The i>ews in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt.
MAY 25, 1927
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published Weekly by the
University of North Caro
lina for the University Ex
tension Division.
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIII, No. 28
E^litorial ItSoardt 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 Postoffice at Chape! Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24, 191i.
CENSUS VEHSUS TAX VALUES
IWFAHT MORTALITY
In the year 1926, 6,591 babies died in
North Carolina before reaching the end
of their first year of life. Looking at
the figure.s from another angle, that
year there were 83,700 live births of
babies in the state, and of that number
before the end of the year 6,691 had
died, or nearly 8 percent of all those
who were born. Analyzing the figures
from still another angle, a large per
cent of these deaths were caused from
diseases like diarrhoea and enteritis,
diseases caused from an infectious
agent received by the baby through its
food or water. There is no need to go
further into rates and percentages.
These are cold figures, which the most
ignorant man or woman in the state
can understand
Hazardous Occupation
Speaking from the standpoint of
public hcaltii, the serious import of the j
birth rate m North Carolina is the fact
that being a baby still constitutes the ;
most hazardous occupation in the state. ;
A further, and still more significant;
•cause for worry and work is the fact;
that beginning with the month of May
the death rate of babies mounts higher !
and higher throughout the summer, i
the curve coming on back down about
October, in other words, the death j
rate of babies follows the house fly. !
On the other hand, the general death
rate including all the adult population
beginning with the month of May
curves djwa lower and lower, begin
ning to climb back up about October or
November, in short the summer months
are the healthiest and safest period of j
.the year lor all the population except!
the babies. The army of babies is
somewhat in the same position as the
old type armies between warring nations
who went into winter quarters and a
period of inactivity and comparative
safety to emerge in the summertime
and to go into battle with large casual
ties on each side and tremendous hazards
to both opposing armies. The army of
babies annually go to battle at the
beginning of summer with other num
berless toes, seen and unseeu. In the
htsc place, the babies have to battle
against sudden climatic changes which
cause hoc days and cool nights, especial
ly in the month of May, and unless the
parents meet changing conditions in
stantly with intelligence and care, the
casualties begin. At this period the
house flies and mosquitoes and other
insect pests which are dangerous to the
health of babies begin to make their
appearance, and unless protection is
complete the lives of many babies are
sacrificed from this cause. Spring
rains or spring droughts make changes
in the water line for the thousands of
babies born in the country and living
on the farms, which, added to careless
habits of parents in allowing the water
to become polluted and in failnig to
thoroughly boil all water given to
babies at this period, is the cause of
numbers of deaths. The hot weather
affects the milk, which of course, consti
tutes the chief food of the babies, and
is especially disastrous to bottle-fed
babies unless^every care is exercised in
handling the milk and keeping it cold
and protected from flies from the time
it is taken from the cow until consumed
by the baby. In this connection it can
not be repeated too often that at least
seventy percent of all baby deaths
under one year of age occurs among
bottle-fed babies
Slow Progress
There has been very little material
progress made in lowering the infant
death rate m North Carolina, notwith
standing educational efforts of the State
Board of He^iltb and various county
and city boards gf health have been
majoring m this direction for many
years. The State Board of Health, in
cooperation financially with funds pro
cured through the Sheppard-Towner law
and dispensed through the Children s
Bureau at Washington, has been spend
ing many thousands of dollars per year
for a number of years, but as yet
scarcely an impression has been made
toward a substantial reduction in the
infant death rate. This fact should
serve to convince all of us that, the
chief need is that the facilities kfxown
to protect and save' the babies during
the first two years of life must be
available for all the mothers in the
state, especially the poorest. By facil
ities we mean a knowledge of how to
avoid mistakes in feeding, clothing, and
caring for babies Trom the moment of
birth and the will and power to apply
practically such knowledge. This means
the necessity for state-wide education,
teaching by example as well as theory,
and the teaching must be driven home
to the remotest corners of the state,
and will probably take at least a
generation to make much progress.—
The N. C. Health Bulletin.
OUR FURNITURE INDUSTRY
According to an official source' of
information the furniture output of
North Carolina for the year 1926 was
more than fifty-one million dollars, or
about two-thirds the value of the
state’s bumper cotton crop of 1926.
The furniture industry is our third
most important industry, ranking only
after tobaci^ and textiles.
North Carolina’s position as a furni
ture state is often misstated. Accord
ing to official Federal data for the year
1926 there were six states whose furni
ture output exceeded ours in value.
