m-
F
The news in this publi
cation is reieased 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.
JULY;28, 1926
CHAPEL HILL, N C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIIK NO. 37
/
Edltoriul Koardt
E. C. Bcan.son. S. H. Hobba. 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 Postomce at Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24. 1918
motor CASS AND SCHOOLS
Perhaps the best single index of
wealth and income of the counties of
North Carolina may be found in the
ownership of automobiles. Practically
everyone who can aiford a motor car
lias bought one, and many who cannot.
The rank of a county in the ownership
of motor cars is mighty near its
rank in wealth and income. There ought
to be a very close connection between
the wealth and income of a counry and
its investment in school property. And
as a general rule there is, but a
glance at the taole which appears else
where discloses some striking excep
tions, both ways. In some counties the
unfavorable exceptions are being
rom-died by a school building program
now under way. In some counties the
erned lack the proper attitude toward
the vote and government, is the cause
of this unrest which is manifested in a
half'-duzun outstanding forms ranging
from purchase of primaries to peddling j
of whiskey. We are closer to a real j
democracy than we have ever been, :
but we are farther from the fathers’
ideal of liberty and duty than we have
ever been. As long as we are so far
from it, the form of our government
will matter precious little.
The remedy for the evil is recovery
cf the old ideal. That recovery can be
accomplished through the public schools
as soon as the authorities and teachers,
awake to its importance, will set about
its re-establishment.
America needs an electorate as well
educated as was that of Athens in the
time of Pericles. But can she secure
investment in school houses, compared I xf not, she can approximate it by
towards it with incessant
with the investment in motor cars, is
-far above the state ratio.
Strong for Motor Cars
According to figures recently sup
plied by the State Department of
Revenue, North Carolina has more than
four hundred and fourteen thousand
motor cars. Tney represent an! tors and judges, _
original investment of more than three to declare war and the obligation to
hundred and thirty-one million dollars, finance it and carry it on.
working
vigor.
Athens had 26,000 free men, who
were the govermnent of the city. They
did not run the government through a
! representative body. They were, one
and all, voters, office-holders, legisla-
They had the right
the
Because any
one of the 26,000 was liable to be called
at any time to frame a law, to admin
ister it, or to preside over the trial of
a civil or criminal suit, they were cog
nizant of their politics in all its forms.
NORTH CAROLINA LEADS
North Carolina leads the United
States in the matter of economic
advances over a period of fifteen
years, in the opinion of Secretary of
Commerce Hoover. Dilating on the
trend of industry, Secretary Hoover
today pointed to the great growth
of the South.
“North Carolina has made a great
er economic advance in every phase
of life in the last fifteen years than
any other state in the Union,” he
declared. Mr. Hoover added that in
Alabama conditions have been
rather the same as to certain areas.
In North Carolina the advance has
been more general.
“The South is in the mi'dst of a
great economic renaissance,” he ex
plained. “The main movement of
population is toward the south on
account of the increased industrial
development. It. is not attributable
entirely to the development in the
cotton textile industry, but rather
more on account of the water power
and development in the iron and
steel industries. ” — Greensboro
Daily News.
at eight hundred dollars each,
figure of the National A. 0. C.
The State Superintendent of Public
Instruction reports the value of all
nubile school property to be $70,705,- _ „
836. Oar investment in motor cars is | Their patriotism was a living fire
nearly five times our investment in | within them.
school property. And the motorcars] That is the sort of thing America has
werp bought for cash, or on the in- got to work for. It is the sort of thing
stallment plan to be paid for in a few , she has not been working for to any
months. For the most part our school i appreciable extent. Our schools have
houses have been built by the issuance . emphasized the ‘practical m educa-
of long-term bo.nds. We are immedi-j tion, the business of getting on in
aWy able to pay for motor cars, but 1 the world, and have consequently kept
we Lst spread our schooHiouse pay- the pupil’s mmd close to the ground,
ments over a period of twenty or; his imagination far from the stars
I ! Money-getting is in the cnild s mind
'on'^Ricember 31, 1926, our motorcars 1 almost at the start of his education,
numbered 340.287. On June 26, 1926,, government is to endure,
far-ranging imagination,
and selfish; individualism must change
to social cooperation. Otherwise ten
ancy will continue
f thirtv-eight percentoi tut: i
farm
What must be given the child in bis
the number was reported to be 414,660.
