PAGE EIGHT
A STUDY OF NORTH CAROLINA !
i I
, ■
Tjk afcv ctiih grade Geography d&N of <
Central School has completed a detailed
study of the state. j Pipers were written
on “Why North Carolina Leads the
South. As a whole they were very food
and showed splendid work on the part of
tfe pupils. Ethel Gasket's paper was ne»
lected lor publication. It foil***:
BT ETHEL GASKEL
Three hundred years ago no white man
lined in this beautiful land which we rail
North Carolina. It was the home only
of red men and wild animals. Great for- i
ests of giant trees covered most of the :
land. 'Hie rest was sandy plains, bare .
hills, and rocky mountains. Here and
there were a few mean huts, called “wig
wags,” made of sticks and bark and 1
mud. Around them were little poor !
patches of corn and tobacco and pota- i
toes. " 1
What wonderful changes we see now! ]
The forests have been cut down and
where they grew we have pretty towns ,
and busy cities. Humming mills, beau- ,
tiful homes, fine churches, and pretty :
schoolhousea stand where once the cheer
less wigwags- stood.. The sandy plains
and bare hills are now covered with grow
ing crops. The savage bear and the cruel
wolf are seldom seen, and In their plates
we have the gentle horse and the useful;
cow. All these great changes ami many
more have taken place since white men
first came to this eoHntry. The story of
how all this happened is almost like a
fairy tale, but a stern reality especially
to our forefathers who endured the hard
ships of early colonisation.
In order that yon may appreciate and
understand the great progress of North
.Carotitqi within the past 20 years, it is
{ necessary to know her past history, her
agricultural ami industrial life.
Histojry fells?- us that Raleigh’s half
brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, went out
in 1381 isfith ■ ati I ',expedition, one of the
ships being commanded by Ralrigh him
self. This expedition soon returned to
England on account Os the Spaniards,
flix years after Raleigh Sent out at his
own expense the Amadas-', and Barlowe
expedition. They came 'gijthe North
Carolina coast, landing on Roanoke Is
land. They spent about fwo months and
then returned, taking two natives.
In 1585 Raleigh sent out another fleet
of seven vessels. The colonists settled on
the northern part of Roanoke Island- ‘
near what is now Manteo.
jf , In 1663 ■Charles II of England gave the
territory which included what was after
wards North Carolina to eight of his
friends known as Lord Proprietors. There
were no good harbors and not much cop-' j
tact with the outside world. There was
not much wealth. All the attention was
given to education at the beginning. The
English came in grent numbers, besides
many French, Scotch. Irish, Moravians.
Swiss and some Germans. There was
relig : ous freedom.
The chief crops in the colonial planta
tion in early settlement was tobacco,
though large quantities of wheat and
corn, and rice were also raised.
When the slaves were not at work
they were busy making tar and turpen
tine, or clearing new grounds. Every
plantation of much size had its own
blacksmith shop, and blacksmith, its car
penter. its tannery, its shoemaker, its
spinning wheels and loom.
North Carolina is included nearly be
tween the parallels 34 degrees and 36 1-2
degrees north latitude, and between the
meridians 73 1-2 degrees and 84 1-2 de
grees west longitude, sand is bounded on
the north by Virginia, east by the At
lantic ocean, south by South Carolina and
Georgia and west by Tennessee.
East and west the ’state is 503 1-4
miles in length, its average breadth is
100 miles and its extreme breadth is
187 1-2 miles. Its area is 52,286 square
miles, of which 48,666 is land and 3,620
is water.
The Mountain Plateau extending from
the Tennessee line to the Blue Ridge
mountains is sharply and distinctly de
fined and embraces about twenty of the
western counties.
From the west the appearance is much
like a low and undefined ridge with oc
casional elevations to mark ifs course.
The western boundary is a long chair
known as the Iron, the tirnoky and the
I’naka Mountains, forming the dividing
line between North Carolina and Tennes
see.
The area of this plateau is 0,000 square
miles and contains the heaviest masses
and the highest summits to be found in all
the territory of the United States east
of the Rocky Mountains; it is also the
source of many large rivers which radiate
to the Atlantic, and to the Gulf as the
tributaries of the Mississippi. The Horse
power generated by the streams is esti
mated at 3.300,000.
