The news in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt. ■
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS L
Published Weekly by the
University of North Caro
lina for the University Ex
tension Division.
APRIL 9,1924
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THK UNIVERSITY OP NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. X, NO. 21
Edhoriai 3;>ard» B. C. Braoson. S. H. fJobba, Jr., L. R. Wnson, E. W. Koiaht, D. D. Carroll, J. B.Ballltt, H. W, Odum.
Entered as second-claai matter Ncvsmber 14, 1914, at the Posto'Bce at Chapel Hill, N. G., under the actof Angruat 24, Hlf
COLLEGE STUDENTS IN N. C.
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT
We are presenting in this issue of
the News Letter a table which shows
by counties for the year 1923-24 the
number of students enrolled in the 16
North Carolina colleges of A and B
grade, per 10,000 whitepopulation. The
study is based on data rece'ntly secured
from the registrars of these colleges
giving the number of college students
by counties, and on adjusted population
figures as reported by the Census au
thorities. Since only white colleges are
represented in the study the negro
population has been deducted for each
county so that the negro ratio has no
influence on the rank of a county. This
places, the counties on an equal basis
for comparative purposes.
The sixteen North Carolina colleges
of A and B grade had enrolled up to
March of this year a total of 7,655 stu
dents from the one hundred counties
of the state. .There are enrolled in
these colleges 965 students from other
states. The white population of the
state at the present time is about 1,-
870,000. This gives a state average of
41 students in all the grade A and B
colleges per 10,000 white population, or
an average of one college student for
every 50 whitei,families in the state.
How Counties Ranh
Orange county, the seat of the State
University, with 129 college students
per 10,000 white population, ranks first
among the 100 counties of the, state.
It is the only county with more than
100 college students per 10,000 white
population. Orange has one college
student for every fifteen white families,
or more than three times as many as
the state average of one for every fifty
white families. Strange as it may
seem, Scotland and Hoke rank next in
order, with 98.4 and 89 college students
respectively per 10,000 white popula
tion. Scotland is almost wholly an
ricuJtural county, and the leading farm
tenant county in. the state. It is
county with a large negro population
ratio. The negroes are tenants and
the whites are landlords in the main.
Scotland ranks first in taxable wealth
per white inhabitant, because the few
white farmers own the bulk of the
property. Thus it is that the white
landlords of Scotland are better able to
send their sons and daughters to col
lege than the people as a whole in any
other county. The children of farm
tenants seldom attend college.
The same conditions that exist in
Scotland are true for Hoke, which
ranks second. It is a farm tenant
county with a negro ratio of 61 per-
G€mt. Other counties that have similar
foundation, and rank high in college
students, are Northampton, Hertford,
Granville, Edgecombe, Pamlico, Per
quimans, Chowan, Pitt, Craven, Wil
son, Wayne, and many other cash crop
agricultural counties, with white land
lords and large negro and farm tenant
ratios. A white landlord with two or
more tenants producing cash crops for
which there is a ready market, has a
fairly large cash income,.and, in ordi
nary years, he is able to send his chil
dren to college. This is the reason why
the combination cotton and tobacco
counties of the coastal plains'rank first
in the number of college students per
10,000 white population.
Other counties that rank in the first
group are Wake, Durham, [Orange,
Alamance, and Guilford. The bulk of
the grade A and B colleges are located
within these counties and it is largely
due to the proximity of the colleges
that these counties rank as high as
they do. Orange, for instance, is a
poor county but due to the fact that
the University is located within its
borders the county ranks first in college
patronage. It is -clearly evident that
the location of a college within a coun
ty has a great deal to do with the high
rank of such counties. The 16 colleges
included in the study are located in
•ight counties. These eight counties
contribute 30 percent of all the college
•tudents of the state, yetjthey contain
only 17 percent of the white popula
tion. In -other words, they have al
most twice their quota of college stu
dents.
