Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-02


If the reader were asked whois the second
richest man in this country, what would
he answer? Probably, if he were pretty
we'll informed, he would say Jay Gould.
But he would be mistaken, think. It is
the general opinion on Wall street that
Russell Sage with $75, 100000 to his credit,
comes next to Vanderbilt, and that Jay
Gould follows Sage, several millions
behind.
SOMETHING ABOUT GOLD sTRADDLE."
I desire in this letter to tell something
about Russell Sage, or "Old Straddle," as
he is familiarly and euphoniously called
on the street certainly one of the most
remarkable men of this generation. A
man who began with nothing and has ad-
ded to it till his income is at the
very least SIS minute, wax
ing or sleeping, has lived q life which is
worth study and full of absorbing interest.
He is still quite young enough to double
his property again; and there he lives in a
big house up Fifth avenue, with no family
but a frugal wife--I wonder who will in
herit his vast wealth and where it will be
fifty years from now. 1 know person
who would appreciate it very much; but
Sage is in danger of oyerlo oking him, and
modesty prevents me from mentioning his
name.
WHAT SEVERAL OF THEM DID.
The least remarkable thing about Rux
sell Sage is that he is self-made-that he
began poor. This is the common lot of all
Americans OF genius to-day, and it is al
most uniformly true of prominent men in
this city. Peter Cooper was a hatter's
apprentice; Charles O'Conor was born in
shanty, Of the poorest of Irish parents;
II. B. Clahin, who now pays his
confidential clerk $4,000 year, was
Vermont school teacher; Lsonard Jerome
was an intinerant printer; Henry Willard
was reporter; John G. Moore ran away
from home to start himself in life;
James Watson Webb was clerk in 4
country store; d. Appleton once kept
grocery in Haverill, Mass; James Z.
Keene came to this country from England
with $40 in his pocket; Cyrus Mccormick
was miller's boy; Rufus Hatch began by
dealing in garden sass;" Jay Gould was
cowboy on rugged farm of Delaware
on the New York Central; William 81. Van
derbilt at thirty was Commodore Wander
bits thriftless son, trying in vain to get q
living on q Staten Island farm, while his
father freely alluded to him in common
conversation as a "fool."
So Russell Sage was born on q very
poor farm in Verona, Oneida county, N.
Y, Aug. Is, 1916. His parents, of course,
were from Connecticut. The wooden nut
msg state has strong breeding qualities.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CONNECTICUT.
Almost everybody's father was a Con-
necticut man. Thurlow Weeds father
was q Connecticut man. Jay Gould's
father was a Connecticut man. Gov.
Morgan's father was a Connect
cut man. Beecher's father was 3
Connecticut man. The father of Cyrus W.
Field and David Dudley Field was Con-
necticut man, Daniel Drew's father was
Connecticut man. Samuel ]. Tildsn's
father was Connecticut man. Sidney Dill
Ions father was q Connecticut man.
Erastus CorRing's father was a Connecticut
man. Gen. Sherman's father-was Con-
necticut man. Gen. Grants father was a
Connecticut man. And, when you come
to that, my father was Connecticut man.
These are something more than mere
condolences.
THE STRADDLER IN HIS DEN.
On Monday called on the suject of thi S
sketch at his Office in the famous ram
shackle of building at II Broadway, look-
ing down on Trinity's old churchyard.
Jay Gould occupies the front rooms, Rus
sell Sage the offices next, then the Mammal
tan Railroad company. There are not
fewer than fifteen millionaire in this old
building, and their aggregate property
! would foot up over S200,000,000. There
are probablytwenty states in the Union any
| one of which the men in this Building
could buy and pay every dollar
down. From the side of the door
which sought a small plain wooden sign
| projected into the narrow hall bearing the
name, Russell Sage" l entered and was
in an outer Office, where a dozen clerkl
were active behind desks, and several
brokers Gall under thirty, should think
walked anxiously up and down, pausin 6
every moment to examine the tape that
| flowed from the ticking stock reporter by
the wall. Ny card was taken and the
messenger presently returned and let lnC
drought to the room. Mr.. Sage, whom
had often seen upon the street, greeted
and seated me, handed me a paper, ant
said, II Will see you in five minutes" He
was talking with Mr.. Sawyer, the Coope
Union evangelist and temperance minstre
about getting some poor reformed drunk
ards out west, whore they "could have
chance"
Outside the window where l sat was tn
grave of Alexander Hamilton-a broad psd
estal of brown sandstone supporting hug
monolith of marble surmounted by pyra
mid and ornamentsd only with antiqu
funeral urns at the corners. The room
was plainly furnished, with three or fou
Autographs on the walls, and Mr.. Sage sa
at square table covered with thirty o
forty piles of little envelopes as large as
visiting card, each pile belonging to I
separate broker and each envelope bearing
his name. There were SO many of thes
piles that there was hardly room enoug
for the transportation to write.
PHOTOGRAPH OF THE sTRADDLBR.
He is tall thin man, inclined to bon
aspect, chestnut hair grown thin at th
top and combed forward over the ears,
long crooked nose that might have bee
slightly warped in following some elusiN