The general contour of the mountains
is gental. the summits generally present
ing rounded out lines, but occasionally
rising into picturesque peaks and cliffs.
The mountains are covered with deep rich
soil and clothed with massive hardwood,
forest almost to their tops where grass
and shrubbery abound in the absence of
trees. The valleys are extremely fertile
and afford the most profitable farming
areas of the region. The general slopes
are responsive and produee timothy and
other grasses; apple and peaeh orchards
and vineyards thrive, producing extra
large highly covered, uad richly flavored
fruits: cor*, oats, wheat, rye, barley;
buckwheat, white potatoes, cabbage and
all other vegetables are easily produced.
Alt. Mitchell is the highest peak.
The Piedmont Plateau, extending from
the Bine Ridge mountain range to the
•coastal plain, comprises more than one
third of the landed portion of the state.
In passing into it a change is onee noted
in its topography. ifs production, add
its industrial pursuits. It is the great
general farming region; agriculture in
all its forms, stock raising, dairying,
•com. wheat, cotton, tobacco, grasses,
clover, frails and Vegetables all find eon
gcnial environment in soil and climate and
foam the remunerative occupation of the
majority of its Citizens. It is dotted with
thriving villages and towns; its homes.ln
-divate a high degree of thrift and ctfab
ifort It is the region of the greatest de
velopment in the manufacturing of cot
ton and wool and the production of far
jgjj- exist and"' the 1 * ******
cause it embraces greater diversity of in
terest than any other. ,
The Coastal Plain, stretching from the
seashore to the Piedmont Section, Pear
ly two hundred miles, comprises practi
cal!? one-hilf of she fended area of the
state, and its eastern- fields have just ,
enough elevktlOns to aid its drainage,
lire Western boundary may be roHghly
defined by a line extending from the '
western part of Warren, through IVank
lift, Wake, Cumberland, Chatham, Moore,
Montgomery, and Ansqn. This line
marks what an earlier period of earth's
history was a line of sea beach hence
called the coastal plain. i
The soil is composed of day. silt, and
sand .here one and there another of |
these characteristics predominating. Sandy
loata. silty hwm,, and clay .subsoil are
most common. For the looks of them, ,
these eastern soils are perhaps the most j
productive on the Atlantic seaboard.
But its great value is in the produc- *
tion of early vegetables and fruits for,
shipment to the great markets, but a few
hours to the northward. The season fol-,
lows closely upon that of Florida and
finds the market a few weeks in advance •
of the lands of Virginia and Maryland |
tidewater regions. This fact is of im- j
mense value and has been the foundation
of many of the fortunes made in the reg
ion;, during the last twenty years.
The most eastern part of the Coastal
Pfein is the tidewater section, which
Covers the Counties where the waters are
affected by the tides.
The swamp lands cover an area of be
tween 3,000 and 5,000 square miles,
situated chiefly in counties bordering up
on the sound or the ocean.
The position in the warm temperate
zone determines the chief climatic- fea
tures of the state these are modified by
various causes, most important of which
are: The proximity of the ocean in the
east and the mountain system in the West.
In the mountain section the influence
of elevation predominates; the summers
are cooler, the winters more severe than
in the east, but mild in comparison With
the middle northern states; the dryness
of the air renders the region salubrious.
Intermediate between these regions, in
the Piedmont Plateau may be found all
graduations of the climate of the two.
The climatic conditions here favor the
growth of a great variety of crops, as
cotton, tobacco, corn, and all kinds of
vegetables and fruits.
The mean temperature of the state is
50 degrees.
The normal average precipitation for
the state is 52 inches; mountain region
53 inches. Piedmont Plateau 48 inches, the
Coastal Plain 54 inches.
North Carolina lies outside the path of
cyclonic storms. No blizzards, no cy
clones, just a good healthful, all round
climate.
The spring opens in the State in April
on the extreme eastern roast, generally
March 1. in the heart of the mountains
May 10. No killing frosts before the
last of December or the first of Jan
uary. On account of the topography, the
winds prevent the dew from forming and
hence there is no frost.