The West Ranks Low
The most surprising fatts .brought
out in this study concern that area of
North Carolina lying west of a line
formed by Guilford, Rowan, and Meck
lenburg counties. This section com
prises one-third of the total area of
the state, or 36 counties. It is a re
gion of large white population ratio.s,
and home and farm ownership. Yet
of these 36 counties not a single county
ranks as high hi college attendance as
the state average of 41 students per
10,000 white population. Moreover,
only two counties, Iredell and Bun
combe, even approach the state aver
age. Of the 28 counties with fewer
than 26 college students per 10,000
white people, 23 are in this group of 35
western counties. ' The 17 counties
west of the Blue Ridge, with the ex
ception of Buncombe and Henderson
which are city and resort counties, all
rank unbelievably low. For these 17
counties there is an average of only
one college student for every one thous
and white people, while the average
for the 35 counties in this vast section
of the state is only one college student
for approximately every 750 white in
habitants. In other words, this area
registers in the 16 grade A and B col
leges of the state one student for every
160 white families, upon an average.
The average for these counties is only
one-third as high as the average for
the state. It is our guess that this
area will be sorely lacking in leader
ship in the years to come, unless the
present condition is rapidly and mater
ially improved.
Why Low
Itnaightbeof interest to note the
main reasons why this large section of
the state contributes such a small quota
of college students. A few of its’counties
are great industrial counties with much
wealth, such as Forsyth, Gaston, Dav
idson, Cabarrus, Lincoln, Cleveland and
the like. Wealth in such counties tends
to be more concentrated than in the
coastal plains, or elsewhere in the
state. College walls are beyond the
reach of the masses in such counties.
Forsyth and Gaston are excellent illus
trations of this point.
A second reason, and the most im
portant, is that this is an area of small
farms occupied by home-owning white
farmers who engage in a live-at-home
type of farming. The weakness lies in
their lack of cash income, since they
produce little to'sell and there is no
ready cash market of any size even
for the products that are produced.
These farmers live at home, and live
well as a rule, but lacking cash they
are not in a position.to send their sons
and daughters to college. A large per
cent of the self-help students at the
University come from these western
counties.
A third main reason for^the low rank
of these counties is the lack, of stand
ard high schools, which means that
these counties have relatively’few high
school graduates; and this is true of
the counties ranking low in other sec
tions of the state also. Until jvery re
cently many counties injNorth Carolina
have had no standard accredited high
schools from which- graduates could
enter standard colleges. At the pres
ent time five counties have no accred
ited high schools, while many other
counties have only one or two such high
schools. The -remote rural counties,
and especially the western counties,
are sadly lacking in standard high
schools. Lacking high schools, college
students are few, since onlyjhigh school
graduates can enter college.
Graham county, for instance, has no
high schodl from which a student can
enter college and the whole county
sends only one student to college. The
five counties having no accredited high
schools have a total of only 30 students
in the sixteen colleges of the state.
Other Facts^of Interest
The survey of grade A and B college
students in North Carolina shows that
almost exactly half of the students are
women. It is safe to predict that in a
few years college women will far out
number college men since today in this
state and elsewhere more girls are
graduating from high school than boys.
Of the 4,211 white high school grad
uates in North Carolina in 1921-22, 2,-
636 were girls and only 1,676 were boys.
EQUAL OPPOHTUNITY
Eqaal educational opportunity will
remain nothing but a magnificent
and meaningless gesture so long as
all the taxing powers of the state
are not put back of educational op
portunity for all the children of the
state.—Miss Elizabeth Kelly.
There is a definite tendency on the
part of certain counties to patronize
certain colleges. One western county
sends 90 percent of its students to a
mid-state college, while Buncombe
sends 111 of her 222 students to one in
stitution.
Two-thirds of all North Carolina stu
dents are attending the fofir state-sup
ported institutions.
Students from other states attend the
denominational schools more extensive
ly than they do the state-supported
schools. Two-thirds of the students
from other states are in our denomina
tional colleges.
Only 965 or 12.6 percent of ali our
college students are from outside the
state. North Carolina has about an
equal number attending colleges in oth
er states.
The Tidewater counties, which are
generally considered backward, rank
surprisingly high in college attendance.
The Cape Fear region is the only group
of counties in the eastern part of the
state that ranks low in college atten
dance.
