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. •
JUNE 24, 1925
CHAPEL HILL, N C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XI, NO. 32
Editors) Hoard; 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 PostofRce at Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24, 1912
COST OF INSTUUCTIOK
The table which appears elsewhere
shows the rank of the one hundred coun
ties of the state in the amount spent on
instruction per white child enrolled in
all white rural schools for the school
^year 1923-24. Following the table show
ing the rank of the counties is a sepa
rate table showing the rank of the
twenty-four largest city school systems
in cost tif instruction per white child
enrolled in city schools. The tables
cover all grades.
The cost of instruction is largely
governed by two factors: (1) the qual
ity or grade of the teacher, and (2) the
length of the school term. Other fac
tors, such as the number of children per
teacher, help to determine the cost of
instruction per pupil enrolled.
New Hanover First
New Hanover county ranks first in the
state in the amount spent on instruc
tion per white child enrolled in rural
schools. New Hanover was the first
county in the state to adopt the county
wide plan. Her rural children receive
the same school advantages enjoyed
by the children in the Wilmington city
schools. There is very little difference
in the amount spent per pupil enrolled in
rural and urban schools in New Han
over. This is the only county in the
state that provides a term of nine
months uniformly for all districts and
for all schools, white and colored.
Northa«ipton ranks second in cost of
instruction per white pupil enrolled in
rural schools, while Rockingham county
ranks second in average annual salary
paid rural white teachers. Here the
number of pupils per teacher is an im
portant factor.
Along with Northampton, Hyde and
Currituck rank remarkably well, their
wealth considered.
Surry county ranks last in the cost
of instruction per white child enrolled
in all rural schools. In other words,
she spends less per pupil for instruction
than any other county in the state.
The mountain counties as a rule fall
toward the end of the table in cost of
instruction per white child, although
several mountain counties rank well
up in the amount spent per negro child
enrolled, often due largely to the
few negroes enrolled per teacher.
Last, Wealth^Considercd
Johnston county, her wealth con
sidered, makes the poorest showing of
all the counties of the state in the
amount spent on the teachers charged
with instructing the white children in
her rural schools. She ranks among
the fifty leading counties of the United
States in crop wealth produced annually.
She is the greatest cotton county in
the state. Yet she ranks 92nd, along
wich the poorer mountain counties, in
the amount spent on instructing her
- white country children.
The twenty-four largest cities of the
bLiic’ spent $40.91 on white teachers’
salaries for each white child enrolled in
school. The average amount spent on
each white rural child for the same
purpose was $20.07or slightly less than
half the average ‘for the 24 largest
cities.
The average cost of instruction per
yvhite child in all city schools in the
state was $36.42, contrasted with $20.07
for all rural schools. And it should be
remembered that the schools in many
small towns over the state operate
under the county system and are classed
as rural.
AN ANNOUNCEMENT I The fact that a larger number of
i Because it believes that there is no ' families have Bibles than any other type
subject of more importance to North | book is what would be expected,
, Carolinians at the present time than > but the fact that out of the one bun-
rural schools. They have longer terms matter of taxation, the News Let-: dred families, ninety-four of which are
and better-trained teachers. i succeeding thirteen ; engaged in the occupation of farming,
issues a tax study outline for the use i ® single book on agriculture was
of any organization that may desire it. ; found is both interesting and signifi-
The outline, prepared by Mr. Paul W. j cant. The modern professional and
Wager, research student at the Uni- ! commercial world is founded on knowl-
iversity, does not pretend to be ex-. about one’s occupation. Farming
; haustive but is merely intended to us a business, a highly technical one,
■ simplify the fundamentals of a vast i broad knowledge on the part
; field of study. Especial emphasis is I of those who succeed at it. The meagre
' laid on county taxes but it should pro-1 accumulation of wealth on the part of
j vide a useful guide for any club desir- 1 farmers, their investment considered,
Length
Scholarship
of Term
of White
in
Days
Teachers
24 largest
White
Colored Years
cities
178.2
177.6
7.06
All cities
The state
176.9
174.3
6.86
average
146.2
134.6
6.34
Rural schools 136.0
122.8
4.76
The scholarship rating refers to the
number of school, credit years beyond !
grammar grades the average teacher
possesses. Thousands of white teachers
in the rural schools have never finished
high school.
well.