The soils of the basins of the great
rivers of this section, and its mountain
valleys are-not noted for their fertility.
The capacity for the production of ce
reals and hay grasses is equal to that of
any lands. As might be inferred from
the heavy forest growth with which the
entire surface is covered, the mountain
sides are susceptible of profitable culti
vation up to their summits. The two
extensive upland soils are loam and sandy
loam, with three others of minor extent,
which are clay, sand, and black loam.
The bulk of these fall within the present
limits of the Porter's series. The Porters
loam is famous as one of the best fruit
soils in the country. The Toxaway soils,
which are of an alluvial nature, are found
in Hie valleys and bottom lands. In high
mountain roves is found the Porter’s
black loam, a soil much renowned for the
production of fruit of the very finest
quality.
The soil of this Piedmont Plateau pre
sents a blending of the soils of the East
ern and Western regions. The soil is
composed or diversified, in connection
with favorable climatic conditions, of
fers great agricultural possibilities, and
in this section we find the widest rauge
of production. It is here that we find
the largest area devoted to the cultiva
tion of the most lrrofitabie varieties of
tobacco and it is here that the culture of
cotton is largely extended and profitably
pursued: and it is here also that all the
cereals and all the grasses are cultivated
in their highest perfection, enlisting the
leadiug agricultural interest of the popu
lation. Here also the fruits- of the tem
perate zone find congenial home—apples,
peaches, pears, cherries, the small fruits
and grapes being unexcelled in excellence,
variety and abundance.
The soils of this region are of light
sandy texture and are mostly underlaid
with clay. They are classified by the
' Bureau of Soils as the Portsmouth. Nor
folk and Orangeburg series. They are
from sand to sandy loath and fine sxhdy
loam. These soils warm up quickly, are
easily cultivated, and are therefore ,tai
uable for vegetable growing.
The most important and widely dis
tributed soils of the section are common
ly known as “red clay” and “graylands.'
most of which belong to the Cecil series.
The Piedmont soils are of the Cecil clay
.series, in which tlie plays predominate.
Toward the east they are more or less
Mhhded With she sandy types of the
Coastal Plain.
Part of the soil consists of swamps.
The swamp*, in their natural state, as
ford abundant pasturage. They fire cov
ered in part by a dense growth of reeds,
which supply excellent food ft* rattle,
winter and summer.
Eastern North Carolina is favorrtl ip
its climate and sold, its!nearness to great
markets and ready means of transffcttg
tion. These conlfitiohs have produced
one of the greatest, if not the fertitest
truck-growing sections in the eoghtry.
Everything that a fertile soil ami kindly
climate will produce is grown here. So
Steady has been the growth and develop
ment of this great industry that no one
j North Carolina that it could piwce
feESwSHSSS
I Mil ’ £,**
THE CONCORD DAILY TRIBUNE
| created, and that rich cove and river lands
of the mountains produce celery, cabbage
1 and Irish potato* of the beet quality. AH
grown at great ease^
1 Tb* forests of North Carolina Ore and
hhvb for many years been one of the chftf
resources of revenue to she people of the
State, their products including domestic
.fuel, timber fob tWhstrUCHon Odd SUch fttr
est by-products as turpentine and its do-'
riVatives.
■ The forests, which extend from the sea'
level in the eastern and southeastern sec- 1
*ion fortitudes of 6,000 feet along she
state’s western borders, where the Appa-‘
laehian upheavals reach their culmipa*
tion, hre made up of more or less distinet
i!y marked regions having different kinds
of trees, the different growth being due
to changes of temperature ns the eleva
tion varies and to the succession of dif
ferent soils. The coastal plan has for
jests chiefly of pines; the Piedmont plateau
I' with forests of pine mixed With hard
woods. or belts of hardwoods with pine,
alternating with bests of hard woods, with
out pines: and the mountain, the forests
1 of which lying above 2,060 feet elevation
are destitute of pine. Some of the trees
1 are magnolias, birches, pines, hemlock and
balsam fir.
| The North Carolina forests contain
(more kinds of valuable commercial tim
| ber trees than are found in any other
State or territory. No one can name a
tree that doesn't grow in North Carolina.