The cash crop, farm tenant «counties,
especially the counties with large negro
ratios, rank highest in white college
attendance. In general that section of
the state known as the tobacco belt
leads in college attendance. The Sand
Hill counties and the counties contain
ing colleges also rank high. The en
tire area of the state lying west of
Greensboro and Charlotte ranks sur
prisingly low. In this area of 36 coun
ties, all of which have large white
ratios, not a single county comes up to
the state average of 41 college students
per 10,000 white population attending
A and B grade colleges in North Caro
lina. Most of these western counties
rank far below the state average,
S. H. H., Jr.
forty dollars per inhabitant. In only
four states, all of which are southern,
was the property tax per inhabitant
smaller than in North Carolina. These
states are South Carqlina $12.09, Geor
gia $12.01, Arkansas $9.77, and Ala
bama $9.46, all of which have large
negro ratios and a much smaller a-
mount of taxable wealth per inhabit
ant. The property tax per inhabitant,
in proportion to our taxable wealth per
inhabitant, is lighter in'North Carolina
than in any other state in the Union.
Tax Rates
In 1922 the-total property tax paid
for all purposes in North Carolina a-
mounted to $37,017,000 and the value
of all property listed for' taxation was
1,621,116,000. The average rate per!
$100.00 of assessed value was $1.47, i
and no state in the Union had a lower j
tax rate on property than North Caro- j
lina. The rate was less than two dol
lars in only nine states, mainly south
ern, while the average rate for all the
states was $2.81, or nearly twice the
rate for North Carolina.
Burden not the Problem
The tax problem in North Carolina is
not the burden of taxation, but the un
equal distribution of the tax burden
borne by property. Thousands of peo
ple pay more than their just share of
taxes, while additional thousands fail
to share their just part of the cost of
government. These are matters for
local authorities to handle and adjust.
In some counties property is listed
high, while in others a very small per
cent of the real value is on the tax
books. These are matters that can be
adjusted only if the people are willing
to adjust them.
In some counties the tax rate
on property is high, higher]! perhaps
than it ought to be, but there is no
county in the state in which]{the total
tax on property comes even near ap
proaching the average rate for all the
states of the Union. The^highest rate
in North Carolina was $2.10,^,in Curri
tuck county, while the average for the
United States was $2.81 per $100.00 of
assessed value.
Your property tax may' be high but
there remains this consolation, proper
ty is taxed at a lower average rate in
North Carolina than in any other state.
Yet there are many states doing less
for its citizens and charging more for
the lesser service they give. Let’s
view these matters with a line on the
facts.
SOME TAX FACTS
The federal Department of Com
merce has just released a summary
sheet which shows the assessed valu
tion of property and the tax levies on
property for the various states, for the
the years 1922 and 1912. A study of
this sheet is most interesting because
it reveals the true facts about taxes on
property in the various states, and
shows conclusively that the property
tax burden in North Carolina is un-.
believably light in comparison with
other states. The study concerns all
property listed for taxation, and the
total levy against such property for
every purpose whatsoever, state, coun
ty, town, school district, drainage dis
trict, road district, and other civil di
visions having power to-tax.
Assessed Values
The assessed value of all property in
North Carolina in 1922 was $2,621,115,-
OOO, which was 2.02 percent of the
total assessed value of all property in
the United States. The total property
tax paid for all purposes in North Ca
rolina in 1922 amounted to 5$37,017,000,
which was 1.06 percent of the total
property tax paid in all the states. In
other words. North Carolina' has two
percent of all taxable property)! Tthe
United States but pays only^one per
cent of the total property .^tax] paid in
the United States.
Per Inhabitant Tax
The assessed value of all property in
the United States in 1922jwas $1,146.16
per inhabitant. The assessed’value of
all property in North Carolina was
$962.46 per inhabitant. The total tax
paid on property averaged $32.22 per
inhabitant for the UnitedJStates, while
the average for North Carolina was
only $13.98. Our taxable wealth lifer
inhabitant is almost as greatjas the
average for the United States, ^t the
property tax paid per inhabitant is
only 43 percent of the average for all
the states.
The property tax in Nevada aver
aged $65.47 per inhabitant. In'20 states
the property tax averaged more than
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA
Per 10,000 White Population, 1923-24
The following table, based on information secured from the registrars of
the respective colleges, shows by counties for the year 1923-24 the number of
students per 10,000 white population attending the sixteen grade A and B col
leges in North Carolina. The colleges included are: the University,. State Col
lege, N. C. College for Women, Trinity, Wake Forest, Davidson, Elon, Guil
ford, Meredith, Salem, Greensboro College for Women, East Carolina Teachers’
College, Atlantic Christian College, Queens, Flora Macdonald, and Chowan.