DAVIDSON COUNTY BULLETIN
Davidson County: Economic and
Social, is the title of the latest county
study to come from the press. It was
written and published through the
efforts of Miss M. Jewell Sink of
Thomasville, N. C. To Miss Sink goes
the honor of being the first under
graduate woman student in North
Carolina, perhaps in the United States,
to publish a systematic interpretation of
her home county. The significance of
this will easily be seen, especially by
the club women of North Carolina.
The hundred pages of the bulletin
cover ten chapters as follows: Historical
Background, Natural Resources, Facts
about the Folks, Wealth and Taxation,
Industries, Farm Conditions and Prac
tices, Home-Raised Food and Feed and
the Local Market Problem, Churches
and Schools, Evidences of Progress,
Davidson County Problems. The bulle
tins are being mailed out free of
charge to Davidson County citizens, and
a small supply is being reserved in the
Department of Rural Social-Economics
at the University for those who are
sufficiently anxious for a copy to write
for it.
Woman’s Clubs, Rotary,
Kiwanis, Lions, Civitan, and other
men’s organizations are invited to
make full i^se of the outline to the end
that the citizenship of our state may j rural community,
be made more enlightened concerning!
the support of their government and '
the services that citizens have a right i
to expect from it. The thirteen issues i
will cover in order the following topics: j
1. What is a Tax? i
Kinds of Taxes. -
Taxable Wealth. |
Tax Assessing,
Tax Collecting.
of reading along agricultural lines.
The greater part of the books are
school text-books, a fact that emphasi
zes the importance of the schools in the
families have almanacs and catalogues,
but these, strictly speaking, are not
books.
How One-Half Live
Two of the families have no books,
ninety-eight families have, excluding
almanacs and catalogues, six hundred
and seventy-seven books, or 6.8 books
for each family; and including alma
nacs and catalogues, these families
have eight hundred and eighty-five
books, or nine books per family. Seven
ty-nine percent of the families do not
have any books other than school text
books, almanacs, catalogues and the
Bible. Excepting the Bible, almanacs
and catalogues, foxty-eight percent of
the families do not possess any book .
of any description not even a school
text-boi>k. The reader is left to do
Almost all of the j his own moralizing.
2.
INSTRUCTION COST PER CHILD ENROLLED IN SCHOOL
In North Carolina for the School Year 1923-24
j The following table, based on State School Facts, Vol. 1, No. 18, shows the
j rank\of the counties of North Carolina in the cost of instruction per white
j child enrolled in public rural schools for the school year 1923-24,
j For instance, the amount spent on white rural teachers’ salaries in New
; Hanover averaged $39.69 per white child enrolled in rural schools. The white ru-
Limits of Taxation and Indebt- teachers of Surry cost only $12.21 per white child enrolled in rural schools.
Greensboro led the cities of the state in cost of instruction per white child en
rolled, and also in cost per colored child enrolled.
State average expenditure on white teachers * salaries was $24.07 per white child
9. Where the Taxpayer’s Money j in all schools in the state. The city schools averaged $36.42, while the
Goes. 1 rural schools averaged $20.07 for instruction per white child enrolled. The
91 per white pupil enrolled, or twice the
edness.
7. Administration of Public Busi
ness.
Care of Public Property.
10. Financial Control. ^
11. State Taxation in North Carolina.
12. Federal Taxation.
13. Taxation, the Citizen’s Business.
Each of the thirteen topics is divided
into four parts: (a) Outline, (b) Ex
planation, (c) Questions, (d) Sources
of Information. The outline is in turn
subdivided into topics, usually four or
five in number, and these may be as
signed to individual members for
special report to the tax study club.
