Thrifty Trainman

"Whatever your income, save some of it," said lean, frugal Charles E. Stillings, 81. It seemed a nice homily from an old retired railroadman who lives in a shabby hotel room overlooking the New Haven train tracks at Stamford, Conn. His own income, during all his years as foreman of the New Haven Railroad's power plant at nearby Cos Cob, never reached $100 a week. But laconic Bachelor Stillings practiced just what he preached. He put most of his savings in blue chip common stocks--and held on.

After he retired in 1948, Stillings' hotel room grew more cluttered with company reports and market letters. Every so often he rode to New York on his lifetime train pass to visit his broker; sometimes he traveled all the way to Florida to look at real estate. And ten years ago the University of New Hampshire, where Stillings graduated in 1900, got an idea of what the old alumnus was up to. He gave the university a small scholarship fund of $200 a year for one student "of good scholastic ability, sound character and unquestioned loyalty to the U.S."

Last week, the university announced with awe, Stillings came through again. This time the scholarship fund was slightly bigger--$228,000, the largest gift ever received from a New Hampshire alumnus.

That was not all. Investor Stillings, whose first job paid him $5.60 a week, is now possibly worth $500,000, and at his death virtually all of it will go to his alma mater. His purpose: to leave a memorial to his farmer father, who helped him through the university at great sacrifice.

Said Son Stillings: "I want to help those poor guys who can't go to college, and give them a chance in life."

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