In less than six months our motor cars is culture,
increased by more than seventy-four « strong and uplifting idealism,
thousand, which seems incredible, but
the facts are from official
to increase. A1
ready thirty-eight percent of the farms
of America are operated by
tenants. Rent and the renter are cursing
the soil. There must be cooperation in
every way to be anything like the ideal
Denmark.
The problem is again, who shall take
the initiative and bring about ideal
conditions? There are wonderful op
portunities in the country for people of
all professions. If country people could
realize the worth of paying proper
salaries, college people could afford to
help them in many ways. The consoli
dated schools are coming to the front
and with good schools the social side of
life is helped.
The country church has become deca
dent where it has ceased to serve its
community. Do away with the un
social sectarian church and Anglo-Saxon
individualism, consolidate the churches,
prehension that liberty, the sort or
liberty which makes men happy and
and permits them
“In 1926 the state paid into the fed
eral treasury in taxes on its incomes
and the products of its factories the
sum of $180,000,000.
“To power its vast industrial es-
tablisbments-there are 500 textile mills
alone—the state possesses a hydro-elec
tric industry which has developed 600,-
000 horsepower, and delivers, with its
steam-plant auxiliaries, more than 1,-
500,000,000 kilowatt hours of electric
energy per year.
“It has banking resources of more
than $600,000,000, divided respectively
$296,000,000 and $204,000,000 between
state and national banks
“According to the best estimates
that could be made, it was recently de
termined that values of manufactured
products could be fairly stated as fol
lows:
“Textiles $400,000,000.
‘ ‘Tobacco products $300,000,000.
“Furniture manufactures $50,000,-
000. ■
“Forest products $118,000,000.
“Minerals $10,000,000.
“Miscellaneous $76,000,000.
“Total $953,000,000.
' “Crop value of 1926, $318,000,000.
1 “Value of live stock $73,000,000.
1 “Total annual production $1,345,349,-
I “It is estimated that in 1926 the
value of new construction in North
Carolina was $125,000,000. The figure
for 1926 probably will exceed $200,000,-
“North Carolina has probably the
greatest range of soil, climate and
aUitude of any American state. Its
geography includes a wonderful sys
tem of inland sounds and tidal rivers,
a great coastal plain, a piedmont pla
teau, and H remarkable montane region.
“In these limits can be successfully
grown every crop known to the United
States, except those which are sub
tropical. Climate generally is mild,
winter and summer. In the east cattle
can bo pastured practically the year
around; forests vary from the palmetto
‘rces on the coast to the firs and bal
sams of the north woods, which grow
in the mopntains. . • ^
“Natural resources are of infinite
variety. They are being developed
more rapidly as the good road system
of the state highways makes them
available.
Good roads in North Carolina are
based on a county to county seat sys
tem which includes over 4,600 miles of
completed roads, on which there has
been expended in four years $100,000,-
000 of state and federal funds, in addi
tion to large expenditures by counties
and cities. Every portion of the state
is now readily available by hard-sur
faced roadways of an excellence that
has gained them nation-wide reputa
tion.
As a result of good roads both
eastern North Carolina, the piedmont
and western North Carolina are now
nationally known resort centers, and
capital is being freely expended in
their development.
“In the east fisheries products are a
great industry, as are trucking, cattle
raising, and diversified farming. There
are three principal ports of foreign
commerce, Wilmington, New Bern and.
Beaufort. To the latter extends the in*
land waterway, which is soon to be ex
tended from Beaufort to Wilmington.