Out of these trees many different articles
are made: stock wagons, furniture, cross
ties. telephone and telegraph poles, all
these are so be obtained from the forests
of the state.
North Carolina has proved to be the
second California for fruit. With its
wonderful and varied climate, long grow
ing 'Season highly adaptable soils, North
Carolina should be another California for
frilit growing, and should be to the East
hs California is to the Pacific coast.
Practically all fruits can be grown
throughout North Carolina, the produc
tion of different fruit crops upon a com
mercial scale has been restricted to cer
tain sections. There are so many differ
ent varieties of fruits that one could
hardly mention all; part of them are : ap
ples. peaches, strawberries, grapes, dew
berries, figs, blackberries, pe&rs, cherries,
quinces, plums, cranberries anti raspber
ries. The lending orchard fruit in North
Carolina is the apples; it can be grown : n
any part of the State. Peaches are
grown generally over the entire state, with,
the exception of the highest elevations in
the mountain section. Peaches are grown
most at where we call the sand hills in
the Eastern part of the state. Strawber
ries are grown over the entire state for
home use the cyop has become developed
Cn the Coastal Plain. Grapes are grown
in great masses in North Carolina fori
this fruit is a native of the state.
North Carolina is the principal dew
berry producing state in the union. This
fruit is grown in the Coastal Plain. The
fig is one of the finest frnits for home
use grown in the South. The blue berry
is native in North Carolinn, and reaches a
high degree of perfection in the swampy
regions of this state. Pears are grown
in all parts of the state, but there are
very few orchards on account of the pear
blight. Cheries will thrive in a great va
riety of soils. They do fairly veil in
the Piedmont region, but are almost in
variably unsuccessful in the Coastal'
Plain. 1 Quifoces are grown very little in
North Carolina. Plums are grown in the
Coastal Plain. The cranberry grown
wild in two sections of the state. Rasp
berries can be grown in all parts of the
State but do not thrive so well in Coastal
Plain. Blackberries are grown mainly
in the
Cotton has been one of the principal
crops of North Carolina from its earliest
history. Some cotton is grown in 88 of
the 100 counties in the state practically
one-fifth of all improved land in North
Carolina is planted to cotton every year.
As the price of cotton has the freight in
cluded North Carolina has had the ad
vantage of being nearer to the manufac
turing center, both by land and sea. than
other cotton growing states. During Hie
last few years the number of textile
mills has increased -»in this state until
she ranks first in cotton manufacturing
among the cotton growing states and sec
ond in the United States. .instead of
having to export some of the cotton rais
ed to other parts of the country, there is
not Vnough raised in North Carolina to
furnish the spindles in operation in the
state.
Gaston CoUnty is one of the greatest
cotton manufacturing centers in North
Carolina. It has 07 cotton mills, pro
ducing spindle* totalling 1,130.698, looms
totalling 4.210, a total of 16.694 employ
ed in cotton mill; payroll of $38,803.00
daily, manufactured products for 1028;
totalling $55,433.61. Mills using 232.741
bales of cotton annually or over 831
bales a working day. Gastonia is the,
cotton spinning center of the south.
The cultivation of tobacco in North.
Caroliua began with the earliest pioneers.'
It was first grown on the river lands of
the roost country, but as settlers moved
westward into the upland they
found that a more satisfactory quality
could be produced with the result that
its cultivation was finally abandoned on
the river low-grounds.
The important development of tobacco
production ill North Carolinn did not be
gin until after the Civil War. Among
the more important factors contributing
,to the rapid progress in the development
, into the leading money crop of the State
i may be mentioned : hirst, the introduction
i of the modern system of curing my means
jof flues with furnaces fed from outside’
. I the barn ; second, the introduction of com-
I mercial fertilizers enabling the grower to
• greatly increase his yield aqd often im*
.prove the quality of the tdbacCo, and.
, therefore the profit from its production.
Tobacco can be grown profitably in
i North Carolina; hotvevrt. It in a very Un
t certain crop due largely to the hazards
- which confront It and to tire varying mar
1, ket conditions.
t j Winston-Salem is thrt world’s largest
. ’manufacturing center of tobacco products,
r, Since the earliest settlement o t our state
i|eorn has Been an important food crop.
