Omaha daily bee., 1897-02-28
SECRETARY CAGES CAREER
From Humble Beginnings to the Pinnacle
Of Financial Fame,
EARLY STRUGGLES AND LATER SUCCESSES
A Conspicuous Example OF the Re-
wards of Pluck and P~crscvcr-
nnce which American
Life Afford.

It has been the fashion, says Moses =.
Handy, in the March Review OF Reviews,
for Chicagoans to call Lyman j.. Gage the
ideal citizen. They believe also that he Will
prove the ideal secretary OF the treasury.
For ten years no movement for civic ag-
grandizement. no patriotic endeavor, no
effort for municipal reform, no great charita-
BILE undertaking has been launched in tho
western metropolis without the sanction.
counsel or active cooperation OF Mr.. Gage.
This is a great deal to say of a citizen who
has no claim to such consideration except
those involved in uprightness of character,
poise Of judgment and innate love OF hui
manity. He is president OF a great bank:
but there are two score banks in the city.
He Is a man OF means, but he does not
figure on the roll of millionaires; perhaps a
thousand OF his fellow citizens are richer In
this worlds goods. He occupies no official
have been his on the condition OF a simple
yes. He Is a Christian. but not a sectarlan.
He Is a graceful public speaker, but not a
great orator. He controls no newspaper nor
any other instrument for holding public
opinion. He Is not old enough to command
respect on the score of age. His learning
is self-acquired. He has no advantage in
birth or antecedents. His ascendency.
therefore, Is the ascendency OF intellect and
character, and of nothing else.
THE STORY OF HIS LIFE.
Lyman Judson Gage is descended from an
early settler OF New England, but his
parents, Eli and Mary Judson Gage, were
New Workers. Eli Gage was a farmer, but
in later life kept what Is known In the coun-
try as a general store, Lyman's school days
were few, and ended when he was fourteen
years OF age. He quit the school in Rome
(whither the family moved in 1S46), to take
the position OF mail agent on the Rome and
Watertown railroad. thus beginning life as a
servant of the federal government. A bet
ter opening presented itself In 1854, when at
IS years Of age he was offered and eagerly
accepted work as office boy and junior
clerk in the Oneida Central bank at Rome.
His duties were to sweep out the office, go
errands and help In the bookkeeping. His
wages were 500 for the first year, and when
he asked a raise for the second, the firm
urged that he was already well paid for a
beginner and rather than pay him more gave
him his walking papers.
GROWING UP WITH H WEST.
About that time all the boys in Central
New York were affected with the western
fever, and young Gage succumbed to one Of
the worst attacks. Obtaining such letters Of
Recommendation as he could he went to Chi
cago, arriving there with few dollars and
no friends" He had made up his mind to be
a banker, but no Chicago bank was in need
Of his services. He could not afford to be
idle, however, and determined to take any
job that might be offered. The only opening
was little to his liking, but he took it. His
first work was as a sort of roustabout in the
lumberyard Of Nathan Cobb, on the corner of
Adams and Canal streets. a locality now in
the heart of the wholesale district Of Chi
cago. His duties were to do as he was told.
He carried logs from the wagon to the pile,
fed logs to circular saws, and occasionally
drove a team of mules. The pay was a
pittance. but the exercise in the open air
broadencd his chest and hardened his mus
cles. After a whole year thus passed, he
became night %watchman of the yard, and
spent his time guarding against the fires
which sooner or later bring all lumber piles
to ashes. Another year passed before he had
another promotion. Then he became a book
keeper, but this promotion was not for long,
for the panic of 1857 came on and business
depression made it necessary for his employ
ers to make a change. which involved dis
| pensing with the junior bookkeeper's services.
Seeking other employment in van, he had to
resume the night watchman's task.
LUCK TURNS.
Not until he had been three years in Chi
cago did luck come his way. During all
this time he had chung to the idea that he
was 'cut out for a banker" and so had
become a familiar applicant for employ
ment at every bank in town. On the Sd
OF August, 1858, he vas summoned to the
office of the Merchants Loan and Trust
company, where his name was on file as a
candidate for any opening, however humble.
Mr.. Holt, the cashier, asked him II he could
keep a set Of books. 81 can try" THAT
is not what we want. Can you do it?" II
can IL it can be done in the twenty-three
hours out of the twenty-four." On that
assurance he was engaged at $500 a year.
He had obtained the long-desired standing
room in a Chicago bank. A few months
later he was the paying teller at $1,000 a
year, and thence forward his course was
clear and his progress rapid. In 1860 he
became cashier with an annual salary of
s 2 1000, and for the next eight years he served
tho Merchants Loan and Trust company in
that capacity. Fourteen years later he was
offered and declined $40, 900 a year to return
to that service.
In 1868 began Mr.. Cages connection with
the greatest Of western banks. the First Ma
tional of Chicago. For years he was the
assistant cashier. and on its reorganization
in 1882 he became the vice president and
general manager. In 1891 he succeeded to
the presidency with an annual salary OF
s25 900.