a'y-y.JU-WAJu t
The news in this publi
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 its University Ex
tension Division.
august 24, 1921
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. VII, NO. 40
•torial Boari ■ K- 0. Branson, S. H. Hobbs, Jr., L. H. Wilson, E. W. Knisht, D. D. Carroll, J. B. Bullitt, H. W. Odum. Entered as second-class matter November 14,1914, at the Postofflce at Chapel Hill, N. 0., under the act of August 24, 1912.
Bditorial
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC WELFARE
The prospect for continued increasingly effective work in the North Caro
lina Department of Public Welfare is very gratifying to North Caro
linians everywhere. The election of Mrs. Clarence Johnson as
State Commissioner has met with unusual cordiality and has
elicited unusual offers of cooperation. A few of the edi
torial comments will indicate the tone of commendation
and support in evidence throughout the state.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON
In electing » successor of R. F. Beas
ley as North Carolina commissioner of
public welfare, the board of public wel
fare had before it strong recommenda
tion of Mrs. Clarence Johnson from
Governor Morrison, the state depart
ment of education, the state health de
partment, and the North Carolina fed
eration of women’s clubs.
It had before it the facts, facts of its
own knowledge, that Mrs. Johnson has
the necessary training and experience,
acquired in the department’s work;
with such vigor and such initial success
as to inspire and encourage all the
other rural states. No wonder Mrs
Johnson treasures Dr. Hart’s remark
and passes it on to the state.
Always bearing in mind the wide di
versity that exists between the prob
lems, as well as the resources, of rural
and urban states, and the impossibility
of comparing the agencies of a pre
dominantly urban state with one pre
dominantly rural, North Carolinians
may nevertheless take pride in having
i two state agencies that are the best
of their class in the Union. We refer to
that of several men in the state known ^ state board of health and the de.
to possess the necessary qualifications, , pa,.j;jngjjt of public welfare. It does not
none was available. Otherwise, a man ; North Carolinians are better
no doubt would have been appointed. served in those respects, for in such a
It is an appointment made by the , New York, for example, the
board on its deliberate judgment on t e | done by various municipal boards
sole ground of ability, as demonstrated. , overshadows that done by the
It cannot be guaranteed that any ap ^ g^^^e agencies. But down here we
pointment to public office will be a sue- , necessarily depend upon the state,
but it is such considerations that
ought always to govern m selections.
The thanks and appreciations of the
people of the state are therefore due
the board.
The selection of Dr.' Howard W.
Odum, head of the school of public wel
fare at the University, as consulting ex
pert of the board, is regarded as no less
satisfactory, and for the same reason
the board has had full opportunity to
judge his work.
All concerned have every reason to
believe that this great welfare agency
has been entrusted to the proper
hands, and that its administration will
be an abounding success
News.
-Greensboro
SHOULD HELP MRS. JOHNSON
TOWN-COUNTY CONFERENCE
Chapel Hill, Sept. 19,20, 21,1921
The University, the National Munici-
The selection of Mrs. Clarence John
son as head of the State Welfare Work
has been warmly and universally com
mended. Mr. Beasley organized this
field of improvement along high lines
and Mrs. Johnson comes to it with ex
perience as an associate worker with
Mr. Beasley. She will do her part to
extend aiid improve the organization
and inspire healthy interest. But it is
a department that depends for the best
results upon the largest cooperation of
the men and women in the state.
Charity and Children, with a word of
appreciation of Mr. Beasley s work and
high commendation of Mrs. Johnson,
wisely calls upon the people to rally to
the service in order that the full bless
ings may be felt. That paper says;
It takes time and patience and unflag
ging energy and persistence to put a
state-wide movement like this on its
feet; but it can be done, and there is
every prospect that it will serve the
state in a great way. In the meantime,
it deserves the moral support and sym
pathy of every good citizen. We must
all get behind Mrs. Johnson and her co
workers, and push with all our might
and main. There will be a few croak
ers here and there to hinder the move
ment, but there are thousands more of
us than of them, and if we all do our
bit in the way of talking it up, the
Welfare Work of North Carolina will
soon stand alongside that of any state
in the Union.-Raleigh News and Ob-
for we have no cities comparable with
those of the urban states. And we may
certainly take pride in the fact that,
in our class, our agencies are unques
tionably the best.
