 | The University of Virginia record April 1, 1935 |  |
THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES
Officers of Administration
JOHN LLOYD NEWCOMB, B.A., C.E., Sc.D., LL.D.
President of the University
WILSON GEE, M.A., Ph.D.
Director of the Institute
| JOHN LLOYD NEWCOMB, B.A., C.E., Sc.D., LL.D. | President of the University |
| ARMISTEAD MASON DOBIE, M.A., LL.B., S.J.D. | Professor of Law |
| WILSON GEE, M.A., Ph.D. | Professor of Rural Economics and Rural Sociology |
| TIPTON RAY SNAVELY, M.A., Ph.D. | Professor of Economics |
| ABRAHAM BERGLUND, B.A., Ph.D. | Professor of Commerce and Business Administration |
| FLOYD NELSON HOUSE, M.A., Ph.D. | Professor of Sociology |
| FRANK ARTHUR GELDARD, M.A., Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Psychology |
| GEORGE WASHINGTON SPICER, M.A., Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Political Science |
| THOMAS PERKINS ABERNETHY, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of History |
| LESTER JESSE CAPPON, M.A., Ph.D. | Research Associate in History |
| JOHN JAY CORSON, III., M.A., Ph.D. | Research Associate in Economics |
| ALLAN GARFIELD deGRUCHY, M.A., Ph.D. | Research Associate in Commerce |
| ROWLAND ANDREWS EGGER, M.A., Ph.D. | Head, Bureau of Public Administration |
| WALTER EGLE, Ph.D. | Research Associate in Economics |
| EMORY QUINTER HAWK, M.A., Ph.D. | Research Associate in Economics |
| DOROTHY HAVENS WHEELER, M.A., Ph.D. | Research Assistant in Sociology |
Establishment.—The announcement was made by President Alderman to
the Rector and the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia during the
commencement exercises in June, 1926, that the Laura Spelman Rockefeller
Memorial had made a grant of $137,500 to the University for research in the
field of the social sciences; economics, government, sociology, history, psychology,
jurisprudence and related subjects. The grant extended over a five-year
period, $27,500 becoming available each of the years from July 1, 1926, through
June 30, 1931. At the close of the first five-year period the grant was renewed by
support pledged by the University from its budget. This was met in a sufficiently
adequate manner, in spite of the unusual stress caused by the economic depression,
so that in the fall of 1934 the Rockefeller Foundation made a third grant
for a five-year period (1935-1940) which has enabled the Institute to become
definitely assured of its permanence as a part of the life of the University.
The work under the provisions of the grant has been organized as an Institute
for Research in the Social Sciences. The President of the University, the
members of the University faculty of professional rank in the schools of History,
Economics, Government, Jurisprudence, Philosophy, Psychology, Rural Social
Economics, and Sociology, and the employed personnel constitute the membership
of the Institute.
As outlined in the resolutions which were adopted by the Institute, "the duty
of this Institute shall be to promote research effort, both individual and group, in
the Social Sciences at the University of Virginia—at the outset primarily in the
field of Virginia problems. It shall further be the function of the Institute to
consider any matter that concerns the development of the Social Sciences in the
University of Virginia, making recommendations thereon to the President of the
University."
Social Science Building.—The Institute is housed in one of the original
Jefferson buildings of the University formerly known as the Old Medical Building.
The interior of the structure has been repaired and put in condition for the
activities of the Institute. Provision is made for office space and equipment for
the research workers, and also a general office has been set up where supplies and
secretarial assistance are provided.
Scope of Research Effort.—The grant to the University of Virginia has
been utilized primarily for research into a number of vital economic and social
problems in the life of the State. It has chosen this field for two reasons. First,
because Virginia is in a changing period in its history, and needs full light on its
problems to direct as wisely as possible the current of transition. And secondly,
the University of Virginia realizes that it is a State University and desires to
relate itself more and more intimately with the people and the life of the State
in general, feeling that such a relationship will be mutually beneficial. However,
the work of the Institute has not been limited to the field of Virginia problems
but provision has been made in a number of cases for scholarly research in the
broader phases of social science research without respect to geographical boundaries.
