural scliool.s and tlie
derment and enrielimeiit of rnr.d life
general. It will ha,ve the di finiteness
purpose so often lacking in other edu-
ioiial institutions.
!, ft will be a local institnldm and
■re/ore able to adapt its work to the
H'ific needs of tlie county it is set up to
■ve. ■
ic consequences will follow.
A Church Problem
Tlie effects of tenancy on social condi-
tidiis are always bad. The tenants in our
f^m regions have no stake in tlit“ land
and are tediered to no Incality liy the ties
of ownership. Tliey are forever moving
from farm to fgrm and cannot he identi
fied with any community. I'poii an
average one-lialf the f.irm tenants of the
soutlT move every year.' This state of af
fairs makes it impossible to develop an
abiding interest in .schools and cliurches
and good roads and in local law and-or
der. As a result wherevtr we find ex
cessive tenancy we fimi undue illiteracy.
The children of tenant farmers change
teachers and schools so much that they
soon drop out. Tenancy breeds illiteraej
and illileracy breeds tenancy.
Mr. Kirkmau pointed out the fact that
faster than the motor car. Tiie truck
has been wonderfully lierfeoted. It lias
demonstrated its superiority over tlie rad-
road as a means of short haul transporta
tion in tliickly populated areas. Motor
truck-line corporations and companies
are springing up all over the couiitry,
and tliey are rapidly solving the firotdem
of quick lianl tran.-portation between
neighboring towns and cities. Tlie motor
truck is also rapidly coming into use on
tlie farms, especially in the- north and
west, for farm uses and lor marketing
farm products
Automobile Density
Automobiles In Carolina 214 people in tills state, today there is one
At the close of last year, 109,000 auto- 23 people, or slightly more than
niobiie.' were registered in North Carolina, livery live famines, botli races
and tegistratioii is now going on at die Shunted. Our larnis are dotted with thriia
rale of more than 200 per week-day. h’wn aud city streets are almost
Vv’nicli means that by iheeiid of the pij^- Congested,
ent fiscal year we shall have iii North displacing i
Ihe automobile is rapidly
lie horse aud niuie as a means
Carnliiia 150,0 lO or mure automobiles. o** our farms. It is solving the
Very likely more, as applications for h- l"''’b-em of rural isolation. The truck is
where tenancy was higli, church member-
1. It will become an aid and ally to ' invariably was lo#. ‘Tlie great task
5 county superintendent and boaid of , *de church today in the field of home
ucation, enabling those officials to pro-
ite systematic educational advance-
mt in the county.
). Unhampered by the higher institu-
ns the county training school will be
t free to arrange its own program so
to give the best preparation and train-
g to the prospectfye teachers.
6. It will seek to bring all possible in-
lenco to bear upon the improvement of
‘iiieiitary education for the country
ildren; to train the teachers to use the
aool time of these children to the best
vantage; so that they may be, as far
possible, prepared for life in its differ-
t fTli|ises. This will mean a better un-
rstanding of the nature and the pur-
'se of the various school subjects to be
ught.
If iivill also seek to help improve the
0 of[tl\e country generally. The young
loplejtanght in the training scJiool will
' ’-'■Mned to become skillful in cooperat-
g with the people of the country and
‘Obtrusively assisting them to bring
lout the improvement and betterment
■sired.—E. yv. K.
missions,’ lie said, ‘is to set itself to the
task of destroying tenancy and illit
eracy, or tenancy and illiteracy will re
duce the church to a minimum in our
country regions.—Greensboro News.
cense are increasing even during the win
ter iiionlli.s, and we may safely expect a
still greater increase when the spring
opeiiN.
Today we have nine times as -many
automobiles in this state as we had in
1914. Tliiiik of it, a 9-fold gain in five
years!
Here is another proof of tlie fact that
we have grown rich almost over-night m
North Gaioliiia. High prices for larm
coming rapidly into use to displace the
railroad in short hauls of small freights
betwieii ueigliboring towns. In North
Carolina as well as in the other states,
the automobile and the motor truck have
come to. lie common conveniences and
necessities on our farms and in our cities
alike.
Uur wealth in automobiles is now some
90 million dollars, almost all of ic accu
mulated during the last ten years.
