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 the University Ex
tension Division.
APRIL 23,1924
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. X, NO. 23
Editorial Boards EL C. Brangon, 3. H, Hobbs, Jr., L. R. Wilson, B. W. Enisht, D. D. Carroll, J. B. Bullitt. H. W. Odum.
Entered as eecend-elaes matter November 14,1914, at the PoatofBce at Chapel Hill, N. C.. nnder the act of An^at 24, Ul|
SCHOOL EXPENDITURES IN N. C.
SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAM
The prison reform measures advoca
ted by the North Carolina conference
for social service, as suggested by the
citizens’ committee of one hundred and
adopted during the recent meeting in
Charlotte, are:
1. That it shall be made legal for two
or more counties to unite in building
district jails, and that the substitution
of district jails for county jails shall be
encouraged to take place as rapidly as
possible.
2. A state farm colony for women
offenders.
3. The abolition of the county con
vict camps as such, and state control of
all prisoners.
4. That the state board of charities
and public welfare shall be given pow
er to enforce the rules and regulations
already upon the statute books in re
gard to the care and treatment of coun
ty prisoners, and to maintain prescribed
standards for county jails and coAvict
camps.
B. That flogging and confinement in
dark cells and dungeons as a method
of discipline for prisoners shall be pro
hibited in all prisons, chain gangs,
prison camps, or workhouses in the
state.
6. Abolition of the convict lease sys
tem for both state and county prison
ers.
7. That a wider use and extension of
the honor system in county and state
prison camps shall be definitely en
couraged.
8. That at the expiration of the term
of the present board of directors of the
state prison, there shall be elected by
the general assembly upon the recom
mendation of the governor, five per
sons who shall constitute the board of
directors of the state prison. At the
1925 session of the general assembly
all five of these members shall be
elected; two for a term of two years,
two for a term of four years, and one
for a term of six years, and, there
after, the term shall be six years for
all; provided that the minority party
and both sexes shall always be repre
sented among the appointive members;
elections to be by concurrent vote of
the general assembly.
9. That provision be made for the
establishment of a more adequate sys
tem of prison industries in the state
prison, which would provide vocational
training for such prisoners as are capa
ble of receiving it.
10. That the board of directors of
the state prison shall be authorized to
employ one or more psychiatrists or
psychologists for the examination and
classification of all state prisoners.
11. Compulsory education for the
prisoners in the state prison, and the
employment of teachers and instruct
ors for same; said instruction to be
during the regular work hours.
12. That the present law relating to
the membership of the advisory board
of parole shall be changed so that it
shall be composed of the following
members: the superintendent of the
state prison, a representative from the
state department of public welfare, a
representative from the state bureau
of labor, and the chief of parole of the
state board of charities and public wel
fare, the last named members to act
HS secretary of the board, provided,
however, that the secretary of the
board shall have the power to vote. It
shall be the duty of the board of parole
to assist discharged prisoners to find
employment.
13. That the same standards of
health and sanitation be maintained in
city prisons as are required in county
jails.
The six other resolutions added to the
legislative program of the conference
by the resolutions committee were:
1. That the conference go on record
as favoring an amendment to the pres
ent statute covering the treatment and
transfer of county prisoners suffering
with tuberculosis from the county con
vict camps to the state colony of tu
bercular prisoners located at the state
sanatorium, said amendment to make
such transfer of tubercular county
prisoners mandatory upon the county
authorities rather than leaving it as at
present to the written consent of the
tubercular patient himself.
2. That the conference recommends
that no county or state prisoner shall
be discharged at the expiration of his
sentence without being provided by the
county or state authorities, as the case
may be, with adequate clothing, suit
able to the season of the year at which
such discharge is made.
3. That the conference go on record
as favoring the establishment at the
North Carolina Orthopedic hospital for
crippled children of a ward for the
treatment of adult indigent cripples
and that provision for building and
equipping such a ward be included in the
next budget presented the general as
sembly by the state orthopedic hos
pital.