However, two of these states barely
nosed out North Carolina. The follow
ing table ranks the important furniture
states according to value of output for
the year 1925:
State Value of
products
1 New York $166,826,177
2 Illinois 109,230,867
3 Michigan 99,130,108
4 Indiana 80,687,630
5 Wisconsin 63,915,692
6 Pennsylvania 52,607,048
7 North Carolina 51,208,238
8 Ohio 47,686,668
9 California 36,726,511
10 Massachusetts 33,638,635
11 Virginia 18,792,297
According to a study recently reported
in the University of Virginia News
Letter the annual value of North Caro
lina’s furniture output has increased
from slightly more than six million
dollars in 1904 to more than fifty-one
million dollars in 1926. In other words,
the value of furniture manufactured in
our state in 1925 was more than eight
times as great as in 1904. Only four
states experienced a larger total in
crease in value of output, our gain
over 1904 value of output being forty-
five million dollars. We now hold a
higher rank as a furniture state than
ever before in our history, so far as we
are able to discover from available data.
GOOD CITIZENSHIP
To be a successful citizen of the
world, you must begin by being a
worthy citizen of your community.
You must take an active interest in
the administration of government.
Consider the matter of voting and
the matter of crime. You do not do
your full duty to your country and
to yourself unless you stand solidly
behind the forces of law and order.
Do you exert your right of franchise?
Do you take the trouble to vote?
It is a part of every citizen’s duty
to vote—to vote as he thinks is
right, but to vote. Less than half
the electorate of this country cast
their ballots at the last presidential
election. Many of those who remain
away from the polls are the severest
critics of governmental policies.—
Chicago Health.
Dr. Freeman’s address. The abbre
viated report of it says that he em
phasized the banker’s potential in
fluence in promoting thrift and diversi
fied crops. Both of these are im
portant but more important still for
the farmers, we think, is sound busi
ness organization of the industry in all
of its branches. Not until this is
achieved can agriculture escape from
the doldrums, and escape is impossible
except through such business leader
ship as the bankers are best able to
supply.
Dr. Freeman wisely indicated that
the banker can render effective Service
in the towns as well as on the land by
using his influence to check the rise in
living cost in the towns through heed
less expenditures. This is something
which those who look ahead in the
cities should welcome. The Greens
boro Record had an able editorial on
this theme the other day, urging that
“the essential condition of the steady
and healthy growth of a municipality
is that it shall be made a more de
sirable place to live,” and that to meet
this end living costs should not be
allowed to outstrip sound values.
Here is the objective which ought to
be kept steadily in mind and steadily
striven toward.—Asheville ('itizen.
GIVES SOUND ADVICE
Dr. Douglas S. Freeman, the able
editor of The Richmond News-Leader,
in his address before the North Caro
lina bankers at Pinehurst on Thursday
dealt forcefully with one of the most
significant trends now under way in the
South, a trend which, as he clearly
pointed out, carries a threat that must
be recognized and combatted. He was
discussing the diverging standards of
living on the farms and in the towns ol
Virginia and the Carolinas.
The trouble does not come from the
fact that farm property in the three
States named has suffered a very
serious decline in nominal values.
That is true of farm property pretty
much the world over. The trouble is,
however, that with us the standard of
living in the towns is steadily rising
whereas on the farm this is not the
case.
Dr. Freeman does not think that the
rural standard of living is lower, and
we hope that as to this he is right on
the whole. But unquestionably for
many farmers and in many localities it
is very decidedly lower. Standards of
living reflect prosperity or its absence
and such prosperity as the farming
interests are enjoying is not very even
ly distributed.
In taking the view that the gap thus
widening between urban and rural
standards of living may have far-reach
ing social and political effects Dr.
Freeman plays the part of a true sentinel
upon the watch tower and cries a warn
ing that should be heeded, not resented.
His message to the bankers was ad
dressed to the proper audience for the
banker is, as he declared, the key man
in this situation.
We have not seen the full text of
FARM EXODUS CONTINUES
The farm exodus continues. For the
last several successive years the Cen
sus Bureau has reported a net loss of
farm dwellers. The farm population
ratio has been declining at the rate of
nearly one percent a year for the last
five years. Today only about twenty
four percent of the population of the
United States live on farms. The
prospects are for a much smaller farm
population ratio in the near future.
Just when and where a balance will be
struck no one knows. The factors
involved are too numerous and compli
cated for a reliable guess to be possible.
! The Census Bureau reports the net
I loss in the farm population of the
j United States for the year 1926 at six
j hundred and fifty thousand. Arrivals
on the farm, including births and
j migrations from cities, towns and vil-
! lages, numbered one million seven hun-
\ dred and ninety-three thousand. De-
! partures from the farm, including
: deaths and migrations to cities, towns
i and villages numbered two million
' four hundred and forty-two thousand.
The farm population of the United
States on January 1, 1927, was estimated
as 27,892,000. The total population of
the United States on the same date
was approximately one hundred and
eighteen million inhabitants.
