East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-08-28
THRIFTY Russell SAGE.


of Russell Sage, His thrlftiness be-
came a byword all over the country
Daily for years Sage used to go from
his Wall street office to the Western |
Union building ON Broadway to par
take of free lunch that was served
to the company by its directors. He
was great lover of horses. He had
team of good ones that he loved to
drive at brisk gait and was success
full in swapping, He never smoked,
and drank little, and there We're no
holidays in his life, A few years ago
a story came from the west that Sage
had eNacted mortgage on his broth
ers property at per cent for loan
of $50. Sage denied it. He said the
money was lent to nephew. Sage
only once got the worst of a bargain.
In 1854 the failure of Grant & Ward
showed that for once his usual good
judgment had failed him. He lost
Sc. .00O,0 200. but he paid all demands
and recovered the sum within year.
His name is identified with the sys
tenn of puts and calls" which he in
troduced in 1870 and stuck to. In his
office on December 4, 1891, when
Henry L. Norcross threw a dynamite
bop,b OF hin, Sooa ,vas ont hy ,iacnS
of the bomb and by flying glass in
A. places, but none of the wounds was
to pieces. NGcross was a Boston
broker who had gone mad. He de-
manded s1,2OO,OOO of Sage, and,
falling to get the money, threw the
bomb. Among those in the office at
that time was William r. Laidlaw.
He sued Sage for 100000 damages,
asserting that Sage had used him as
shield. In the lower court he won
large verdict, but this was reversed.
Sage often carried large sums of cash
in his pockets, not for use, but be-
cause he liked to have the money
where he could actually feel it. Sage's
hair was always cut by Charlie, his
coachman. In S5 years 1t is estimat-
ed that the financier thus saved $50,
which, with interested added and
compounded, would amount now to
perhaps $500. He always favored
paying the manager of any company
in which he was a stockholder or d.
rector a good salary, enough to keep
him honest, his employees used to say
and then he expected the manager tC
hire lesser clerks at extremely low
salaries.
1t is said that DIR. Charles p Mum
who acted as Mr.. Sage's medical ad
wiser many years. never charged the
financier any fee. DR.. Mum, as on,
of the executors of the WILL will nov
receive about s3OO.OOO it is said
Foxy Mum!
Not long ago Sage cashed a checl
for -four cents. and as he did so it Il
said that he remarked: "It was jus
like finding money The checl
came in a letter fron theatrica
firm calling his attention to their nev
play then running at the theater anc
enclosing this check to pay for tn
time used in reading the letter. Sucl
letters were sent to many wealth
New Workers, but it is said that sag
was the only one who cashed tn
check
At one time man went in Sage
office to extend a loan. As the cIer
looked over his bundle which ma
have contained a half-million dollars
worth of securities, the envelope whic
held them began to tear at the cor
. ner. As he noticed this the clerk sal
5 to the debtor: 81 think you had bette
send me around a new envelope, O
! Mr.. Sage will have to call that loan.
f Think of that! Asking for a new five
cent envelope on a transaction tha
e probably brought in interest at tn
e rate of $4,000 a year.