Catawba College not in operation.
Orange county, the University seat, ranks first with 129 college' students
per 10,000 white population. Graham, with one college student, comes last.
Guilford county, with 600 college students in grade A and B colleges in
North Carolina, ranks first in the number of students, while Mecklenburg and
Wake have 410 each. •
Registration in the 16 colleges: from North Carolina 7,666, from other
states 965, foreign 13, total 8,633.
State average, 41 students in grade A and B North Carolina colleges per
10,000 white population.
S. H. Hobbs, Jr.
Department of Rural Social Economics, University*Df North Carolina
Rank County
Students
No. Per
f Rank County
Students
No.Per
in N. C.
10,000
in N. C.
10,000
Colleges
White
Colleges
White
Popu-
Popu-
lation
lation
1
Orange
166 129.0
61
Burke
70
33.2
2
Scotland
69
98.4
62
Cleveland. ...
98
33.1
3
Hoke
47
89.0
63
Davidson
110
32.8
4
Northampton..
83
88.6
54
McDowell ....
■ 61
32.7
6
Wa'ke
410
86.0
66
Gates
19
32.4
6
Hertford
66
76.6
56
Forsyth
187
32.2
7
Guilford
600
74.6
67
Carteret
43
32.0
8
Granville
108
74.0
67
Sampson
80
32.0
8
Alamance
196
74.0
59
Bladen
38
31.6
10
Edgecombe ....
120
73.0
60
Henderson ...
63
31.2
11
Pamlico
42
72.4
60
Rockingham ..
Ill
31.2 -
12
Mecklenburg..
410
72.2
62
Columbus
61
29.0
13
Perquimans....
40
71.4
63
Lincoln.......
46
28.6
14
Chowan
37
69.4
64
Davie
33
28.6
16
Pitt
166
68.6
64
Martin
33
28.5
16
Craven
97
68.2
66
Person
31
27.9
17
Wilson
.’’T 148
66,0
67
Gaston
128
27.8
18
Wayne
166
64.3
68
Greene
23
26.5
19
Durham
187
62.0
68
Onslow
36
26.6
20
Pender
61.0
70
Johnston
101
25.6
21
Lenoir
107
60.8
71
Cabarrus
76
25.4
22
Pasquotank....
69
69.6
72
Alexander
29
26.2
23
Lee
58
68.0
73
Catawba
79
24.7
23
Montgomery ..
66
58.0
74
Yadkin
38
24.3
26
Robeson
147
66.2
'76
Surry
73
23.7
26
Jones.
30
53.0
76
Tyrrell
8
23.5
26
Warren
42
63.0
77
Dare
11
22.9
28
Anson
74
52.9
78
Jackson
28
22.6
29
Camden
17
62.8
79
Rutherford....
69
21.2
30
Vance
.: 69
62./
80
Macon
25
20.6
31
Moore
81
61.4
81
Stanly
53
20.3
32
Halifax
89
47.3
82
Alleghany
14
19.7
33
Rowan
168
46.0
83
Transylvania..
18
19.4
34
Richmond......
74
46.7
84
Haywood
44
18.7
36
Nash
113
46.4
85
Polk
14
18.2
36
Duplin
87
46.3
86
Wilkes
64
17.6
37
Randolph
124
46.1
87
Stokes
28
16.7
38
New Hanover .
112
46.0
88
Brunswick ....
13
13.8
39
Bertie
46
43.2 -
89
Clay
6
12.7
40
Hyde
21
41.0
90
Caswell
10
12.6
41
Cumberland ...
88
40.0
91
Watauga
16
11.0
42
Beaufort
76
39.7
92
Swain
14
10.8
43
Iredell
126
39.6
98
Caldwell
19
10.3
44
Washington...
23
39.2
94
Avery
10
9.7
45
Currituck
18
38.6
95
Yancey
16
9.5
46
Buncombe
222
38.2
96
Madison.
16
8.4
47
Harnett
81
37.0
97
Ashe
18
6.1
48
Chatham
59
36.4
97
Cherokee
13
6.1
49
Franklin
64
86.0
99
Mitchell
6
4.4
60
Union
96
34.1
100 Graham
1
2.1