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.
FEBRUARY 1, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE US'IVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 12
Editoriul Board: E, C. Branson. S. H. Hobbo. Jr.. P. W. Wager. L. K. Wilson. E. W. Knight. D. D. Carroll. 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.
SURitL GRADED SCHOOLS
We are presenting this week a table ;
showing the percentage of rural ele- ,
Bientary school pupils in each county |
who are enrolled in schools with seven j
®r more teachers. Since there are
seven grades, a school with seven or
more teachers may be considered a
fully graded school. Our figures are
supplied by State School Facts, which
Hi turn is indebted to L. L. Williams,
a University of North Carolina student,
who made the compilations.
Last year there were 376,473 pupils
enrolled in the 3,B49 rural white ele
mentary schools of the state. Of this
number 164,602, or 41.1 percent, were
in schools with as many as seven
teachers. The number of and enroll
ment in each type of school is indicated
below:
Type of school Number Imrollment
One-teacher 1,172 37,300
Two-teacher 1,031 62,423
Three-teacber 447 41,760
Four-teacher 219 29,398
Five-teacher 166 27,276
Six-teacher... Ill ■•••■ 23,816
Seven-teacher 121 31,137
8-10 teacher 182 60,693
11 or more teacher.. Ill 62,672
Total 3.649 376,473
There are seven counties which have
no rural elementary schools with as
many as seven teachers. These coun
ties are Alleghany, Ashe, Chowan,
Dare, Hyde. Tyrrell, and Washington.
Fifteen counties have only one such
school. On the other hand, there are
33 counties with at least five rural
schools of the larger type.
In Stanly county 83.6 percent of the
rural elementary pupils are enrolled in
these larger schools. In Pasquotank
the percentage is 88.2. In twenty-
seven counties at least half of the rural
children are enjoying the privileges of
the larger type of school.
Many Large Schools
Altogether there are 414 rural ele-
mentary schools with seven or more
teachers. It is true that in 298 of these
schools high school departments are
maintained, so there is not always a
full-time teacher for each grade.
Nevertheless a seven-teacher school
approximates a graded school. Indeed a
fair degree of graded instruction may be
given in schools with four, five, or six
teachers. Many rural children are at
tending schools of this size, although
the tendency now is to effect larger con
solidations. Less than ten percent of
•ur rural white pupils of elementary
grade are now attending one-teacher
schools and each year the ratio is be
coming leas, it must be remembered,
too, that this study is concerned only
with rural elementary schools. Many
children living in the country are at
tending school in special charter diS'
tricts, so the ratio of underprivileged
children is even less than our figures
show.
The consolidation program in North
Carolina has proceeded very rapidly,
in few states has it gone further. In
a few years more, if the movement
continues, there will be no one-room
schools left except in a few remote and
isolated sections. Most educators
favor the larger school units. The
greatest objection to consolidation has
been the cest and dangers of trans
portation, and these are objections
which have not yet been fully over
come.
A New Community
There is one aspect of consolidation
af undoubted benefit. The consolidated
rural school is furnishing a center or
focus for the larger rural community
which is coming into being. With the
appearance of the automobile, the
R. F. D., the telephone, and the radio,
the old “neighborhood” has been dis
integrating. In many respects this is
saddening, for there was much that
was lovely in neighborhood society and
neighborhood activities. But with
new modes of travel and communica
tion, multiplying the rural dwellers’
social contacts, the break-up of neigh
borhood society was inevitable. The
larger school district offers a new unit
of organization and the consolidated
school with its larger program a new
community center. Those consolidated
rural schools which recognize their op
portunity will develop a program of
education, recreation, and social activ
ity that will reach parents as well as
children. In some instances the rural
consolidated school is enriching and
rejuvenating rural life in a most en
couraging fashion. It is peoviding the
community life which the country has
so badly needed. Where this Is not
the case the rural superintendents and
teachers need to cafch the vision and
direct their efforts toward its realiza
tion.—Paul W. Wager.
THE PRESS AND FARM LIFE
No civilization languishes when its
agciculture flourishes, and no civiliza
tion flourishes when its agriculture
languishes. There is scant room for
doubt or debate about this truism. It
is as old as the race itself.
It is therefore assumed that the
Newspaper Institute of the^State Press
Association will like to comeoBt once to
consider definite constructive sugges
tions.
