Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-08-14
SOMETHING (s A8OUT
HON. IRA B. JONES.

nor before the 9th Of August, be-
ealse no one can vote property unless
ne can vote intelligently, and 10 vote
m celligently one must know the rec
IDS Of the candidates. This article
IA written with the purpose oil letting
he people know moro about Ira g.
Jones. .
Few people know that Judge Jones
Is man Of the people. lie is proud
Of the fact that in Newberry county
he was born, and that there arc stu
people living who remembar thu his
father was respected carpentc" and
that his mother assisted his fothor
in the support of the family by sew
ing for the neighbors
As Student and Young ihtwy,I.
Almost from childhood Ira g.
Jones looked at life seriously. His
schoolmates remember that often To
the afternoon when they wcra At
play he would go in early 10 sidtl
for his classes the next day, aud .@ey
testify to the fact that he gave c#r,y
promise Of becoming an upright, nHu-
est and useful citizen.
BY careful study, and takin. nj
vantage Of such meagre oppOrtu.i. a8
us were offered, he obtaiuud Il faig
education. Schools were not .h.n
what they are now, and that ia .gob-
ably the reason why Judge Jones re
mcmberng his own difficulties, and
wishing to smooth the roan 'Or o her
poor boys. declared that, rs GO"2r~
nor, "'rhe Improvement and dcvel-
opment OF the common schools aNan
have my keen interest and hearty
support"
1t would be easy to tell, and
might be interesting to hear how
young Jones, having gotten IN cdu,
cation, moved to LancastCr county
and began the practice Of law NIH
clients came slowly at first ana now
later, having inspired the confidence
of his home people, he aCnuirE. a
large and paying practice. VIVA We
are chiefly interested in, h0wcVs,, Is
his political career.
AS Legislator.
In 1890 Ira B. Jones was q, .,ci
to the Legislature from Lane Ter
county. and it Is evident that he vas
widely known and that his r" itr
had been recognized, for le " al
once ma'n chairman or THO -
N@a.s 'nNtDltten Hnt was ,nler
nl, red $pnaker rhata gore stir ing
tinaa, fyr The Hr&u, r-ft'm !g e.
mont NHU iust Sw0Dt o.rr suutn ltr-
olina and party spirit ran high. SEN
ator Tillman, then Governor, was in
stituting many needed reforms, and
Judge Jones, as Speaker of the
House, did efficient service. Be it
said to his credit, however, that, al
though the whole State was aroused
by political animOsities, Judge Jones
so conducted himself as to receive
the hearty applause of friends, and
at the same time, by his fairness, he
won the respect and confidence Of
those who had been his political op-
ponents.
As Judge.
1t came, therefore, as a natural
reward for service that, in 1895 he
was elected Associate Justice o. the
highest Court in the State. 1t may
be mentioned in passing that his
present opponent in the race for Gov
ernor seconded his nomination and
voted for him for Associate Justice.
Having served twelve years as AS
sociate Justice, in 1909, upon the re-
tircmnnt of Justice Pope, Judge
Jones was elevated to the position of
Chief Justice, which is the highest
judicial position in the gift of the
State.
1t may truthfully be said that no
judge in South Carolina in many
years has enjoyed greater reputa-
ton, both for ability and honesty,
than Ira B. Jones. The same indus
try and conscientious performance of
duty which was noticeable in him as
a young man have characterized his
work as Judge.
He has been the recipient of many
honors from his fcllow-men, and the
emoluments of office, but the salts
faction OF hard days work we'll
done has ever been his best reward.
Among the charges hurled at Judge
Jones by his political opponents Is
tions. Suffice it to say that as attor-
ncy he never represented corpora