Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-12-15
VERDICT IN "BLA ACKLIsT'' CASE
Richland County Jury Finds Adverse
ly to CRANKY Mills.
columbia Record, 4th. }


In the case of o. NJ. Rhodes against
the Cranky Cotton Mill, the jury last
evening returned a verdict for $1O,-
600 damages in favor Of the plaintiff,
the damages being divided into ST.
000kactual and $4,000 punitive dam
ages
This is the first case ever tried in
this State for "blackliSting," and the
points Of fact and law involved are
most mportant. Rhodes, who is a
cne-armed man, brought suit, alleg-
ing Ghat his name had been included
IN list sent by President Parker, Of
the CRANKY mill, to other mills in the
STATE, saying that he was a striker
and that by reason Of this letter he
had been unable to secure employ
ment at certain mills to which he ap-
piled, among them the Columbia
Duck Mill. He claimed that he was
not striker, but that after his sons
struck the superintendent told him
he must get off the grounds of the
Cranky mill, where he and his fam
lily lived, Rhodes himself being en-
ployed as a truck hand. President
ParlSer's position was that he did not
send out BLACKLIST" but merely
wrote to about fifty mills in the State,
the management Of which was friend
ly to him personally, correcting erro-
neous statements contained in a
newspaper account of the strike He
testified that no agreement or under
standing existed between the mills as
70 the employment or non-employ-
ment fof labor and that nothing In
the rules OF the cotton mill associa-
tions relates TO this subject.
rIhl. ct hn 80
super ntendent refusing to let loom
tiXerOff to play base ball. The man.
agem, Mt claimed that there was an
understanding when the CRANKY base
ball ( pb was organized in 1907 that
1t woD Il contine it's match games to
Saturdays so as not to interfere too
seriously with the mill work, and
that tlts man was refused permission
TO get off in the middle of the week
when the mill was short of loom
hXers. The man who caused the
trouble abont the base ball claimed,
as die other members Of the team,
that the understanding was that
base ball player might get off any
time IL he put on a substitute at the
mill. In this instance it Is claimed
he offered to put the substitute on.
The verdict in the Rhodes case is
one on the most important in the his
tory OF mill cases in the State, and Is
OF great interest throughout the
South. Judge Memminger in charg-
Ing the jury, said it was the most i'm
portant case that had ever come be-
! Tore him. 1t is the first trial of a
blacklist case in the courts of this
State, and the final outcome when the
issues are passed upon in the SUI
preme Court will be watched with
the keenest interest. There are thir-
ty-siH names on the list sent out.
A member of the jury said to-day
that the jury agreed that the
Rhodes case was the cleanest con-
Quoted prosecution any of them had
ever sat in. Five minutes after re-
firing the foreman called for a hand
primary as to how many members
Of the jury believed that every allie
cation in the complaint had been
proved, and every hand went up.
,u{he only delay was in fixing the
. mount of the damages. 1t was fin
ally agreed to award $4,000 actual
damages and $4,000 punitive dam
ages