Furthermore, we have another de
partment that is rapidly fighting its
way to the front. That is the state de
partment of education. It still has a
long way to go before it can be classed
as among the best in the Union, even
among the rural states, first, because
other states have been engaged in the
development of public education for
generations, whereas both public health
and public welfare are comparatively re
cent developments of governmental poli
ty; and, second, because education is, and
has always been, expensive, and North
Carolina’s wealth is of recent acquisi
tion. In public health and public wel
fare we started almost abreast of the
other states; but in public education
most of them had, and maintain to this
day, a long lead.
Nevertheless that lead is being over
come—not as fast as it will be during
the next ten years, but for all that, it
is being steadily overcome. We have a
superintendent of public instruction
gifted with energy, determination and
—rarest of all—a perfectly desperate
courage, politically. Brooks has boldly
attacked the problem of certification
of teachers, and, regardless of the yells
of the incompetent and the timorous,
has brought some sort of order out of
chaos. He has likewise put through a
standardization of teachers’ salaries
that grows more amazing in retrospect.
Appearances indicate that if he is given
half-way decent support he will yet
raise the teaching profession in this
state to a level comparable with the
trade of a brickmason, say, or a plumb-
Therefore, while the North Caro
STATE AGENCIES THATRANK
WITH THE BEST
Hart, of the Russell Sage
Foundation, tells Commissioner of Pub
lie Welfare Johnson that for North
Carolina to fail in her public welfare
work would be a national calamity, on
account of the influence we have had
on the development of such work in
other states. It is a tremendous com
pliment, an amazing complirnent. The
most difficult and perplexing social
service work in the world has ad'
mittedly been social service in
country; but North Carolina, 71 per
pal League, the North Carolina Munici
pal Association, the North Carolina
Commercial Secretaries, and the North
Carolina Association of County Com
missioners all interested.
Interest in the special conference on
town and county administration an
nounced last week is increasing. There
will be many special features to be an
nounced shortly, but the following will
serve as a supplement to last week’s
announcement:
The Conference will be divided into
five general sections: Government; Fi
nance; Social and Economic Problems;
Town and Country Planning; The Coun
ty. Dr. Branson will 'be in charge of
the county section; Dean Carroll in
charge of the section on Finance; and
other chairmen will be appointed for
the other sections.
The majority of the speakers will be
from North Carolina; the special list is
withheld until all names have been ad
ded. It may be said, however, that
Governor Morrison is being asked to
open the Conference with an address
on the meaning of active citizenship in
North Carolina at this time.
Specialists of National standing will
speak on finance, government, town
planning, county administration, and
other topics. There will be exhibits of
town plans and town work. Special
problems of the town will interest wo
men voters who will be represented at
the conference.
Delegates will be provided for in the
University dormitories. Arrangements
will be made for both men and women
to attend and to look over the new plans
and work of the University as well.
The middle of September is a good time
to visit Chapel Hill.
The growing interest in the social
problems and government of small towns
and counties, together with the finan
cial tension of towns in this and other
states, will make this conference most
timely. It is believed that very defi
nite contributions can be made to the
working welfare of our towns and coun
ties.
Those who are interested primarily
in the National Municipal League will
write to Mr. H. W. Dodds, 261 Broad
way, New York; those interested pri
marily in the North Carolina Municipal
Association will write to Mayor Roberts
of Asheville; those who are interested
in the county commissioners and their
work will write to Mr. WuC. Jones at
High Point; those who are interested
primarily in commercial secretaries and
their part will write to Secretary Rob
erts of Greensboro; and those who wish
to consider the special problems of gen
eral civic interests may write to Mrs.
Sidney Cooper, Henderson. For gen
eral inquiries as to details at the Uni
versity, inquiries may be sent to "
Howard W. Odum at Chapel Hill.
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC WELFARE
Chapel Hill, July 11-22,1921
GENEBAL REPORT
(Continued from preceding issue.)
To the present time in the mat
ter of record keeping the State Depart
ment has proposed standard forms for
family case work, juvenile court work,
various inspection cards, and a day sheet,
with others to be prepared as needed
by the County Superintendents and by
the State Department. In the matter
of reports, the State Department has
prepared, with care, a standard month
ly report blank which is provided to
each' County Superintendent with the
request for its prompt transmittal. De
tails for making records and reports
more helpful were discussed in a num
ber of round-table conferences, and all
superintendents are urged to call upon
the State Department for further in
formation, instruction, or visits from
the field representative.
