Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-04-14
GENERAL SESSIONS.

eral sessions convened in the sample
room Of the old Rose hotel building at
10 o'clock yesterday morning, his
honor, Judge ]. w. DeVore, presiding.
There was an unusually large number
Of people in attendance and the room
was crowded. Most Of the furniture
Of the old court house, including the
rostrum, had been moved to the new
quarters and this helped to make the
temporary quarters resemble a court
room.
There was, as usual, considerable
delay in getting things started-wait-
ing on jurors. witnesses. etc.
The following jurors were excused
for various reasons:
S. George Moore, d. G. Culp, c. T.
Moore, j. T. Nicely, C. K. Chreitzberg,
w. w. Love. D. Hutchison.
The grand jury drawn a few weeks
ago to serve during the present year,
organized by the election Of ]. A. Bar
ber as foreman. AS is usually the
custom, Judge DeVore charged the
grand jury at some length, defining its
duties and telling the jurors Of the i'm
portant office they held.
The smallest part Of their duty, he
said, was in acting on the few bills
that the solicitor presented to them.
They should do their own investigat-
ing, he said. They were drawn to act
for the best interests Of the people of
York county and should investigate all
matters pertaining to the public good.
His honor laid much stress on ex-
amining the offices Of the county Of
ficials They should not merely re-
port in the old stereotyped form. I'VE
find the books and offices Of the coun-
ty officials in good condition" But
the jurors should really look into the
workings Of the offices. Il doubt II
any Of you members Of the grand jury
have ever visited the public schools, y
said the judge. Yet you take an oath
saying that you will do this. Many
schools are run for the benefit Of the
teachers, rather than the children.
Trustees often employ teachers who
are totally incompetent. merely be-
cause they are relatives who need a
position. This should not be and it Is
the duty of the grand jury to ferret
out all these things
His honor strongly charged the
grand jury as to their duty in regard
to vagrants. He said that he doubted
if more than onethird Of the people
Of York or any other county actually
do any work. The other two-thirds
live on the earnings Of the third.
The towns" he continued. ARE fill
ed with vag ants and these are the
people who commit crime and engage
the attention Of the courts. The law
says that man too tritiing to work for
himself shall be made to work for the
county. lC is the grand jury's duty to
see after these vagrants.
1T may not be so in York. but in
many of the counties, magistrates are
very lax in performing their duties
said the court. witnesses are allow
ed to give straw bonds and do not
them. Cases are brought to the court
Of general sessions that should come
under the Jurisdiction of the magis-
trates. Much time is lost on account
of this red tape and the taxpayers
have to pay.
The grand jury is powerful body
he concluded. 1T should learn what
it's duties are and carry out the oath
that each of its members take. with
out fear or favor
The first case taken up yesterday
morning was that Of the State against
Lonnie Collock, a young negro boy,
who plead guilty of stealing a COW.
The negro, who had just served a
term in the reformatoTy, was sentenc-
ed to serve eighteen months in the
penitentiary or on the chaingang.
Joe Jones plead not guilty to he
charge Of assault and battery with in
tent to kill. The jury returned ver-
dict of guilty Of simple assault. He
was sentenced to pay fine Of $75 or
serve 80 days on the chaingang.
A. ID. Rand plead guilty to the charge
of soliciting orders for alcoholic Ii
uuors Rand is the man who was ar
rested in Yorkville several weeks ago
for selling Hop AIDE" and other near
beer beverages. The defendant was
sentenced to pay fine Of $50 or serve
three months on the public works. He
paid the fine.
Robert Wilkes plead guilty to steal
ing a buggy. Wilkes said he stole the