The research in the Institute is carried on as the professor's own research
project assisted by well-trained research workers. The plan has been to limit the
number of problems to be studied, and to do these thoroughly, and in a way that
will make the investigations of an immediate or ultimate usefulness in the life of
the State, as well as constituting contributions to the broader field of social
science research. A definite portion of the grant is allotted for the publication of
the studies when completed.
A list of research projects undertaken by the Institute for Research in the
Social Sciences at the University of Virginia: 1926-1934 is as follows:
PUBLISHED STUDIES
1. A Statistical Study of Virginia
By Wilson Gee, Professor of Rural Economics and Rural Sociology, and
J. J. Corson, III, Research Assistant in Rural Social Economics.
Institute Monograph No. 1, 201 pages, 184 tables, and 18 charts. 1927.
Century Co. New York.
2. Public and Private Welfare, Roanoke, Virginia
By Frank W. Hoffer, Associate Professor of Sociology.
141 pages, 49 tables, 14 maps, 11 charts, and 29 illustrations. 1928. Century
Co. New York.
3. Counties in Transition: A Study of County Public and Private Welfare
Administration in Virginia
By Frank W. Hoffer, Associate Professor of Sociology.
Institute Monograph No. 2, 256 pages, 60 tables, 13 charts and figures, and
3 maps. 1929. Century Co. New York.
4. Rural Depopulation in Certain Tidewater and Piedmont Areas of Virginia
By Wilson Gee, Professor of Rural Economics and Rural Sociology, and
J. J. Corson, III, Research Assistant in Rural and Social Economics.
Institute Monograph No. 3, 104 pages, 59 tables, map and 2 charts. 1929.
Century Co. New York.
5. Research in the Social Sciences: Its Fundamental Methods and Objectives
Edited by Wilson Gee, Director of the Institute.
305 pages. 1929. Macmillan Co. New York.
6. Life Insurance in Virginia
By C. N. Hulvey, Associate Professor of Commercial Law, and William H.
Wandel, Research Assistant in Insurance.
Institute Monograph No. 4, 167 pages, 58 tables and 7 charts. 1929. Century
Co. New York.
7. Bibliography of Virginia History Since 1865
By Lester J. Cappon, Research Associate in History, with a foreword by
Dumas Malone, Sometime Professor of History.
Institute Monograph No. 5, 900 pages. 1930. Century Co. New York.
8. Rural and Urban Living Standards in Virginia
By Wilson Gee, Professor of Rural Economics and Rural Sociology, and
William H. Stauffer, Research Associate in Rural Social Economics.
Institute Monograph No. 6, 133 pages, 58 tables and 2 charts. 1929. Century
Co. New York.
9. Fort Lewis: A Community in Transition
By Floyd N. House, Professor of Sociology, F. W. Hoffer, Associate Professor
of Sociology, and others.
Institute Monograph No. 7, 56 pages, 14 tables, 1 map, illustrated. 1930.
Century Co. New York.
10. Problems in Contemporary County Government
By Wylie Kilpatrick, Associate Research Professor of Government.
Institute Monograph No. 8, 657 pages, 100 tables. 1930. Century Co. New
York.
11. Labor in the Industrial South
By Abraham Berglund, Professor of Commerce, G. T. Starnes, Associate
Profesosr of Commerce and Business Administration, and Frank T. de
Vyver, Research Assistant in Labor Problems.
Institute Monograph No. 9, 167 pages, 43 tables, charts, illustrated. 1930.
Century Co. New York.
12. Criminal Justice in Virginia
By Hugh N. Fuller, Associate Research Professor of Criminal Procedure,
in association with Armistead M. Dobie, Professor of Law, and F. D. G.
