The news in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published Weekiy by the
University of North Caro
lina Press for the Univer
sity Extension Division.
MARCH 7, 1923
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. K, NO. 16
Editorial Suardt E. C. Branson, S. H. Hobbs, Jr., L. R. Wilson, E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroll, J. B. Bullitt, H. W, Odum.
Entered as second-class matter November 14, 1914, at the Postofiice at Chapel Hill, N. C. under the act of August 24 1912
HOME AND FARM OWNERSHIP
THE NEW YEAR-BOOK
By the time this issue of the News
Letter gets to our readers, the new
Year-Book of the North Carolina Club
at the University will be going^into the
mails.
The title it bears is Home and Farm
Ownership. It treats this essential
matter of civilization in the state, the
nation, and in other countries of the
world. It exhibits (1) farm tenancy
conditions and the causes producing the
landless estate of men, (2) the con
sequences of landlessness, (3) the reme
dies applied in California, Denmark,
New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scot
land. and Canada, and (4) it proposes
a remedy for North Carolina. For the
first time in America it gives this sub
ject to the public in a well-ordered,
single volume. It sets a background
for competent discussion of the Giles
bill that the General Assembly of North
Carolina is now considering.
It is a volume of some 200 pages, in
twenty-two chapters. It goes free of
charge to any North Carolinian who
writes for it in time. The price to
other applicants is $1.00 a copy post
paid.
The list of applicants is already large
and the edition is small—only 2,000 in
fact.
University bulletin puts it.
With state assistance, renters will be
come farm-owners, and Mr. Randolph
points out the advantages to North Ca
rolina from increasing the number of
families owning their own land and
therefore having a lively interest in
whatever affects the community. With
pressure relieved from the renter group,
conditions of life among the croppers
may also be expected to improve.
Mr. Randolph’s paper showed that
California has taken an advanced posi
tion in dealing with the tenancy ques
tion. Land has been bought, improved,
equipped with machinery, buildings,
livestock, and then sold on easy terms,
and the state has not only lost nothing
but has profited by this reorganization
of one division of its agricultural sys
tem.
Isn’t it time for North Carolina to
throw out a life line to her croppers
and renters?—Asheville Citizen.
A FARMER DEMOCRACY
What ails America? We have the
richest agricultural belt of the world,
the most improved agricultural imple
ments, the best transportation of any
people, and the largest home market,
yet through wasteful and absurd meth
ods of distribution the farmer period-
The particular purpose of the Club jcally is brought to sore straits finan-
is to reach the readers, thinkers, and
leaders in the public life of North Caro
lina. In any state, these are the leav
en that soon or late leavens the
whole lump of democracy.
The Giles Bill
If it could be read thoughtfully by
our legislators, for instance, they would
go hammer-and-tongs at the problem
of landless men in North Carolina, and
devise workable ways of curing this
fundamental ill in our civilization. It
can be cured, say in a half century if
only we could begin now.
It took Denmark a half century to
lay down the foundations of a prosper
ous home-owning farm civilization, and
today man-for-man Denmark is the rich’
est farm state in the world. And New
Zealand a sparsely settled country re^
mote from the market centers of the
world is following suit, but she began
forty years ago, under the leadership
of a big-brained courageous premier
who saw that a prosperous agriculture
based on ownership farming is as nec
essary to general prosperity as piers
are to a bridge.
It is so in North Carolina. A fat
civilization cannot be safely built on a
lean countryside and tenancy farming
spells poverty in our country regions—
inevitably so.
Some day the Giles Bill or some such
bill to promote home and farm owner
ship will pass our legislature by an
overwhelming vote; but our hope is
that it will not be forty years too late.
The background of such a bill will be
found in How Farm Tenants Live, and
in Home and Farm Ownership—two bul
letins that can now be had by North
Carolinians free of charge by writing
to the Extension Division of the State
University.
