Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-27
BY LYMAN BEECHER stowe.

WORTH CAROLINA has been de-
N scribed by North Carolinian
as "a valley Of humility be-
/ tween two mountains of con-
ceit" virginia and South Caro-
lina) Virginians and South Carolinians
have retorted that North Carolina is
Unfortunately proud of her reputation for
humility. However this may be, North
Carolina in the last generation has been
busv acquiring a more tangible basis for
nride than her reputed humility.
THE lead in this work; fittingly enough,
has been taken up by the States chief
executives. Beginning with Gov Aycock
30 wears ago, most If not all of North
Cardinals governors have formulated
and carried out individual programs for
the betterment of their State. Each has
taken one important thing and made 1t
the center of his campaign.
Gov. Aycock's mother could neither
read nor write. Resenting his mothers
humiliation at being obliged to make
her mark on papers requiring her sigma
ture he made vow as boy that when
he grew up he would fight to give future
mothers an education. No boyish VOW
was ever better kept. When he became
governor he established the States pub
lie education system, and Is known there
as the father of public education"
good roads" his slogan, and was so suc-
cessf,il that it now is often claimed that
North Carolina has the best roads of
any State in the Union. However this
may be, surely her roads are among the
best.
Gov. Mclean, canny Scotchman by
descent, introduced business methods
into the governments budget and
proper accounting methods for the coun-
ties and State.
The present governor, o. Max Gard
ner. has initiated for his section the
Conference of the Governors OF the
Southeastern States and for his State
the "live-at-home" campaign.
Organized Conference.
Realizing that the success OF North
Carolina is inevitably bound up with
that of the other Southern States, and
realizing also that economic and social
problems do not respect State lines, Gov.
Gardner organised a conference of the
governors of the States of Virginia,
North Carolina, Tennessee, South Caro-
lima, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
The organization meeting was held in
Asheville the last of April.
This conference is to meet annually
beginning in the Fall Of this year. 1t
will concern itself with matters affecting
the Southeast. Groups will be organ
lied for the study of each phase of the
economic life of the section. The group
concerned with agriculture, for instance,
presumably will give immediate atten-
ton to the establishment of some uni
form system for marketing the produce
of the region, the devising of some
means to protect the farmers from mort
gage foreclosure without injustice to the
banks holding the mortgages, and the
developing of a unified program among
all the Federal and State agricultural
agencies to relieve the present de-
preston.
The industrial group probably will
first address itself to measures for the
relief of the depression in the textile
industry. In this problem they will be
greatly aided by exhaustive studies
which have been made by the Social
Research Institute of the University of
North Carolina, under the direction of
DIR. Howard w. Odum. Those studies
have shown that while it is true, as
charged by some Northern uplifters.
that the wages of Southern cotton mill