Ribble, Professor of Law.
Institute Monograph No. 10, 195 pages, 70 tables, 45 charts. 1931. Century
Co. New York.
13. Workmen's Compensation and Automobile Liability Insurance
By C. N. Hulvey Associate Professor of Commercial Law, and William H.
Wandel, Research Assistant in Insurance.
Institute Monograph No. 11, 203 pages, 38 tables. 1931. Century Co. New
York.
14. Regionalism in France
By R. K. Googh, Professor of Political Science.
Institute Monograph No. 12, 129 pages. 1931. Century Co. New York.
15. Taxation in Virginia
By William H. Stauffer, Economist in the Department of Taxation, Commonwealth
of Virginia. Sometime Research Associate in Economics.
Institute Monograph No. 13, 309 pages, 145 tables, 3 charts. 1931. Century
Co. New York.
16. Ability in Social and Racial Classes
By Roland Clark Davis, Research Associate in Psychology.
Institute Monograph No. 14, 114 pages, 34 tables, 27 illustrations. 1932.
Century Co. New York.
17. State Grants-in-Aid in Virginia
By Tipton R. Snavely, Professor of Economics, Duncan Clark Hyde,
Associate Professor of Economics, and Alvin B. Biscoe, Research Associate
in Economics.
Institute Monograph No. 15, 244 pages, 47 tables, 4 illustrations. 1933.
Century Co. New York.
18. The Jails of Virginia
By Frank W. Hoffer, Associate Professor of Sociology, Delbert M. Mann,
Research Associate in Sociology, and Floyd N. House, Professor of
Sociology.
Institute Monograph No. 16, 453 pages, 81 tables, 2 figures, 2 maps. 1933.
D. Appleton-Century Co. New York.
19. The Cotton Cooperatives in the Southeast
By Wilson Gee, Professor of Rural Economics and Rural Sociology and
Edward A. Terry, Research Associate in Rural Social Economics.
Institute Monograph No. 17, 271 pages, 28 tables, 7 illustrations, 1933.
D. Appleton-Century Co. New York.
20. The Retirement of Public Employees in Virginia
By Rowland A. Egger, Head, Bureau of Public Administration.
Institute Monograph No. 18, 269 pages, 32 tables, 3 figures. 1934. D.
Appleton-Century Co. New York.
21. Social Science Research Organization in American Universities and
Colleges
By Wilson Gee, Director, Institute for Research in the Social Sciences.
Institute Monograph No. 19, 273 pages. 1934. D. Appleton-Century Co.
New York.
22. Some Phases of Labor Relations in Virginia
By George Talmadge Starnes, Associate Professor of Commerce, and John
Edwin Hamm, Research Assistant in Commerce.
Institute Monograph No. 20, 151 pages. 1934. D. Appleton-Century Co.
New York.
STUDIES IN PROGRESS
1. Life of Mazzini
By Stringfellow Barr, Professor of History.
A biographical study of the nineteenth century nationalist, of whom no satisfactory
biography has been written in any language to date.
2. Western Lands and the Revolution
By Thomas P. Abernethy, Associate Professor of History
The value and extent of the public lands rendered this one of the most important
questions dealt with by the legislatures of the Revolutionary and Early
Republican periods. The statutes passed in this connection throw unimpeachable
light upon the struggle between democracy and privilege which went on in the
new States. Speculations, sponsored by individuals or chartered land companies,
often give an insight into important political situations and the motives of public
officials. It is with the hope of discovering some of the secret springs of Virginian
politics during this important period that the study of the land question is
undertaken.
3. Experimental Study of Human Instincts
By Wayne Dennis, Assistant Professor of Psychology.
