North Carolina Newspapers

The news in this publi cation is released for the press on receipt. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA TTEK Published Weekly by the University of North Caro lina for its University Ex tension Division. SEPTEMBER 27, 1922 :hapel hex, n. c. VOL. VRL NO 45 Bditoria. Board , E. 0. Branson, S. H. Hobbs, Jr., L. R. Wilson, E. W. Knisht, D. D. CarroU, .7. B. H. W. Obum. Bnlrred as second-alass matter November 14, 1914, at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill, N. C., under the act of Au^st34, 191S NEWSPAPER CmCIJLATION When the New York publisher made the statement that his firm sold more books per capita in North Carolina in the fifties than in 1920, he was talking of books, not newspapers and# maga zines. ^ But what if he had included them? Could the same statement concerning them be substantiated? Comparative statistics on this subject are not available. The circulation fig ures of several of the national week lies and monthlies and the state dailies are available, however, and, whether the record back in the fifties was good or bad, the showing for North Carolina today is far from pleasing. Certainly North Carolina re&ds newspapers and magazines. But she fails utterly to read her quota. In the reading of daily newspapers, forty-four states make a better showing. See the table else where in this issue. Unpleasant Facts Statistics published in 1921 by the circulation and advertising departments of The Ladies Home Journal, The Lit erary Digest, and The Saturday Even^, mg Post—three of the most popular and widely disserAinated journals of the country—show that North Carolina stands near the foot of the ladder in her reading of these publications. One North Carolinian out of every 138 receives a copy of the Literary Di gest, or did in 3921, while the average for the United States was one in every 85." Only one person in 149 in North Carolina received a copy of The Satur day Evening Post, against an average of one in every 50 throughout the rest of the country. North Carolina postmas ters and news agencies delivered one copy of The Ladies Home Journal toone person in 116, whereas their colleagues throughout the country did practi cally twice as big business. They hand ed out a copy to an average of one out of every 65 men, women, and children, which m^ans, of course, that North Carolina, when measured by averages, receives less than one half her quota of these publications. Stated differently in the terms of rank among the forty- eight states, Oregon ranks first in the circulation of The Ladies Home Jour nal with one copy to every 33 inhabi tants, North Carolina ranks 40th, with one copy to every 117, and Mississippi stands at the bottom with one copy to every 181 of her citizens. In the case of The Literary Digest and The Satur day Evening Post, North Carolina ranks 42nd and 46th respectively, while Cali fornia loads in both instances with one copy to every 41 and 22 inhabitants re spectively. Among Ourselves Coming closer home than California, North Carolina makes a poor showing among her immediate neighbors. In the case of The Ladies Home Journal (the State makes its -best showing in its reading of this publication, thanks to the women, rather than in The Lit erary Digest and The Saturday Evening Post) North Carolina ranks 40th. Flor ida (assisted by her tourists, possibly); ranks 25th; Maryland, Missouri, Okla homa, Virginia, and Texas also stand ahead of her, Tennessee equals her, and Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi stand below her. In the case of The Literary Digest Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Mississippi fall below her, whereas in the case of The Saturday Evening Post all outrank her except Mississippi and South Caro lina. County Quotas Coming still closer home, the analy ses of circulations furnished by these three journals together with The Pro gressive Farmer make clear the fur ther fact that not all North Carolina counties read equally. The national advertiser wh(>, runs a page advertise ment in The Literary Digest, for ex ample, does not have the same number per capita of readers in all of the 100 counties. Only 3 copies of this pulica- tion were received by or sold to resi dents of Graham county during the week in April, 1921, when the audit was made. But even with that the average of one copy to every 1624 in habitants was higher than that of Alle ghany with 4 copies distributed over a total population of 7403, or one copy to every 1850 inhabitants! Buncombe, on the other hand, with its 64,148 inhabi tants, received 1454 copies, or one copy to every 44 inhabitants, and thereby led tHe State, while Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Pasquotank, and Wake