4. That the conference hereby ex
press its opposition to capital punish
ment and wishes to go on record as
favoring the introduction and prosecu
tion of a bill before the 1925 session of
the general assembly abolishing capital
punishment in North Carolina.
5. That in view of the wide-felt need
on the part of probation officers and
social workers for more adequate pro
vision for handling family problems in
connection with cases of delinquent
and neglected children, the conference
favors the establishment of domestic
relations courts in conjunction with the
juvenile court system of the state.
6. That the conference go on record
as favoring a statute to make it man
datory that no state penal or reform
institution caring for either juvenile or
adult offenders shall discharge any of
fender without having notified the
county superintendent of public wel
fare of the county to which the dis
charged prisoner returns, at least three
days before such discharge takes
place, said county superintendent of
welfare being in each case the legally
instituted parole officer.—Charlotte
Observer.
NORTH CAROLINA CLUB
The North Carolina Club at the Uni
versity of North Carolina was estab
lished in November 1914. The Club is
composed of students and faculty mem
bers who are interested in studying
their home state. JOnce every two
weeks for one hour the Club meets to
hear a paper on,i*some subject which
concerns the economic, social or civic
life of North Carolina. The particular
field of interest and activity of the
Club is indicated by the titles of the
Club Year-Books which have been pub
lished:
North Carolina: Resources, Advan
tages, arid Opportunities. 1916-16.
Wealth and Welfare in North Caro
lina. 1916-17.
County Government and County Af
fairs in North Carolina. 1917-18.
State Reconstruction Studies. 1919-
1920.
North Carolina: Industrial and Ur
ban. 1920-21.
Home and Earm Ownership in North
Carolina. 1921-22.
What next in North "Carolina? 1922-
1923.
Professor Branson who founded the
Club says. Manifestly the North Caro-
linaClub considers North Carolina to be
a proper study for North Carolinians.
Not to know the glory that was Greece
and the grandeur that was Rome is to
be sadly crippled in culture, but not to
know the Home State is to be even
more sadly crippled in competent citi
zenship. Or such is the creed of the
Club.
The young men of the Club are stu
dents of history in the world-at-large,
but they cherish dreams of being mak
ers of history in their little world at
home. Competent citizenship]Jand ef
fective public service is the ideal of
the Club. The Club motto is: “North
Carolina the best spot on earth to live
ini If it isn’t so we’ll make it so.’’
Following is the Club program for
the year 1923-24. At the end of the
college year the papers will be pub
lished in the Club Year-Book under
the heading of What Next in North
Carolina. The Year-Book fgoes free,
as long as the limited edition lasts, to
North Carolinians who write for it.
Oct. 22—County and County Group
KNOW NORTH CAROLINA
We have been astonished many
times to see the dense ignorance of
this section of many men who teach
southern youth. The writer has oc
casionally delivered addresses at
southern college commencements,
and though nothing in these address
es should have been unknown to
every teacher in every college in
the South, he found that the facts
which he gave about the old South,
as well as about the South of today,
were almost wholly unknown to
every professor in attendance.
For many years we have wondered
why there is not in all southern
institutions of learning an enthusias
tic love of and appreciation of the
achievements of the old South and
the resources on which to build for
the future.
“We believe the University of
North Carolina is doing more to a-
rouse its own state to these facts
than any other institution of learn
ing in the South. Certainly it is
putting forth constantly a more in
telligent presentation of what North
Carolina has and what it is doing,
than the information which comes
to us from any other college or uni
versity in the South. It has been
an inspiration to stimulate the peo
ple in North Carolina in material up
building, as well as in educational
work.
Would that every other institu
tion of learning in the South was
carrying on a campaign equally as
aggressive and equally as intelli
gently managed!—Manufacturers
Record.
cost for the States of the Union.
The federal Department of Com
merce has just released statistics on
school expenditures in the cities of the
United States for 1922. City schools
in North Carolina are expensive in
comparison with our country schools,
but very inexpensive in comparison
with city schools in other states.