The questions may be used as the basis
for general discussion after the special
reports have been heard. The consoli
dated statutes in the county court house,
the county tax books, county tax offi
cials, and any standard text book on
civics may be consulted for help either
in answering the questions' or in pre-,
paring papers on the special reports.
Any individual or organization de
siring additional copies of the News
Letter during the outline series may
secure them by request. Write for the
number you need before the beginning
of the series in the next issue.
READING IN RURAL HOMES
Do country people in North Carolina
read as much as urban people? Any
observer of reading matter in rural
homes is likely to be impressed by the
general absence of reading matter in
farm homes, especially when com
pared with' reading matter in urban
homes. Recent issues of the News
Letter have dealt with reading ; farm families take no paper or maga-
habits in North Carolina by counties, ! zine of any sort whatsoever. If this
and the state compared with other j township is typical of rural North Ca-
states. To what extent is our low ; rolina—and a survey of more than three
rank attributable to the excessive ru- ; hundred homes in two other townships
ral population ratio of the state? ^ gave about the same results—then there
Three years ago a complete survey of; are nearly one hundred thousand white
two entire townships disclosed the ; farm, homes in the state, representing
facts in a mid-state county. In this j a half million white people, where no
brief article we are presenting some ' reading of current literature is to be
facts recently gathered from what we j found. How much do these people
believe to be a typical rural township ; know about what is happening in the
in eastern North Carolina. The facts j world about them? What do the chil-
are gathered from one hundred white dren and grown-ups do with their
homes in a township in Duplin county, leisure time? These are significant
Reading matter in negro homes in this facts and questions,
24 largest cityaschools averaged :
average for all rural schools.
Department of Rural Social Economics,
University of North Carolina
Greensboro Leads
Instruction of white children is more
expensive in Greensboro per child en
rolled than in any other city in the state,
with Durham and Winston-Salem follow
ing in order. Greensboro spends nearly
five times as much on instruction I’per
white child as Surry, and nearly three
times as much as the average spent on
all white rural children the, state over.
The above are some of the outstand
ing factH as reported in the recent issue
of School Facts, Vol. 1, No. 18. As we
said in the beginning, the^ cost of in
struction per child is determined largely
by the length of the school term and
L.e qualj-,y or grade of the teaclRTs.
The following table which covers the
year 1923-24 is immensely significant,
and goes far towards explaining why
City schools are more expensive than
township will be treated later. The
information was secured by ‘ the
questionnaire method, the data being
filled in by the author in a house-to-
house survey. The information is di
rect and accurate. It is believed that
the families surveyed can be said to
represent a cross section of rural North
Carolina. Ninety-four family heads
pursued farming, three merchandising,
one contracting, one brick-laying, and
one preaching.
Papers and Magazines
The following table shows the cur
rent reading facilities in these one hun
dred white homes.
Types No. Papers
- and Maga
zines
BooKs in These Homes
To get a complete picture of reading
facilities and habits it is necessary
to know, in addition to the facts about
current reading matter, the facts about
books in these one hundred white
homes. The following table is an anal
ysis of the facts gathered from ai
actual count.
Type
Percent of Fam
ilies Taking
Papers and
Magazines
' 17
37
Taken
Dailies 21
Weeklies , 41
Children’s
papers 1 _ 1
Farm papers 47 39
Church papers 16 14
Magazines 16 16
Others 9 6
Percent of families taking papers or
magazines, 54.