fol lowed in close order with 66, 67, 70, and 73 respectively. Among the Farmers An analysis of the circulation of The Progressive Farmer shows the same thing, with the difference that the lead ership passes from Buncombe to Ran dolph. Randolph, with a total mailing list of 978 (at the time the audit was made) led with one copy to every 31 in habitants. Buncombe dropped to 88th position with one copy tb every 117 in habitants, and Alleghany, which was so inhospitable to The Literary Digest, moved up six places from the bottom to 94th, with one copy to every 160 of her citizens, yielding the cellar position to Dare with a total of twelve copies to a population of 6115, or one paper to every 426. Combined Circulation Analyses of the circulations of single ‘papers, however, do not give an ade quate picture of what North Carolina counties read. Consequently, the com bined circulation of The Literary Di gest, The Ladies Home Journal, The Saturday Evening Post and the Pro gressive Farmer is given in a table appearing in another issue. Togeth er, they give a cross-section pic ture of North Carolina reading never given before, and one which should re ceive the careful study of everyone in terested in the economic as well as the social and cultural development of the state.' From even a most superficial study of this picture, two facts are distinctly clear. North Carolina is not reading her quota of the standard journals of the country; and the counties whidh do not contain large cities, with highly or ganized public libraries, bookstores, and news stands, read far less than those that have these facilities. Buncombe, with a total of 5000 copies of the four papers combined, leads with the highest per capita circulation of one copy to every 13 inhabitants. Meck lenburg has the .greatest total, 5310, but ranks 3rd, being outdistanced by New Hanover with a total of 2967, or one paper to every 16 people. Forsyth, in spite of the fact that it contains the largest city in the state, is outranked by 16 counties. At the other end of the table Alle ghany, Ashe, and Graham fill the 98th, 99th, and 100th positions, the 4872 in habitants of Graham achieving the dis tinction of receiving 1 copy of The La dies Home Journal, 2 copies of The Saturday Evening Post, 3 copies of The Literary Digest, and 20 of The Pro gressive Farmer—26 copies all told, or one to every 187 inhabitants. Two other observations might be made. North Carolina country areas are largely unaware of what the rest of the world is thinking about, so far as it is reflected in the magazines of the day; and the high average for Buncombe and Moore counties (in which the principal tourists resorts of North Carolina are located) may be due to the visitors rather than home-stayers! State Papers Pew generalizations can be made con cerning the reading of state papers by North Carolinians, as no analysis of cir culations is available except by towns. The Greensboro Daily News, Charlotte Observer, News and Observer, North Carolina Christian Advocate, Biblical Recorder, Charity and Children, Orph an’s Friend, and The News Letter nave mailing lists running from about 17.500 to 27,500. With few exceptions copies of these are received by subscribers in all of the 63 towns in the State having a popu lation of 2000 or more. In - that sense they are statewide, and counting five readers to each copy, the average read ing public for these publications is from 87.500 to 137,600. The Progressive Farmer and the North Carolina Health Bulletin with North Carolina mailing lists of approximately-60,000 each, are KNOW NORTH CAROLINA* Carolina Libraries In 1897, just twenty-five years a- go, the city of Durham established the first free, public, tax-supported library in North Carolina. In 1901, the legislature passed the rural school library law and appro priated $7500 annually for the estab lishment of school libraries. In 1920, at the end of twenty years, 4960 of the thirty-dollar and 2331 of the fifteen-dollar libraries had been placed in approximately one half of the schools, both white and colored, and the total collections numbered between 500,000 and 600,000 volumes. ^ In_1902, the North Carolina Fed eration of Women’s Clubs estab lished its department of libraries. Today the department is heartily sup ported by the 30,526 membersof the Federation, and through it every form of library activity is being pro moted. During 1921 and 1922 alone it has been largely instrumental in the establishment of twelve sub scription or public libraries. In May, 1904, the North Carolina Library Association was formed at a meeting in Greensboro with four North Carolina librarians and the late Charles Duncan Mclver in at tendance. The Association today has a membership «jf several