Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-10-03

lSIdCllOu ONtI lib W lu0
supreme bench in September, 1901, was
universal in the community in which
he has resided and is so widely known.
Justice Potter was born in Iowa
April 27, 1857, being son of James
H. Potter, a Presbyterian clergyman.
He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his
great grandfather, Henry Potter, hav-
ing emigrated from the north of Ire
land about the year 1900, and settled
near Pittsburg, where the subject OF
this sketch now resides with his wife
and two daughters. he having married
Miss Jessie Deacon, of Des Moines,
Iowa, in 1884.
His early life revealed an ambition
to accomplish something in the world
and that youthful restlessness so com.
mon to the majority of ambitious young
men, induced him to leave Lafayette
College, at Easton, before his course
had been completed in order to accept
position in bank and earn his own
livelihood.
His love for books. however, con-
tinued to assert itself and q strong
prediction for the law finally led him
to enter upon a course Of legal studies,
as result of which he was admitted
to the Iowa bar in 1880. In the fol-
lowing year he returned to Pittsburg,
where he devoted himself to an addi-
tional and thorough course of study,
qualifying himself for a rigid exami-
nation for admission to the Allegheny
county bar, of which he became a
member in 1883. After six years prac-
tice he formed partnership with Will
liam A. Stone, then a member of con-
gress and at present Governor of Penn
| sylvania.
SECRET OF HIS ADVANCEMENT.
From the date Of his admission to
the Pennsylvania bar he made steady
and substantial progress, and if the
query were asked, what has been the
| secret of that advancement the answer
would be this:
Eighteen years of unremitting toll
| over books and briefs; 18 years of bat
ties with the most astute adversaries
of the profession from all of which
struggles he emerged with honor and
from most of which he emerged with
victory; 1S years of determination to
win the esteem of his contemporaries
by keeping abreast with the progress
sive thinkers and workers of his time.
His practice at the bar while touch
ing almost every branch of the law
has been principally directed to COM
mercial causes. His widely known de-
votion to the law, his skill in the con-
duct Of critical cases and his marked
fiedlity to the interests of his clients
brought him an enormous practice, an
idea of the extent of which may be
CLEANED from the fact that during the
two years Immediately preceding his
appointment to the supreme bench he
tried more cases than any other of the
800 members Of the Allegheny county
bar. His direct examination Of wit
nesses was always concise, clear. and
thorough, bringing out all the peril
nent facts in an orderly manner en-
abling the jury to grasp every detail
In cross-examination he excelled and
during the latter years of his practice
he was regarded by the bar as one of
the leading authorities on medical
jurisprudence.
ALWAYS COURTEOUS; ALWAYS
CLEVER.
Invariably courteous to witnesses
and opposing counsel, he succeeded in
developing his own case and weaken
ing the force of adverse testimony,
while retaining the good will of even
his opponent While inyective formed
no part of his nature, he could still
be sufficiently severe with a dishonest
or untruthful witness to break the
force of his testimony before the court
and jury. His questions, though they
came like thunderbolts, were so evil
IDENTIFY fair that they aroused no pre-
judice against him.
Uniformly considerate of his brother
lawyers, he retained their good will
even after the hardest fought legal
battle. While not afraid to antagonize
the position of the court IL need be,
his demeanor towards the bench was
90 "oJo hOot PioLouhuly anu
his arguments were always listened to
with the most careful attention.
One of the most effective testimo-
malls to his high standing at the bar
is to be found in the fact that in pre-
senting petitions and documents for
the signature of the judges, Mr. Pot
ter's brief verbal statement of their
contents seemed always sufficient to
secure the proper action without fur
ther scrutiny by the court as to what
the papers contained This confidence
in him on the part of the court, as in
all other cases. was gained only by
years of the strictest adherence to
truth in all his dealings with the bench
and bar.
His early association with banking
developed a taste for economics, and
he has been for many years careful
student of finance and kindred sub.
jects and has acquired reputation il
that field. His intimate knowledge of