THROWING OUT A LIFE LINE
That state-aid for farm 'tenants is
not an untried project and that condi
tions among North Carolina tenants is
one of the state’s gravest social and
economic problems, was the theme of
a paper read by P. S. Randolph of
Asheville at the last meeting of tne
North Carolina Club at the University
of North Carolina. Experiments in
Denmark over a long period and recent
ly in California are examples that are
encouraging North Carolina students
and legislators to efforts which promise
to save some thousands of men, women,
and children from a life resembling
serfdom.
Serfdom? Yes, that is the only word
to fit the cropper on the big planta
tions of central and eastern North Ca
rolina. This class owns not even the
tools with which they work. The rent
er furnishes his own tools and livestock,
and out of an income of 14 cents a day
(besides food and shelter), in some
cases he saves enough to begin pay
ments on a small farm. But the crop
per, on an income of 8 cents a day, is
“the man whom God forgot,” as the
cially.
The farm makes up the largest sin
gle unit of purchasing power in Ameri
ca. Upon the prosperity of the farm
ers depends to a decided degree the
prosperity of the manufacturers. Eco
nomically they are bound by close ties
yet the farm and the factory are far
apart in sympathy and understanding.
No other element of the Nation is so
lacking in organization as the farm.
Manufacturing is highly organized. So
practically is every branch of general ■
business. '
It is absurd to say the farm can not
be stabilized and its distributive wastes
eliminated. '
Denmark has the best agricultural
distribution system of the world. Oh
land much of which an American farm
er would have turned from as almost
hopeless, it has developed a great dairy,
fruit, poultry, cattle, sheep, hogs and
gardening truck industry and through
co-operative marketing which embraces
everyone who raises anything, from an
egg to a drove of steers, it not only
feeds all Denmark but also London and
a goodly part of the British Isles.
Farm produce is collected with the reg
ularity that a postman collects letters.
The collector gives a reeiept for the
produce. What isn’t required for Cop
enhagen and other cities of Denmark
goes by express steamers to London.
These vessels sail om schedule time.
Danish farmers go to school in win
ter to study agriculture. Danish moth
ers go to school, too. Danish girls,
from royalty down, engaged to be mar
ried, go to school to take courses in
housekeeping.
By real cooperative marketing Den
mark has made itself one of the few
sound prosperous nations of Europe.
At the same time, although Denmark
has a king, it is^about the nearest ap
proach to a real democracy presented
today.—Richard Spillane, Commerce
and Finance.
THE NORTH CAROLINA CLUB
How college students are thinking on
such matters as capital and labor rela
tions and taxation of corporation securi
ties was shown at a meeting of the i
North Carolina Club of the University ;
hast night, when M. A. James, of Bun-1
combe counry, delivered a report on i
Capital, Labor, and the Public in North '
Carolina, and W. F. Somers, of Salis- i
bury, on the subject of Taxation tf
Corporation Stocks in North Carolina,
Their reports were based on the find-:
ings of their surveys. |
Mr, James, in his discussion, gave a!
logical and common-sense interpreta-'
tion of the causes of strikes -and the '
underlying conditions that bring on;
labor frictoin, after which he suggest- ’
ed several remedial measures. Point
ing out that there is no panacea that'
will cure all our industrial ills, he sub- ’
mitted the following plan's which he said!
would at least dimmish labor troubles:
KNOW NORTH CAROLINA
Setting a Pace
With $120,000,000 going into the
building of highways through state,
county, and Federal co-operation.
North Carolina in proportion to its
population and wealth is, we believe,
taking the lead far and away over
every other state in the Union.
This good old North State has
been pushing foward regardless
of bad times with an energy that
sets a standard which few states in
the Union have ever been able to
surpass. Its work should be an in
spiration to every other state. More
over, there are other features con
nected with the progress and pros
perity of North Carolina as evinced
in its wonderful road building cam
paign which may well cause the
nation to pause and study.
Probably no state in the Union is
at the present time surpassing North
Carolina in material and educational
progress. It is doing marvelous
things outside of its road building
campaign. Its progress is not halt
ed by the lack of foreign immigra
tion. North Carolina finds full em
ployment for its own people, and it
asks no help from foreign immigra
tion.
