The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-06-15
From the New York Journal.

A IET a fortune of s2O,oOo,oOo in less lN than eight years is a good deal 0 of a jump. MT. Albert c. Burrage has cleared the leap successfully and today is one of the richest men in Boston and head of the copper business in that city.
 MT. Burrage is now forty-one years of age, Eight years ago he was struggling along on a very meagre income gained by his efforts as a lawyer. But he Is one of two things-either man of destiny or
 the possessor of great brain power. He prefers to be called the latter. Had any I one prophesiN4 that he would become l within seven years a millionaire he would have had nothing but the deep est pity for the prophet, yet the financial romance of this young lawyer reads more brilliantly than an Arabian Nights | tale.
 To learn how very poor MT. Burrage | really was ten years ago, one has only to turn to the records of the poor debt ors for the years 1891 and 1892, which l shows three cases where he had defaulted In Judgments obtained against him. MT. Burrage owes his good fortune in the very beginning to his industrious reading of the newspapers. It was ten years ago that he saw an account of the 1 legal fight in Brook.ine, Mass, between Henry H. Rogers and Edward Addicks, who had conflicting gas interests In that town. MT. Addicks. in addition, had a large gas interest in Boston. Being in- terested in this fight as an outsider, MT. pa ed charter Brookline Gas company merely out of curiosity, and learned, to his surprise, that the company had. by Legislative en- actment, the right to extend It's pipes into Boston at will.
 MT. Burrage saw his opportunity. Hop ing for much, but never dreaming Of all that was to come of that little notice he made himself known to MT. Rogers and revealed his discovery, together with the statement that an option for the pur- chase of the Brookline Gas Company could be obtained.
 Mir Rogers was delighteda It gave him a weapon against MT. Addicks, and the Brookline Gas Company passed into the hands of the Standard on Company.
 To make matters clear it must be ex- plained that MT. Addicks had for years been enjoying a virtual monopoly of all the gas business in Boston. The people were protesting against the high prices charged.
 The contract fo lighting the streets of Boston was about to expire and the May or invited MT. Addicks to meet him and consider proposition for a reduction of rates. MT. Adicks did not see the Mayor.
 This little incident and the reorganlza- tion of the Brookline Gas Company were almost coincident. Mayor Matthews real ized that the greatest foe to monopoly was competition. and when the Brookline Gas Company came forward and offered to light the city for less than the Addicks Company It's offer was gladly accepted.
 MT. Addicks was thus pushed to the wall and gladly came to terms In the end. As counsel for the Brookline Gas Company and the Standard OH Company MT. Bur rage was given the enormous fee of $S00.- 900. said to be the largest ever known in legal history anywhere in the world.
 This was the beginning of Aladdinlike- like wealth. The Standard Oil people ap- preciated the worth of so brainy man to such an extent that they not only in- vited him to embark with them in some of their copper deals. but when the Amalga- mated Copper Company was formed, he was appointed to represent New England in the directorate, a position which he holds today
 And that is how MT. Burrage made his millions. He was born in Ashburnham,
  fornia at the age of three years, return ing when eighteeen years old to enter Harvard. He graduated four years later and commenced the study of law, being admitted to the Worcester County Bar.
 In 1885 he married Alice H. Haskell of Roxbury, near Boston, very pretty girl of humble percentage, like MT. Burtage himself and she made a pleasant home for him on his meagre salary and shared his poverty with fortitude.
 Mir. and Mrs Burrage lived in Roxbury in frame house on Cedar street, which he rented and furnished frugally. Later he built a small house of his own on Townsend street, although it was heavily mortgaged.
 Today he lives in the most lordly man. sion in all New England. a superb palace on Commonwealth avenue. which he built at a vast cost and furnished with the best that Europe and America could afford He has beautiful Italian villa at Co., hasset and palatial home in Rediands. Cal. surrounded by thousands of acres. Here he spends his winters with his fam fly, travelling in his paiatial private train