On the great sounds are many inland
ports connected by water with world
markets and available, for transporta
tion of products to the state by rail
roads, hard-sufaced roads and trucks.
“In the west mountain streams are
available for the development ol over
a million additional hydro-electric
horsepower, promising that this section
will in a comparatively few years rival
the industrial piedmont as a manufac
turing base.
“North Carolina suffered acutely for
a generation from the paralysis pro
duced by the wiping out of values con
sequent on the Civil war. A few com
parative figures will thow the rapidity
of economic recovery, once it began:
“In 19U0 the true value of the state’s
property was $682,010,000, but in 1924
iC had risen to $4,600,000,000.
“In 190U the total value of manu
factures was $86,000,000; in 1923 cen
sus figures placed it at $960,000,000.
“In 1900 crop values were $69,000,-
000; in 1923 figures placed them at
$436,000,000.
“ Bank resources today exceeding a
half billion were in 1900 less than $16,-
000,000.
“In 1900 the state was spending a
bare million on its public schools; in
1924-1926 the total school expenditures
exceeded $33,000,000.” - Greensboro
Daily News.
^ thus being able to afford a well-read,
capable minister, and the community
n-irinir th*- last .six months the sum in- keeps them decent
vested in new motor cars is almost as j to preserve their self-respect, is their
W as the amount invested in all dearest heritage and possession W tn-
puWic property in the history of the out these things in mind and heart o.
state. North Oarolina is not a Po« | the citizenry, any form of
state, judging by the way she is pur-; is weak and ineffecti .
chasing motor cars.
Guilford First
Guilford ranks first both in invest
ment in motor cars and in the value
of school property. Mecklenburg is
second in motor cars but fifth in school
• property. Buncombe is fifth in motor
cars but .second in value of school
property. Rowan ranks next to Bun
combe in motor cars, but Buncombe
has two-and-a-half times as much school
property, Edgecombe ranks next to
Robeson in motor cars, but Robeson
has more than twice as
V in school property. Halifax and Cleve-!
land have about the same number of
motor cars, but Halifax, with an ex
cessive negro ratio, has more than
twice as much school property. Cataw
ba has fewer motor cars than Cleveland,
but two-and a-half times as much
school property. Sampsonranks twenty-
ninth in motor cars but sixty-first in value
of school property. Stokes has more
motor cars than Craven, but Craven
has more than three times as ^much in
vested in public-school property.
Gas Vs. Culture
The above are merely a few of the
contrasts afforded by the actompanymg
tell-tale table. Many counties show up
remarkably well in school property,
their real wealth and income consid
ered. Other counties seem far more
willing to spend on gas than on culture.
The table affords a very reliable basis
by which counties may check them
selves to see if they are providing
school facilities in proportion to their
ability to provide them.
THE CAUSE OF UNREST
The Manufacturers Record declares
that “the basic cause of the present
national unrest ... is the fact that
the United States now is, actually in
operation, a democracy,” although it
“was deliberately designed by
founders of the Government as
Citizen.
CHALLENGEOFTHECOUNTRY
The rural problem can best be stated
by quoting the following from Fiske’s
Challenge of the Country; “Isolation
and drudgery must be soinehow con
quered. The business of farming must
be made more profitable, until clerking
in the city cannot stand the competi
tion, The social and recreative side of
rural life must be developed. The rural
rs out. moueson Community must Ufe socialized and the
s much invested . country school must really fit for rural
life. The lot of the farm mothers and
daughters must be made easier and
happier. Scientific farming must
worthily appeal to the boys as a genuine
profession, not a mere matter of luck
with the wealthier, and the farm boy
must no longer be treated as a slave
but a partner in the firm.” This first
chapter on rural conditions is very dis
couraging but in the second chapter
Fiske gives a more optimistic view.
Roosevelt said, “There is not in the
cities the same sense of common under
lying brotherliness which there is still
in the country districts.”