-.The tact of It is Mild to hive been an !m
--: portant pkrt in the failure of the first
-1 settlers on our coast.
1 1 During the. Jhst ten years more ' than
i 000,000 acres in the Coastal tfUin; aad
: Piedmont sections have been nsWei avall
. aWe for ram production by the drainage
E of lowlands. Corn grown more frequent-.
,ly in very wet years. ’ I
.1 North Carolina has natural climatic
j conditions m ebe'ej, raising. Eastern
! am} tow# Piedmont North Carolina is
' ■ particularly adapted to rataing early or
ft*A ! ’ $ & dawaW- afissSss -> ■ -ii. ■», . . A
hot-hous etaiwk. A number of taafba i
help clean np the land and enrich it as
wrtl ns a*fct * profit idt the Owner. I;
.%f4gg3grsvg.'
the ehsterti Hfldrkets on pasture alone,
without the ndltiou of grain or hay. Oil -
worn-out lands, where small temporary |
chops ckn be ’(vbwn sufficient to keep the i
sMepand Where the soil is not productive 1 1
enough to grow pasture, they will enrich,l
, the soil in a f£w years so tlat it will he 1
productive. Thereafter the sheep wffij I
ductive work. The state has neither ey ‘
i treble cold weather in winter nor extreme <
hot weathef in summer, and grazing erdps I
in the Coast*! ind i’iedmoot sections can
be raised the year round.
North Carolina gained 2,520,T33 fowls
on the farms in ten years.
The fishing industry of North Carolina (
is greater than that of all the other South
Atlantic States combined. The oysters
of North Carolina are famous wherever
known and there is room for tenfold in
crease in she output.
The Mica which is not capable of being
cut into sheets is ground to a flour anil 1
used ih the manufacture of wall papers;
for lubricants, etc.
Regarding die mica itself as it ocurs
in the vein, it Es usually hi rough crystals
called blocks or books, distributed some
times nearly evenly in the vein and at,
other* nearer the contact of the vein with
the country rock.
Twelve counties have mica, there are
seven that produce muscovite mica. There
are raauy of the gem minerals that have
been found in North Carolina, and depos
its of some have been found in sufficient
quantity to become regular producers.
In North Carolina diamonds have beten
repeatedly found; and there are now ten
authentic ones whose occurrences are ful
ly established. The largest diamond,
weighing fbur and one-third Wirht*, was
found in 1886 tm the farm of Albert
Bright in Dysartville.
The North Carolina locality for corun
dum gems which have attracted the most
attention is a tract of land in Macon
county.
Beautiful rubies of a rich pigeon-blood
red color have been found here that could
not be told from the Burmah stones. The
best stone that lias thus far been found is
mined at $1,599. Many smaller gems
hhve been obtained that were perfectly
transparent and of good color.
The sandstones in this state are found
ih the Trlaftsic rocks which form two
belts in this state. The sandstone is of
a brownish color, and is known as “brown
stone,” and has been quarried for use in
construction of buildings.
The economic minerals of the Stato-are
another source of great wealth. The lead
ing ones are conrundum, mica, talc,
monazite, liron, garnet, and koalin;
these are merchantable and yield good re
turns. Besides there are two hundred
other minerals found in the state. There
are many gold-bearing ore bodies located.
Millions have been taken from these
mines, and there is more for the man
who knows how to get it out.
North Carolina is situated for a man
ufacturing center. It has cotton, and
woolen yarn, factories, furniture and
other articles of wood. Gaston county,
leads in cotton mills. It has dose oil to a
hundred. The largest denim mill in the
world is at Greensboro.
Furniture and other articles of wood
are made in nbiiudunce. ’The largest
chair in the world was made at the
Thomasville Chair Factory. Other cities
in the furniture industry arc High Point,
Hickory and Lexington. ,
Tobacco is one of the leading crops iu
North Carolina. The town of Wilson is
the largest market in the world for the
sale of leaf tobacco.
The pulp factory at Canton in the
western part of the state, is in the moun
tains.
There are factories in North Carolina
on account of several reasons. First, on
account of water power. There is good
water power in the State which furnishes
electricity for the factories. The climate
>f North Carolina is favorable for the
people to work. There is plenty of raw
material so that the factories can run.
