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.
MARCH 3. 1926
CHAPEL HILL, N C.
THE UNIVEESITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XII, NO. 16
Editorial Board, E. C. Branson. S. H. Hobbs. Jr.. L. E. Wilson. E. W. Knight. D. D. Carroll. J. E. Bullitt. H. W. Odum.
Entered as second-class matter November 14. 1914. at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24. 1912
A PROSPEROUS STATE
Nine North Carolina cities exceeded a
million dollars in building, with five of
these above five millions each. The
cities of the state showed a gratifying
gain over 1924.
Charlotte still maintained its suprem
acy in construction fields, with Greens
boro bareley nosing out Asheville for
second place. Durham, with a single
permit of three millions for the Duke
university group, passed Winston-Sa
lem for fourth place. Raleigh dropped
from second to sixth place, while High
Point, Gastonia, Salisbury, Rocky
Mount, Concord, and Wilmington fol
low in order. ^
Conditions governing building prog
ress were varied throughout the state.
Charlotte and Greensboro built to meet
a commercial and industrial demand
following the rapid progress of those
centers as distributing points. An
eighteen-story office building in Char
lotte and other buildings to provide of
fice and warehouse space were most
prominent there, although there was
considerable building along industrial
lines.
Greensboro had two successive months
at the close of the year when permits
exceeded a million dollars, the first of
these being occasioned by the million-
doUar King Cotton hotel.
Asheville reflected the magical devel
opment of the western North Carolina
resort area, together with a growing
business that has followed a rapidly in
creasing population. Real estate values
have been on the increase and sales
have been exceptionally active, both in
central property and numerous fine
subdivisions. Principal buildings include
the $500,000 Asheville Biltmore hotel
and a $300,000 Flatiron building. Much
industrial building in the immediate
area surrounding the city is noted.
The first unit of the new Duke uni-
^rsity group accounted for more than
half of Durham’s program, and another
unit to cost slightly less is scheduled
for 1926. Two municipal buildings, in
cluding a courthouse, $400,000, headed
the development at Winston-Salem.
The half-milion-dollar high school domi
nated permit totals for Salisbury.
Industrial buildings for new textile
and furniture plants and $400,000 in
school buildings made up the substan
tial total of High Point. A $460,000
high school is scheduled for 1926. A
community hotel to cost $300,000 was
the leader at Concord, and the Hotel
Hickory of similar value was begun in
Hickory, in addition to two large com
mercial buildings.
The future is bright for the state
along general construction lines. A
quickening of the textile market and
continued investments in new plants
are noted throughout the Piedmont.
In the western part of the state it is
estimated that more than $75,000,000
has recently been invested in proper^ties
there. A resort development second
only to the Florida boom in scope and
sums involved is anticipated for the en
tire mountain region for the summer of
1926. The wild grandeur of the Caro
lina mountains is now being made ac
cessible through the completion of paved
highways. —From Miller Survey.
reported 601 miles; Texas, 646 miles;
North Carolina, 373 miles; South Caro
lina and Georgia, 225 miles each; while
other states were below 200 miles on
this type.
Outlook Promising
The prospects for another record-
breaking year in 1926 are very promis
ing. Funds already apportioned to state
highway departments total $166,195,000,
with the probability that this will be
materially increased by additional funds
from special taxes which can no^ be ac
curately anticipated.
There were 4,604 miles of road under
contract during 1926 which were carried
over until 1926. Of this, 1,738 miles
were hard-surface types. In addition to
that, plans have been outlined for the
construction of 8,404 miles of road
which has not yet gone to contract.
This will give a greater mileage for the
year than for 1926.
Texas plans for 1,250 miles of all
types; Arkansas, 1,200 miles; Missouri,
1,000 miles; North Carolina, 700 miles;
Alabama, 600 miles; Tennessee, 500
miles, and other states slightly lower.
Missouri carried over 624 miles of pav
ing and 272 miles of other types; North
Carolina carried over 408 miles each of
paving and other surfaces; West Vir
ginia had unfinished 257 miles of hard
surface and 152 miles of other, types;
Florida has 261 miles of paving and 324
miles of other types.
The total amount of paved road in
actual use in the sixteen southern states
on December 31, 1926, was 14,164 miles.
