The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-06-28
BOUNDING A LONE WOMAN
4 SERIOUS CHARGE MADE AGAINST
CON1RACTOR = TOM" POTTER.

world TO follow Widow Plume
to the Uttermost Parts Of the Earth.
Application was made yesterday for q
warrant, which will probably be issued to-
day, for the arrest of Thomas B. Potter,
the well-known contractor and ex-Scheol
Director, on charge Of criminal libel. The
prosecutor of the warrant is Robert G.;
Plume, young resident of Newark; and
his narrative reveals story of the heartless
persecution of a former school teacher of
this city, by Mr.. Potter, which his friends
will be 10th TO believe.
Plume's mother is q widow whose hus-
band died while she and her family resided
in Greenville. Mr.. Plume had earned a
comfortable living, and his son Robert,
now 20 or "a years of age, was educated as
civil engineer at Rutgers College. During
Plume's life, Potter became acquainted
with the family, and after his death,
befriended Mrs. Plume to the extent of
securing her position as teacher
in one of the public schools of this city, and
by taking her son into his service, first as
assistant to his superintendent, and after
wards sending him to Boston to take charge
of his (Potter's) business in that big Massa-
chusetts city. Young Plume does not seem
to have any very clear conception of his
mothers relations with her patron, but in
his affidavit he says that Potter &c seems to
be offended because my mother would not
live with his family in Jersey City, and
avoided his family as much as possible
His manner to my mother Ito me and our
friends) manifested strong affection for
her which my mother resented, and avoided
him as much as possib Q, and finally resign
ed her position as teacher and went with me
to Portland, Oregon, last October" Accord
ing to the sons affidavit, Mr.. Potter used
every artifce to keep Mrs. Plume in Green
vile; but the desire of her son, who v as
not satisfied to have her remain under Pot
teri influence, which he Sc ANS to have re-
garded as dangerous to her morals, prevailed
with her, and she went to the far West city.
Potter sstried every way" the son alleges "to
prevent us from going away, first using per-
suaslon and then threats an finally accused
me of theft, and threat ened to bring me from
Oregon after we had reached there, by re-
QUESTION from the Governor of Massachu-
setts." After she had gone to Oregon she
received the following remarkable letter
from Potter:
had paid agent in Portland before you reache
there and to-day have three correspondents there
TWO OF whom are under regular salary to watch
and report your movements well as those of your
son; your record will follow you within a week
into any house where you may visit. His record
will meet him face to face in any business scheme
INTO which he enters: When two weeks
ago posed in the Harrison street school you did
not think that before you awoke the next morning
l would know it, did you but did. When the
new friend.-Crawford- visited you at AIS It'll
street, you did not think that the message inform
ing me of the fact would be ON the wire before he
left but it aods. Don't you think that running away
from me is poorly paying speculation Howl
would rather do you good than halml would
rather save you from yourself and your friends "a
and the fatal past few years than 10 push you TO the
wall and to ruin. but you must make choice of
which It stan be. No more entreaty from me. If
you for one little month longer persist in the
you have pursued the last six months, you will find
me memorable death. Could you encompass my
dying, 1T would bring you no relief for by tie pro-
visions of will made a fortnight ago, one-half of
all have in the world is set apart to be used in fol-
lowing you and yours to the uttermost parts of the
earth-to punish the devilish treachery of yon
both. Now there is one thing more which,
had you shown a spark of womanly feeling l would
have let finally Fest 1t is one of the many things
where have been too hasty in doing and saying
things. Nearly month ago stumbled over some
thing which seemed to furnish possible explana-
ton of your sons false entry and apparent dis
honesty So glad was 1 for chance even 70 give
you pleasure and relieve him, that at once wired
You his exhoneration and wrote you of the circum-
stances which seemed might have explained 1t. A
little closer examination showed that the Captain
Young affair occurred in 1882 instead of 1883 and
could not therefore let your out of the unfor-
tunate position into which he had placed himself
and leaves the case just he and you left tia
charge of tn fl unanswered, undenied and unex-
planned, run daoay from. had intended
let the matter rest and tell you nothing about it,
w her RI
goes, the story will go list put it in answer to
inquiry about him which received from Portland
last Saturday. He left here after three years of
service with me with a charge Of false entry and
theft against him and attempt on his part to dis
prove or explain.
The original of this letter is now, says
young Plume, in the hands United States
Commissioner Whitehead, of Newark, who
put Potter under bail for violating the OBJ
scene literature clause IN the Mail Laws, by
sending it.
If the documents cited in youag Plumss
affidavit are true, and genuine, Mr.. Potter
seems to have acted up to his threat. He
sent to Plumes wife, and his mother, to
his uncle, David s. Plume of Waterbury,
Connecticut, and to some of Plumes
friends, letters and kilograms charging
Plume with having robbed him while in
charge of his affairs in Boston, and in some
he announced that formal charges had been
or were to be preferred against him in
Massachusetts Court. Plume says that he
also sent to the Oregonion, widely circu-
lated Oregon paper, an article making a
'sscandalous attack on mother and me and
referring to my alleged theft of check
from him." The article was published and
five copies of the paper, sent TO Potter,
we're sent to young PluMe's relations. Be-
L. AaTo
Mrs. Plume of mepacing tone. In one
he complained TO her that s'letter Of
yours returned by Bob unopened; foolish
and dangerous; tolls tightening, storm will
break within q week.
s.My mother, my wife and /" Plume CON-
tinues iu his affidavit, shave returned
from Oregon and ara living in Newark. My
mother returned trst, and was delaye in
settling up some business. When she
reached Philadelphia she was met at the
cars Though she had given him no intima-
ton of her contemplated return), by said
Potter, who tried to be very friendly, but
my mother Indignantly spurned him and
immediately received the protection of
frjerds, who awaited her arrival. My
mother and / have returned to vindicate
our characters" With this object in view
Young Plume commenced suit to recover
$4,000 damages from Potter for his SLAM
ders and libels. 1t only angered Potter,
who wrote:
This suit Of yours, undertaken, as ] am in
formed ion the purpose of stopping my annoyance
Of your mother and yourself. will utterly and abb
solusely fail Of its purpose.
Soon after his arrival Plume learned
that Potter had made a formal charge Of
theft against him In Massachusetts. He
served notice on Potter that son Tuesday,
the 10th Of June, at II a. m, I shall appear
in person before said criminal court TO
answer te any process, order, warrant or
direction of said court, and you are hereby
required, then and there, to make good
your charge
Potter was there, and Plume was there,