The news in this publi
cation is released f6r 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.
august 22, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 41
E^iitorial BoarHi
E. C. Branaon. S. H. Hobba. Jr., P. W. Wa?er. L R. Wilaon. E. W. Knljjht. D. D. Carroll, H. W. Odum.
Entered as aecond-claea mattir November 14, 1914, at the Poatoffice at Chapel HUI. N. C., under the act of Ausruat 24, 1911.
COST OF TRANSPORTATION
¥lie table which appears elsewhere
presents additional facts concerning
the cost of transporting children to
consolidated schools. In the issue
for last week appeared a table showing
the cost of transporting school children
on a per pupil basis. The table which
appears elsewhere in this issue shows
the average annual cost per mile
of total school route. An ac
companying column shows the total
mileage covered daily by the school
buses of each county.
During the school year 1926-27 there
were 2,860 school buses engaged in
transporting white children to con
solidated schools. These vehicles
covered a daily route of 68,334 miles,
at an average annual cost of $23.00 per
mile.
According to the available data
Cabarrus county had the lowest aver
age annual cost, the amount being
$7,36 per mile for the 389 miles covered
daily by her 19 vehicles. New Han
over employed 9 vehicles which covered
a daily route oi 88 miles at an average
annual cost $166.81 per mile. The
cost for New Hanover is excessively
high and is perhaps due to some special
reason. But if New Hanover is omit
ted, the range in cost per mile of
operating school buses is a very wide
one. Again we confess that we do not
know the explanations, and suggest
that the subject is worthy of a thorough
going investigation.
Cost Varies Widely
A study of the table shows that a
large majority of the counties with
per mile cost below the state average
are in the southern half of the state,
extending from the coast up to the i existence.
Blue Ridge. In this whole area there
are only three or four counties whose |
costs are above the state average. The
southern half of the Coastal Plains
area and most of the Piedmont coun
ties show relatively, low costs per
mile.
The counties with a high per.^mile
cost include nearly all of the mountain
country, ten counties in the Tidewater
area, three in the Coastal Plains area,
and one Piedmont county. These are
generally counties with poor roads,
sparse population, and a small number
of school buses. However, there are
several exceptions to this rule, as there
are to any rule that one tries to for
mulate on the cost of transporting
children to school.
It is interesting to note that while
the southern half of the Coastal Plains
shows a low cost per mile, the north
ern half shows a relatively high cost.
Stretching all the way from Alamance
on the west to Warren on the north
and down to Carteret is a string of
sixteen counties whose per mile cost of
operating school buses is considerably
above the state average. Why this is
so we are unable to answer.
In transporting children to con
solidated schools North Carolina almost
leads in the United States. The system
has grown up almost overnight. Each
county has its own practices, the best
of which need to be copied by others.
One county transports children at less
than a tenth the cost in another
county. This wide range in reported
costs is well worth studying.
the race. These rates may not be the
highest in the United States. We do
not have the comparative figures for
1926 at hand, but we do know that'
they come dangerously near constitut- ;
ing a most disgraceful first so far as
the United States is concerned. We '
are safe in saying that we occupy a ‘
position in both instances of at least;
being among the first ten states of this
Union having such a disgraceful rec
ord. It is undoubtedly a social prob-'
lem, a medical problem, an economic
problem, and it seems to us nearly ev-!
ery other sort of a problem j
Every writer, every physician, every j
editor, every sociologist, and nearly
everybody else would probably have ■
his or her own reasons to assign for
the prevailing high mortality in this'
class of our population. The fact is
that there are numerous reasons which ;
play a part, so far as North Carolina
is concerned, in keeping our state so
near the top of the list, or what more
properly might be called the bottom of
the list. We wilknot try to enumerate
even the most important from our
standpoint, let alone any thing like all
of the causes we think contribute to
this state of affairs; but we do venture
to herein set forth a few of the causes:
First. There are thousands of
poorer people in North Carolina than
our ballyhoo artists would ever think
of conceding. Therefore one cause is
economical. Proper food and hygienic
regime during the gestation .period,
freedom from care and worry, atten
tion of a good physician, and all the
other concomitants of a safe and happy
condition for any woman in the pre
natal state is out of the question when
there must be a struggle for the neces-
Second. An un
equal distribution of physicians where
in for the last ten years 90 percent of
the licentiates in medicine in North
Carolina have promptly proceeded to
locate in towns of five thousand and
up, to the great detriment of the peo
ple living in the rural sections. Third.
