The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-10-08
"BOULDER THOMPSON wEALTFlEST NATIVE OF MONTANA is
SON OF PIONEER WHO GAINED REPUTATION FOR DARING I'M COS

Vi interest TO MOnLdudnS Is
| sketch of William Boyce Thompson
formerly of Helena, appearing in tn
current Engineering & Mining Jour
nal, New York. The Journal says:
A recital of the achievements o
William Boyce Thompson suggests |
composite biography of several grea
men. How could one man do S,
much before his Sind year? Thu
answer is simple-work. This ex
PLANTATION is like that of the prestidi
gitator who says, Ladies and gen
tlemen, the quickness of the hand de
ceives the eye,' and leaves his aud
fence as mystified as before. "The
outstanding characteristic of Colone
Thompson" said one of his intim
ates, sis his capacity for work. His
evenings are usually spent on work
of some kind" With this recipe
therefore, for reaching the top, the
young aspirant may go his way, bear
ing in mind that what is meant is
the kind of work that gets results OF
the right kind. There it is in nut
shell.
And the results? Colonel Thomp-
son is to be credited with the success
of Inspiration, Magma and Nevada
Consolidated, of which no mining
man need be told Less we'll known
is the fact that he was mainly res
ponsible for daylight saving, having
put Senator Calder up to this parsi-
monious piece of business in the first
place. His title of colonel dates
from the war, when he was commits
stoned a lieutenant-colonel and sent
to Russia as member of the Red
Cross commission of which he later
became head. He had been actively
backing the Belgian relief work be-
fore this, and it was through his eff
forts that the Rocky Mountain club,
of which he was vice-president, post
poned the erection of costly club
house, that the funds might be used
to aid war sufferers abroad. !
Born in Montana
New York's prominent men, more
often than not, were born outside of
the city. Some of them came origin
ally from Brooklyn and other east
ern points. Thompson comes from
Montana. To go back to the begin
ming, he was born in Virginia City, in
hat state, in 1869, his father having
followed prospecting, mining and
numbering on his own account. His
education was received at Phillips
Exeter, in New Hampshire, and at the
Columbia school of mines. Then
,ame a few years of knocking about
lis native state, in which he learned
more of the ms and outs of mining
1t the age of 20 he headed again for
he metropolis, determined to sit in
he big game. He came with little
ash and lots of nerve, and before
ong his ability as an organizer was
vident.
When the Utah Copper project was
aunched, Thompson. believing in Dsl
!. Jack1ing, backed him with money
nd reaped a corresponding reward.
lis ability was signally recognized |
y the metropolitan business inter
SITS, when, in 1914, he was elected a |
irector of the Federal Reserve bank
rom this position he resigned last |
upon his appointment as
hartman of the ways and means
ommittee of the national republican I
ommittee. He is also president of /
ne Roosevelt Memorial Association.
Deals in Big Plans
Colonel ThQmpson's schemes are
ig. Nothing else seems to attract
i'm. One of the more recent ones,
{ which comparatively little has
cen published, is the mineral exp1or-
ion work in China which engineers
presenting him have undertaken.
mother project, now under way, is
10 prospecting and development of
10 huge Film Flon ore deposit, in
)rthern Manitoba, in which he is |
lgaged, together with his associates.
all his dealings he will have facts
Id not theories, and goes to heavy
pense, If necessary, to determine
EN-. On this trait, undoubtedly, |
SITS his success. Two P's, patience
i'd persistence, are said to be his
ottoes, and in his successful hand
lg of the Inspiration project these |
aracteristics may readily be dis :
rned. =
Gets Much Ont Of Life
Although Colonel Thompson hasl
lassed great wealth, this has not
en- his object. Apparently it is the
q of playing the game, rather than
9 reward that attracts him. Hav-
: brought Inspiration to successful
oduction, he disposed of the prop o
" to Anaconda. h
He has given largely. While in N
ssia he dug heavily into his own
tune to combat the German propa-
nda that was designed to draw that
lntry from the war. His interests b
de from business are varied. He 81
seen now as collector of minerals, :,
" as an exhibitor at the flower =,
wv. He belongs to several clubs. =
things considered Colonel Thomp- =,
gets a great deal out of life. e,