Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-23
RUSSELLSACE EDIESSUDDENLY
Financisr succumbs to Complication Of Dis
eases Incident to Old AGE,
POWER IN WALL STREET FIFTY YEARS
He Amassed an Enormous Fortune
and was an Omcer or Director
in Twenty-Five Big
Corporations

NEW YORK, July 22.-Russell Sage died
suddenly today at his country home, "Ce-
darcroft," at Lawrence, L. l. The imme-
diate cause of death was heart failure
resulting from a complication OF diseases
incident to old age. The veteran financier
would have celebrated his ninetieth birth
day anniversary on August T.
Mr.. Sage had been IN exceptionally good
health since his arrival at his summer
home about six months ago At noon today
he was seized with a sinking spell and col
lapsed, falling into inconsistencies about
two hours before his death. which occurred
at 4:3O o'clock. There were present at the
end Mrs. Sage, her brother, Colonel j. J.
Slocum; the Rev Dr. Robert Leetch, DIR.
Theodore S. Janeway of New York, DR.. j.
Carl Schmuck, a local physician, and DR..
John T. Num- for many years MIR. Sage
family physician, who was summoned from
New York when the first alarming symp-
toms were manifest.
Funeral Services Wednesday.
The funeral services will be held on
! Wednesday at the West Presbyterian
church on West Forty-second street, of
which Mr.. Sage had been member for
many years. The interment will take place
| in Troy on Thursday.
/ MIS- sage anu UeT DTOlntTt NblOiitl Dio~
cum are named as the executors of Mr.
| Sages will.
! 1t is generally believed that Mr.. Sage's
vast interests will not be seriously affected
by his death. Several times within the last
few years rumors have been set ahoat
of Mr. Sage's death. On one such OCCASION
in June 1899 Mr.. Sage said:
| Il suppose somebody wanted to make
little money by affecting stock values, and
they hit on this old trick"
Asked il stocks had been much affected,
he answered.
II understand not The properties in
which l am interested cannot be seriously
affected by my death"
sketch of His Career.
Russell Sage, multimilionaire and nestor
of American fnanciers. was born on August
4, 1916, in Verona, Oneida county, New
York, where his parents, Elisha and Pru-
dence Sage, members Of little company Of
pioneers from Connecticut, had halted
while on their westward march in quest of
a homestead. At the age Of u years Rus
sell began his career as an errand boy in
the grocery store of his brother Henry in
Troy. At the age of % he established a
wholesale grocery of his own in that place.
In 1857 the young merchant had acquired
a fortune estimated at almost half mil
lion dollars a vast amount for those days,
and determined to retire from active bus
mess life. He had. however, already be-
come interested in railroads his first trans
action OF this character being a loan to the
Lacrosse Railroad company. which led TO
further transactions resulting IN his aSquir-
ing large interests in the roads now form
ing the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul sys-
tenn, OF which he became vice president
This determined Mr.. Sage to devote his
future energies to operations in Wall street
and in 1868 he opened his first office in New
York.
Inventor of Puts and Calls.
About this time he formed an association
with Jay Gould which continued for many
years. About 1872 Mr.. Sage originated the
system of trading in puts" calls" and
"straddles," in which he continued to deal
thereafter on a colossal scale. While he
purchased seat on the New York Stock
exchange in 1874 It is believed that he never
appeared on the floor of the exchange.
Only once It is said. did Mr.. Sage ex-
perience q tremendous reverse, which would
have crushed most men, but from which
he emerged with courage and confidence
unshaken. This was on the memorable day
. in 1884 when the great failure of Grant &
, Ward was announced, resulting in the loss
| 10 Mr.. sage OF ABOUT So,UOU,OOo on long
, line OF puts"
, His operations necessitated the posses
sion of vast amount OF ready capital
and Mr.. Sage always kept his resources so
we'll in hand that in any emergency he
was able to command almost unlimited
, funds.
At the time Of his death, Mr. Sage was
an officer and director in twenty-five great
railway and telegraph corporations.
, NOrcrOsE Bomb Incident
y An incident which startled the whole
. country occurred in Mr.. Sages office in
1 the old Arcade building, No n Broadway
on December 4. 1891 On that day he was
visited by Henry p. Norcross OF Boston a
man Of unbalanced mind, who demanded an
immediate gift OF 81, 10000. When the de.
mand was refused Norcross dropped a
> dynamite bomb upon the floor, the explosion
, Of which decapitated Norcross, killed one
: ! OF the clerks and wrecked the whole ONCE
! Mr. Sage was only slightly hurt by the
explosion.
For many years Mr.. Sage occupied durinI
: the winter an old-fashioned brown-ston,
: mansion at 5O8 Fifth avenue, from which
he was reluctantly compelled 10 move abou
four years ago, owing to the invasion o.
retail stores TO No sS2 Fifth avenue. Hi
| summers were spent at his country plac,
at Lawrence, where he died.
Mr.. Sage was married twice, hrst in is4
e to Miss Maya Whine. daughter OF Mose
q l. Winnie OF Troy. His wife died in New
= York City in 1867, and two years later h,
u married Margaret Olivia, daughter O
/ Joseph slocum OF Syracuse. n. Y.
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