1900+-+1905

=__An Everyday History of Upstate South Carolina from 1900 - 1905__=

March 10, 1990 - "EX PROPRIO VIGORE."
This article from the New York Times dicusses the battle of suffrage in new United States territories. The article reports that the Greenville News broke a story about the concern of suffrage for women and minorities in new territories like Alaska. The reportedly baised article from an "ex-confederate" editor, states that there is a strong opposition to the Free-Soil political party, of which Senator George Hoar is a vocal member. The article brought nation attention of the press in Greenville, South Carolina concerning governmental policy. [|Article]

April 16, 1900 - "The Liquor Traffic: The Question of State Control"
This article points out that there had been a growing problem with alcohol at the time in South Carolina. The state congress was discussing the fact that the alcohol business had been under government control. The problems with alcohol involved intoxicated men in public and problems with distribution. From 1983 to 1907 the South Carolina Dispensary was a state run monopoly that sold all of the liquor in the state's borders. THe SC Dispensary was known for being extremely profitable for the state, as well as incredibly corrupt. [|Article]

March 10, 1900 - "New Southern Cotton Mills"
This article describes three new mills coming to the upstate. Easley Mill which was a $200,000 project, Woodruff Mill in Spartanburg and Croft Mill in Aiken each at $250,000, and the Poe Mills project in Greenville at $500,000. The additions of these new mills had a projected capital of $3,775,000. South Carolina had become the nation's leader in that category due to these upstate mills. [|Article]

April 22, 1900 - "The Flood Situation"
This article depicts a flood in the southern United States and in the upstate South Carolina area. It states the rainfall was terrible and continuous for two days in this area of the South. Streams and creeks, in Greenville, were higher than they had been in many years and many were still on the rise. The rising water had caused so much damage that part of a train on the Southern railway broke through the trestle and into Thicketty Creek below. [|Article]

City Populations in 1900 [|Populations]

May 5, 1901 - "Two Instructive Southern Incidents"
This article describes two individual events, one in Spartanburg, South Carolina and the other in New Orleans, Louisiana. The article, from the New York Times, says that while the fact that white men invited black men to speak in front of large, public audiences would be hard for some in the South to accept it is a significant step towards a solution of the race problem in the region. It reports the session was widely attended, even by a member of the South Carolina Convention of Session. He even introduced the speaker with great respect. The article describe a change in the views of the African American community to honestly, sufficiently intellegient, and entitled to respect as men. The speaker in both cases was African American political leader Booker T. Washington and he spoke on the desires for his race to make an honest living, be protected of life and property, and to be able to enjoy the same rights entitled to all men by the Constitution. [|Article]

October 12, 1901 - "The Country Road Tax"
This article from the Rock Hill Herald tells about a road tax levied by Oconee County. The tax of one mill was enforced and paid under protest by the Southern Railway. Then a circuit judge ruled it as illegal, followed by a ruling from the State Supreme Court that says it is in fact legal for the county to apply an addition road tax that was already in the Oconee County supply bill already passed in the General Assembly. [|Article]

January 5, 1901 - "Important Legislation" and "The Legislature"
These article depict new legislation from the South Carolina State Congress. The new laws concerning population and reapportionment which are directly related are being discusses in the House and the proposed bill is printed, Under the proposed bill Spartanburg and Greenwood both gain a seat in the House of Representatives. The state now was divided into 7 districts being, Pee Dee, Santee, Edisto, Wateree, Saluda, Keowee, and Catawba. [|Article 1] [|Article 2]

January 5, 1901 - "Views of a Mill Operative"
The editorial states that there is a bill being introduced that would prohibit children from working in the upstate's numerous cotton mills. The writer states that passing the bill will be extremely difficult as most families in the upstate depend on the older children's income from the mills to support the entire family and that the bill would take away their decent standard of living without other acceptable option due to a laking of time for education. [|Editorial]

May 25, 1902 - "Storm Kills Six Persons"
This article is about a storm that formed in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The damages caused came to a total over $100,000 due to heavy volumes of water and winds between 90 and 100 miles per hour. Schoolhouses, homes, and businesses were destroyed as six were found dead and many others injured. The most costly loss was the significant damage to the crops of the area, which were a major source of income. []

May 3, 1902 - "Disaster to Clemson"
This article informs us about 76 members of Clemson University's sophomore class leaving school immediately due to the suspension of one of their classmates. This news shook the community which had never experienced anything of this nature before. The cadet involved was A.E. Thornwell, who reportedly moved test tubes from a lab to perform experiments from his own desk. The students claimed that this had been done since the establishment of the institution and that no one knew it was a violation of school rules. Even after a petition from the entire class, Thornwell was suspended until September and the Sophomore class took action. []

August 2, 1902 - "The Confederate Picnic"
On this date at Mount Gallant in Rock Hill, South Carolina, 600 people attended the Confederate Picnic. There were actually 50 veterans from the Civil War there. Many of the veterans spoke about the memory of those who gave their lives and the tragedy of the war but not their personal beliefs. Many war songs were sung and Miss Greenville actually played a mixed melody of "Dixie" and "Yankee Doodle". []

Febuary 26, 1902 - "The Park Project"
This article is an announcement of the Appalachian Park by the National Geographic Survey. The Appalachian Mountains stretch over 1300 miles from Maine to Alabama. Upstate South Carolina is home the parts of the parks and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Wateree region and parts of Oconee county are affected by the project because the park project began as a water conservation effort and these regions are home to many water ways such as Oconee's Tugaloo River. []