Wnat Washington Irving said m
describing rural England appeals to
me. “In rural occupation there is
nothing mean and debasing. It leads
a man forth among scenes of natural
grandeur and beauty; it leaves him to
the working of his own mind operated
upon by the purest and most elevating
of external influences. Such a man
may be simple and tough but he camiot
be vulgar.”
All modern inventions and conve-
niencies are joining farms and rural com
munities together, and ate doing away
with isolation. The telephone, radio, good
roads, etc., are first among these. New
machinery and the uses of electricity
are doing much to increase interest
and lessen drudgery. The farmers are
becoming a little less conservative and
more willing to join forces. Country
people must learn to cooperate, to be factories.
as a whole will be improved.—Alleen
Owens, a review of Fiske s Challenge
of the Country, University of North
Carolina Summer School.
KNOW NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina is going to get a
grand write-up in the New York Index,
INVESTMENT IN MOTOR CARS AND SCHOOL PROPERTY
A Comparison by Counties for 1925
In the following table, based on the value of school property for 1926 as re
ported by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the number of
Ltomobiles as recently reported by the State Department of Revenue, the
counties are ranked according to the total investment in motor cars. Ihe par
allel column shows the value of school property. Motor cars are hgured at an
investment of $800 each, the figure of the National A. C, C.
State total investment in motor cars $331,222,000. lotal value of public
school property $70,706,835. The ownership of motor cars is perhaps the best
single hidex of true wealth and income, and. therefbre, of ability to provide
school facilities. A study of the table will reveal some interesting comparisons,
S, H. Hobbs, Jr.
Department of Rural Social-Economies, University of North Carolina.
Rank County
monthly publication issued by the
New York Trust company, and Gover
nor McLean will be the scribe.
His excellency has been asked by
the trust company to present an article
on his state and the publication will go
to all parts of the country. It even
transcends the boundaries of the United
States and will be one of the most valu
able stories on the state yet written.
For three years the nation has been
reading about North Carolina, but it
has read nothing better than this from
Governor McLean:
“North Carolina is technically the
oldest state in the Union by virtue of
the settlement of Roanoke Island by
the Sir Walter Raleigh colony in 1684.
“It was a hundred years later that
the first permanent settlers came from
England. Subsequent settlements de
rived from Scotland, Ulster, and Ger
many, via Pennsylvania. Today the pop
ulation is 2,800,000; an amalgamated
strain composed of English, Scotch, and
German, with a slight admixture of
The census of 1920
Investment Value of Rank County Investment Value of
in Motor School ' m Motor School
Cars Property' Cars Property
Guilford $17 960,800 $8,829,320 ! 61 Columbus $2,413,600 $606,800
Mecklenburg'.', le!729,600 2,318,340 ! 62 Pasquotank 2,872,000 676,146
2,244,266 63 Orange 2,836,000
3 Wake 13,166,000
•4 Forsyth 13,109,600 2,648,370
6 Buncombe 11,180,800 3,031,300
6 Rowan 8.568,000 1,227,160
7 Gaston 8,622,400 2,428,700
8 Johnston 6,760,800 1,661,040
9 Durham 6,683,200 1,838,605
the
a Re-
3cy!“arb?cL*^eTbe'‘TeoU'V'-
10 Rockingham 6,303,200
11 Wilson 6,234,400
12 Iredell 6,144,000
13 Pitt 6,125,600
14 Robeson 6,861,600
16 Edgecombe 6,748,000
16 Wayne 6,662,400
17 Davidson 5,636,800
18 Union 6,170.400
19 N. Hampshire.. 6,148,000
20 Nash 4,933,600
-21 Halifax 4,904,000
22 Cumberland 4,816,000
23 Randolph 4,717,600
24 Cleveland 4,690,400
26 Catawba 4,683,200
! 26 Cabarrus 4,632,800
■ 27 Alamance 4,129,600
Swiss and French. Ati'.e ■ i • , xt j a i9q hho
showed that of the total population only; 27 Rutherford 4.129,600
3-10 of 1 percent was foreign born, 4-10 | 29 Sampson .j’a^i’onn
of 1 percent was native Indian, and 29.8
percent native negro. The remaining
70 percent is native- born white, a homo
geneous blend of English, Scotch, and
German strains.
