The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-07-28
NOTHING FOR CHARITY
Will of Russell Sage Leaves Al
most Entire Fortune to
His Widow.
KINsFOLk ARE REMEMBERED

NNSFULk AXE REMEMBERED
dren Get $4,000 Each, $65o,ooo In All.
/ Possible Contests Avoided - Large
Part of Fortune Invested In New
! York Real Estate.
New York, July 2S.-Not cent Of
Russell Sage's money goes to charity.
According to the will of the financier,
which has been filed, Mrs. Sage gets all
| but $650,000 divided among nephews
! and nieces, grandnieces and great
| grandnephew.
| The petition filed with the will puts
the value of the real property at more
than S1,000,000 and the personal prop
erty at more than $20,000,000. This, of
/ course, is merely nominal and not to
be taken as any indication of the real
/ value of the estate.
Conservative estimates made by those
/ interested In the estate placed it at
/ from $70000,000 to $S0,000,000, while
Wall street still clings to the idea that
the actual amount of loans and securi-
ties and other holdings of the financier
will be nearer $1O0,OOO0O0.
The will Is comparatively short
document. The first beneficiary men
toned is the testators only sister,
Mrs. Chaplin of Oneida, N. Y. She is
/ given $4,000. She died several years
| ago.
Provision For Relatives.
/ Provision Is next made for the
nephews and nieces, and if any one or
| more be not living then the issue of
such deceased nephew or niece shall
receive proportionate shares of the
/ $4,000 left to each and every one.
Mrs. Martha Olivia Sage gets the
| residue.
Should there be any contest no ac-
tion can be taken for at least fifteen
| days. Surrogate Thomas said before
the filing of the will that the course
| of action would be to give fifteen
| days notice of the offering of the
| will for probate so that heirs living at
a distance might be acquainted with
/ its provisions.
Opinion was divided as to what view
! the heirs will take. Plans had been
made to contest the will had it borne
/ a recent date. The basis for the legal
battle would have been that the aged
financier was not mentally capable of
directing proper disposition of his
/ wealth But the instrument was
drawn nearly five and half years
4 ago, at time when there was little
! question as to Mr.. Sage's mental
strength.
Contestants to Lose All.
The last of the eleven sections of
the will directs forfeiture of beauest
to any beneficiary who objects to the
probate of the will or who directly
or indirectly contests the same"
The executors named are Mrs. Sage,
DR.. John P. Mum and Charles w.
Osborne None Of them was present
when the will was filed, although Mrs.
| Sage has regained much of her
strength, 1t is said, since the strain at
tendant upon her husbands death, the
funeral services and interment broke
her down.
Should Mrs. Sage be determined to
make any immediate changes in the
disposition of the late financier's prop
erty as he himself willed it she is not
ready to announce anything of the sort
z now.
So far as the financial district knew,
| Mr.. Sage was possessed of compara-
lively little real estate He was known
to own several parcels in Manhattan
and in the upper part of the state, but
they were regarded as inconsequen-
tial compared with the great mass Of
dividend paying securities from which
he derived the major part of his in
| come
AS far back as January, 1890, divi-
dends on 29S different classes of bonds
were entered to his credit, and this
gave line to the tstreet" on his prob
able possessions. 1t is now said that
many of his millions will be found in-
vested in realty.
Widow May Give Away Estate.
Those who were on familiar terms
4 Will NIL konSC oilu ulcy Hdtl every Ied-
son to believe the greater part of the
vast estate was left to the widow with
the understanding that she could aid
with it such charitable and philanthropy
ic institutions as she chose
Hints were given in the funeral ser
mon of the fortune Of Mr.. Sage being
used for the betternlent of humanity.
orfyc, In 1xv Tr 49, >f
feet that the world would be surprised
at the disposition he made of his mon
ey and the fact that in 1899 he author
lied statement that his fortune would
be used for the betterment of the hui
man race has been cited to Justify the
assumption that he had some great
plan with regard to his riches