In spite of an enormous literature concerning human instincts, practically the
only experimental investigations of instinctive human responses are those of
Watson. These studies were limited to infants so young that many instinctive responses
may have been as yet undeveloped. The present project will utilize older
subjects. The difficulty of making certain that the responses to be observed, such
as responses to strangers, to animals, to the sea, etc., have not been influenced by
training will be met by a careful selection of subjects from among hospitalized
children, institutionalized children, and children from isolated communities.
When techniques are developed and a general knowledge of instinctive responses
acquired, the problem can be widened to include a comparison of racial and social
groups.
4. Scientific Interests in the Old South
By T. Cary Johnson, Jr., Associate Professor of History.
In working up this project an attempt will be made to answer, among others,
such questions as the following: What was the effect of the agricultural philosophies
of Jefferson's day, with their all-embracing interests, in stimulating a genuine
enthusiasm for science? Did the achievements in some special field by
Southerners, as for instance in geology by LeConte, or in hydrography by
Maury, or in ornithology by Audubon, or in anesthetics by Long, develop from
this earlier scientific curiosity by any discernible process of differentiation? How
widespread was this curiosity in regard to natural phenomena? What effect did
it have on schools and colleges? And what effect on ante-bellum religious beliefs?
What were its contributions to material well-being in the form of useful
inventions? What part did Southerners play in preparing for the Industrial Era
and in bringing about the Machine Age? These are some of the questions to be
answered in a volume of moderate size.
5. The Executive Power in Virginia
By G. W. Spicer, Associate Professor of Political Science.
In this study the development of the office of Governor of Virginia will be
traced through its various stages, and a critical estimate given of the desirability
of the changes which it has undergone. Finally, special emphasis will be given to
the present status of this office in its relation to the legislative function, the
judicial function, the administrative function, political leadership, etc. In short,
the object of this study will be to tell in a critical manner, the story of the government
of Virginia as it revolves about the office of the Governor.
6. Guide to Manuscript Sources and Collections in Virginia
By Lester J. Cappon, Archivist and Research Associate in History.
The need of a guide to manuscripts in Virginia, to bring to light for the research
student materials hitherto unknown in libraries, government offices, and in
private hands, led to the inception of this project to make a State-wide inventory
of all original records available or which can be made accessible. This survey
includes detailed lists of records in the State, county, and city archives, in college
and university libraries, and in historical societies; also the original record books
and papers of business houses, churches and lodges, schools, banks, public utilities,
files throughout the State. A card index by county is kept so that the information
can be re-organized later for publication. In addition to the survey, the
archivist is collecting manuscripts for the Library of the University where they
are catalogued and filed for research work.
7. Institutionalization in Roanoke, Virginia
By Floyd N. House, Professor of Sociology, Frank W. Hoffer, Associate
Professor of Sociology, and Dorothy Hayens Wheeler, Research Assistant
in Sociology.
This study is a unit of a comprehensive and thorough social study of the
community of Roanoke and environs, which the authors are planning to make,
and which will present a concrete and realistic picture of the social and cultural
life of the people of Roanoke, and of the various social classes and smaller
groups of which the community as a whole is composed. It is planned to focus
the comprehensive study around three major topics: (1) the ecology of the community—the
spatial distribution of population and institutions, and trends of
change in that distribution—suburban expansion, development of outlying subcenters,
and the like; (2) the history and functioning of institutions—schools,
churches, welfare agencies, governmental institutions, business institutions, and
the many other institutionalized forms of social life which develop in a community
the size of Roanoke; (3) the nature and trend of cultural life.
8. Economic Theory in the Crucible
By Abraham Berglund, Professor of Commerce and Business Administration
and William H. Wandel, Research Associate in Economic Theory.
The study of Economic Theory in the Crucible is proceeding along the line
of making a close analytical and comparative inquiry into the doctrines of leading
economists, both academic and lay, of the last quarter century. The analysis
includes a consideration of the scope of the scientific field adopted or assumed by
these economists, their approaches and methods, their assumptions and postulates
with some notes as to the validity of these, and their conceptions of value and
distribution. The comparisons are drawn to discover whatever unity may exist
either in doctrines, in emphasis, or in divergence from the more conventional
theory, conventional theory being taken to signify not the use of a standard but
merely the recognition of the existence of certain fairly well defined schools: the
Classical and the Austrian.