“In 1926 North Carolina grew 1.000,-
000 bales of cotton which sold for more
than $100,000,000.
“The total value of its crops was
$317,000,000.
“Its timber resources amounted to
$90,000,000. Its mines produced $10,-
000,000. These values are those of
raw materials.
“Values produced by industry, very
largely utilizing the products of the
state and its natural resources, were
$900,000,000. They came from textile
and tobacco manufactures, furniture
knitting, woolen and silk
mills, and 1,000 diversified industries.
30 Surry 3,831,200
31 Harnett 3,688,000
32 Richmond 3,672,000
33 Lenoir 3,660,800
34 Caldwell 3,374,400
36 Moore 3,203,‘200
36 Stanly 3,176,800
37 Lincoln 3,128,000
38 Beaufort 3,088,800
39 Henderson 3,064,400
40 Duplin 3,000,000
41 Franklin 2,961,200
42 Bertie 2,944,000
43 Northampton .. 2,860,000
44 Stokes 2,840,800
46 Anson 2,803,200
46 Granville 2,773,600
47 Craven 2,536,000
48 Chatham 2,634,400
49 Wilkes 2,616,800
49 Vance 2,616,800
1.603.600 1
1.273.800 I
1,133,7661
R789,‘226|
819,400 ■
1,182,000 I
1.193.800 i
707,496’
1,162,330
1,301,650
1,314,680
1,176,000 I
732, OOP i
642.000 j
1.607.600
1,080,576*
792.040
1,082,100
402,300
601,200
860,000
916,170
781,086
641,160
749,045
540,000
460,290
641,716
600,600
736,266
680,700 I
421,500 ’
469,860
282,196
448,610
666,000
940,200
326,000
474,336
496,400
64 Lee 2,300,800
66 Hertford 2,207,200
65 Yadkin 2,207,200
57 Scotland 2,173.600
68 Person 2,143,200
69 Burke 2,132,000
60 Martin 2,096,800
61 Warren 2,036,000
62 Davie....’. 1,800,800
63 Haywood 1,786,400
64 Montgomery 1,706,600
66 Chowan 1,668,400
66 Caswell 1,498,400
67 Greene 1,487,200
68 Hoke .^,360,400
69 McDowell / 1,331,‘200
70 Bladen 1,315,200
70 Perquimans 1,315,200
72 Pender 1,171,200
73 Washington 1,166,400
74 Alexander 1,144,000
74 Gates 1,144,000
76 Madison 1,076,200
77 Currituck 995,200
78 Transylvania 972,000
79 Watauga 916,000
80 Brunswick 885,600
81 Jones 883,200
82 Carteret 867,600
83 Jackson 242,400
84 Pamlico 796,000
85 Onslow 770,400
86 Ashe 762,400
87 Macon 748,800
88 Polk 720,000
89 Swain 690,000
90 Cherokee 686,400
91 Camden 583,200
92 Alleghany 621,200
93 Mitchell 514,400
94 Yancey 485,600
95 Tyrrell 457,600
96 Hyde 408,800
97 Avery 400,000
98 Clay 240,000
99 Dare 233,600
100 Graham 160,000
480,000
432,000
305,160
166,000
552.626
293,600
498,426
382,890
412,050
372,810
698,000
620,000
190,000
168,360
290,000
164,400
764,306
407.626
228,250
189,375
483,000
190,000
176,050
239.500
230,345
337,435
289.500
116,420
294,700
476,816
269.500
352,200
228,075
250,000
189,670
224,146
226,900
217,060
83,000
111,000
132,175
133,000
103,845
144,570
197,690
61,000
91,400
70,500