The scarcity of physicians in the rural
sections naturally makes it harder to
get the service of a good doctor and
practically makes it impossible for the
very poor classes of the people eveiy-
where, and therefore the necessary
pre-natal care of each and every ex
pectant mother of the state is seri
ously neglected. Fourth. The ever
present menace of venereal diseases.—
The Health Bulletin.
THE UNKNOWN TEACHER
I sing the praise of the unknown
teachers. Great generals win cam
paigns, but it is the unknown sol
dier who wins the war. B^amous
educators plan new systems of peda
gogy but it is the unknown teacher
who delivers and guides the young.
For him no trumpets blare, no
chariots wait, no golden decorations
are decreed. He keeps the watch
makes the attack on the trenches
of ignorance and folly. Patient in
his daily duty, he strives to conquer
the evil powers which are the
enemies of youth. He awakens
sleeping spirits. He quickens the
indolent, encourages the eager and
steadies the unstable. He communi
cates his own joy in learning and
shares with boys and girls the best
treasures of his mind. He lights
many candies which, in later years,
will shine back to cheer him. This
is his reward. Knowledge may be
gained from books, but the love of
knowledge can be transmitted only
by personal contact. No one has
deserved better of the Republic
than the unknown teacher.—Dr.
Henry Van Dyke.
The most valuable of all catches was
the shad. The worth of this fish
was fixed at $1,103,673 for the
last two years and for the preceding
period it was $902,229.
Some of the largest productions of
the various varieties of food fish as set
forth in the report include: trout,
7,681,098 pounds; mullets, 6,126,220;
' bluefish, 1,674,115; spots, 1,912,190; and
butters, 1,163,363.—News and Ob
server.
FARM ELECTRIFICATION
place and aggregate active spindle
hours for the principal textile states
for June, 1928.
Spindles Active
in place spindle
State (000 hours
omitted) (000
omitted)
South Carolina 5,484 1,674,399
North Carolina 6,181... 1,654,937
Massachusetts 9,643 938,817
Farm electrfication is a proven suc
cess. Statistics on the Red Wing,
Minnesota, experimental rural line
■'show that future prosperity and eman-
'cipation from hard work for the farm
er is going to come through *use of
electricity.
Continuous records are available for
the five farms served during the
periment over a period of four years.
At the end of this time it was found
that revenue had increased 42.9 percent
over 1924, when electricity first was
employed, and that investment bad
increased but 8.8 percent. Operating
expense actually declined 3.6 percent.
Dairy products in 1927 gave 86.7 per
cent more revenue than in 1924, and
poultry products 88 percent more. And
the total electric bill for five farms in
1927 was $886.54.
This is but the bare skeleton of the
many results of the experiment. It
has demonstrated conclusively that
electricity will pay its own way on the
farm, when properly used, and do a
great deal more besides. As a comfort
in the farm home, raising the level of
living, and as a labor, time and money
saver in the business end, it is fast be
coming the accepted thing. It is safe
to say that in the not distant future
farm electrification will be necessary
and indispensable.—Durham Herald.
868,223
427,897
377,891
203,377
201,926
Georgia 3,076.
Alabama 1,617.
Rhode Island 2,333.
Connecticut 1,123.
New Hampshire 1,415.
Tennessee 604 170,888
Maine 1,106 164,055
New York 837 122,136
Virginia 711 119,684
Cotton states 18,481 6,110,467
All others 17,269 2,117,269
FISH CATCH INCREASES
FURNITURE OUTPUT
Furniture factories of North Caro
lina increased their output during 1927
by more than 5 percent over 1926, or
from a total of $51,208,238 to $63,661,-
221, according to preliminary figures
for the last biennial census of manu
facturing being taken by the State
Department of Conservation and De
velopment in cooperation with the
U. S. Bureau of the Census.
In the interval between the census
periods, the number of factories in the
state increased from 127 in 1925 to 143
last year. The number of wage
earners in the furniture industry in
creased in the two years by more than
8 percent, or from 13,667 to 14,521.
The furniture workers received
$1,686,213 more in wages in 1927 than
they did two years previously, the
total of the payrolls being $12,439,190
last year in comparison with $10,762,-
977 two years earlier Materials that
were used in the production of fur
niture were valued at $27,792,378 in
1927, and $24,944,905 in 1926.
