The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-02
CARNEGIE, TELEGRAPH BOY.
One of His Chums Tells When the Philanthropist Was Earning ,
 $50 . Mu,.h.

Washington Post.
 Joseph orton Kerby of this city. has Carnegie since boyhood. His reminis- cences- of the great steel king are inter- esting and throw many side lights on the character of a man who is an attrac- tive figure in the financial and philan- thropic world. In speaking of his old friend recently Mir. Kerby said:
 T know Andy very well. We were telegraph boys together in Colonel Scott's say. we have been good friends ever
 since. He had bit more spending money this Christmas than l, but l really dont believe he is any happier than l. who he gives ten millions to the government.
 When I meet him his greetings are always cordial to Jo. and should have to call him Andy if he were surrounded by dignitaries. I'm glad he Is donating a large sum to the government. Though this means he Is partly repaying the pro tection' Congress gave this Scotch lads infant wOSS inGSssliss aso be nice would erect a grand statue in Pittsbhrg to his first and best friend, Colonel Thomas A. Scott, to whom he is indebted for his good start in life. When we were together in Mir. Scotts office Andy became the clerk or private and confidential secretary of | Colonel Scott. It was his duty to look after his principaFs personal or outside
 interests, because as an official of the 3 a manner, prohibited from outside deal | ings where his position as an official would be concerned.
 ''In those earlier days the Pennsylvania Railroad was the means of opening the immense bituminous coal deposits os | Western Pennsylvania, the traffic of which is now 50 per cent of the roads
 fcur-track tonnage. Colonel Scott was this, and also in selling coal to the rail- l road and securing special freight rates to l the Eastern gas consumers. At about | the same time the oil or petroleum excite mept occurred, and in this Colonel Scott also became very active.
 Colonel Scott gave Andy shares of his coal and oil stocks as gifts. and also rewarded him handsomely in cash for his | faithful and correct services as -confiden- tial agent.
 Subsequently. when Colonel Scott be-
 came President of the road and was threatened with disaster during the Jay Cooke or Northern Pacific Railroad panic the friendly relations between the Pres ident and his former secretary were ter | minated.
 When I was with Mir. Carnegie in the Pittsburg office he was getting the muni- ficent salary of $G0 per month, and I, as his successor and chief assistant, at 17 years. was being paid $4o.
 As good boarding was only about $l.5o to s2 per week. I was able to spend near ly the entire amount in treating all the girls knew to ice cream. When the war came on I came with Colonel Scott to Washington and got off the track. Andy stuck to business and got rich, 'accumu- lated'a lot of experience
 Andy lived with his mother in a lit- tie old frame house in Allegheny City. He didn't spend any money on ice cream but was so saving that he would walk two miles home rather than pay cents car fare. He told me once that he was not going"to spend a cent until after he had saved thousand dollars. He was always very genial and agreeable to his business comrades.
 His evenings were usually devoted to
 a debating society composed of young men of his own age and taste. They. met weekly over an enginc-hoJfse and talked learnediy and good naturedly about Shak- speare. Sir Walter Scott or others. Our younger set. not being able to compete with the dehaters. organized boat club at which we showed the superiority of muscle over brains.
 At the same age Mir. Carnegie resem- bled Commissioner Mcfarland both in appearances and happy disposition of say ing nice things at the right time. As ip-