Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1888-03-28
The Career OF Mr.. Potter.

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Burlington Hawkeye: Probably the
death Of no man outside of the politica
arena could attract more widespread
attention and cause more general sorrow
than that Of Mr. Potter. He was emf
nently man of the people. not only in
that he sprang from the ranks, but that
he never lost his contact with the masses.
He seemed to be everybody's friend and
yet his own master, and with bearing
and simple dignity that brought universe
acknowledgement of his right to pre-emi-
nence as leader in his chosen field of
labor His was forceful character with
out the display of force. He had won
derful knowledge of human nature and
an intuition that reinforced his more
mature judgment. He was intensely prac-
tical in his methods and yet we think Mr..
Potter has given the world some new con-
ceptions of what constitutes the practic
able and the practical. He had the men
tai discipline of business methods and We
mere routine was never permitted to be
an obstacle to the achievement of his
purposes. He would not disdain to fol-
low beaten path because others had trod
it, but he never hesitated to leave it and
strike across lots if that was the quicker
and better way.
If asked what was the secret of Mr..
Potter's SUGGEST" we would be at loss
for a comprehensive answer. For it was
not due to any one predominant faculty.
He was well balanced man, mentally
and temperamentally. That he had or
iginality; that he had real brain force and
that he possessed rare faculty of intui
| ton; that he read men as book; that he
had indomitable will power, untiring in
dustry and prescience seldom equaled is
not to be questioned. That he was born
to command" goes without saying; not of
his own ambition, but because his fellow
men would have it SO. His composition
was good metal; there was fibre of be-
| ing that made up fine manhood; not a
| man without faults, but man whose
stability Of character, frmness of pur-
| pose, directness of action, business rela-
| lions, kindness of heart. domestic habits,
and simplicity of life go marked his vir-
tues that today his fellow-men cannot re-
call to mind his mistakes of either mind
| or heart.
Burlington has had an especial pride in
Thomas ]. Potter His prominence in
railroading dated from his appointment
as superintendent of the Iowa division
and his removal to this city. He brought
his family hither and has made this his
home ever since, excepting one year tenn
porarily at Chicago. AS the great c., B.
& @. system is everywhere known as
"the Burlington" SO also was Mr.. Pot
er's name closely identified with the
name Of the city which became at once
his home and the initial point in his sub
sequent rapid advancement in railway
management. Here in the training school,
under the immediate eye of Mr.. G. L.
Perkins, one of the ablest and most sue
cessful railway managers this country has
produced, Mr.. Potter rapidly developed
those rare qualities with which nature
so richly endowed him, and his personal
history was soon made. 1t was as grand
an achievement in civil life as some OF
the ablest generals Of the Union accom-
plished in the military field and required
as great executive ability. 1t is in this
of his relations to the business world that
his loss is to be deplored as greatly as in
his personal and social relations. 1t is
the withdrawal of real force from the
railroad service not easily replaced.
But great as is the loss to the business
world it is, after all, overshadowed by
the affection it brings not only to his own
family and relatives but to the thousands
of people who had come to know him
personally. Somehow the hearts Of his
fellow men always warmed towards tom
Potter" Men sincerely loved him. They
respected his exalted position but they
loved the man. By reputation he was Q
railway manager; but in life he was "a
man among men," Men sometimes envy
the good fortunes of their fellows; not SC
with Mr. Potter;-they rejoiced in bis
success as they now mourn at his death
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