The concrete highway laid down during
the year, together with totals now in
operation of this type, as reported by
the statistical department of the Port
land Cement association, is as follows:
PASS HALF-BILLION MARK
North Carolina has, finally passed
the half-billion mark in bank re
sources. On December 31, 1925, the
resources of all state and national
banks totalled $506,264,781, In Oc
tober 1924 the bank resources of the
state, state and national, totalled
$471,854,584. The increase in bank
resources from October 1924 to De
cember 31, 1926, amounted to the
sum of $34,410,217, an enormous gain
for slightly more than a year. The
resources of state banks now aggre
gate $307,159,781, while those of nat
ional banks amount to $199,105,000.
Thus the fourteen months’ gain in
bank resources was for state banks
$18,780,216, and for national banks
$15,630,000. North Carolina has never
been able to point with pride to her
bank resources but at the rate they
have been increasing during the last
few years, especially during 1924 and
1925, they will soon compare favora
bly with the bank resources of the
country as a whole.
WE LEAD IN ROADS
The states that are paving roads
with bond issues still continue to lead
the list in the amount of money spent
for new highways during 1926. North
Carolina, the pace-maker for the last
three years, is still at the top, closely
followed by Missouri. Then come
Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Ala
bama.
In total number of miles of hard sur
face for the year, Missouri takes first
place, closely followed by North Caro
lina, the former having 823 miles for
the year, and the latter 667 miles. West
Virginia and Texas both had over 300
miles, while Virginia, Florida, Okla
homa, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Ala
bama made excellent records in paving.
The mileage of other surfaced roads,
such as crushed stone^ gravel and top
soil, finds a different alignment as to
states. Arkansas and Alabama fight
for first honors, both being slightly
under seven hundred miles. Louisiana
Miles
Total
com-
miles
pleted
in use
1926
1926
Alabama
.. 69.6
117.9
Arkansas
...161.1
363.2
Florida
... 66.2
229.9
Georgia
. .. 64.4
428.3
Kentucky
... 81,6
232.6
Louisiana
... 7.3
36.7
Maryland
...120.6
1,086.7
Missisippi
... 38.6
260.6
Missouri
.. 475.0
978.2
North Carolina...
.. 328.6
1,170.3
Oklahoma
...188.1
663.4
South Carolina ...
... 56.2
209.4
Tennessee
... 76.4
206.0
Texas
... 70.0
560.0
Virginia
. . 90.9
706.8
West Virginia...
. . 67.9
637.1
—Miller Survey
ucts in that year was $9,461,388,124.
If the south derives two and a half
times as much revenue from manufac
tures as from agriculture, it is manifest
that it cannot be primarily dependent
upon agriculture for its prosperity. As
a matter of record only three states,
Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arkansas,
derive more wealth from the farm than
from the factory. Even Texas, which
leads the nation in the value of farm
products, gets more money from its in
dustries.
Quite the most interesting feature of
the census report is that southern mills
gained 37.6 percentin the value of their
products over 1921, the previous census
period. With new industries brought
into production since that time, it may
safely be assumed that the past year
went well over the ten million mark.
—Durham Herald.
macadam for $2,226,728; 276.40 miles of
sandclay and topsoil for$2,431,532; 96.86
miles of gravel for $1,024,642;' 605.04
miles of graded road, for $3,898,363;
bridges^osting $1,560,206; or a grand
total of 1,644.87 miles with the struc
tures, making $27,827,066 spent last year.
With the opening of 1926 the state had
under contract 816.64 miles of road to
cost $14,669,632. Of this $7,604,642 was
to be spent on 269.04 miles of cement
concrete, $3,191,873 on the 123.62 miles
of asphaltic concrete, $33,140 on the
15.36 miles of sand asphalt, $763,490
alloted to the 90.28 miles of sandclay
and topsoil, $110,770 on the 7.84 miles of
gravel, and $2,686,617 on grading 310.43
miles.
Thus 1926 proved with all of the
economy programs the best road build
ing year, for the $27,827,066 outstripped
any of its fellows and marked nearly 33
per cent of the whole construction. To
date the state has completed 4,448.04
miles of roads at a cost of $79,042,172
on the roads and $3,158,781 for the
bridges.
And all of this has been done in a sea
son marked by no specific boom. They
do say in extreme North Carolina, >the
counties of che west and the coast of
the east, that there are two Floridas in
North Carolina now and will be for years
to come. If this is true, nobody has
any license to guess what will be done
in 1926.—Greensboro Daily News.
Pacific’s water front terminal at Clin
ton, on the channel, is nearing comple
tion at a cost of $1,066,131. Other termi
nal work of importance is also under
way.
At Lake Charles, La., the new deep
waterway to the gulf is nearing com
pletion and work has begun on docks
and wharves to cost a' half million.