June 7, 1903 - "Disastrous Cloudburst"
This article tells about a disaster in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Dams burst and the resulting floods were extremely damaging. Water rose so quickly in some places that people could not escape their homes. Thousands of people were instantly homeless as they watched bodies floated in the Pancelot River. 3500 bales of cotton along with two mills were wiped out. []

Febuary 17,1903 - "Boy Shot by Teacher is Dead"
This short article describe the event involving Edwin Foster, a 17 year old student in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Reuben E. Pitts was the teacher involved. The report states Pitts was attacked by several students as he whipped Foster. The resulting scuffle allowed Pitts to shoot Foster. The death of the young boy cause supreme outrage in the upstate area. News of the resulting legal issues were not found. []

September 16, 1903 - "Rock Hill Graded School"
This article in the Rock Hill Herald depicts the process of registering children for school. The school comes with feees ranging from $1 to $3 with addition $2 per month for the music programs. The fees were recently reduced by the school board as much as possible without hurting the school financially. Fees were sent with the oldest child or through the mail to the superintendent. [|http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NyQdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=46QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1366,4047682&dq=spartanburg&][|__hl=en__]

"South Carolina Crops"
The Rock Hill Herald ran a weekly piece in the paper called South Carolina crops. The article informed upstate farmers about weather and rain patterns. Daylight times along with farming news from around the state. It highlights news on specific crops such as cotton, rice, and corn. It also informed about insects and the changing soil consistancies of the surrounding areas. []

May 7, 1904 - "Clemson Cadets in Battle"
This article describes a simulated battle exercise performed by the Clemson cadets in Anderson, South Carolina. The 450 cadets marched from the Clemson campus, to Sandy Springs by noon, then on to Anderson. They marched in 8 different companies, while officers were on horseback. They were followed by a comissionary train and two artillery batteries. The exercise was meant to practice the same discipline as the normal Army on the battlefield.Loud artillery and gun shots, accompanied with large man forces seen flanking one another dumbfounded the residents of the countryside. []

January 16, 1904 - "Girl in Man's Clothing"
Like something out of a hollywood movie script, this article tells of a traveling woman who impersonated a man to find work and make a living. Laura Williams was from North Carolina and she masqueraded as a man because she "found it impossible to get along as a young woman." She worked as a telephone lineman in Charlotte for the Bell Telephone Company. She made her way to South Carolina after fleeing in the night to Spartanburg, Gaffney, Laurens, and Newberry. As the authorities chased and tracked her movement because she was wanted for fraudulent transactions. She was finally caught in Newberry []

May 2,1904 - "Testing the Lease"
This article was meant to inform the public about the recent purchasing of the South Carolina and Georgia railroads buy Southern Railways. The Attorney General(Gunter) is looking into the laws concerning the validity of the purchase. The proceedings were started due to a claim that a road parallel was absorbed in the sale and that is unconstitutional. The question of it being unconstitutional was thought to be settled in the state supreme court. The fine for the offense is $50 every day since the purchase took place, with half of the money going to the winning parties in the suit. []

December 3, 1904 - "The Hugging Case"
Thought of as one of the most important cases in Greenville, South Carolina at the time the Hugging case made it to the State Supreme Court. The case became famous due to Mrs. Franklyn's lawsuit against Southern Railways claiming that she was mistreated on a train running from Newberry to Greenville. The case was ground breaking due to the laws on railroad concerning where, when, and how the defendants should be put on trial. [|http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-CodAAAAIBAJ&sjid=faQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1367,2291768&dq=greenville&hl=en]

September 12, 1905 - "Gaffney's New Enterprise"
This article tells about the opening of the Globe Manufacturing Company in Gaffney, South Carolina. The company purchased land and property formerly known as Suplly Mill. The Cotton Growers' Association of Cherokee County applied for use of a building to make a cotton warehouse to store and protect the cities cotton. []

July, 15, 1905 - " Rumors About Dispensary"
The South Carolina Dispensary was the state-run monopoly which had complete control over all the alcohol sold within the state's borders. The Dispensary was obviously very profitable, but also very corrupt. Around this time scandal was breaking out in Spartanburg. A total of 3 special committees were organized to investigate the problems in the Dispensary by the state's General Assembly. The findings weren't completely published or ready to be published at the time but rumors over profits inciting violence in Spartanburg were widely seen as true. []

July 10,1905 - "King Cotton and King Grass"
Senator Ben Tillman lead a movement for southern patriots concerning the profits of cotton. The south, in his view, did not want to be subject to as much government control as it currently was. The South was extremely passionate about the control of cotton because it was the main staple of the economy for years and years. With new government control southern people felt their rights and freedoms were being taken away, comparing current leaders to Babylonian times. []

October 3, 1905 - "Ware Shoals Cotton Mill"
This article describes the "finest cotton mill in the south" opened by Col. N.B. Dial in Ware Shoals. Dial was also the president of Enterprise Bank in Laurens, Sout Carolina. The mill is opening under the Ware Shoals Manufacturing Company for $500,000. Dial was also developing a water power plant called Boyd's Mills in Laurens. He is also in talks with a project combined with Southern Railways making him a major entrepreneur in the upstate, providing jobs, services, and economic boosts to the community. []