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 Press for the Univer
sity Extension Division.
AUG. 1, 1923
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
VOL. K, NO. 37
Editorial B >ard: B. 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 PostofHceat Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24. 1912
TAX BURDEN PER INHABITANT
V-A FARM TOWN IN SOUTH GERMANY
The farmers live huddled together in
village groups in Germany, and in all
other countries of the Old World. The
solitary farmstead is the rule in
North Carolina, the United States, and
in the New World countries in general.
Thinly scattered neighborhoods or set
tlements are common in the vast open
spaces of America, but compact farm
communities, as for instance the Mac-
Rae colonies in the Lower Cape Fear
country or the California colonies at
Durham and Delhi, are rare.
Farm.Village Groups
Whole volumes of meaning lie in
this fundamental difference between
farm life in the Old World and in the
New, but just now I am bent on
sketching the nearest of the twenty
farm villages that lie within an hour’s
walk of Eiigelberg. As I write in the
summer pavilion of the castle terrace,
five of these farm villages are in full
view, in the valley below and on the
mountain slopes beyond. One is perched
on the very crest of the ridge on
the right and another occupies a cleared
area in the] State Forest just above
the castle estate.
Winterbach is only twenty minutes
away, at the fo(.t of the hill. It is my
railroad station and post office. I have
been coming and going thru its winding
streets and lanes for a fortnight, in
various trips out from Engelberg. Last
week I visited the village school in the
yard of the church, and last Sunday
worshiped with the villagers in a church
building four hundred years old. In unob
trusive ways I have been studying this
community of South German farmers
and their manner of life.
Farm Home Clusters
It is an old community, like almost
every other German dorf. A thous
and years ago it must have been
a little town of consequence, for mid-
; way the 11th century "the Emperor
Henry Third lived in it for a year or
two. Today it is a community of 680
dwellings and 2,100 inhabitants. The
space that Winterbach occupies is so
small that the town could easily be set
down on Dr. Coker’s home place in
Chapel Hill, with room to spare all
around the edges. The way these
farm homes are huddled together sug
gests a covey of partridges in a snow
storm. The Winterbach dwellings
are set at nil angles along the tortu
ous streets and lanes. Here and there
they are set end to end or side by side,
as closely as the stores of an American
city, but usually there are narrow
alleys between them.
I miss the checker-board plan of the
raw, new towns in America. The
homes of Winterbacn face the stream
that waters it or the footpaths to the
neighboring farms, or the cattle trails
of earlier days, or the roads to the fuel
supply in the woods, or to other farm
villages. The Rathaus or town hall and
the village church face the market
space, and the market space is the
center of the town life. Beyond this
bit of design, there is no discoverable
trace of any town planning at any
time in its history. The lanes and
narrow streets wind in and out among
the dwellings in ways that bewilder
the stranger. Oftentimes they lead
off into blind alleys that end in seclud
ed courts faced by closely set farm
buildings. The chance intruder steps
softly about and back-tracks quickly in
to the outer world.
A Genuine Farm Village
Winterbach is a farm village, the
villagers'are farmers, their daily busi
ness is farming and almost nothing
but farming until within very recent
years. The dwellings are farm houses
built to suit the business of small-scale
farming. In the old days, the butcher,
the shoemaker, the blacksmith, or the
wheelwright was a farmer who worked
at a hand trade before and after the
day’s toil on his farm. There were no
stores aforetime, and even now the
half dozen shops are little cubby holes
on the ground floor of ancient farm
houses. The stock on the shelves of any
one of them could be bought entire with
a hundred-dollar bill. There is no bank,
no movie picture house, no drug store,
no doctor, no dentist, and only one
automobile in this farm community of
2,100 inhabitants. It is a farm village
of nothing but farmers; or so it was
until within the last ten years during
whi'ch period four factories have brok
en into the farm life of the town.