Live-At-Home Farming
First. Organize a state-wide cam
paign for the production of cash-crops
on a live-at-home basis. The Dallas,
Texas, News has for five years con
ducted contests for prizes in farm
ing of this sort. The annual book
lets of the Dallas News are familiar
to every editor in the state. The |
results in Texas are spectacular and j
very little that is not spectacular ar-1
rests the attention of anybody nowa-1
days. The prize winner in 1927 pro- i
duced fourteen bales of long-staple cot- j
ton on five acres within boll-weevil lines, '
at a cost of six cents per pound, and
at the same time he produced around
$20,000 worth of food-and-feed stuffs.
It is safe to say that Mr. McFarlane
is not only making money at farming,
but is having a fair chance to retain
and accumulate wealth on his farm.
The prevalent farm system in North
Carolina is notedly strong in wealth-
production, but it is weak as water in
wealth-retention and wealth-accumula
tion. Which after all is the most im
portant matter for our farmers, and in
the long run for the Commonwealth
and the Nation. As an effective detail
of this newspaper campaign, it is
worth while featuring our twenty-four
Master Farmers, one by one, in our
newspaper columns. They are all
live-at-home farmers and two of them
have risen out of tenancy into owner
ship on this basis.
Front-Page the Farmers
Second. Carry brief, graphic stories
throughout the year of other success
ful farmers within the curtilage of each
paper. It is good business policy to
feature farming and to blue-ribbon
individual farm achievement. Already
it is being done by the press of the
state from time to time. The sug
gestion here is that it be definitely a
newspaper program for 1928. And the
suggestion is made because of the
nature of human nature. It is better
to teach by example than by precept.
Indeed the farmers will not submit to
lecturing from editorial offices. A year
of the campaigning suggested will
make plainer than a pikestaff the fact
that ownership-farming on a bread-and
meat basis is safe farming, that ten
ancy-farming is extremely hazardous,
and moreover that cropper farming
menaces our civilization, for civilization
is rooted everywhere and always in
the home-owning, home-loving, home-
defending instincts.
The Crisp-McKellar Bill
Third. Illustrate the fundamental
necessity for community life among
home-owning farmers. For lack of
such farm-life centers, in the State and
the Nation, our farmers are innocent
of the impulse, the virtues, and the arts
of group action in both life and liveli
hood. As a result our farmers dwelling in
solitary farmsteads are without defense
in the distribution of farm commodi
ties and farm incomes. The choice is
between farm blocs in farm business or
farm blocs in politics. The boy up
the apple tree, as you may remember,
wisely preferred turf to stones as
missiles of dislodgment. And here
your attention is directed to the Crisp-
McKellar bill in Congress (House
document 765, sixty-ninth congress, 2nd
session) on Rural Development in the
South. It is not a soil reclamation but
a'social reclamation project of farm
THE LOOM AHEAD
Phil. 3: 13
I am done with the years that were:
I urn quits:
I am done with the dead and old:
They are mines worked out, I delved
in their pits;
I have saved their grain of gold.
Now 1 turn to the future for wine
and bread;
I have bidden the past adieu.
I laugh and lift hand to the years
ahead;
“Come on! I am ready for you!”—
Edwin Markham (The Expositor).
owners under expert direction, one
colony in each state, financed by a
federal revolving fund of ten million
dollars as an aid to ownership and
operation. It is modeled on the Dur
ham Colony in California. The general
public and in particular our own Con
gressmen must thoroughly understand
this bill or it stands little chance of
passing. The West has 160 millions of
federal money invested in reclamation
areas and to the extent that farm
colonies in irrigated areas have failed,
they have failed for lack of expert
guidance.' It is the South’s first chance
at a federal reclamation fund and it is
distinctively planned to have the seven
colonies of the South succeed at the
point where the Western irrigation
colonies have failed. The press of the
the state can alone give to our people
the publicity that is requisite to success
in this matter. The North Carolina
Press Association would do well, in my
opinion, to appoint its own committee
of four, say, to investigate the measure
and to act with the present state com
mittee of twenty-five in securing ade
quate publicity.
Better County Government
Fourth. Hammer hard the neces
sity for improved county government
in North Carolina. The five state
wide county government laws passed by
the 1927 Assembly are in print, but
they are far from being in full or
even in partial effect in 60 odd
counties. These laws could not have
been enacted without the unbroken and
outspoken unanimity of the state press.