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem was one of the 79
cities in the United States having a
population of between 60,000 and 100,-
000. In 1922 Winston-Salem spent for
the operation and maintenance of her
schools an average of $6.22 per inhab
itant. In only six of these 79 cities
was the expenditure for the operation
and maintenance of schools less than
in Winston-Salem, and all six of these
were southern cities. Yet Winston-
Salem has one of the very best school
plants in the state.
Charlotte and Wilmington
There were 107 cities in the United
States with populations ranging from
30,000 to 50,000. North Carolina was
represented by Charlotte and Wilming
ton. Charlotte spent an average of
$7.28 per inhabitant for the operation
and maintenance of schools and Wil
mington spent $7.18. Of the 107 cities
only nine spent less than Charlotte and
eight spent less than Wilmington. All
of these were southern cities except
two. In other words, outside of the
South there are only two cities in the
United States having between 30,000
and 100,000 people that spent less
per inhabitant for the operation of
their public schools than the North
Carolina cities of similar size. Urban
and rural, our schools are comparative
ly inexpensive. They will be much
more expensive than they are before
they will compare favorably with urban
and rural schools in other states, out
side the South.
EXTENSION SERVICE
Rapid and substantial progress has
been made recently in the work of ex
tending the extension service of the
University to all the people of the
state, according to an announcement
from the central office of the Universi
ty Extension Division, which has just
issued a brief statement covering cer
tain features of the program.
In the year 1920 just 24 students
Were registered in the Extension Di
vision. Today 786 students sprinkled
over the state “from Murphy to Man-
teo’’ are studying in extension classes
or in correspondence instruction courses
provided by the University. Mr. George
B. Zehmer, director of extension teach
ing, has charge of all this work and
under his leadership it is expanding
rapidly. It is the aim of the Universi
ty through the Extension Division to
make it possible for any citizen in
North Carolina to get some educational
training right at home, if it is impos
sible to get it by going to college.
Three hundred and eighty physicians
took the 1923 summer postgraduate
medical courses in 24 cities of the state.
Other facts covered by the statement
include: 400 women’s clubs are study
ing printed programs issued by the Ex
tension Division; 16,000 homes receive
weekly the University News Letter;
7,000 business and professional men re
ceive regularly North Carolina Com
merce and Industry; 250 high school
debaters visited the University during
“High School Week;” 75 delegates at
tended the first Dramatic Institute to
be held under the auspices of the Bu
reau of Community Drama; over 600
communities in North Carolina utilized
one or more forms of the University
Extension service during the last
twelve months.
Hospitals. W. L. Smith, Guilford
County.
Nov. 6—Forest Conservation in North
Carolina. W. E. White, Cleveland
County.
Nov. 19—County Prisons in North
Carolina. W. B. Sanders, Orange
County.
Dec. 3—State Prison Reform in North
Carolina. N. B. Brunson, Pitt County.
Dec. 17-;-County Government in
North Carolina. T. G. Henderson,
Guilford County.
Jan. 21—County Boards of Public
Welfare. Miss Katherine Wilson,
Moore County.
Feb. 4—Home and Farm Ownership.
W. E. White, Cleveland County.
Feb. 18—State Program of Physical
Education. J. F. White, Granville
County.
Mar. 3—County and County Group
Homes for the Poor. Miss Lucy Lay,
Carteret County.
Mar. 17—Attractive Rural Homes
for North Carolina. R. S. Pickens,
Stanly County.
Mar. 31—County Wide Library Ser
vice. E. D. Apple, Rockingham Counr
ty.
Apr. 14—State Program for Delin
quent Girls. Miss Norma Connell,
Warren County.
Apr. 28—County Community Life
and Cooperative Farm Enterprise.
F. S. Griffin, Rockingham County.
May 12—The Equalizing of Taxes.
W. C. Perdue, Vance County.
May 26—A State-Wide System of
Public Schools. M. A. James, Madison
County.
SCHOOL EXPENDITURE LOW
In comparison with other states the
cost of public education is very small
in North Carolina. In 1921-22 our total
school expenditures averaged only
$8.17 per inhabitant, and the average
expenditure on this basis was less in
only eight states, all southern.
