Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-11-20
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.

The Aetna cotton mill, of Union,
was sold last Tuesday to James r.
Mitchell & Co., of Philadelphia, Pa, for
5000, 900.
- Columbia, November 16: Commis-
sioner Watson estimated the cotton
crop of South Carolina for 1908 at l.
09S,536 running bales. The estimate is
made by Mr.. Watson, who is chairman
of the special committee Of southern
commissioners Of agriculture, and in
few weeks he will be able to issue a
statement giving the estimates for the
entire south by states. Mr.. Watson has
been very fortunate in his estimates
since the department has undertaken
the work, missing the totals as after
wards shown by official government
reports by only few thousand bales.
The method by which the estimates are
given are very interesting. On No
vember l, Of this year, the government
report showed S22,369 bales ginned.
The only other crop which had wealth
er and other conditions-with the pos
sible exception Of labOr-the same was
that of 1905, when the report on NO
vember | showed S22,232 bales ginned.
In no case in the history of cotton re-
ports has any higher than 73 per cent
of the total crop been ginned on the
first Of November. The total crop Of
1905 was 1,112,363 bales, and, with the
basis given above. the estimate for 1908
was accordingly made. The acreage
for 1908 will be about 2.512,260, and for
1907 the acreage was 2,463,0OO acres.
The 1907 crop was the second largest
in the history Of the state, being 1,163,-
565. The largest crop was in 1904,
when 1,192.926 bales were produced.
The 1904 crop was the first ever going
over a million bales.
- Spartanburg special of November
IS. to Charlotte Observer: Privates c..
MacQuinn, Lester Holt and w. A. Holt,
members of company l, First regiment,
South Carolina National guard, plead
guilty before court martial here today
Quinn and Lester to the charge of de-
Sertion, and w. a. Holt to the charge
of disobeying orders. Privates w. H.
Rogers, James Wilds and Clarence
Cobb. who were court mantialed on the
charge Of desertion, pleaded not guilty
and were tried, the case taking up the
entire day. H. l.. BOmar appeared for
the defendants. The officers of the
court were Captain p. X. McCulley,
Capt. H. c. Hundley, Captain +. R.
Watson and Captain j. Frost Walker,
judge advocate. The trial attracted
great interest, the Chamber Of Com
merce, where the court was held, being
crowded with military men and pri-
vate citizens. 1t was the first military
trial ever held in Spartanburg and the
first of the kind ever held In the state.
The court martial was ordered by
Colonel Lewis. commander of the First
South Carolina regiment, and was the
result of the above named privates re-
.ln,, I {
called out to protect the Jail on Octo-
Der 10th, when n mob attempted to
storm the Jail and lynch John 1rby,
colored. charged with attempting to as
Sault Miss Leila Dempsey. lrby has
since been convicted and sentenced to
serve thirty years in the penitentiary
I'When the court convened, the prl-
Yates under charges, all of whom We're
i'm uniform. together with the witness
eS, were brought into court. Privates
Lester Holt and G.. MacQuinn pleaded
guilty to the charge Of desertion and
w. y. Holt entered a plea of guilty tn
the charge of disobedience. MacQuinn,
in making his plea of guilty. broke
down and cried. He said that II was
! his intention to respond and that he
went To the armory for his uniform and
arms, but found the armOry locked
PrivateS Cobb, WildS and Rogers, in
| their defense, claimed that they were
IF the opinion that their term Of enlist
ment expired October 1st; that they
had turned in their uniforms and
equipment and were not therefore sub
ject To call to arms. The position of
the company was that since they had
not received written discharge from
the colonel of the regiment they were
subject To duty at any time. The court
adjourned late this afternoon and the
papers and findings Of the court mar
tial forwarded to Colonel Lewis, COM
mander of the First regiment. 1t will
be ten days before Colonel Lewis will
make report on the case.