But the hardest part of the work re
mains to be done, the work of showing
our county officials and shoving them
forward into competent public service
under these laws. The County Advis
ory Commission of the State is perform
ing a function that is almost unique in
the United States, but ita office and
field agents cannot hope to cover the
state effectively in many years. If our
local papers can get whole-heartedly
into this job of adoption, they can won
derfully quicken the pace of the state
in a matter in which North Carolina is
already distinctly in the lead. Our
county bond debt approaches $200,000,-
000, and the cost of county government
approaches 1)40,000,000 a year. Only
scrupulous, competent service in our
court-house offices will avail to save
twenty-one counties of this state from
approaching bankruptcy. The matter
is extremely important in all our
counties. —E C. Branson before the
Newspaper Institute of the State Press
Association.
are often higher than the mills will sell 1
for, and as a result the mills are forced i
to move out or cease operation. The :
Governor of Massachusetts in his,
inaugural address said, “Tt is an open!
question whether we have not imposed j
such taxes on our industry that there
is nothing to do for many of them but
quit. ’ ■
On the other hand Southern towns
and cities are doing all in their power
to attract new industries. Chambers
of Commerce are advertising the ad
vantages of their respective localities
in glowing terms. South Carolina and
Alaoama have state laws allowing the
local authorities to exempt new indus
try from taxes for a period of five
years, and it is being done. Pennsyl
vania, too, is bidding for industry by
almost completely exempting manufac
turing establishments from state taxa
tion.
As a means of determining the rela
tive tax burden on a textile industry in
North Carolina and in other states, Mr.
Macon took a hypothetical case. He
assumed that the actual value of the
capital stock in the corporation was
$807,000, and the net income $64,660.
The real estate and machinery were
estimated at $616,000. The local and
state taxes paid in various locations
would be as follows:
Fall River, Massachusetts
Local taxes $14,626.00
State taxes 2,751.20
Total.., 17,377.20
Greenville. S. C.
Local taxes $12,493.76
State taxes 4,862.24
Total 17,346.00
Charlotte, N. C.
Local taxes $12,962.36
State taxes 3,712.20
Total 16,664.66
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Local taxes $13,607.88
State taxes 1.208.96
Total 14,816.84
Montgomery, Ala.
l.ocal taxes $5,709.60
State taxes 1,911.60
Total ‘ 7,621.20
Reading, Penn,
Local taxes $7,387.88
State taxes None
Total 7,387.88
If the information on which these
computions are based is reliable,, we
find that the South as a whole is not a
low-taxed region and that the lowest
taxing state of the group is Pennsyl
vania.
State and local taxes in Massachu
setts and South Carolina take 27/r
of the net income; North Carolina 26.6 ;
Tennessee 2c'; Alabama and
Pennsylvania 11%. These percentages
do not include the federal taxes.
Exemption Questionable
These percentages are sufficiently
large to bear directly upon the location
of industry. Not all of the South will
be industrial. Does North Carolina
desire industry to the extent of being
willing to make special concessions?
Industry enlarges the opportunity for
employment, raises the wage level,
provides better markets and better
business for the farmers, merchants,
and all classes. On the other hand any
concession is a definite step into un
equal taxation. Pennsylvania has ex
empted manufacturing corporations
from taxation and the result is that the
farmers are complaining of the dis
crimination and the heavier tax which
they pay as a result. Non-manufactur
ing concerns have registered a com
plaint and as a result the State Tax
Commission has recommended that all
corporations be exempt from the fran
chise tax rather than that the tax be
restored on manufacturing concerns.
North Carolina should hesitate before
granting exemptions to any single form
of taxables.
RURAL WHITE GRADED SCHOOLS
Percent of Rural Pupils Attending Such Schools, 1926-27
In the following Itable, adapted from information contained in a recent
issue of State School Facts, the counties are ranked according to the percentage
of rural white elementary^school pupils attending schools with seven or more
teachers. The table also indicates the number of rural elementary schools with
seven or more teachers in each county.
There are 414 such schools in the state with 41.1 percent of the rural ele
mentary white pupils enrolled therein. In twenty-aeven counties more than
half of the rural pupils are enjoying the opportunities of a fully graded school.
In Stanly county 83.6 percent of the rural children enjoy this privilege, and iu
Pasquotank 83.2 percent. On the other hand, there are seven counties which
do not have a rural elementary school with as many as seven teachers. These
counties are Alleghany, Ashe, Chowan, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington.
Paul W. Wager
Department of Rural Social-Economics, University of North Carolina
TAXES ON INDUSTRY
At the last meeting of the North
Carolina Club at the University of
North Carolina a paper was presented
by H. L. Macon, a graduate student
at the University, dealing with the Tax
Burden on Industry. Mr. Macon took
a hypothetical cotton mill and computed
the tax to which it would be subject in
several different states and at different
points in the same state. Even after
making every possible effort to check
his sources of information, Mr. Macon
said that he could not verify his con
clusions. It is fairly easy to compute
state taxes, but it is extremely diffi
cult to ascertain the real rate of local
property tax because of the variations
in assessments.