Post-War Factory Growth
And this has happened because
Winterbach chances to be ■ on a rail
way line. The dorfer that lie off
the railroads are still farm villages
pure and simple, but during the Great
War and since, almost every dorf at or
near a railway station in southern Ger
many became a factory center. The key
industries of Germany may be in the
Ruhr valley and the Saar basin, but her
cheaply produced, high-grade special
ties are largely fashioned in endless
variety, in small plants, in farm re
gions reached by railroads and cross
country electric lines. And they are
all busy. But this is another story. In
some later letter I may come back to
this amazing recent development of
hydro-electric plants and manufactur
ing establishments in the hill country
and mountain regions of South Ger
many.
Domestic Arrangements
The farm house in Winterbach is al
ways two and sometimes three or four
storeys high. On the ground floor is a
stable for the farm animals, a barn
for wagons, tools, and forage, and a
living room for the family—a combi
nation kitchen, dining room, washroom
and domestic work room in general.
The front door of the dwelling is usually
between the barn and the ground floor
living room. The second floor contains
the family bed rooms. Against the end
of the house there is commonly an open
shed for the fuel—small sticks, fagots,
and bundles of twigs. A separate barn
is rare. The habit of the European
peasant is to live with his farm ani
mals under the same roof.
Substantial Construction
The ground storey walls of the dwel
lings are built of stones set in mortar.
The upper storey walls are open-wood
work. That is to say, they consist of
heavy timbers and timber braces, with
the spaces between filled with brick or
stone and mortar, and stuccoed so as to
leave the wooden frame exposed. The
roof is high pitched and covered with
terra cotta tiles. Dormer windows
make the attic rooms livable and add
picturesque detail of architecture. It
is substantial construction. Many of
these dwellings are more than 300 years
old, and they look good for another 300
years. I have seen but one wooden
building of any sort in Germany. Every
thing is built of stone, brick, or con
crete and built to last forever—even the
tool houses in the vineyards, and the
dog houses in the yards.
The Home Surroundings
Sometimes the dwellings are flush
with the streets, but usually they are
set back ten feet or so, to leave a small
space in front of the living room for
vegetables and flowers, and before the
stable door for the inevitable manure
pile. On the edge of the manure pile
is the sunken tank for liquid manure
and the pump that lifts it into barrels
to be carted away into the fields by the
oxen or the cows. The chickens swarm
over these manure piles and the odor is
rank to unaccustomed noses. The vil
lage reeks with it. The peasant farmer
of Europe is firm in the belief that it
is healthful to live with farm animals
and that the smell of the manure is
good for the soul. The German peasant
is not ashamed to have his manure pile
at his front door. The size of it indi
cates the number of farm animals he
has and the acres he owns to feed them
on. His wealth and rank are counted
in cattle as among the early Romans.
His daily dream is to have a manure
pile bigger than anybody else’s in the
village, and the dream of every youth
is to marry a manure-pile heiress.
Home Owning Farmers
Winterbach is a community of home-
HOME OWNERSHIP
There is no government for the
many while the land belongs to the
few; for the history of the world
teaches that the men who own the
land will rule it.
The home owner is the most con
structive and at the same time the
most important force in our civiliza
tion. He is a pioneer in progress, he
is a lover of peace, but he is a very
demon in battle when danger threat
ens the land he loves.
The small farm owned by the man
who tills it is the best plant-bed in
the world in which to grow a patri
ot. Such a consideration brings
wealth to the soil and health to the
souls of men. On such a soil it is
possible to produce anything, from
two pecks of potatoes to the hill to
a President of the United States.
The wizard of the Northwest,
James J. Hill, once said: Land with
out population is a wilderness, pop
ulation without land is a mob.
Every consideration of progress
and safety urges us to employ all
wise and just measures to get our
lands into the hands of the many
and forestall that most destructive
of all monopolies—the monopoly of
the soil.—Thomas W. Bickett.
owning farm families, and it is a rich
country town like all the rest of such
towns in Germany. The Great War en
riched these landowning peasants. The
signs are unmistakable. Every farm
village shows old dwellings repaired and
fleshly painted, old roofs re-covered
with shining new tiles, plumbing sys
tems, telephones, and electric lights in
stalled, more farm animals and hand
some new houses in surprising number.