That the wages of the workers were
generally higher is shown by the fact
that while the number of workers was
increasing only 8 percent, the total
payrolls had grown by more than 14
percent.—News and Observer.
COST OF TRANSPORTING CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, 1926-27
Average Annual Cost per Mile of School Bus Route
In the following table, based on State School Facts, Vol. IV, No. 21, the
counties are ranked^according to the average annual cost per mile of school bus
route to transport white children to consolidated schools during the school year
1926-27. The parallel column gives the total daily mileage of all vehicles for
each county.
Cabarrus county used 19 vehicles whose daily mileage aggregated 389, with
an average annual cost per mile of $7.36. According to the data New Han
over’s 9 vehicles covered 88 miles daily at an average annual cost of $166.81 per
mile.
The state total of vehicles used to transport white pupils to school was
2 860. These vehicles covered 68,334 miles daily at an average annual cost per
mile of $23.00.
Department of Rural Social-Economics. University of North Carolina
Rank County
Daily
mile
age of
all vehi
cles
FRIGHTFUL DEATH RATES
The reports received by the Vital
StatistiJjs Department of the North
Carolina State Board of Health for the
year 1926 show an increase in both
maternal and infant mortality in this
state occurring that year, compared to
the year 1926.
In the year 1926, 6,691 babies died in
North Carolina before reaching the
end of their first year of life, in the
year 1926, 6,792 babies died before the
end of their first year. To present it
another way, slightly more than 82 of
each 1,000 babies born in the state that
year died before they were one year of
age. As might be expected, the
maternal mortality kept pace accord
ingly. A comparison of the number of
deaths for the two years shows that in
1925, 690 mothers died as a direct re
sult of childbirth, or so reported to the
Vital Statistics Department. In 1926,
718 mothers were recorded as sacrific
ing their lives to the perpetuation of
THE CAROLINAS LEAD
North Carolina and South Carolina
are now about tied for first place in
active spindle hours. Massachusetts,
which led the states for many years,
is now a poor third in this phase of the
textile industry. For the month of
June, 1928, South Carolina’s spindle
hours totaled 1,674,398,970 while North
Carolina’s totaled 1,.654,937,319. Mas
sachusetts was third with 938,817,080.
with Georgia close on her heels with
868 million spindle hours. If Georgia
continues to gain she will soon over
take Massachusetts, and the three
leading textile states in active spindle
hours will be all southern. It appears
certain that the piedmont area of
North Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia is destined to be the textile
center of the United States.
The cotton-growing states now have
62 percent of the nation’s spindles in
place or 18,480,666 out of a total of
35 749,944- Of the cotton spindles
active during June, 62percent were in
the South, while the cotton-growmg
states contributed 71 percent of the
nation’s total active spindle hours. In
other words, nearly three-fourths of
the cotton spinning business of the
United States is now concentrated in
the South. North Carolina’s active
spindle hours during June were nearly
as many as the total for ail the New
England States. North Carolina con
tributed 23 percent of the active spindle
hours of the nation.
North Carolina now, has in place
6 181 122 spindles, and ranks next to
Massachusetts'with 9,643,182. Only
half of the spindles of Massachusetts
operated at all during June, 1928.
Ninety-six percent of North Carolina s
spindles were in operation. The fol-
table shows the spindles m
lowing
Coastal waters yielded the greatest
profusion of fish to North Carolina
commercial fishermen during the bi
ennium ending June 30 of this year
that has been recorded for years.
Figures made public from a report
of Capt. J. A. Nelson, fisheries com
missioner, show a total catch of 46,-
169,610 pounds of food fish (exclusiveof
shellfish) for the two-year period, or a
gain of 14,039,846 pounds or more than
40 percent over the preceding biennium.
The value of the food fish, although
not experiencing the same proportion
ate increase as was shown in volume,
jumped almost half a million dollars,
the 1924-26 valuation being set at
$2,676,481 and in 1926-28 at $-3,124,166.
Both bienniums showed substantial
gains over 1922-24, when the total catch
was reported to be 26,286,618 pounds,
figured to have a value of $2,261,373.
BlacK Bass Scarce
With but few exceptions, increased
catches were reported for virtually all
of the principal varieties of food fish.