hun dred, and in September and October of this year will hold six district meetings throughout the State. In May-June, 1907, the American Library Association, with more than 500 delegates, held its annual session in the city of Asheville, the meeting being the second held in the South. In March, 1909, the Legislature established the North Carolina Li brary Commission and gave it an an nual appropriation of $1500. In 1921, its appropriation was increased to $17,500, and it circulated 16,639 pieces of material in package libra ries, 616 traveling libraries of 40 vol umes each in 414 stations in 98 coun ties, and promoted in a systematic way the various library interests' of the entire state. In October, 1912, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Literary Societies of the University of North Carolina, with the cooperation of the Univer^ sity Extension Division, established the High School Debating Union, an organization which in the ten years of its existence has actively involved a total of from i0,U00 to 20,000 high school boys and girls, all of whom have been taught something con cerning the caretul use of library material. In 1921, the Southern Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools passed a regulation that no high school could be placed on its accred ited list which did not have a min imum of 500 volumes in its library exclusive of duplicates and public documents. Following this lead the State Department of Education of North Carolina has passed a similar though modified ruling, and issued in 1922 a splendid list of books from which libraries could be selected. In 1910, thedirst year in which the Library Commission summarized the the library statistics of the State, 39 public or semi-public libraries je- ported a total income of $26,386; vol umes added during the year 13,362; total number of volumes 101,169; periodicals received 679; number of registered borrowers 35,820; total circulation 221,608. The correspond ing figures for 1921 were: 67 libra ries (three colored) with total in comes of $83,031.03; volumes added during year 22,162; total number of volumes 213,408; number of regis tered borrowers 85,882; total circu lation 727,905. In 1910, the figures for the schools' and colleges were: 35 institutions in cluding State Library, Supreme Court Library, and nine colored schools; volumes added 13,609; total number of volumes 293,172; total periodicals received 1786. In 1920, 33 institutions reported volumes ad ded 25,479; total number of volumes 444,313; total periodicals received 2807 Things Needed 1. A tax supported, county-wide public library in North Carolina; or, adequate county support of existing libraries for adequate county library service. 2. Appropriations in the various cities for library purposes to equal $1 per capita instead of the 18 cents now prevailing. 3. A high school library fund supplied by State and the counties for the steady and adequate upbuild ing of high school libraries. The min imum annual expenditure for books alone should be fifty cents per year per pupil and at least $25 should be spent annually for periodicals, 4. A school library inspector to systematize the work of school libra ries and make them effective instru ments in their communities. 5. Regular instruction at the Uni versity for teachers and librarians in the proper administration of city, county, and school libraries. 6. An individual, or group of in dividuals, connected with every school, college, city, or county libra ry who will give both time and mon ey to the upbuilding of a statewide, adequate North Carolina library sys tem.—L. R. Wilson, University Li brarian. read by about 250,000 of the population, or one person in ten. State Dailies But in one instance comparisons are possible. The Editor and Publisher of June 10, 1922, prints the total circula tion of all the dailies, both morning a#d Evening, throughout the United States. On April 1, 1922, North Carolina’s 9 morning and 27 evening papers were circulating 188,781 copies, or one copy to every 13.5 inhabitants. Massachu setts led the country with a total circu lation of 1,971,110, or one copy to every 1.9 inhabitants. The average for the United States was 3.6 inhabitants per subscriber. North Carolina ranked 45th. South Carolina and New Mexico stood immediately below North Caro lina with 15.2 and 16.9 respectively, while Mississippi plumbed the depths of apparent adult illiteracy with only one copy to every 37.1 inhabitants. THE WESTERN WAY On July 1, 1918, forty-two of the 68 counties of California had established county libraries under the state library law. Of the 42, thirty-eight received an annual maintenance fund of $539,- 458, contained 945,856 volumes, main tained 2890 branch libraries, and served 1549 school districts. Every library was directed by a certificated librarian, and the whole system had the benefit of expert library supervision. In 1919-20, the state of Wisconsin required every high school to employ a library-trained teacher to have charge of the high school library. '■ 6. That what a teacher is and does means more to the children than what she teaches. 