Vertical Indu^ry
The explanation is simple. During
the last ten years they have been pro
ducing real values in farm products,
and turning these at high prices into
fictitious marks. These fictitious marks
they have at once turned back into pro
ductive properties and creature com
forts-lands, farm tools, work stock,
better homes, and the like. It is the
trick of Mr. Stinnes in the field of
industry. And apparently no farmer in
all Germany fumbled his chance or frit
tered it away on Blue Sky artists or
even on automobiles, useful as they
are on the farm. The German farm is
almost the last word in self-sufficiency,
and self-sufficiency is the essential of
what Mr. Stinnes calls vertical busi
ness. The German farmer had the
secret long before Mr. Rockefeller
practiced it in oil or Mr. Stinnes named
it in Germany.
A Safety Anchor
The small home-owning farmers of
Winterbach represent three-fifths of
the population of Germany. When you
think of the Junkers and their power
these are the people you must have in
mind—not the comparatively few own
ers of large estates. These people do
not believe in Bolshevism. They own
too much and have too much at risk.
Their answer to the socialist orator is
a pitchfork. And they are a sheet
anchor of safety to Germany and to all
Western Europe.—E. C. Branson,
Schlossgut Engelberg, May 14, 1923.
percent of all the school trucks employed
in the state. Yes, it costs a little more
but it is worth it. The average tax
paid per person in Alleghany was only
$3.58. Alleghany lists her property at
a low value and in addition had the low
est tax rate in the state, forty-one
cents; The other counties of the state
range between these two extremes.
See the table carried in this issue.
The state has made remarkable pro
gress along lines of taxation and tax
equalization. We have the best state
tax system in the South. Also a large
number of counties in the state are to
be commended for their honesty in try
ing to find a way out of this maze of
unequal taxation. But the county tax
problem is still an unsolved one. No
county in the state attempts to put its
property on the books at true valuation.
Some seek a 76 percent valuation,
others a 60 or a 60 percent valuation.
No two have the same policy or the same
tax rate.
Durham county is on a 75 percent
true valuation basis, for instance, while
Orange, next door, is on a 55 percent
basis. Taxes levied in Durham help
support schools in Orange. And so it
is for the entire state. As a rule property
in the richer agricultural counties and
in the industrial counties is listed at
more nearly its true value than in the
Mountain or Tidewater country. How
ever, there are some exceptions to this
general policy. Everyone will confess
that Cherokee is a poor county, yet she
ranks 14th in taxes paid per inhabitant.
We know that Alleghany is much rich
er on a per inhabitant basis, yet she
ranks 100th in all taxes paid per in
habitant. She ranks high in. wealth
but low in willingness to assess her
wealth. Johnston is one of the richest
counties in the state, yet she ranked
94th, just above Dare county, in taxes
paid per inhabitant.
School Equalization
The state has a school equalization
fund that is distributed each year. A
maximum school tax law has been
passed. If with the rate the county
has it does not secure enough funds,
an appropriation is given out of the
state fund. How does it work? Often
a poor county with scrupulous county
comissioners will raise practically e-
nough from local taxes to support the
schools. Next door will be a richer
county with a low rate of assessment
values. It will fall far short of the
necessary funds so the state makes up
the shortage. The honest county pays
for its honesty.
For instance, Davie, a poor county,
pays a large tax per inhabitant and in
1923 she gets only $4,993 from the state
equalization fund. Wilkes pays a much
smaller tax per inhabirant and her al
lotment is $76,641. Some very rich
counties come in for large allotments,
while some very poor counties receive
small sums. The philosophy of the
richer counties aiding the poorer coun
ties is partially defeated because there
is no uniform percentage of true value
sought in listing property and each
county has its own tax rate. The per
cent of true valuation and the tax rate
should be more uniform in the state.