Labor is oip* thing that must be had. No
mill in the state has any trouble getting
people to work for them. The people
like to work in the factories.
Os all natural resources of Nortli Car
olina there are pierhaps none of so much
value to the State in connection with her
industrial development as the water pow
ers. The value of these water powers can
uot be over-estimated, and this refers not
only to the larger streams capable of de
veloping from J 19.000 to 40.000 horse
power. but particularly to the great mim- ,
ber of small water powers capable of de
veloping from a few to several hundred
horse-power. Os all southern 'states.
North Carolina stands perhaps first in
the number and luagniture of available
water powers. 1
The chief trade routes of the state are
highways, railroads and waterways.
The state highways are built by the
State. The state highway commission hah
charge of the work; they are paid for in
several ways. First tlie people pay tot
them through the taxes. Second we have
a tax on all gasoline bought in the state
Os North Carolina. Some of the roads
are sand clay, concrete, and asphalt.
Another chief.tmde route is the rail
road. Tlie “Southern" is the main
branch in North Carolina. The Norfolk
Southern and seteral others run thro igh
the state.
North Carolina -ships many different
things by watt* lines. The largest r.ver
in North Carolina, is the Cape fenr.
Education ia important m awry state.
The Department of Education in
North Carolina <We« very much. Among
the state institutions are the North Car
olina Colege fog Women at Greensboro ;
University of North Carolina H Chupel
Hill; A. & E. College at Raleigh; school
for deaf, dumb* and blind, and Eastern
Carolina College lor Women at Greenville.
In the County In the Department of Ed
oration br the ftoatd as Education. There
ato consolidate!! Schools. A consolidated
school is when k number (ft conntry
achoota in rile Bounty hre combined. It
is for the people to go to at night.
North Carolina was one <jf the first
uMonim In Imv. nn mibU, of .ir,,,
’ 1 '
gress by one representg'ive from each of
ton congresional districts elected for two
years, end two Senators from the State
at large elected for six years. !
l- North Carolina in the lo2ii census
showed 2,659,123. The cities are very
thickly populated. Those over 30,000 are
Winston-Salem and Charlotte. Those
over 20,000 are High Point, Greehsbctd, ’
tDurham, Raleigh, Asheville and Wilming-1
too. The ones over 10,000 are Salisbury, |
Gastonia, Rocky Mount, New Bern, Golds
boro, Wilson, CoticOrd, Kinston, Eliza- j
beth City, Fayetteville, Statesville, Wash-;
ington, Burlington and Greenville. Those
over 5,000 are Sanford, Beaufort, More
head City, Belmont, Morgauton. Dunn,
Kings Mountain and Eden ton. - ' I
North Carolina lack* k fraction of a 1
per cenf. being ill native born.
North Carolina has been
company With the big States in contribir- *
tfohs of taxes to the Government, for*
setetal years past holding sixth place.
TVom .Inly 1, to December 1. 1023, it
paid info the United States treasury the
sail of $77,000,000 in revenue taxes. This
Was an increase of more than $12,000,-
000 over the same period in 1922, am.)
indicates that North Carolina will take
fourth place during 1924.
During 1922 and 1923, North Caro
lina ranked fourth in agriculture. It is
now forging closer tb the top. In 1909
the per acre crop values Were $22.10; in,
1928 they had risen to $59. The average
per acre value in cotton, for 1023, was
$100; the average in tobacoc was SIOO,
an acre. North Oroliha, with a cotton]
production ot over one milion bales a 1
year, now leads all the Southern States.'
The Empire State of Texas, alone, grows
more cotton, and Nortl\ Carolina grows
more cotton to the acre than Texas or
any State in the Union;
The State's tobacco crop in 1923 was
worth $74.971X000: its com crop was
valued at $50,108,400, and Its cotton
brought in $174,9(50,000. Ali State crops
totaled $481,500.00, *n established in
crease from $131,072,000 in. 1909. The
figures, in further detail, are: Peanuts.
$8,900,000; small grains, $11.000.000:
fruit $7,000,000; truck $8,000.000; hays '
$20,000.000; Irish potatoes $3.000.000;
sweet potatoes $10,000,000; liotne gar
dens, $7,000,000; soy beans. $4,000,000.