EDUCATION PAYS FARMER
The value of an education to a farmer
can be discussed in terms of dollars
and cents. Analysis of surveys made'
in twelve widely separated states
shows conclusively that the years spent
in high school and college are well repaid
by increased earning capacity when
, farm activities are undertaken, and that
I even a common school education is dis-
' tinctly more advantageous financially
; than no education at all.
j A compilation of data on the subject,
; assembled from several sources, has
; been issued in the form of a mimeo-
; graphed circular, “Does Education Pay
' the Farmer?” by F. A. Merrill, of the
! Extension Service, United States De-
I partment of Agriculture. The surveys
used in this compilation offer a very
fair cross section of the country. To
illustrate, it was found in Texas that
every day spent by a child in school
might be considered worth $9. This
estimate was arrived at by taking $20,-
000 as the total earnings of an unedu
cated laborer over a 40-year period, and
$40,000 as the total earnings of the
high school graduate who had spent 12
school years of approximately 180 days
each in acquiring training. The gain
in wages, $20,000, due to these 2,160 days
of school, represents a value of $9.25 a
day while the instruction lasted. The
annual net profits of Georgia farmers
without any schooling were found to
average $240, while those who had com
mon school education earned $665.60,
high school graduates $664.60, and those
who completed an agricultural college
course earned $L,264. Those who had
taken only a short course earned $895.-
96, or almost three times as much as
those with no education at all. In
Indiana, Illinois. Iowa, and Kansas the
surveys showed again that the men re
ceiving the best training made the
largest incomes in both the owner and
the tenant groups. In Missouri the
better educated men own four-fourths
of the land they operate, keep more
livestock, handle more crops with each
workman employed, and do about one-
lifth more business. An interesting
fact brought out by the Wisconsin sur
vey was that the farmers with high
school education acquired the owner
ship of their farms in about 7 years,
while it took 10 years for those with
only a common school education to ac
quire a clean title. In New York State
among those in any given capital group,
the high school graduate at any age
I was making more than the common
1 school farmer several years older with
! the same amount of invested capital,
i Without exception, every study shows
; that the man with the greater training
enjoys the greater prosperity.
The circular may be obtained in
limited numbers by applying to the Of
fice of Cooperative Extension Work,
United States Department of Agri
culture, Washington, D.C.
OUR RAILROADS
According to the recent report of the
State Corporation Commission the
state has an aggregate of five thousand
and four miles of railway lines. Of
this mileage the Atlantic Coast Line
owns 1,008 miles; the Norfolk Southern
I owns 680 miles and leases 96 miles more;
the Seaboard Air Line owns 627 miles;
I and the Southern owns 691 miles, and
i leases and operates 778 miles more.
1 Thus these four major systems con-
; trol 3,780 miles of railroad, or 76 percent
j of total mileage of the state. The re-
1 maining 1,224 miles consist of forty
' small roads with a mileage ranging
i from three miles to 130 miles.
‘ According to this report the total
I cost of the five thousand miles of road
; and equipment was $286,084,912, This
I is represented by a capital stock of
I $106,763,618 and a funded debt of
$161,477,232. The operating revenue
for 1926 was $87,358,895 and the oper
ating expense was $61,679,267. This
latter figure does not include interest
on bonded debt. The net operating
revenue was thus $25,779,638. If we
interpret the figures correctly the
railroads paid to North Carolina and
its subdivisions $4,191,924 in taxes in
1925.
CENSUS VERSUS TAX VALUES OF CATTLE
In North Carolina in 1925
The following table shows in parallel columns the average values of cattle as
reported by the Census Bureau and as reported for taxation, both for the same
year. The counties are ranked according to value of cattle as listed for taxa
tion. The parallel column shows the average value of cattle as reported by
the Census Bureau.
In New Hanover county the average tax value of cattle is $38.68, while in
Brunswick county the average tax value is $10.00. Only two counties have a
higher tax value than Census value. It is well to remember that Census values
are always conservative. There is just as little uniformity in listing other
forms of property as there is in listing cattle.
F. C. Upchurch, Wake County
Denartment of Rural Social-Economics. University of North Carolina.
Average
Average
Average
Average
census
tax value
census
tax value
Rank County
value of
of cattle
Rank County
value of
of cattle
cattle per
pef head
cattle per
per head
head
head
1 New Hanover. ..$38 82
...$38.68
61 Person
..$36.14
...$21.73
2 Halifax
.. 33.49
... 34.10
62 Scotland .
.. 30.62.....
... 21.71
3 Forsyth
.. 37.02
.. 30.68
53 Caldwell
.. 27.73
... 21.60
4 Edgecombe...
.. 36.26 ....
