The Washington herald., 1921-03-21
CREDIT UNIONS IN
SOUTH EVIDENCE
OF ANEW SPIRIT
Cooperating Ba kin g
Helps North Carolina
To Solve Problem.
PROOF IN FIGURES
Farmers, Aroused, Are Ready
To Work Together Along
Constructive Lines.
PROOF IN FIGURES
NJ RAY srANNARD BAKER.


regions of the South with fine-
! tooth comb he would scarcely md
enough Socialists to form cor
pora1's guard.
The South Is indeed restive un-
der existing conditions and Is grow
ing more restive. but its popular
method is stili insurrectionary. not
revolutionary. A crude expression
Of this Is found in the might
riders" white caps" and ku-
K1ux.- which suddenly spring into
existence to meet deepseated eco
nornic or racial problems. and after
the sporadic burning Of q few gins
or warehouses. the destruction of
seed beds. or the intimidation of
certain individuals or groups in the
community, soon disappear. leaving
the situation worse than 1t was be-
fore.
Or 1t will express itself in vast
organizations which demand quick
cures-usually negative or prohib-
tory. rather than constructive cures
for ancient diseases spread like a
prairie fire and die down as
, quickly.
n Co-operation I'm Spirit.
This. at least. has been the meth
od In the past. but. as I have said.
new spirit has been developing.
This In It's essence Is a cooperative
spirit; . turning of the people to
their own aid. There have indeed
been cooperative schemes suggest
ed many times in the past: The
cooperative selling of cotton, the
cooperative ownership OF ware
houses. cooperative credit instru-
mentalities. and so on; but these
schemes until recently were rather
In the dreams Of certain leaders
than in the psychology Of the peo-
pie.
what makes this latest movement
so significant Is the foundation that
has been quietly laid for II during
the last few years. and I wish to
refer more in detail to this before
] describe the specific movement to
apply the cooperative idea to the
marketing of cotton, tobacco. and
peanuts. Only thus can We weigh
these attempts at their true value.
Ignorance, OF course. lies at the
root of most social problems: and
no part OF the country, as the draft
records of 1917 and 1918 vividly
showed. Is burdened with such a
On the other hand. one of the most
notable things today in the South is
the assault upon ignorance.
One can describe the enthusiasm
which exists in North Carolina for
example, only in terms of revival
ism. They have here begun to make
over their whole system, with two
dominant purposes in mind. In the
first place. DR.. Brooks Is reorganiz-
ing the entire teaching staff Of the
= State by regarding the teachers,
bringing most of them into great
summer schools. and offering real
premiums to those who exhibit
ability.
Statistics Are Impressive.
The statistics Of this movement
are most impressive. In the sec
ond place, the little. ineficient. one
room schools are being abolished
and new. graded. central community
schools, with comfortable dormitory
buildings for the teachers. are be-
ing constructed. To these central
schools pupils are often brought in
automobile busses. The benefit of
such schools In breaking up the old
isolation and In forming new COM
munity centers Is incalculabIe. And
this movement affects not only the
schools for white teachers and white
children. but colored teachers and
children as we'll.
In short. the South Is going to
school as II never did before in its
history. Not only Is there an In
crease in attendance in the lower
schools North Carolina now has a
compulsory education law). but the
higher grades are crowded to the
limit
Community Spirit Developed.
No State. I think, Is doing more
than North Carolina in developing
the local community spirit. The
State has appropriated funds for
moving picture entertainments in
rural communities. and this work,
under W. c. Crosby, has had great
success.
Motor trucks fitted with a com
plete moving-picture apparatus 60
about from community to commu-
! nifty. and the entertainments are
often accompanied by competitive
community singing (that which I
heard In Halifax County was quite
wonderfully, and often lectures or
home demonstrations of various
sorts.
Sometimes the new school center
has stimulated the building of A
new church. and has been made the
seat of the rural credit union (of
which shall speak later,.
Here also the country farm agent
comes to meet the local darmers
and to help organize them In vari-
ous ways. Here the boys and girls
ciubs-which all through the South
factor in the general development-I
have their meeting places: here the
home demonstration agent comes to
meet the farm women and hold
classes in cooking. sewing. first aid
and the like
wish I haA space to tell more of
this latter work. which Is literally
reconstructing home life In many
parts Of the country. Here also are
held the local and community fairs.
which are now coming to be such a
feature of rural life in North Caro-
lima.
These local fairs have been in
strumenta1 IN greatly stimulating
interest In better stock. better vee-
tables, better food
Many other elements have also
contributed to the development Of
the new community life. Farmers
could not get together In the old
days as they do now, even II they
desired to do so. especially in the
ssenins. for there was no way Of