\The State raises more soy beahS than
any State in America. It grew moire
corn to the acre than any other. State in
the Union, and it stands third in produc
tion of sweet potatoes, sorphutu and pea
nuts. Its possessions in virgin timber are
the finest in America.
Tiie same marvelous progres is under
wny in industry and development of nat
ural resources. Industry Is given mighty
propulsion by development of wafer i>ow
er, of which its streams are capable of
producing 1,500,000 horse-power, the full
amount of which is coming progressively
into utilization. Electrical energy has
given North Carolina World premiership
in a number of items of manufacture. Its
record Os “the largest in the world" in
cludes a towel factory, hosiery plants,
aluminum factory, underwear factory ami
damask factory. It stands b : ggest “in
America" in manufacture of wood pulp
and cigarettes, denims, furuitWe. good
roads atid education.
In minerals the Slate leads the nation
in production of mica and feldspar, mill
stones and talc, and the mountains are
filled with pockets Os all the precious
gkms krtowti to the catalogue,'except d:a
. ■■ -'IT' i/’ r _r* m _"t ’ •"■r ri *samftiimßßim=Kacac*Baimamextomam±Kk*mtbltsxrz" ■ -■■■ ——. — —p- , ,, t
Its
% ' f % :
;l- • * *
&**** Over 14 MILLIONS.OF DOLLARS of
•nSXTaiT vZ Jett&cmn Standard money is invested
' S»tJ©«3Ste ri«ht here in NorthCaroHtia. there’s
**J* y hardly a Village or a hamlet in our good .*
mmiii re," old state where Jefferson Standard
teferitofstttoiard tommy lm*t imkmg for good of the
community.
lin* *it)i stib'itantiai
Natoally, right-thinktog Tfcr Heels
are coming: to insist, more and more,
f ; % that their inemraage heeds.be Med
' byh*ffe«onStafia*rfiptaicy.
Doesn’t it follow that the poß«es of thU
! Bicfion,4oo " ,p * hraM
'*&***•* told! in North Cdnluwt*
* - ... .• . - ' '
W« Haveaceocy openln** for Hits Hglrt tyfca of
monds. To offset that, it l*,; the horn's of
the rarest of all gems, the hiddealte. One
hundred and oßntydlve native minerals
I are listed in eommetrcial quantlUes.Throe i
include: Bold, iron, copper, coal, granite
and marble, graphite, limestone, mangan
ese, asbestos, shales, clays and corundum. >
In one county there is a mountain of
'abrasive garnet now Being mined by a i
[company with large capital.
! The number of industrial plants in the ,
'.State was listed at 6,460 at the dose of i
j 1923, and they are multiplying all the i
. time. The factory employment roll con
tained over 108,000 people a*nd the dis
bursement of wages footed up $130,000,-
000. It is the expectation that by the be
j ginning of Spring, 1924, the capital in
vestment in North Carolina manufaCtur
jiug plants will have exceeded $1,006,-
] 000.000, and the hydro-electric develop
: ment back of these indsries, no* the sec
ond largest -in the world, will have become
tlie largest.
For the expamuve education program,
the State has provided the sum of $24,-
000,000. Consolidated schools are being
built in all the counties, State Normal
College expanded and the University at
Chapel Hill is being developed into one of
the greatest State educational institu
tions in the United States.
The State is now completing a system
of liard-surface and sand clay highways at
,an expenditure of $65,000,000 through is
sue of bonds. Interest on the bond ant)
provision for payment of principal, is
I met solely by the tax on nutomovilevli
i censes and a tax of three cents a gallon
l on gasoline. The roads are thus costing
• the taxpayers of the State nothing. Dur
| ing 1923 automobiles coming into North
Carolina from other States, helped to
pay the bill through purchase of gasoline,
amounting in taxes to an average of SSOO
a day. At thet ettd of 1023 the State
had finished 3,5(50 miles of improved roads.