Total school expenditures per pupil
enrolled in the public schools including
all outlay payments averaged $27.39
and the average expenditure was less
in only six states, all southern, all
poorer, and most of them having larger
negro ratios. The average cost of
public schools in North Carolina per in
habitant or per pupil enrolled in school
is only about one-third the average
SCHOOL EXPENDITURES PER YEAR IN N. C.
Per Child in Average Daily Attendance 1921-22
The following table shows the current school expenditures in North Caro
lina per year per child in average daily attendance for the year 1921-22. Cur
rent expenses include expenditures for teaching and supervision, administra
tion, and operation and maintenance of the school plant.
Durham county leads with an average school expenditure for current pur
poses of $51.58 per year per child in average daily attendance. Brunswick
comes last with $15.65.
State total school expenditure for current purposes $16,530,807. State
average school expenditure for current purposes $28.42 per year per child in
average daily attendance. State average daily attendance 546,260.
Based on data issued from the »ffice of the State Superintendent of Pub
lic Instruction.
Rank
County
Exp. per
Rank
County
Exp. per
pupil in
pupil in
average
average
daily
daily
attendance
attendance
1
Durham
$51.68
61
Stanly
$25.99
2
New Hanover,..
44.58
62
Greene
25.92
3
Buncombe
40.22
63
Johnston
25.63
4
Guilford
37.90
54
Washington ....
26.40
6
Craven
36.63
65
Montgomery
25.37
6
Wake
35.92
66
Columbus
25.28
7
Wayne
35.83
57
Lincoln
25.18
8
Davidson
34.77
58
PpTidpr
26 00
9
Wilson
34.72
59
Alexander
24.86
10
Forsyth
33.90
60
Onslow
24.60
11
Camden
33.29
61
Davie
24.61
12
Halifax
33.21
62
Randolph
24.36
13
Moore
32.90
63
Anson
24.14
14
Currituck
32.86
64
Franklin
23.95
15
Alamance
32.84
65
Cleveland
23.86
16
Pasquotank
32.26
66
Haywood
23.44
16
Orange
32.26
67
Person
23.34
18
Mecklenburg ....
31.91
67
Bertie
23.34
19
Gaston
31.76
69
Harnett
23 26
20
Avery
31.34.
70
Jones
23.13
21
Transylvania ....
31.16
71
Duplin
23 07
22
Granville
30..60
72
Cabarrus
22.96
23
Edgecombe
30.23
73
Union
22.94
24
Lenoir
30.17
74
Hertford
22.91
26
Rowan
29.85
76
Robeson
22.69
26
Iredell
29.83
76
Martin
22.68
27
McDowell
29.70
77
Scotland
22.65
28
Nash
29.64
78
Stokes
22.63
29
Pamlico
29.17
79
Mitchell
22.58
30
r’.nmhprland
29.16
80
Mnrnn
. 99. dd
31
Jackson
28.87
81
Gates
22 43
32
Swain
28.81
82
Perquimans
22.23
33
Pitt
28.76
83
Northampton....
22.19
34
Clay
28.71
84
Hoke
21.90
35
Tyrrell
28.65
85
Cherokee
21.67
36
Graham
28.60
86
Rutherford
21.60
37
Rockingham
28,33
87
Chatham
21.42
38
Carteret
28.01
88
Surry
21.07
39
Warren
27.86
89
Bladen
20.72
40
Dare
27.74
90
Sampson
-20.63
41
Richmond
27.66
91
Yadkin
20.28
42
Chowan
27.53
92
Madison
20.17
43
Henderson
27.48
93
Wilkes
19.35
44
Polk
27.43
94
Y ancey
19.22
45
Lee
27.39
96
Burke
19.14
46
Hyde
27.25
96
Caswell
18.95
47
Catawba
27.20
97
Ashe
18.05
48
Caldwell
26.82
98
Watauga
17.05
49
Vance
26.80
99
Alleghany
16,2«
60
Beaufort
26.18
100
Brusswiekv
15.65