Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-24
rALEs OF ASp AsOrr RUSSELL SAGE
sideIiahts on the Busy life OF the
Aged wall street Operator.

TALES oF AND ABOUT NUTSHELL sA"b
sideIiahts on the Busy Life Of the
Aged wall street Operator.
As typical Of the incidents OF varied
life Just closed at the age Of % years. tho
Chicago Tribune has gathered together
these among other sayings, stories and
anecdotes OF the late Russell sage, the
widely known New York multimillionaire
Wall street operator:
Here are some Of the recorded sayingh
Of Russell Sage. which give an insight
into his character:
When you have made your fortune II is
time enough to think about spending Il.
Two suits Of clothes arc enough for any
young man. The only thought that young
man need spend about his clothes is to
look out for bargains at the lowest price.
l much fear that a goodly part Of our
young men spend much Of their time in
thinking how expensive they can make
their wardrobes.
Every young man should watch the cloth
ing market as closely as a Wall street
broker watches the stock market. The boy
who knows bargains in socks makes the
man who knows bargains in stocks.
Fifty cents lie enough for straw hat;
II will last two seasons. You can get for
90 cents an unlsundered white shirt which
IL excellent You can get a good under
shirt for 25 cents SILK Ia not for salaried
men. Fine clothes bring sham pleasure.
Don't try TO rival the flowers OF the field.
Clubs are only a place for idle men and
wasteful young men.
An active man builds success upon a
foundation Of failure. passive man does
not.
There Is no such thing as a money curse.
A good man cannot have too much money.
When Jay Gould was alive Il was fire.
quentiy said he was the only person in the
city who was thoroughly acquainted with
the career and methods OF this unique
money gatherer.
People say Mr.. Sage Is not generous"
Mr.. Gould once said. 81 know different
know that he lie a most lovable man. He IL
also just man. / know Of many deeds
of kindness and charity performed by him.
The world does not know OF them. do"
Mr.. Sage not so many years afterward
gave $4,000 to the Willard seminary at
Troy, and in 1897 he contributed SIS 900 to
the building fund Of the woman's hospital
These we're the greatest of his recorded
gifts
Among the many people who have sued
Mr.. Sage at various times there have been
three women plaintiffs in the last ten years
One was Della Keegan. a servant. whose
case was dismissed in 1898. Sophia L. Mat
tern, an artist. sued him in 1887 for 5000,
which she said he owed her on business
transactions. The latest suit was brought
last January by Isabella de Ajuria to re-
o.,
ports this suit was to recover the $4,000
on an alleged contract to stop a previous
action against Mr.. Sage. The old action
was begun in 1884 The woman said that
Mr.. Sage had agreed to give her a city
house worth $4,000 and a house in Mount
Vernon worth $4,000 II she would discon-
tinue the first suit. Mr.. Sage said he knew
nothing about the woman or her suit.
Many stories have been printed detailing
how a brother of Mr.. Sage had borrowed
$50 from him and that Mr., Sage had ex-
acted a mortgage on his brothers property
at per cent interest as collateral for the
loan. Another story was to the effect that
one of Mr.. Sage's grandnephews had died
in the VIII county poor farm in Illinois.
All of these stories were shown to Mr..
Sage and he declared that he never had
heard OF the Sage who had died in the
poor house and that the story about the
$50 loan to a brother was entirely erroneous.
He said IL was TO nephew. He also said
that he had a number OF nephews who
had got in the habit of calling upon him
and that his accepting the mortgage was
TO teach his nephews that they must be
bound by business rules.
Mr.. Sage was usually attired in what are
ludicrously known in Wall street as slop-
shop clothes, They were I'll fitting, and II
diversity Of raiment In an evidence OF
Anglomanis Mr.. Sage was an inexcusable
example. His coat waistooat and trousers
were frequently of three different patterns.
His shoes were thick and enduring and his
scarfs were homely. But at all times his
linen was Of immaculate whitenesS. The
jewelry he wore consisted of a gold chain
and watch.
Mr.. Sages birthdays always were remem-
bered in Wall street. When he was 50 years
old he received a letter of congratulation
from President Mckinley. on his SD
birthday he gave this explanation Of his
good health:
1T Is all very simple, indeed / always
have kept good hours and taken as much
sleep as hcChCh" NV
the loss Of sleep from any cause will
undermine the strongest constitution. /
never have used tobacco in any form, and
the argument that others have been able
70 use It without injury never has APP
pesled to me.
81 have been temperate in the use Of
stirnulants. and. in fact, have tried TO be
temperate in all things. Simple food is the
hest for health and comfort. Men cannot
help getting old, but they can prevent the
| feebleness and decay from showing before
! IT is time by following the laws OF nature"
| As laid down by himself several years
ago this was Mr.. Sage's rule of life;
Let every man lay down the rule for
| himself that invariably he will spend less
| than he makes Then he is safe. No man
, can be happy. in this life for any length Of