The highway budget for the fiscal year
commencing July 1 and ending with .Tube
30, 1024, involves a sinking fund from
automobile and gasoline taxes of sif>o,- T
000. The interrest requirements are 82,-
250,000, assuming that the whole of the
'550,000,000 bond Issue has been used,
which is not the case. The sum of $250,-
000 is set aside for overhead expenses;
$3,000,000 is applied to the maintenance
fund, making a total of $3,750,000.
Tiie approximate revehues for the year
will be $7,750,000, which Will Iqave un
appropriated a balance of $2,000,000,
which mny be kept, in the discretion ot
the Highway Commission, for extraordi
nary emergencies, and to he converted in
to the sinking fund afterr the end of the
fiscal year.
The sinking fund of $500,000, derived
one-half from the automob'',e and gasoline
tax, and one-half from the general fund,
will, according to tht calculation made by
the Department of Commerce at the Uni
versity, retire the $50,000,000 bonds in
less than 40 years.
In spite of the vast sums it has spent,
in construction of good r>ads and in en
largement of its educational and charita
ble institutions, the State has no ad va
lorem taxes and maintains the lowest
State tax rate in the Naticn. All county
taxes arc used for couuty purposes.
The popiatiou of Nor']. Carolina lacks
Hit a fraction of being 100 peer cent, na
tive American.
Here's to the land of the long leaf pine.
The summer land where the sun dpth
Thursday, June, 11, 1035
i.t 't:
Where foe weak grow strong and the
strong grow great.
Here's to down home, the old North State.
two Things Tint Always Distress Me.
The Progressive Farmer.
' One thing never fails to impress me in
the hill country of the South, and that
is the appalling, tragic waste of soils
and soil fertility resulting from gullies.
One thing never fails to make me heart
sick in the wooded portion of the South
and that is the-distressing destruction of
timber growth' by forest fir*.
“The crime of gullying” is a erim,
not only against the present generation
but a crime against all who come after
ns. Thy Almighty is not making any
more land, but on the contrary all
future generations mugl .get their food
from the soil that’is already here. Hence
in a very real, sense each individual
farmer is “a .trustee'for posterity,” or as
Professpy Massey used to say, “a
the Almighty,” responsible to
Him tor the use of the land that must
nourish humanity through aU the ages
ahead of us. The increasing attention to
terracing all ojer Dixie is gratifying,
but the campaign against gullies really
needs ten times the motive power it now
has behind it. “Don’t any muddy
water leave your fafrt” is too’ high an
ideal to be quite practicable, but most
of us can and should go much further
In this direction than we are now going.
l: -Fqnent fires not only arouse my regret
Because of the enormous tadttfcy-losses
and fertility-losses, but mort 'tfian this,
they actually pain me because they seem
to maim and mar and depoil the very
adornment of beauty with which the Al- ,
mighty ;eeks to clothe the rorth at each
recunring springtime, To see a tree that
should spread forth its jbrment of green
whole and ussenrred and Unbroken—to
see it ravaged instead by fire, with its
lower foliage scotched and Walf-dying,
its lower limbs blackened jynd., mutilat
ed, its trunk blistered and*’perhkps made
liable to decay and disease; nil this sad
dens me just as It docß to see a horse or
rt>w suffering or crippled by some ac
cident or disease.' Timber, whCto rightly
managed, is fast becoming one of the
great “money crops” of the South, and
we need ten times mote strenuous ef
forts to keep down forest- fires so as to
protect not only the larger trees but the
young treks growth. It cannot be too
often said that it is just as important
Vo hnve “a good stand” in the case of
our timber crop as in the ease of any
other Ctpp.
“See that fire eating its way across
that farmer’s land,” exclaimed our
traveling companion at one point on our
trip. “If somebody tried to take away
from Min a sum of actual money equal
to'what he is losing by that flrp, want
a row would be raised!, And yet he floes
nothing when the fire robs him its truly
rs any burglar ever could!”
A negro chauffeur was haled into
court for running down a pedestrian.
“Yo’ honah,” said the dark, “I did
de bes’ I could to blow do hon, but it
wouldn’t work.”
“Then.” said the judge, “why didn't
yon glow down rather than run over
him?”
A light seemed to dawn upon the cul
prit. for he exclaimed: "Why, jedge, dat ]
sho' is one on me. I never thought of
dat.”