This will provide a new port directly
south of the industrial area around
Shreveport.
The Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and
Sabine railroad has been authorized to
begin work on its one hundred mile line
between Livingston and Beaumont, to
give additional facilities into this port.
Millions are being spent by the lines
entering New Orleans for new yard and
terminal facilities. —Miller Survey.
BUILDING PERMITS
The following table, based on data
compiled by the G. L. Miller Co., of
Atlanta, shows the 1926 building per
mits for the twelve largest cities of the
state, together with the percent in
crease or decrease over the year, 1924.
Nine of the twelve show very substan
tial increases in aggregate of building
permits issued during the year 1926
over the previous year.
Building Percent
Cities permits increase
1925 over 1924
Asheville $6,023,090 40.4
Charlotte 8,298,023 21.6
Concord 599,718 12.6
Durham 6,174,307 67.0
Gastonia 1,574,486 39.3
Greensboro 6,192,149 42.6
High Point 2,746,616 67.6
Raleigh 3,602,011 x24.7
Rocky Mount 667,910 x49.1
Salisbury 1,351,891 36.6
Wilmington 572,475 x64.3
Winston-Salem 6,004,381 10.6
X means decrease.
THE INDUSTRIAL SOUTH
The industrial south bulked larger in
1925 than ever before. The old phrase,
‘^the agricultural south,’’lost still more
of its meaning. It is difficult to state
which is the more important news rela
tive to the south’s industrial growth: the
fact that approximately $200,000,000
was invested in industrial plants and
facilities during 1925, or the results of
the census bureau’s survey covering
1923, which revealed the fact that the
value of southern manufactured prod
SECOND IN CROP VALUE
The south came through one of the
most unseasonable agricultural years of
the present‘century in 1926 with a crop
yield valued at $3,793,406,000, or a loss
of 10 percent from the 1924 returns.
Only three states, Florida, Louisiana
and Maryland, were able to show gains
for the year.
The cotton crop, in point of bales
produced, soared near an all-time rec’
ord, being in excess of 16,000,000
bales; But this huge production had the
effect of depressing prices and bringing
the returns almost to the same level as
in 1924. Grains and toliacco both suf
fered from seasonal conditions, with
the result that considerable losses were
shown in these items.
Texas easily maintained its leadership
for .the nation at large, as well as for
the south, although losing $126,000,000
from its 1924 returns. Missouri, North
Carolina, and Oklahoma ranked eighth,
ninth and tenth, respectively, in the
national list, the first two increasing
their standing, but Oklahoma dropped
five places due to a $110,000,000 loss re
sulting from poor grain crops.
Crop valuation by states is as follows:
1926 1924
Texas $799,330,000 $920,081,000
N. Carolina.. 318,661,000 320,486,000
Oklahoma ... 318,069,000 437,934,000
Georgia 234,231,000 263,090,000
Arkansas 226,113,000 341,636,000
Mississippi.-. 217,141,000 223,024,000
Alabama 213,267,000 243,994,000
Tennessee.... 196,719,000 230,333,000
Kentucky.... 195,625,000 232,412,000
S. Carolina... 172,201,000 176,728,000
Virginia 163,622,000 191,346,000
Louisiana .... 161,432,000 158,646,000
Florida 105,606,000 82,706,000
Maryland.... 78,131,000 74,091,000
W. Virginia... 73,715y000 76,348.000
A RED LETTER YEAR
The year 1926 was the best year in
the history of the Jefferson Standard
Life Insurance Company. The assets of
the Company increased by $4,106,445
during the year, and now total $31,239,-
268. The gross income for the year 1926
was $10,448,766, an increase of $1,203,-
370 over the year 1924. The surplus
fund was increased during the year by
$460,000. Insurance in force now totals
266 million dollars, while paid up in
surance amounts to more than 61 mil
lion. Especially gratifying to the Com
pany is the fact that the ratio of actual
to expected mortality during the year
1926 was only 46 percent. The phenome
nal growth of the Jefferson Standard is
largely the result of North Carolina’s
phenomenal rise into the billionaire class
of states. Also the Company, along
with others, is partly responsible for
the development of the state.
CAROLINA TAKE NOTE
The greatest activity has been appar
ent all during the year in the middle gulf
section of the south. Two outstanding
deals were consummated looking to
wards the diversion of northern traffic
through new gateways on the gulf. The
first of these was the purchase of the
Gulf and Ship Island railroad by the Illi
nois Central, giving the latter direct line
into Gulfport and Biloxi from the main
line at Jackson, Miss.
