The courier-index., 1921-01-14
Death Claims Arthur Cotter,
 Popular Sheriff and Collector

 ed sheriff and collector of Lee coun- ty, beginning his first term on Jan uary 1, 1913. He had been success sively elected to that office for five terms. In August 1920, he was nominated for his fifth term over Teddy Claywell, his former deputy and one of the most popu- lar men in the county. Mr Clay well was later nominated and elect ed circuit clerk, succeeding the late R. c. Apple.
 MT. Cotter was a member of the First Presbyterian church of this city, a member of the Masonic lodge, the Royal Arch Chapter, the Elks, the Royal Arcanum, the Lions Club and had been prominently and actively identified with practically every public movement launched in Marianna in recent years. He was one of the original owners and in- corporators of the Karicofe Com pany, operating hardware store, auto sales room, garage, machine, blacksmith and woodworking shops. He was also one of the stockholders and incorporators of the Soudan Corporation, organized year ago with a capital of half million dol lars for the purpose of purchasing and operating the famous Soudan plantation of nearly six thousand acres, east of Marianna. In addi- tion to these enterprises MT. Cot ter owned valuable lands in the L'Anguille river bottoms two miles east of Marianna, farm near Brickeys and one near Thomasville. He was one of those public-spirited citizens who always entered whole heartedly into every enterprise or organization calculated to advance the material, civic or moral inter ests of the city or county. During the war he served on the local draft board-a most difficult position to fill. He engaged actively in all the Liberty loan, Red Cross, Y. M. c. A. and other campaigns and was a liberal subscriber and contributor to all these worthy causes.
 Perhaps no man in Lee county knew more people or had more friends than Arthur Cotter Dur ing his eight years as sheriff and collector he dealt out even handed justice to all. The most woe-be- gone and forsaken and cringing ne- gro criminal excited his pity-not to the extent that he relaxed in his sense of justice, but that he always tempered his actions with mercy. He was never cruel. He rarely ever went armed. He did not become calloused. His heart was always with the unfortunates. It was no pleasure to him to see man in the tolls of the law. He did not con done wrong doing. He himself led blameless life, but he was broad enough and big enough to know that humans are weak and that many succumb to temptations which he could easily withstand.
 Arthur Cotter was the same yes terday, today and tomorrow. He never changed his course of con- duet. He never lodged an issue of any moment, especially one in- volving a moral question. Nobody ever had to speculate on his posi- tion. He was not offensive with his opinions, but he was set in his convictions. He could argue with out anger and was liberal enough to concede the other mans view point. He had the happy faculty of making friends and holding them. He bound men to him with hoops of steel. Hundreds of peo- pie in Lee county have voted for his opponents in his five races for office, but it may be truthfully said that no man ever voted against him because he did not like Arthur Cotter. He had a peculiar and com polling and an transformations way of impressing his strong personality upon every man. He never used any force by reason of his posi- tion; he never infringed upon friend ship; he never asked for anything except an honest expression from honest men to an honest man. There in lay the secret of his hold upon the people of Lee county.
 His death, in the prime of his usefulness, in the full maturity of his splendid manhood, means dis tinct loss to Lee county.