Mr. Macon quoted the New York
Journal of Commerce to the effect that
the New England cotton mills were in
dire straits due, in part at least, to
burdensome taxes. It is claimed that
taxes are twice as high in Massachu
setts as la the South, that assessments
Rural
Percent of
Rural
Percent of
schools
rural
schools
rural
Rank County with 7
pupils
Rank County
with 7
pupils
or
more
in such
or more
in such
teachers
schools
teachers
schools
1
Stanly
....11..
83.6
61
Martin
3...
84.7
2
Pasquotank
.... 2..
83.2
52
Orange
2...
84.1
3
Edgecombe
.... 4..
79.9
58
Hertford ....
2...
32.9
4
Lenoir
.... 6..
79.3
54
Warren
2...
32.2
6
Wilson
.... 8..
77.0
55
Randolph....
6...
81.6
6
Gaston
. ..13..
76.0
66
Swain
3...
31.2
7
New Hanover .
.... 3..
74.7
67
Graham ....
1...
29.7
8
Forsyth
....10..
73.6
58
Haywood....
6...
29.5
9
Avery
.... 4..
72.7
59
Onslow
2...
28.6
10
Buncombe
....17..
70.3
60
Alamance ...
3...
28.6
11
Mecklenburg...
....14,.
^.....69.1
61
Mitchell
2...
27.7
12
Pender
.... 4..
66.6
62
Burke
3...
26.2
13
Rockingham....
.... 9-.
64.0
63
Chatham ....
3..
26.1
14
Granville
.... 6 .
63.8
64
Caldwell
4..
26.0
16
Greene
.... 4..
61.2
66
Currituck ...
1..
26.1
16
Johnston
....13..
61.1
66
Pamlico
2..
24.8
17
Durham
.... 4..
61.0
67
Clay
1..
......24.1
18
Catawba
13..
60.9
68
Stokes
4..
23.9
19
Guilford
....12..
69.6
69
Halifax
2..
22.7
20
Montgomery ...
.... 6..
57.8
70
Alexander..
4..
22.6
21
Jones
.... 2..
66.4
71
Iredell
4..
22.6
22
Wayne
7..
55.4
72
Perquimans
1..
22.1
23
Duplin
7..
66.2
73
Lincoln
3..
21.8
24
Camden
.... 2..
62.2
74
Anson
2..
21.6
24
Vance
.... 2..
62.2
76
Northampton 2..
21.1
26
Caswell
.... 4..
61.7
76
Yadkin
3..
20.7
27
Cumberland
.... 7..
60.4
77
Jackson
2..
20.2
28
Wake
.... 9..
49.8
77
Madison
3..
20.2
29
Nash
.... 9..
49.4
79
Union. I....
4..
18.3
30
Cabarrus
6..
49.3
80
Surry
3..
18.1
31
Bladen
4..
49.1
81
Carteret
1..
17.6
32
Craven
6..
48.9
82
Gates
1..
17.3
33
Davidson
9..
48.8
83
Polk
1..
16.7
34
Henderson
7..
48.0
84
Watauga....
2..
14.4
35
Bertie
.... 6..
47.9
85
Brunswick .
1..
13.1
36
Richmond
.... 4 .
47.0
86
Beaufort....
2..
12.6
37
Hoke
2.
46.3
87
McDowell..
4 .
11.4
38
Rutherford,
..... 8..
46.8
88
Cherokee....
1..
9.2
39
Harnett
.... 6..
46.6
89
Macon
1..
9.1
40
Columbus
.... 8..
46.0
90
Moore
1..
8.8
41
Sampson
9..
43.8
91
Yancey
1..
8.4
42
Person
4..
43.1
92
Franklin ....
1..
7.9
43
Davie
.... 2..
43.0
93
Wilkes........
1..
2.7
44
Pitt
.... 6..
42.8
94
Alleghany..
0..
0.0
45
Scotland
1..
41.8
94
Ashe
0..
0.0
46
Lee
.... 2 .
41.1
94
Chowan
0..
0.0
47
Robeson
.... 7..
40.4
94
Dare
0..
0.0
48
Rowan
6.
37.1
94
Hyde
0..
0.0
49
Cleveland
.... 6..
36.6
94
Tyrrell.......
0..
0.0
60
Transylvania...
2..
35.4
94
Washington
0..
0.0