\ve have mure than twice as much
money invested in motor cars as in schools
of every grade^and church buildings of
every sort. We are buying new cars at
Elsewhere in this issue of the News^wd factory products during these last
better IS published a table ranking the five years liave brought untold prosperity
states of tlie Union according to the iium- to both oiir farm aud city populations,
her of inhabitants per aatornobile. At We have more money than ever before,
tlie close of tiie year 1919 there were and having it we are spending it, either | tlie rate of $100,000 a da/ countiu/'sun
7,-600,000 iiutoniobiles officially registered wisely or foolishly—but we are spending days. ”
in tile United Slates, lliis means that it iieverihe ess.
tliere is oi'ie car for every 14 persons, or The automobile has established a place
sliglitly more tlian one car to every third for itseil in the transportation system of
family in tlie Union! North Uarolina as well as in the other
Iowa and Nebraska with an automo- states of the Nation. Only ^few' years
bile for every six persons, or nearly one ago it was looked upon as a luxury for
for every family, lead tlie stated in auto- the rich. Today it is a commonplace con-
mobile density. Alabama, with one car veuience for all. While only 5 years ago
there was just one automobile, for every
BUYING CARS IN CAROLINA
Inter-'st in automobiles and moto.'
trucks is uppermost in evgry nook and
corner of the Union. Enthusiasm for
motor stock in Wall Street is at a maxi
mum because purchases of motor cars are
limited only by the factors that limit pro
duction, and production is ^ow increas
ing by leaps and bounds. Old concerns
are expanding and new concerns are rap
idly being establishsd, yet the demands
of purchasers cannot be met. Indeed the
output of piost motor ear factories for
months ahead is already sold.
Tlie motor car as a means of rapid,
convenient, inexpensive transportation
has come to be genfrally recognized, and
it is spreading consternation in railroad
and street car circles.
The motor truck is multiplying even
for every 40 peojile, tails tlie list. By
groups, the Pacific slope states, with one
car for ©very 8 people, lead in automo
bile density. This group is followed by
tlie far west with one car for every 9 per
sons. There is one car for every 10 persons
in file mid-west, one for every 15 persona
in the New England states, and one car
for every 22 persons in the south.
Where the South Leads
The prosperous, sunny south has only
one car for every 22 persons, yet its ab
sorption of automobiles in recent years
outstrips that of every other section. For
instance, Missouri liad 245,000 cars at the
end of 1919, or five times the total of five
years before. Georgia’s registration has
grown from 9,000' in 1914 to 130,000 in
1919. The southern states have made
five-year gains ranging all the way from
500 percent in Louisiana to 1100 percent
in Kentucky.
The density of automobiles plainly tal
lies with per capita country wealth. Thus,
Iowa, the richest state in per capita
country wealth, leads in automobile den
sity, wliile Alabama, one of the poorest
states in country w'ealth, tails the list.
The groups tliat are richest in per capita
country wealth lead in motor car density,
while the southern states, which are the
poorest states in per capita country
wealth, make the poorest showing in auto
mobile density. The point is, we have
fewer machines in the south, but we are
now buying more than in any other sec
tion of the Union.
Suppose we were investing at this rate
in primary schools, high schools, faj-ni
life schools, technical training schools of
ad sorts, church schools, aud the Uni
versity—just suppose we were!
The supposition starts visions of North
Carolina leading the Union in two-dozen
essential particulars of high-grade civil
ization!—S. H. Hobbs, Jr.
AUTOMOBILES IN THE UNITED STATES
Covering the Year 1919
Based on Official Reports by States by the Boston News Bureau and the Census
Bureau Estimates of Population.
University of North Carolina,
S. H. Hobbs. Jr.
-\verage for the United States is one automobile for every 14 inhabitants.
Rank^States
1
1
3
3
3
6
7
7
7
10
10
10
10
10
15
15
15
15
19
20
20
20
20
20
Iowa
Nebraska
South Dakota .
California
Kansas
Montana
Wyoming . ....
Colorado ....
Minnesota
Ohio
Michigan
North Dakota
Washington ..
Arizona
Indiana
Wisconsin
Oregon
Idaho
Maryland
Utah.
Connecticut ..
'Vermont
Delaware
Nevada ....!..
Inhabitants
Per Auto
6
6
7
7
7
8
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
12
13
13
13
13
13
Rank States
Inhabitants
Per Auto
14
14
14
14
Illinois
Maine
Texas ....'
Missouri .■
New Hampshire ' i6
Oklahoma
Florida
Massachusetts 17
Rhode Island yy
New Jersey jy
Pennsylvania 19
New York 20
New Mexico 22
Georgia 22
South Carolina 22
North Carolina 23
Virginia 24
Kentucky 26
Tennessee ... 2S
West Virginia 29
Arkansas 35
Louisiana
3*
Mississippi 39
Alabama
46
. I