Among the most interesting discussions
of the institutes were those relating to
county homes, or other means of pro
viding for the county’s indigent poor
and various other dependents and defec
tives. Perhaps the most important ques-
the promotion of public welfare in the
state. They, therefore, urge a cordial
support of this association in its attempt
to work out a better organization.
Cordial cooperation with the State De
partment of Public Welfare is urged. The
committee on resolutions, composed of
L. H. Ranson, S. E. Leonard, and C.
E. Heffner, reported the following res
olutions which were unanimously ac
cepted;
Whereas Mrs. Clarence A. Johnson
has been recently appointed Commis
sioner of Public Welfare of the State,
be it resolved as follows:
1. We record with pleasure our ap
preciation of the opportunity to cooper
ate with the new Commissioner of Public
Welfare in the promotion of public wel
fare and cheerfully assure Mrs. John
son of our support in the successful ex
ecution of the North Carolina plan.
2. We rejoice in the fine spirit of en
thusiasm and commendation with which
Mrs. Johnson’s election has been re
ceived throughout the state and concur
in the general opinion that the State
Department of Public Welfare is now
entering upon an unusually auspicious
era of good work.
3. We have learned with pleasure of
the progressive steps recently taken in
many counties in stabilizing and pro-
tion raised was that by Secretary their county programs of public
Williams, of South Carolina, that dis
trict hospitals would come nearer meet
ing the actual needs than almshouses.
These he maintained could be provided
at approximately the same cost and
would render a much more specific ser
vice. The Superintendents thought
well of the suggestion to study the in
mates .of the county homes with refer
ence to their needs for medical treat
ment, and to take up for further dis
cussion the question of district coopera
tion. A second point of emphasis in
the discussion of county homes was the
suggestion that each County Superin
tendent attempt to fix for his county a
minimum standard, or norm, of service.
This should include common-sense judg
ments conforming to normal standards
of health and happiness. j
The Superintendents agreed that the i
problems of outdoor relief, or the pauper j
list, with its varied intricacies, consti
tute one of the most difficult and un
solved aspects of all the work. Some
counties are spending thousands of dol
lars a year to render services harmful
and not helpful,
commissioners and no
welfare and in the election and re-elec
tion of superintendents. We join them
in best wishes and in confidence that
they will continue to develop the hu
man wealth of North Carolina.
■Whereas, the University and School
of Public 'Welfare have been of great
assistance to the welfare superintend
ents in their special conference July
12th to 25th, be it resolved as follows:
1. 'That the Superintendents of Public
Welfare offer their thanks for and their
appreciation of the splendid assistance
and cooperation rendered by the Uni
versity and School.
2. That we approve the action of the
State Board of Charities and Public
Welfare in appointing Dr. Odum Con
sulting Expert to the State Board of
Charities and Public Welfare.
3. That the conference approves and
commends the establishment by the
University of the School of Public Wel
fare for the purpose of promoting and
standardizing welfare work in the state.
Special Problems and Methods
In the discussions of special problems
Dr.
lina, department of education is as yet
far from being among the best-developed
in the Union, we do not believe that
many will surpass it in its present rate
of progress; so it is only a question of
maintaining that rate.
After all, is not the matter for great
est pride less the fact that North
Carolina excels, than the fact that she
excels in these particulars? It would be
‘talking point” if we had the strong
est department of banking, or the best-
organized state police, or the most
active state board of trade; but it
seems to us a greater thing to excel in
what may be termed the modern
humanities. Public health, the care of
the underprivileged child, public educa
tion—these things appertain to the
production of men. And the production
of men is far more to be desired than
the production of wealth, as the object
of a state’s policy.—Greensboro News.
and methods of work, whether in child
welfare, poor relief, compulsory at
tendance, or whatever aspects of the
work, the superintendents and repre
sentatives present set themselves to'
the task of the highest standards of
No board of county ! work commensurate with facilities and
group of county I opportunities. Furthermore, they -
voters will approve
moneys and energies. The county sup
erintendents will find in this field one
of the best opportunities to carry on
the best standard of public welfare.
“ ^ f \ greed that their continued growth and
of such waste oi i development in attaining better meth
ods of work, and more knowledge of
problems, constituted an outlook at
once offering pleasurable and profitable
experience.
