The daily times., 1922-02-17
NO MORE SCHOOL
CONTRACTS Until
ACT IS SETTLED
QUESTIONED
Supreme Court Must Approve
the Validity of the Act Be
fore Bonds Can be Sold ;
Births in the State Exceeded
the Deaths in 1921 by So
$50, Splendid Record.
(By Max Abernethy.)

(By Max Abernethy.)
Raleigh, Feb. 17.-State Superin-
|tendent e. C. Brooks today advised
all county boards of education to let
Ino further contracts in anticipation
LOT receiving funds under the five mil
|lion dollar building program author
lied by the Legislature since the
State has been unable to sell its
bonds for this purpose.
"The buyers have raised the ques-
ition," DIR. Brooks writes, "as to the
LEGALITY of the act and it will be
necessary to submit the matter to
the supreme court to approve the va
tHdity of the act before the bonds can
be sold 1t is the plan of the State
Board Of Education to have this done
Immediately but the legal proceedings
will necessarily taKe some time and
;it will be sixty or ninety days before
I'VE will be able to give you any de-
finite information concerning the
matter.
| 81 strongly advise, therefore, that
your board let no further contracts
in anticipation of receiving these
funds until this matter is finally set
tiled and we have definitely advised
you that the bonds can be- sold and
THE funds will be available. You will
be advised promptly concerning any
new Developments in the matter .
Funds which were te~be raised
from the sale of the bonds were to
be used by the counties in building
new school houses, the Legislature
having authorized the issuance of the
bonds to be loaned by the State to the
county boards over a long period OF
time Special elections in the severa
lcounties of the State are to be held
Ito vote authority to participate in
the loan fund.
The excess of births over deaths il
North Carolina during the past yeal
was 1868, or rate of increase o.
1913 percent, the State Board Of
Health. announces, and that if thi'
trate is maintained the population O
the State will have passed the three
imillion mark well ahead of the mex
decennial census.
Births registered in 1921 totalet
1868 which broke the highest brit
rate North Carolina hung up il
1920 of any State in the Union.
new low level in the death rate wa
Established with a total registration
of 29,964 deaths.
In 1920 the birth rate in the stat
was 31S per thousand population
as compared with the rate of 23.7 TO
1.-THE registration area of the country
The death rate was 1876 per thou
sand population for the state a
against 1871 for the registration.
In 1921 the birth rate goes u
and the death rate is lowered. o.
the preliminary figures available tn
birth rate for the year is 1871, an
the death rate is ia. Figures TO
: Icomparison with the remainder o
the country will not be made avail
able by the United State Bureau @
1.-THE Census until late in the presen
year. In this connection, however,
o lis of interest to note that the stat
lof New York announces death rat
lof IL 2 for the past year, a new To-
Level for that state but one highe
than for North Carolina. The city {
2, Chicago announces 6eath rate3st
Ill for 1921, and the health commi'
Isioner of that city states that prob;
Jbly this is the lowest rate possible {
attainment.
's The net increase in the total pol
t ulation of the state for the past yea
l. that is the excess of births owe
K deaths, is 59, ,659, or a rate of il
tcrease of 2.3 per cent. If this rate I
sr increase is maintained the popul;
le tion of the state will have passe
ID the three million mark well ahes
tContinued on Page Eight.)