9. History of Taxation in Virginia Since 1776
By Tipton R. Snavely, Professor of Economics, and Emory Q. Hawk, Research
Associate in Economics.
The purpose of this study is to give a factual account and interpretation of
the development of taxation in Virginia from the end of the Colonial Period.
Some forty years ago, Professor William Z. Ripley, of Harvard University, published
a financial history of Virginia from the beginning of the Colony to the
year 1776. A similar study has not been published for the subsequent period, although
it has long been evident that there is urgent need to bring the history of
taxation down to date. Dr. William H. Stauffer, economist for the Virginia
State Tax Department, recently published a volume bearing upon current aspects
the appearance of Dr. Stauffer's monograph.
10. The Supervision and Control of Virginia State Banks
By Allan G. de Gruchy, Research Associate in Commerce.
One of Virginia's important economic problems is the proper control of her
banking system, and it is the purpose of this investigation to indicate where it is
possible to improve the present system of State bank supervision. The investigation
falls into three divisions: 1. historical background; 2. analysis of the legal
status of State bank supervision; 3. present system of State bank supervision in
Virginia. The conclusion is reached that State banking in Virginia is still largely
uncontrolled banking. In the hope of instituting a more satisfactory control of
the State banking system, the writer will offer a number of suggestions which
would materially strengthen Virginia's system of supervising and controlling the
State banks.
11. The French Parliamentary Committee System
By Robert K. Gooch, Professor of Political Science.
A manuscript on French Parliamentary Committees, which is being revised
and brought up to date on the basis of studies undertaken in France during the
summer of 1933, is a study of the system of committees in the French Parliament
of the Third Republic, with especial reference to the influence of these committees
on the phenomenon of ministerial responsibility. With the exception of the
United States, every important country which has in modern times attempted to
establish a democratic system of government has taken the English parliamentary
system as a model. Of these countries, France is the most important. It has both
consciously and unconsciously borrowed its governmental institutions from England.
At the same time, France, in following in broad outline the principles of
the parliamentary system, has modified the English system in keeping with its
own experience and temperament. The most striking difference is marked by the
highly developed system of legislative committees existing in the French Parliament.
It may well be said of France, as is often said of America but not of Great
Britain, that it is "governed by committees."
12. Municipal Administration in Virginia: A Critical Study
By Rowland A. Egger, Head, Bureau of Public Administration.
A study of the major administrative functions of Virginia cities, of the costs
of those functions, of the techniques of their administration and a critical reappraisal
of the functions with a view to decreasing costs or increasing efficiency.
13. Roanoke: A Study in Population
By Frank W. Hoffer, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Floyd N.
House, Professor of Sociology.
During the next few years there will be prepared a number of semi-separate
studies of social conditions in Roanoke, Virginia. Among these contemplated
studies are the following: (1) a detailed study of the population of Roanoke by
census tracts and other areas, and of the history of the natural areas of the city;
(2) the nature and trend of cultural life in Roanoke; (3) the care of the aged in
Roanoke; (4) divorce and family disorganization in Roanoke; (5) a statistical
of Roanoke high school students of the years 1920-24; and (6) a study of
crime and delinquency in Roanoke.