North Carolina is building schools
and colleges and the university with
an amazing activity. Its cotton mill
development has been one of the
marvels of the age. It ranks as one
of the greatest furniture producing
centers of the country. Indeed, it
has a wide and ever increasing var
iety of industries, created, managed
and financed mainly by local people
and local money. In doing this work
it lifts up a standard, and it challen
ges every other other state in the
Union to match the rate of its
growth; and the whole of its growth
is largely typified and measured by
the tremendous and unprecedented
road building campaign which that
state is carrying on.
There is another feature in connec
tion with North Carolina's wonder
ful progress which should command
attention. It is one of the most
law-abiding states in the Union, and
always has been. No state in the
Union, we think, surpasses North
Carolina im that respect. Its law-
abiding qualities are indicated in the
fact that during the last year there
was not a single lynching in North
Carolina, though there were five
each in Arkansas and Florida and to
,their everlasting disgrace eleven in
Georgia, and nine in Mississippi,
with Texas leading with eighteen.
Wherever the mob law which finds
expression through lynching pre
vails there is a spirit of lawlessness
which lessens the moral backbone
of the people, breaks down every
sense of moral responsibility, lynch
ed the sovereignty of the state, and
lessens its progress in material as
well as in educational things.
All honor, then, to North Carolina
which has done so marvelously well
in material progress and which had
not a single lynching in 1922 to
blacken its fair name! May its ex
ample in this respect, as in highway
building, school expansion, church
construction and all other good
things, be followed by all other
states in the Union. —Manufactur
ers Record.
(1) A guarantee in the form of insur
ance against the dread of sickness, un
employment, and death in a poor house,
(2) art in the factories, (3) the supply
ing of attractive homes for the em
ployees, (4) broader social functions
for the employees, and (6) education.
He also stressed the possibilities of the
economy dividend plan, whereby both
the employer and employee are benefit
ed by a saving in the cost of production
by the avoiding of waste and neglect of
the machinery and goods in process,
which is a problem in all large scale
enterprises.
Mr. Somers presented a clear case
for the exemption of corporation stocks
owned by individuals. Pointing out
that the property which stocks repre
sent is already taxed once, he contend
ed that it would be a case of pure
double taxation. Quoting the state
constitution and citing recent North
Carolina-laws, he showed why the ex
emption of these securities from taxa
tion carries out the letter and spirit of
the law. This question has been the
subject of much discussion in the state
recently, and he pointed out the great
economic significance and advantage to
j this state in leaving these securities tax-
I free as a matter of good policy as will
i as of justice.—The Charlotte Observ-
' er.
PUBLIC WELFARE WORK
Probably more than a few North Ca
rolinians do not know that the state
has a School of Public Welfare. Or,
if they have heard it, they have only
the vaguest notion of wnat the school
teaches and of its relation to North
Carolina’s effort through legislation to
strengthen Tarheel life at-its weakest
points. There are, in fact, still many
citizens who lo(»k upon social welfare
! as something outside the jurisdiction of
; any government; many “view with a-
i larm” any state effort to banish disease
and poverty, lower the figures for in
fant mortality and give financial assis
tance to widowed mothers • struggling
to make their children strong physically
j and give them an education.
I There should, therefore, be especial
i interest among North Carolinians in
1 the January number of the Annals of
i the American Academy of Political and
; Social Science, devoted to a review of
“Public Welfare in the United States.”
It was a pioneer undertaking, although
American interest in social science has
grown tremendously in recent years.
Casting about for a man competent to
make the first survey in the whole field
of public welfare work throughout the
country, the editors of the Annals chose
Dr. Howard W. Odum, Kenan Profes
sor of Sociology and Director of the
School of Public Welfare in the Uni
versity of North Carolina. The Janu
ary issue is edited by Dr. Odum; there
are articles by some of the foremost
sociologists in the United States; three
of the contributors are North Carolin-
ians-~Mr8 Kate Burr Johnson, State
Superintendent of Public Welfare, J.
