Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-25

81 committee" or, as the
GhKH-, trainmen call it, "Royal
Jl Purple" The Royal
NSSIssS,GEN' Purple is the source
fH1,jS sHGbE" Of all railroad informa-
A<ASfJ@ ton for which no rail-
IS road officer is willing to
Srs5- be directly responsible.
Tho Royal Purple' is
connected with every railroad. 1t keeps watch
OF things, discusses internal and external poll
cies. criticises the officers Of the road and passes
out to the world. through devious and untrace-
able ways. "tips" Of what is going to happen.
II an unpopular officer or agent Of a railroad
company is about to be removed or transferred
to some post less desirable than the one he has
occupied he generally gets his first information
about it from the mysterious Royal Purple"
or ''stove committee"
conspicuous illustration Of this fact may
be cited in the case Of Charles Francis Adams,
who was deposed from the presidency of the
Union Pacific railroad q few years back BY the
late Mr.. Gould. The news of Mr.. Adams
prospective fate. it will be remembered was
waited into the offices of several large metro
Polltan papers from the well-posted "stove
committee" and appearing in print was met
with repeated oenials from Mr.. Adams. But
In about six weeks time he was finally obliged
to admit it's correctness
THE sHADowY COMMITTEE.
The different titles given this shadowy COM
mittee by the officials and trainmen Of the rail-
road service can be accounted for perhaps in
the adherence Of anything anonymous by the
former and the veneration of the same BY the
latter. There is nothing that pleases and graf
lies a railroader in the ranks SO much as to be
the custodian of piece Of news that concerns
his road or his fellow employees. The news. if
1t be important, must OF necessity originate
from the higher officials Of the road, and as
those autocrats o. the wheel and rail are lik-
ened unto kings by those under them the
title-Royal Purple-is not such a meaningless
one after all.
Looking at it from an official standpoint, an
atmosphere of practical intellectual attain
ments, nothing can appear SO ridiculous as a
rumor. Anything that possesses well-dis-
cerned basis. as for instance great necessity,
will be given second thought but shadowy
rumor or hearsay is too small for considera-
tion-hence the title ''stovepipe committee"
1t is said that the Royal Purple" was the
custodian Of the Reading receivership secret
some two weeks previous to Mr.. Pierepont
Morgan and that the true friends of the great
coal-carrying road in its days Of adversely had
no cauie to regret their allegiance thereto.
READING RuMoR.
At the time Reading stock advanced in an un-
broken upward movement from IS on the Phila-
New York boards, to IS, Mr.. Wanamaker was
credited with having cleared round million
and several Of his friends almost as much
When the receivership appointment was found
to be inevitable and Reading stock slumped
from IS to the neighborhood of - in a few
days rumors few thick and fast that those who
had made money on the rise we're the ones who
lost it on the decline. The "stove committee"
said nay, and an extensive pleasure trip to
Mexico and the south would seem to sub
stantiate the latter's declaration.
Were railroad officials more inclined to grasp
at shadows, SO to speak, in the shape Of rumors,
than things more substantial, q more healthy
bank account would be theirs. They are fire.
Quently custodians OF secrets, even before the
"Royal Purple" in the shape of contemplated
Improvements and consultations that would
boom the stock of their roads several points, yet
they are SO engrossed In working out their plans
that specializing on their knowledge is one Of
the last things thought of.
Some years back an old wholesale groceryman
and commission merchant living in Baltimore
was in close touch with the 'stove committee.
in the shape Of a nephew who was the confiden-
tial clerk OF high railroad official. One morn
ing the old merchant received a dispatch that
mace him exceedingly nervous and inquire how
much money was in the bank to his credit
BALTIMORE GRoCER's SUCCESS.
In telling this story to an EVENING STAR re-
porter one evening recently prominent rail-
road official said:
II was a bookkeeper for the old merchant
Gus stove committee As he ran his nervous
hands over the books inquired Of him as to
the identity Of the sender Of the message. He
replied in a testy voice:
"'Oh, it's from the stove committee and
grabbing up his hat rushed from the counting
room.
"He left the message lying on the desk, and
took it up and read it. It ran as follows;
Northern Central looks bright TODAY. A
balloon properly inflated goes up very high
THAT was in the days before the Pennsyl-
vania railroad gobbled up the Northern Cen
trail. That stock was selling at Sl5 share on
the Baltimore stock exchange. The old fellow
had about 900 shares, but he purchased 1.5OO
more at an average Of about $17 share Then
it began to climb, and just previous to nv leav-
ing his employ several years back he sold the
entire lot at $50 share. netting him nearly
hundred thousand dollars. That was one case
in which being on speaking terms with the
stove committee came in very handy
1.-The old merchant then retired from BUSH
ness and was made president of an old-estab-
lished bank at $4,000 year. Not long after
ward the notorious Hungry joe Of confidence
game fame wove net around him and
although captured and sentenced to a long term
In Maryland state prison it is believed he
secured fully 1000 of the old merchants
money and has it safely hidden away as q nest
OS6 "ucu ZIG tlulo comes IOf MIN TO turn his
back on the Jail door. The disgrace almost
lost the old merchant his reason, as it did the
bank presidency, and one is forced to ask him
self whether self aggrandizement through the
stove committee really pays"
FARMERS GREAT BLUFF.
There is q well-to-do farmer out on the
Baltimore and Potomac road about ten miles
who, were he so inclined, could tell an inter-
esting story wherein the "stove committee
played an important part.
1t was during the days when Washington had
only one railroad to carry Its citizens north
The great and far-seeing Col. Thomas Scott,
then president Of the Pennsylvania railroad,
was casting covetous eyes on the national capt.
tal but how to secure an entrance was q prob
lem requiring the thinking pan of Q brain far
above the normal size. Col. Scott posse ssed
this brain.
He knew it would never do to try and get q
charter for q railroad from Baltimore to WASH
ington from the Maryland legislature. The
senior Garrett in those days was nearly Scott's
equal Is . railroad manager and manipulation
and knew full well the great convenience it was
to have pull" in politics and especially to
have the state legislature at his back. For
Scott to show his hand meant defeat
With q sorry tale Of desire for southern
connections to his great road Scott appeared
before the state legislature and begged for Q
charter for q road from Baltimore TO Pope's
Greek, Md, with privilege of building branch
loads to develop the country.
TOM scorr'a suprun~ves