Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-13
THE PLEA OF WEALTH.
Russell Sage Celebrated as Most Miser
ly of American Millionaires.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer
The writer of this article has often
thought that Russell Sage was entitled to
be "let alone;' that inasmuch as he was
not accused of swindling operations but
only of thrift and parsimony, he should be
allowed to pursue his way without com
ment. He has, however, presented such an
interesting type of the fnancier that he has
become an irresistibly interesting subject
of comment. He is an inspiration for phil
osophy and legitimate text for sermon
izing on the ways of the world The gen.
crafty of mankind is poor, or in very mod
crate circumstances. 1t Is arrayed in its
heart against the rich. 1t never gets rid
of the idea that there Is a grossly unequal
and unjust distribution of the good things
of the world. At the same time there IS
common recognition of the necessity of
the concentration of wealth for the pur-
poses of great enterprises, but there is
cauStfc criticism of the rich men who spend
money lavishly on their own private estab-
lishments and who give enormously costly
entertainments. There is even less consid-
Grafton for the close and thrifty man who
has won many millions and enjoyed only
few of the comforts and none of the lux
urles of existence, and whose pockets have
been locked against benefaction.
Mr.. Sage Is the most celebrated CLOSE"
man In the whole long list of American
| millionaires 1t is interesting to read and
study his statement of his own case. He
wants to know why he is blamed for not
living extravagantly. Here is a statement
| recently quoted as coming from him:
MY money is in circulation just as truly
as II l whirled about in automobiles and
maintained costly establishments. The man
who puts money in a savings bank circu-
lates it for the benefit of the community
| just as surely as the man who puts 1t into
racing stable, a yacht or hunting lodge
If you doubt me ask the savings bank peo-
pie what they do with the deposits. Per
sonal expenditure is matter of task but
| investment in any form circulates money
which Is the chief duty of the man who
accumulates 1t. Judge me by this stand
! ard. and, If you know my life you will find
that all l have done has been to resist ex-
traVaSance-the new methods of crcula ting
money by stimulating unnecessary and
often injurious habits
The standard which Mr.. Sage sets up as
that by which he desires to be Judged will
| not be accepted as the true one. He never
| put cent at interest In savings bank or
elsewhere that 1t was not for the sole pur-
pose of further enriching himself. The
whole life of the man stamps that charac-
| terstic on him. Savings banks are good
institutions, but they do not present field
| for getting money into circulation that
man of the wealth of Sage could do the
most good in. Mr.. Sage Is not a sweet ex-
ample of the simple life. lie never really
earned the wealth he is grasping like a
miser In his extreme age He never pro-
duced anything He has been money
lender and speculator in stocks and
bonds the same other men who have
accumulated fortunes In the great FINN
cial center of the new world. His meth
DDS have not been whit better than those
which ordinarily prevail in Wall street. He
has won by his knowledge of when and
how to buy and sell-a knowledge which
those he was dealing with did not have.
He has not been going about telling the
''lambs' how to take care of themselves.