The most notable exception was the
black bass, which demonstrated for
cibly the damage being wrought to the
industry by the descent of salt-water
into the fresh-water fishing grounds of
Currituck Sound, hitherto known as the
leading producer of this fish in the
country.
The greatest increase in catch of any
variety was with the croaker, the yield
for the last biennium being more than
three times as great as for the pre
ceding period. A total of 9,494,736
pounds were taken as compared with
3 140,374 in 1924-26, and their value
rose from $78,181 to $198,889.
Next in volume of production to the
croaker was the herring, 8,041,379
pounds being hauled in during the last
biennium and 6.849,628 the previous
one.
Aver
age
annual
coat
per
mile
1 Cabarrus 389 $ 7.36
2 Rockingham 2,463 9.66
3 Mitchell 420 10.17
4 Sampson 1,566 11.77
6 Greene 852 18,52
6 Davidson 1,309 13.68
7 Richmond ;• 782 13./2
8 Beaufort 1,076 14.16
9 Perquimans 385 14.28
10 Chowan 92 -....14.64
11 Cleveland 844 14.79
12 Lincoln 613 14.91
13 Onslow 734 16.35
14 Martin -• 636 16.83
16 Caswell 717 15.96
16 Randolph 676 16.40
17 Union 626 ........16.47
18 Bertie 781 16.92
19 Gates 426 17.18
20 Brunswick 218 17.68
21 Guilford 1.869 17.74
22 Montgorriery 1,089 18.04
23. Robeson 1,616 18.05
24 Johnston 1,643 18.39
25 Iredell U024 18.61
26 Caldwell 300 18.76
27 Duplin. .'.1,198
28 Lenoir 993,
29 Forsyth 1,444
30 Stokes 613
Rank County
Daily Aver-
mile- age
age of annual
all vehi- cost
cles per
mile
61 Jones 659 $24.76
62 Pender 889 24.99
53 Orange 706 26.08
64 Craven 912 26.39
66 Cherokee 62 26.66
66 Chatham 618 26 88
..20.98
..21.20
,18.76'
,18.82
.19.27
.19.46
31 Rutherford 1,838 20.09
32 Stanly 1.679 20.25
33 Davie 477 20.32
34 Columbus 1-362 20.34
36 Hoke 662 20.36
36 Lee 666 20.74
37 Wilson 1,707.
38 Pasquotank 629.
39 Northampton 696 21.34
40 Cumberland 1,900 21.44
41 Scotland 600 21.47
42 Surry 663 21.57
48 Moore 1,068 22.17
44 Catawba 1,211 .... 22.60
46 Harnett 1.163 22.73
46 Person 672 22.78
47 Burke 642 23.30
48 Haywood 342 23.74
49 Mecklenburg 1,179 24.62
60 Bladen 1,074 24.67
67 Edgecombe 1,462...
68 Anson 789...
59 Granville 1,439...
60 Avery 266...
61 Warren 763..
62 Nash 811...
63 Gaston 720..
64 Durham 861..
66 Madison 343..
66 Alexander 138..
67 Clay 68..
68 Wilkes 296..
69 Pamlico 306..
70 Polk 287..
71 Alamance - 346..
72 McDowell 360..
73 Pitt 874 .
74 Carteret 342..
76 Hertford 380..
76 Franklin 618..
77 Buncombe 1,341..
..26.20
..26.27
..26.67
. 26.84
27.03
..27.68
..28.17
..28.86
..29.76
..29.80
..30.16
. 30.68
...31.01
..32.12
..32.24
...32.91
. 83.64
.,33.64
..34.14
.. 36.12
...36.29
78 Yadkin 67 36.46
79 Camden 160 36.49
80 Halifax 677 36.78
81 Wake 1,224 36,86
82 Wayne 1,090 37.20
83 Transylvania 192 37.29
84 Currituck 674 37.94
86 Rowan 320.; 38.77
86 Hyde 246- 38.87
87 Watauga 94 43.04
88 Graham 96 44.60
89 Henderson 320 44.62
90 Dare 78 45 63
91 Yancey 60 61,21
92 Macon 74 58.71
93 Swain 63 69.87
94 Jackson 190 62.73
95 Ashe 66 64.27
96 Tyrrell 60 65.93
97 Vance • 312 70.73
98 Washington 80 82.77
99 New Hanover 88 166.81
100 Alleghany