Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-03-20
LYMAN J. GAGE, SECRETARY OF
THE TREASURY.

LyUldH j.. odSc, Nv man wiz 10 W
succeed John G.. Carlisle as secretary
OF the treasury, is a well known and
picturesque character in the middle
west. He is a man of energy as well
as ideas, and, though he has lived six
~ years, ne can hardly be called old.
Mr.. Gage was born at Deruyter, n. Y,
June 2S, 1886. His parents were also
New Workers, and then ancestors were
among the first settlers of New Eng
land. The father of Lyman Gage was
q farmer and afterward a merchant in
q small way.
In 1916 the elder Gage moved with his
family to Rome, N. ", and there Lyman
attended school until he was Is years
old. At the time the Gage family was
SO large that Lyman thought that it
would be best for him to begin making
his own way, so he secured a clerkship
in q country postofice. Within a year
he was promoted to the position OF mail
agent on the Rome and Watertown
railroad. In 1856 he withdrew from the
railroad and took a position in the
Oneida Central bank at Rome. Here
he acted as t%auitor, office boy and gen.
eral factotum at a salary of $500 a year.
After serving his employers In this ca
pacity for a a or more young Gage
asked for an advance of salary. This
being refused he threw up his position,
and, acting on an idea which he had
long entertained, started west.
Chicago was the objective point which
young Gage had in his mind. Thither
he made his way, arriving October 3,
1855.
His efforts to get employment in a
bank were fruitless, and so he applied
at Nathan Coles lumber yard and OBJ
tanned work there. 1t was hard labor.
He loaded wagons, steered his logs
against circular saws and now and then
took his turn at driving a team of balky
mules. The pay was small, and the
hours We're long. After a while he was
promoted to the position Of night
watchman and put in the long hours
between sunset and sunrise patrolling
the yard to prevent fires and thefts. A
year later he became bookkeeper of the
concern.
His first step In the remarkable as
cen he made to fame and prosperity
was taken August 8, 1858. He had beer
quietly looking out for employment in
which his special talents could have a
chance to develop. On the day named,
he walked into the Merchants Savings,
Loan and Trust company bank and
asked the cashier for a position. To his
JOY and establishment, his application
was looked upon with favor. They were
needing the services of a bookkeeper
and would give Gage a trial at $500 a
year.
1t was ar humble beginning, but II
was all Gage wanted. His promotions
began within six months. At the end oi
that period he was made paying teller
In this position he displayed many OF the
talents which have made him famoua
Not long afterward he became assistant
cashier. He remained with the Mer-
chants Savings, Loan and Trust com
pany until the position OF assistant
cashier Of the First National bank wa.
offered him. He has been with the lat.
Ger institution ever since. In time hi
became vice president and afterwart
president of this great banking institu'
ton.
1t was the public record OF Mr.. Gage
In his successful efforts to allay the dis
content and rloting OF 1887 that gave
him his greatest prestige. He was q
wonderful harmonizer. In those days o.
panics and disaster he called meeting,
OF laborers and capitalists. some o.
which were held In his w parlors, ant
got them to confer together and settl,
upon modes Of procedure that WOULD
ease the friction between the classer.
1t was to Mr.. Gage also that the sue