31 / 252
Hall
of
Fame
Almost
every railroad man of prominence, in those
early days, could be discovered in the Bar at some time
or other. One recalls, particularly, Melville
E.
Ingalls,
head of the Big Four, and Oscar G. Murray, President
of the Baltimore
&
Ohio Railroad. Murray was a regular
patron when in town, but he would never permit a
waiter to take his order, and he would let only one bar–
tender mix his drinks-that is, after he came to know
Johnnie Solon. Murray would seldom approach the bar–
side, but when he sat down at the table and a waiter ap–
peared, he would say, "Johnnie's got my order." By this
time, Solon, having seen his particular patron enter the
room, would be busy composing a Bronx cocktail. How–
ever, Murray had individual service. Instead of taking
his drink from a cocktail glass, it would be served in a
sherry glass, and the latter would be just half-full.
The black slouch hat of Colonel Henry Watterson,
editor of the famous
Louisville Courier Journal,
and his
gray mustache and goatee were not unknown in that
room, nor were the "square-top" derby and generous fea–
tures of Colonel William Nelson, proprietor of the
Kan-
sas City Star.
~
The newspaper world was also represented from time
to time by many other distinguished'journalistic Hghts.
When the Associated Press and the American Newspaper
Publishers were holding their annual meetings, the
;~om
would be packed with editors and publishers from all
over the country. One often saw at other
~imes,
Thomas
B. Wanamaker, son of a famous merchant, and himself
owner of the
Philadelphia North American,
while Colonel
James Elverson, Jr., who later succeeded his father as
[31]