Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-09
RUSSELL SAGE'S CASH
he Commands More Ready Money
Than Any Other Nan Living.
HIS METHOD OF GETTING RICHES.
The Standard Oil Company Model as to
Development of Business.
HIS METHOD OF GETTING Rich
A BOY SHOULD BEGIN AT TWEETY-OSE
rcoEaEsPoNDExoE OF THE D1sPArcH. ,


CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIsPATcH.I
NEW YORK, February 8.-Russell Sage
carved out his own great fortune of $50, ,OOO,-
900. BE is notable example Of q selEmads
man. Although he has for third Of century
been one Of the most conspicuous figures in
Wall street, he has not been a speculator In
the ordinary seeeptation of the term. His
operations have been conducted on a thor
ough knowledge Of the value of securities
and accurate information as to the influences
affecting the stock market. Thus the ele-
ment Of chance has to a large extent been
eliminated. He is believed to have more
ready money than any single individual in
the world. There are larger fortunes than
Mr.. Sage's, butthey are invested in securities,
property or business. Mr.. Sage has large In
vestments, but so carefully selected that no
general financial disaster would make
difference of 10 per cent in them The
reason that he keeps so much money on
hand is to accommodate men and corpora
tions that require loans. Many a crash has
been aYerted in Wall street BY his money.
OF course he exacts interest and collaterals
the same as banks, but it often happens that
money is needed without delay, and stocks
and bonds are of no value in meeting the
emergency except as security for the loan.
Jay Gould once called Mr.. Sage the Grand
Old Wheel Horse Of Finance" This was
intended as q tribute to his reliability in the
world of money.
81 place no reliance in luck" said Mr..
Sage, when asked the old question, "How
In ~ Rioh0SB nd
patience are, in his opinion, the requisites.
"a mans health, he added, "has much to
do with his success in life, and it behooYes
him to look we'll after his bodily condition.
Ill health will deprive him of energy, which
he must use to achieve success.
THE SALARY STAGE.
"The young man must work on q salary
until he is able 70 comprehend the value Of
money and also the source of supply and
the ease with which it may be dissipated.
He must read books and newspapers to
keep posted on the topics of the day and the
course of human events. 1t would be we'll
for him to attend debating societies to quail
ify himself to stand on his two feet and
express himself in an intelligent manner.
Learning acquired by a young man in his
own room after his labors of the day are
over is hard-gained, and for that reason
more lasting than the education acquired in
the great institutions Of culture. The young
man taught in a fashionable college is a
house plant, while the young man who cul-
tiVates himself is an outdoor growth and
better able to stand a severe drouth or a
severe storm, which all are subject to in the
variations OF life.
"The question Of choosing business is a
serious one. As a rule young man should
ID ruh Ioh ha hos
ence. If he has no particular choice it
would be well for him to try different oceu-
pations until he finds one that suits him. l
do not counsel changing about to crafty
spirit of uneasiness, for once young man
is installed in the business that he is suited
to, he ought to stick to it. I have known
Young men who entered employments re-
luetantly and after trial become fond of
them. A young man must be determined to
succeed.
WILL POWER A GREAT LEVER.
CATER all there is one great lever, and
that is will power. Without it very few
men succeed 1t depends on circumstances
whether failures betray incapacity in q man.
There are exigencies, to be sure, that cannot
be foreseen. The present condition of the
coal trade we'll illustrates the uncertainty of
things. The mild, open winter, could not
De IOFe5ecu, anu uaS Cduseu BEchb uul1ueSS
and loss in the trade. Then there is the
march of improvement. This is an age Of
competition, and it requires energy and per-
ception to meet it. 1t used to take go days
to find out the condition of the tea crop in
Japan or the coffee crop in Brazil. Now an
INQUIRY can be sent and an answer secured
in a single day.
''The young man should start out in the
world by the time he is 21. If he is qualified
to begin life at an earlier age he should do
it. began as a clerk when was II. At
Is was in business for myself and have
kept my sign up ever since. L, should say
that the average boy could take clerkship
at the age OF 16 or Is. A wrong start need
not mean a permanent failure. Many Of
our most successful men have started wrong
and afterward righted themselves.
DON'T SPREAD TOO MUCH.
SIT is very seldom that large fortunes are
made by spreading out. The risk Of dis
aster is too great. A man should never
allow his affairs to get beyond his control.
He should thoroughly master his business
and let it grow to Its natural dimensions.
There is vast difference between spreading
out and development. The Standard Oil
Trust is notable example. 1t keeps within
the limit of the oil business, and vet the en-
terprise is an enormous one. Commodore
Vanderbilt was transportation man. He
followed one line of business and his in
terests became enormous by natural e1-
tension. So it is with Jay Gould. He en-
gagged in transportation and adhered to it.
"Intelligence is a prerequisite to success.
One of the wealthiest men in America re-
Gently said that he considered intemperance
the greatest cause of poverty. 1t is q great
cause Of poverty, but the lack of intelli-
gence, coupled with the lack of industry and
economy, is a greater cause. II a man has
the will power to adopt wise principles sue
cess will come to him." H. L s.