14. Electricity in Virginia
By Rowland A. Egger, Head, Bureau of Public Administration, and Allan
G. de Gruchy, John S. Gates and Corbett C. Long, Research Assistants.
Electricity in Virginia is a study divided into two parts. Part I deals with
the regulation of public utilities, among which are the electrical companies, and
particularly with the statutory, constitutional and judicial background of the
State Corporation Commission, the work of the Commission, including a detailed
statistical study of its operations since its establishment, the personnel of the
State Corporation Commission and employees, the finances of the State Corporation
Commission, and a critical re-appraisal of the Commission as a regulatory
and administrative unit. Part II deals with municipal ownership of electrical undertakings—the
only form of public electrical utility ownership in Virginia. It
treats of the rise and decline of municipal ownership, the legal status of municipal
ownership, the administration of municipal electrical undertakings, the financial
policies of the rate-structure of local electricity enterprises. It contains also
a critical re-appraisal of municipal ownership and seeks to ascertain means
whereby the decline in public ownership may be combatted by sound organizational
and technical reform.
15. A History of the Classical World
By Stringfellow Barr, Professor of History.
It is proposed to write this study on the hypothesis that the classical culture
which sprang from the worship of the Olympian deities, developed in Greece
after the Dorian invasions, reached its cultural height in Periclean Athens, was
taken over by the Roman Republic and spread by that Republic and by the
Roman Empire throughout western Europe, coming to an end in the west with
the barbarian invasions, should be treated as a unit. This, no historian has attempted
to do to the present time.
16. History of the Southern Iron Industry, Especially Since 1865
By Lester J. Cappon, Acting Assistant Professor of History.
An interpretation of the iron industry from the point of view of the significant
part it has played in the development of the so-called "New South."
17. Parliamentary Government in France, Its History, Theory and Practice
By R. K. Gooch, Professor of Political Science.
It is at present a commonplace that democratic government is seriously on
trial and that its defenses which remain among the great powers are to be found
in France, in Great Britain, and in the United States. Where democratic government
has been overthrown or most bitterly attacked, it had existed in the parliamentary
form. Moreover, such governments, as is in general true in Europe,
took the form of the French variant of the parliamentary system rather than the
classic or English form. Almost the only serious study of parliamentary government
in general, that of an Alsatian scholar, denominates the French variant
parliamentary government "in its inauthentic form" and the English parliamentary
made serious proposals for the constitutional change calculated to make the
French system as nearly like the English as possible. Contrary to expectations,
the reforms failed of acceptance. The political forces which caused existing
French institutions to persist are almost certainly forces which are interconnected
with the nature of those institutions and their vast influence in the world.
These institutions and forces undoubtedly deserve searching study. Moreover,
they clearly can be understood only in proper historical perspective.
18. Influence of the Newspaper Press on Anglo-German Relations, 18901914
By Oron J. Hale, Assistant Professor of History.
The object of this study is to estimate the significance of the newspaper
press in transforming the friendly relations existing between these two Powers
in 1890, into a state of chronic hostility, which characterized their public relations
after the turn of the century. The questions of naval rivalry, economic
rivalry, and political opposition have been intensively investigated, but no adequate
or even cursory examination of the rôle played by the press has been
undertaken until now.
19. The Influence of the Depression upon National Economic Policy in
the United States.
By D. C. Hyde, Associate Professor of Economics.
There is a general feeling that the present depression will leave a permanent
mark upon the evolution of national economic policy in the United States. The
attitude of individuals on this question seems to be inevitably coloured by their
economic faith and background. At a time when emergency measures seem to be
giving place to more permanent policies it is considered well to undertake an impartial
investigation into the nature of the changes in policy during the last five
years.
20. The Effects of the Separation of Tax Sources in Virginia
By Tipton R. Snavely, Professor of Economics, and J. J. Corson, III, Research
Associate in Economics.
The purpose of this study is to make an investigation of the results, both to
the State and the localities, of the Byrd Plan of Tax Revision in Virginia. It is
desired to make a statistical inquiry concerning the amounts of revenue lost and
gained to the State government, as well as to the local subdivisions, under the
law which segregates real estate and tangible personal property to the localities.
It is believed that sufficient time has elapsed since the segregation plan in Virginia
was established to permit objective inquiry into its general effects.
| The University of Virginia record April 1, 1935 | |