Farm papers seem to be most popu
lar with these families, followed by
weekly news sheets. Children were
found in a big majority of the homes,
yet only one home took a' children’s
paper. The fact of most significance,
however, is that 46 percent of these
No. of
Books In
Homes
Religious:
Bible
Others
Agriculture
Fiction
Children’s
books in
cluding school
textbook.s
Literature and
history
Almanacs
Catalogues
Others
121
37
U
63
341
13
103
109
98
Percent of
Families
Having
Each
Type
17
0
14
8
47
84
19
Rank Counties Instruction
Cost per
White Pupil
Enrolled in
Rural Schools
1 New Hanover $39.69
2 Northampton 39.35',^
3 Hyde 34.12
4 Guilford .. 33.62
6 Currituck 33.28
6 Durham 33.19
7 Halifax 30.68
8 , Hertford 30.34
9 Hoke 30.09
10 Cumberland 29.17
11 Wilson 28.97
12 Edgecombe 28.07
13 Craven 28.00
14 Gaston 27.72
15 Warren 27.67
16 Scotland 27.63
17 Pamlico 27.26
18 Alamance 26.83
19 Nash 26.52
20 Bertie 26.35
21 Vance 26.32
22 Camden 26.41
23 Rockingham 26.04
24 Pasquotank 24.99
25 Bladen 24.83
26 Transylvania 24.66
27 Washington 24.33
28 Granville 24,18
29 Jones 24.09
30 Pender 23.82
31 Chowan 23.77
32 Dare 23.49
33 Montgomery 23.31
34 Wake 23.05
35 Buncombe 22.71
36 Mecklenburg 22.70
37 Gates 22.32
38 Pitt 22.29
39 Duplin 22.14
40 Wayne..... 21.96
41 Polk 21.87
42 Moore 21.51
43 Alexander 21.43
44 Orange 21.42
45 Greene 20.87
46 Robeson 20.80
47 Jackson 20.72
48 Avery 20.55
49 Franklin 20.37
60 Catawba 20.15
Rank Counties Instruction
• Cost per
White Pupil
Enrolled in
Rural Schools
51 Lenoir $20.03
52 Onslow 19.92
53 Columbus 19.71
53 Perquimans 19.71
66 McDowell 19.49
56 Carteret 19,34
57 Rowan 19.26
58 Swain 19,18
59 Martin 19,11
60 Anson 18,82
61 Richmond 18.63
62 Graham 18.38
63 Forsyth 18.29
64 Caswell 17.97
65 Chatham 17.90
66 Tyrrell 17.86
67 Caldwell 17.52
68 Henderson . 17.48
69 Beaufort 17.27
70 Davie 17.20
71 Cleveland 17.16
72 Harnett 17.10
73 Iredell 17.09
74 Lee 17.07
75 Union 17.05
76 Sampson ,17.01 •
77 Davidson . 16.75
78 Burke 16.66
79 Lincoln.-’ 16,49
80 Cabarrus 16.22
81 Person 15 96
82 Clay 16.73
83 Macon 15.68
84 Stanly 16.67
85 Rutherford 15.60
86 Brunswick 15.41
87 Alleghany.' 15.28
88 Stokes 15.10
88 Wilkes 16.10
90 Watauga 14.87
91 Randolph 14.49
92 Johnston 14.17
93 Haywood ... 14.07
94 Cherokee 13.39
96 Yancey 13.37
96 Mitchell 13.26
96 Yadkin 13.26
98 Madison 13.17
99 Ashe 13.16
100 Surry 12.21
The Twenty-Four Largest City Systems
Instruction Rank Cities
The percent of families having books
other than the Bible, school text
books, almanacs, and catalogues was 21.
In other words, 79 percent of the
white families possessed no books of a
general reading nature. Since practi
cally no country people have access to
public libraries, the conclusion is that
about four-fifths of the country people
of the state do not read books,' and
never have any chance to read them.
Rank Cities
Cost per
' White Pupil
Enrolled in
Rural Schools
Greensboro $56.39
Durham 56.87
Winston-Salem 50.38
Roanoke Rapids 49.40
Asheville 46.32
Goldsboro 44.62
Raleigh 43.40
Wilmington 42.74
Wilson 39.94
Statesville 38.15
New Bern 37.96
Hickory 37.78
Instruction
Cost per
White Pupil
Enrolled in
Rural Schools
13 Kinston $37.75
14 Elizabeth City 36.77
16 Salisbury 36.46
16 Henderson 36.12
17 Charlotte ,35.75
18 Fayetteville 34.94
19 Burlington 34.69
20 Gastonia 33.07
21 High Point. 32 66
22 Rocky Mount 31.62
23 Concord 30.11
24 Mooresville .. 26.54