The second, and even more important
deal, brought the Muscle Shoals, Bir
mingham and Pensacola road into the
possession of the Frisco, thus giving
this important mid-western system e
port outlet of the highest value in Pen
sacola. The M. S., B. and P. now has
143 miles of track laid down from Pen
sacola north to Kimbrough, on the
Southern'. The Frisco immediately an
nounced a $2,600,000 rehabilitation pro
gram in the old line, including heavier
rails and bridges and improvement of
grade; at the same time securing track
age rights over the Southern from
Birmingham to Kimbrough to a point of
the Frisco main line.
Mobile drew a step nearer to a port
of major importance with the progress
made on the state port facilities now be
ing erected at a cost of ten million dol
lars under the direction of General Sei
bert. A solution of the Birmingham
rail-water problem is expected to result
THE CHANGING SOUTH
There are a few outstanding develop
ments in Southern industry known to
everyone. That the balance of power
in textile mills, especially in cotton
spinning, has shifted to the South is a
commonplace. From 1880 to 1923 the
North doubled its spindleage of 10 mil
lions, whereas the South increased its
half-million spindles thirty-two times.
In sulphur production, whereas thirty
years ago Sicily dominated the world,
today the South controls this great in
dustry; the very bony structure of our
chemical processes. A production of
2,000,000 tons today compares with 3,000
in 1900. In iron, the fame of Alabama,
especially the Birmingham area, is
wbrldwide. Southern production is a
ninth of the nation’s despite the fact
that the astounding combination of
Lake Superior ore and Connellsville
coke gave the North a great impetus,
never before equalled. Still the South
has grown faster. Whereas forty years
ago the South produced crude pig-iron
today it manufactures costly finished
goods. As for lumber, the center of
gravity has shifted South with a ven
geance. Timber grows to its full lumber-
cut size in fifteen or twenty years in the
South. In cold climates it takes twice
or four times as long. Hence a double
cut in the South is more conservative
than a half-cut in Canada. One-fourth
the acreage of a Canadian timber com
pany will supply the Southern grower
with as much lumber. In 1870 the South
produced two billion board feet a year
against 11 billions in the North. Today
it produces 17 billions out of 31 billions,
o^ the greater part. The North prac
tically produces no more than it did a
half-century ago. When one thinks of
the supremacy in naval stores (rosin,
turpentine) that goes with this timber
leadership, its importance becomes ob
vious.—Magazine of Wall Street.
HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
During the year of 1926 the state com
pleted 319.45 miles of cement concrete
at a cost of $10,460,033; 130.60 miles of
asphaltic concrete at an expenditure of
$4,362,460; 107.13 miles of sand asphalt
for $1,893,193; 109.40 miles of penetration
from the purchase of the Ensley South- . , , j u j i
ern railroad by Port of Birmingham examiner s dead o y.
company giving the Birmingham dis
trict direct connections with the barge
landings of the Warrior river for barge
transportation direct to Mobile by way
of the Warrior river.
Southwestern Ports
Millions continue to be spent on the
Houston ship channel, at Houston,
Tex., providing new railroad terminals,
warehouses and dockage space for the
port of Houston which is rapidly be
coming one of the greatest water ship
ping points in Ariierica. The Southern
HARD BOILED TEACHERS
In almost every college there was a
teacher, in some places several, of
whom appreciative mention was made
among the assets. But in virtually every
instance a professor or instructor—oc
casionally an administrative officer—
was acknowledged among the avails not
so much because of anything he taught
or did in his official capacity, as because
of what he was. One Harvard graduate,
thus acknowledging his debt to William
James as among the permanently inspir
ing influences of his life, said to me:
“I didn’t get much of his stuff, but I
got him.”
It is off the same piece that the typi
cal college professor views with suspicion
those courses to which students gladly
flock, and contemns them as snap
courses. As if the discovery of any
thing joyous and spontaneous in the
student’s acceptance must ipso facto
indicate a weakness in the hard-boiled
front presented by the master’s side of
the hereditary feud.
You see, the psychology of it is that
the student shall get by only over the
And that psy
chology permeates and embitters the
whole relationship between the student
and the institution. Perish the thought
that every possible effort ought to be
made to conserve and develop what the
student has; to find out and take ad
vantage of what he has acquired. No;
make the hurdles as high and difficult
as possible, and make them all alike.
Let us play no favorites. Everybody
must exhibit the same qualities and
suffer the same tests. No room here
for individuality!—John Palmer Gavitt,
in College.