... 28.91
64 Catawba
.. 34.74
... 21.66
6 Nash
.. 39.71
... 28.73
66 Bladen
.. 31.66
... 21.61
6 Robeson
.. 35.36.,...
... 27.64
66 Stanly
.. 32.08
... 21.49
7 Wilson
.. 36.91 ....
... 27.49
67 Henderson
,. 27.70
... 21.42
8 Richmond
.. 31.20
... 27.39
68 Northampton.
.. 34.32
... 21.24
9 Pitt
.. 32.07....
.. 26.71
59 Alleghany
.. 22.66
... 21.01
10 Durham
.. 38.28
... 26.38
60 Ashe
.. 22.00
... 20.95
11 Wayne
.. 37.96...
.. 26.29
61 Cabarrus
.. 33.60
... 20.90
12 Rockingham..
.. 36.46. ...
... 26.23
62 Union
.. 31.41
... 20.78
13 Chatham
.. 34.32
... 26.91
63 Martin
.. 33.33
... 20.49
14 Guilford
.. 37.00
... 25.68
64 Transylvania
.. 25.06
... 20.23
15 Cumberland...
.. 33.38 ....
... 26.25
65 Sampson
.. 33.07
... 20.21
16 Wake
.. 34.77
... 24.79
66 Stokes
... 33.67
... 20.06
17 Rowan
.. 33.96
... 24.76
67 Columbus
.. 33.23... .
... 19.76
18 Davie
.. 33.12
... 24.73
68 Alexander ....
... 36.13
... 19.51
19 McDowell.
.. 23.87
... 24.62
69 Duplin
.. 32.63
... 18.94
20 Johnston
.. 38.19
... 24.44
70 Avery
.. 24.66
... 18.92
21 Vance
39.17
... 24.34
71 Hertford
.. 27.94
... 18.91
22 Greene
.. 32.63
.. 24.28
72 Swain
... 24.69
... 18.30
22( Harnett
.. 36.40
24.28
73 Polk
.. 31.19
... 18.16
24-Randolph
.. 34,02
... 24.20
74 Chowan
.. 30.12
... 18 16
25 Gaston
.. 31.92
... 24.05
76 Watauga
.. 22.94
... 18.11
26 Mecklenburg.
.. 33.79
... 33,82
76 Haywood
.. 20.94
... 17.89
27 Beaufort
.. 31.07
... 23.60
77 Jones
.. 30.95 ....
... 17.68
28 Caswell
.. 39.28
... 23.56
78 Wilkes
.. 27.84
... 17.64
29 Cleveland
.. 33.87
.. 23.56
79 Washington ..
.. 30.65
... 17.25
30 Granville
.. 37.62
... 23.60
80 Jackson
... 22.38
... 17.13
31 Orange
.. 37.16
... 23.49
81 Perquimang ..
.. 31 06
... 17.09
32 Franklin
.. 36.13
... 23.42
82 Mitchell
24.69
... 16.65
33 Hoke
.. 34.24
... 23.20
83 Madison
.. 24.42 ....
... 16.44
34 Craven
.. 35.88
... 23.05
84 Pasquotank...
.. 32.23
... 16.26
35 Surry
.. 29.36
... 23.04
85 Bertie
.. 32.10
.. 16.73
36 Lenoir
.. ‘6QX7
... 22.96
86 Graham
.. 27.66,.^.
... 16.52
37 Anson
.. 31.64
... 22.88
87 Yancey
.. 21.23
... 15.10
38 Iredell
.. 34.04
... 22.81
88 Camden
.. 32.46
... 16.02
39 Buncombe
..26.28
... 22.60
89 Macon
.. 21.89
... 14.64
40 Alamance
.. 36.12.. ..
... 22.63
90 Cherokee
. 24.27
... 14.32
41 Pamlico
.. 33.96
... 22.34 /
91 Tyrrell
.. 28.26
... 14.28
41 Carteret
.. 30.28
... 22.34
92 Gates
.. 28.16.....
... 14.17
43 Moore
.. 30.96
... 22.21
93 Onslow
. 27.96
... 14.11
44 Lincoln
.. 30.98
... 22.18
94 Burke
„ 30.16
... 13.90
45 Lee ■...
.. 34.13
... 22.11
95 Clay
. 22.74
... 12.69
46 Rutherford ...
.. 31.16
... 22.08
96 Currituck
.. 33.09
.. 12.66
47 Montgomery..
.. 31.38
... 21.99
97 Hyde
.. 36.05
... 12.54
48 Davidson
.. 33.76 ....
... 21.97
98 Dare
.. 29.82: ...
... 11.11
49 Yadkin
.. 30.33
... 21,88
99 Pender
.. 34.23
... 10.11
60 Warren
.. 33.83
... 21.80
100 Brunswick
.. 32.60
... 10.00