6. That it is wrong for young un trained teachers to get their experiehce at the expense of the children and the community. 7. That money spent on a good teach er is the best investment a commun" ity can make. 8. That no teacher can give her best service without a good building that is well equipped, a good boarding place, and the complete cooperation of all the people. K That the community which re fuses to pay the price for a good school will eventually pay the price in loss through ignorance. 10. That peace and prosperity, for a community, state, or nation, depends upon the proper education of all the people regardless of where they live.— J. R. Grant, state agent of rural schools, Little Rock, Ark. —Journal of Rural Education. ra£ SCHOOL DIRECTOR I am glad to be a school director. Becaus6 it gives me an opportunity to help employ good teachers, to visit the schools, see what is being done, plan with the teachers, advise with the parents, help the boys and girls of my community, and cooperate with all agencies to make better schools. Because I believe; 1. That what our children are tomor row depends on what we do for them today. 2. That children who are compelled to attend school, should have a good school to attend. 3. That some schools are worse than no schools. 4. That character building is one of the largest factors in the education of boys and girls. WHAT A COLLEGE DIPLOMA IS WORTH “Success is not an accident, ” is the motto carved in the mantelpiece of the large room where our workmen gather. “It comes to the man who does his job a little better than the other fellow.” The reason why one man does a task a little better than someone else is us ually because he thinks about it a little harder; so that anything that teaches a boy to think is good for him. If a college education teaches a boy to think, he is better off with it than he would be without it. The quality of ambition is also essential to success. Men who have worked their way through college do not expect some thing for nothing. Their immediate concern is not to find an easy way to make a living, but to find an opening or make one which holds promise of future u^ulness. They are not look ing for promotion, but rather for an opportunity to prove that they are in dispensable. They got through college because they worked. It is natural for th^m to expect to go through life on the same basis.—Irving T. Bush, in Forbes. DAILY NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION On April 1, 1922, as per the Editor and Publisher June 10, 1922 Coverin^(l) the combined circulation of dailies published in each state, and (2) the :Qumber of inhfabicants per subscriber. The total for the United States was 29,198,665, or 3.6 inhabitants per sub scriber. In N. C. the combined circulation of our 36 .dailies was 188,781,’ or 13.5 in habitants per subscriber. Forty-four states made a better showing, and 10 of these were southern states —namely, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, "Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas, in the order named. L. R. Wilson, Librarian, University of North Carolina Rank States Circulation per paper Rank States Circulation per paper 1 Massachusetts 1,971,110 1.9 25 Delaware 39,870 5.6 2 New York 4,973,329 2.0 26 Florida 172,103 5.6 3 California 1,542,202 2.2 27 Maine 132,229 6.8 4 Oregon 313,728 2.4 27 Oklahoma 346,655 6.8 6 Missouri 1,348,503 2.5 29 Texas 778,760 5.9 6 Illinois 2,471,603 2.6 30 Tennessee 386,193 6.0 7 Ohio 2,132,632 2.7 31 Montana 84,776 6.4 8 Washington 471,493 2.8 32 Vermont 52,895 ^ 6.6 9 Pennsylvania 2,890,857 3.0 33 New Hampshire 65,987 ^ 6.7 10 Rhode Island 188,972 3.1 34 Wyoming 26,534 7.3 11 Colorado 291,571 3.2 35 Louisiana 242,362 7.4 12 Maryland 487,502 3.3 36 Kentucky 307,661 7.8 13 Indiana 853,161 3.4 37 Virginia 282,105 8.1 13 Minnesota 691,197 3.4 38 Idaho 52,407 8.2 15 Michigan 1,023,392 3.5 39 South Dakota 75,263 8.4 16 Connecticut 363,949 3.7 40 West Virginia 171,782 8.6 17 Nebraska 340,028 3.8 41 Georgia 311,538 9.2 18 Iowa 614,663 3.9 42 Alabama 220,442 10.6 19 Utah 97,786 4.6 43 North Dakota 58,911 10.9 20 Nevada 16,074 4.8 44 Arkansas 137,394 12.7 21 Kansas 360,472 4.9 45 North Carolina 188,781 13.5 22 Wisconsin 524,104 5.0 46 South Carolina 110,535 15.2 23 Arizona 62,281 6.3 47 New Mexico 21,276 16.9 23 New Jersey 585,729 6.3 48 Mississippi 48,234 37.1