At present each county has its own as
sessment policy and its own rate. Many
of them have a strong liking for the
equalization fund.~S.H.H.,Jr.
TAX BURDEN PER INHABITANT
In North Carolina in 1921
, Based on the 1921 Report of the State Commissioner of Revenue covering
all taxes collected by the county and state, including state income tax, divided
by the population of each county. Does not include federal taxes.
In Wilson county the state and county tax burden was $16.10 per inhabit
ant, while in Alleghany it was only $3.68. State average $8.60]per inhabitant,
E. B. Smith, Buncombe County
Department of Rural Social Economics, University of North Carolina
TAX BURDENS
In 1921 the average tax paid per in
habitant for all state and county pur
poses was $8.60, or about forty dollars
per family. This was the total tax levied
to support the county and all county
activities, roads, schools, county govern
ment, and the state and all its mani
fold activities. In Wilson county the to
tal tax paid per inhabitant was $16.10.
In addition to a network of good roads
Wilson has the most propressive school
system in the state. The county is
now divided into twelve big rural school
districts, each school a big consolidated
school based on motor transportation
of children. She operates about ten
Rank County
Total Tax
Rank County
Total Tax
Per Inhab.
Per Inhab.
1
Wilson
$16.10
61
Madison
$7.83
2
Durham
14.19
62
Richmond
7.70
3
Halifax
11.94
62
Rowan
7.70
11.68
64
Pender
... 7
5
McDowell
11.63
64
Currituck
7.68
6
Nash
11.60
56
Orange
7.65
7
Craven
11.57
67
Carteret
7.62
8
Greene
10.81
68
Columbus
7.48
9
Vance
10.80
59
Forsyth
7.46
10
Guilford
10.71
60
Union
7.40
11
Buncombe
10.15
60
Bladen
7.40
12
10.01
62
Robeson
... 7
13
Transylvania
9.97
63
Lincoln
7.30
14
Cherokee
9.96
64
Cleveland
7.19
15
Franklin
9.93
65
Cabarrus
7.12
16
Swain
9.89
66
Gates
6.83
17
Hyde
9.86
67
Jones
6.80
18
Lenoir
9.83
68
Alamance
6.76
9.76
69
Anson
fi Rfi
20
Mecklenburg
9.69
70,
Yadkin
6.56
21
Beaufort
9.66
71
Chatham
6.37
22
Washington
9.62
72
Stanly,..
6.32
23
Hertford
9.65
73
Davidson
6.25
24
Cumberland
9.49
73
Watauga
6.26
25
Edgecombe
9.44
73
Iredell
6.26
26
Pitt
9.34
76
Catawba
6.24
27
Scotland
9.10
76
Perquimans
6.24
28
Rockingham
9.06
78
Polk
6.23
29
Gaston
9.01
79
Lee
6.21
30
Northampton ....
8.96
80
Bertie
6.08
31
Montgomery
8.88
81
Burke
6.07
32
Onslow
8.80
82
Caswell
6.06
32
Pasquotank
8.80
83
Camden
5.96
34
Harnett
8.66
84
Haywood
5.96
35
Stokes
8.65
84
Person
6.96
36
Graham
8.63
84
Randolph
6.96
37
Martin
8.46
87
Wilkes
5.83
38
Jackson
8.41
88
Brunswick
6.80
39
Granville
8.39
89
Caldwell
5,73
40
Duplin
8.36
90
Sampson
6.46
41
Clay
8.34
91
Avery
6.40
42
Pamlico
8.25
92
Mitchell
6.39
43
Moore ,
8.19
93
Rutherford
5.36
44
Tyrrell
8.16
94
Johnston
6.29
46
Hoke
8.13
96
Dare
6.21
46
Henderson
8.11
96
Ashe
6.08
47
Warren
7.96
97
Chowan
4.82
48
Davie
7.92
98
Yancey,
4.33
48
Surry
7.92
99
Macon
4.32
60
Alexander
7.89
100
Alleghany
3.68