A. Dickey, and Jesse F. Steiner.
Those fairly well informed on North
Carolina’s endeavor for “making de
mocracy effective in the unequal
places,” as Dr. Odum expresses it,
know that their state is among the
dozen commonwealths that have reached
advanced positions in the theory and
application of social science. It is en
couraging as well as gratifying to have
this North Carolina achievement recog
nized by the American Academy.—
Asheville Citizen.
for assistance, and in Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Georgia, North Dakota,
South Dakota, South Carolina, West
Virginia, Virginia, Montana, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
New Jersey, Illinois, and Indiana a
number of clubs are using these pro- ’
grams, it is stated.
The director of the extension divi
sion said that a limited number of study
outlines is still available for North Ca
rolina clubs. They are on the following
subjects: “Our Heritage,” “Modern
Drama,” “Contemporary Literature,”
“Southern Literature, ” “Problems in
Citizenship,” and “American Litera
ture.”
Programs now being prepared by
University professors for Women’s
clubs are “North Carolina History,’’
by R. D, W. Connor; “Drama of To-
3ay, ” by Dougald MacMillan; “Ap
preciation of Music,” by Paul J. Wea
ver; ‘ ‘Town Studies’ ’and ‘ ‘Parent-Teach-
Handbook, ” by H. D. Meyer.
Mrs. J. F. Royster has just completed
a program entitled “Literature of To
day.”—Associated Press.
MURDER IN AMERICA
According to figures obtained from
the American Bar Association, in a
year one out of every 12,000 persons is
murdered in the United States; in Eng
land the ratio is only one out of every
412,000 persons.—The Outlook.
WOMEN S CLUB BULLETINS
Not only the club women of North
Carolina but many from other states in
the south are receiving assistance from
the Extension Division of the Univer
sity of North Carolina in their clpb
work, according to an article in a na
tional publication just received here.
Most of the assistance given by the
extension division is in the preparation
of programs. Many state chairmen of
literature of the General Federation of
Women's Clubs write to the University
COUNTY AUDITS
Under the new state law the county
affairs of Moore have recently been
audited by an expert accountant, and
the condition of everything is as
straight as a string. This is what
everybody familiar with the county af
fairs expected, for it is to the credit of
the officials that the people have looked
upon them always as reliable.
But from the audit comes something
else. In the past the system of ac
counting in the state has not been defi
nite. The different funds have not
been kept as separate as they should,
not subject to a single authority as is
more desirable. Hence occasional con
fusion followed. That brought the
audit law befote the legislature, and
from now on the county accounts will
be regularly and systematically audi
ted, and they will be at all times defi
nite and clear.
We need in the state a more business
like system of county and town account
ing and handling of public affairs, and
it can only be brought about by a dif
ferent system of county and town
management. The present officers
have too much on their hands, and it is
impossible for them to do what should
be done. Above all things we need a
permanent county auditor and a fre
quent publication of the condition of
county finances that the people may
know where the county stands.—Moore
County News.
A LIVE COLLEGE TOWN
The University of North Carolina and
Chapel Hill, the town seat of the Uni
versity, are engaged in a mutual effort
to make the town in every respect more
worthy of the University. Through a
Town Club of men, men of the faculty
and men of the town, and a very effec
tive Community Club of women, work
ing with other local organizations’
millions of dollars have been spent in
an extensive building and town develop
ment campaign: $2,000,000 in six new
buildings on the campus and in church
buildings in the town within two
years, 117 new residences in eighteen
months, new paved roads, and a new
public school.
The University News Letter says:
“It becomes increasingly evident
that Chapel Hill cannot plan and main
tain all the ideals set forth without the
financial cooperation of the University
or State. How can a town in which
more than half of the residents who use
its streets pay no taxes hope to attain a
maximum service? How can a town in
which more than half the property is
not taxed hope to render alj necessary
services with a reasonable tax rate?
Add to these considerations the fact
that the presence of the non-taxpaying
elements increases the demand for more
than average services, and we have a
doable obligation. It seems clear that
a very definite town plan ought to be
worked out, in order that the exact
amount and method of cooperation may
be detemtned at an early date.”
The sjHiit here exhibited seems typical
of a state that has in the last two
years spent $42,000,000 on education
and $120,000,000 on roads.—What the
Colleges are Doing, Boston.