In the matter of institutional care of
The general agreement was that more i children, however, some specific conclu-
special attention should be given to this sions should be mentioned. They agreed
^ T J J? TCI TT-TT-rr/^TT-l-o mVlOTTCi TCT11/\TAt _t *
problem and that complete records ot
of this generation’s economic problems.
On Saturday at Blue Ridge JohnLeitch’s
address on industrial democracy was
followed by declarations from Southern
cotton mill men that surely foreshadow
the coming of a new era in the relations
between the forces that produce the
country’s wealth.
“The end of business is not profit,
but is human welfare”, saidR. E. Geer
of Greenville. “If profit is placed above
service, your business is placed on a
plane on which it will never succeed.”
This is not to say that business can
be run without profit; Mr. Geer knows
too much about the practical side of the
question to make such a declaration.
But has he not laid down the only prop
osition on which the workers and the
owners can ever come together on per
manent basis of cooperation? The end
of business is not profit, either in the
form of wages or of returns to capital;
it is service. \V hen that lesson is learned
industry will have started on a new pe
riod.—Asheville Citizen.
PROFITS AND SERVICE
of in-
When a half dozen manaprs
dustry publicly profess their faith
cent rural, if she cannot be said to have
solved the problem, has attacked it
the necessity of more reliance on moral
ideals, and democracy in industry, there
must be hope for the proper settlement
The democratic problem in education
is not primarily a problem of training
children; it is the problem of making a
community in which children cannot
help growing up to be democratic, in
telligent, disciplined to freedom, rever
ent of the goods of life, and eager to
share in the task of the age.-Joseph
K. Hart.
all cases be kept. Following this they
should seek the cooperation of other
community agencies. Of special value
will be the program of social service of
the State Federation of 'Women’s
Clubs.
The county superintendents recognize
the inadequacy of all their work with
■juvenile delinquency until more detention
and boarding homes can be provided.
They recognize a similar need in the
matter of state institutions for delin
quent youth. They, therefore, urge
upon themselves and their co-workers
every effort to remedy these deficien
cies.
The importance of educational means
to interpret and make more popular the
juvenile court law was recognized. Super
intendents are urged to report special
instances where it has rendered unusual
service, and special difficulties involved.
County Superintendents are urged to
make special studies of the economic
value to the county and people of all
public welfare work done. This includes
the actual direct cost to the state for
poor relief and other costs direct or in
direct due to ignorance, crime, vice,
thriftlessness, or sickness.
County Superintendents recognize
the importance and value of cooperat
ing with other agencies in the community
and of receiving in return similar assis
tance. They recommend appropriate
participation in community councils or
other central clearing groups.
The Superintendents express their
belief that the Association of North Caro
lina County Superintendents of Public
Welfare should constitute a valuable
medium for mutual benefits and for
that it is important to have follow-up
investigations of children placed out, as
well as intake investigations of children
to be received. They urged the impor
tance of Mothers Aid. They urged the im
portance of cooperation with churches, with
private and voluntary and state agencies and
institutions. They emphasized the impor
tance of increasing North Carolina fa
cilities for child placing, of careful and
proper classification of children, of the
importance of finding all dependents,
delinquents, and defectives; the impor
tance of a psychiatrist to help work out
common problems, and the importance
of vocational education and guidance.
These and other problems constitute
the basis for present achievements and
future planning.
The Commissioner of Public Welfare
was able to announce an arrangement
with the University whereby an emi
nent psychologist and psychiatrist will
be secured, beginning in October of
this year. His program will be an
nounced, and a cordial invitation is ex
tended to all officials and others inter
ested in public welfare to utilize this
opportunity for cooperation with the
State Department.
Perhaps the spirit of the whole con
ference was epitomized in Dr. E. C.
Brooks’s interpretation of the spirit of
work to be done by the County Super
intendents in relation, for instance, to
the compulsory attendance, law. How
much greater is the work of developing
the spirit of the law; of developing the
spirit of cooperation in the individual;
of developing the community spirit; of
developing and leading the individual
and the family into the realm of want
ing to do the right things, rather than
merely to enforce the law! How much
more promising to conserve the public
good, through the cooperation of the
nome and family, the school and edu
cation, the state and government, work
and industry, and the community than
the mere task of compelling a minimum
legal enforcement or of remedying a
few broken lives which should have
been saved long since by constructive
public welfare!
■(•J
\:4
t i
It
m