The Jersey City news., 1906-07-23
RUSSELL SAGE DEAD
Veteran New York Financier
Passes Away at His Coun-
try Home.
DEATH CAUSED BY OLD AGE

of the Most Prominent Figures In
National Financial Circles-Fortune
Estimated at S10o.oo0.o0o.
New York, July 23.-Russell Sage,
New Yorls veteran financier, died
suddenly at his country home, Cedar
croft, near Lawrence, n. Y
The immediate cause OF death was
heart failure resulting from a compli-
cation of diseases incident to old age.
The veteran financier. would have cele-
brated his nfnetieth birthday on Aug.
4. Mr. Sage had been in exceptional
ly good health since his arrival at his
summer home a few months ago, but
his death followed very rapidly sink
ing spell
There were present at the end Mrs.
Sage, her brother, Colonel J. J Slo-
cum; the Rev. DR.. Robert Leetch, DR..
Theodore S. Janeway of New York, Dr.
J. Carl Schmuck. local physician, and
DR.. John P. Mum, for many years Mr..
Sage's family physician.
The funeral services will be held on
Wednesday at the West Presbyterian
church in West Forty y-second street,
New York, of which Mr.. Sage had
been a member for many years. The
fnterment will take place In Troy on
Thursday
Mrs. Sage and her brother, Colonel
Slocum, are named as the executors Of
Mr.. Sages will
Began Career as Errand Boy.
Russell Sage, multimillionaire and
Nestor of American financiers, was
born on Aug. 4. 1876 in the little ham
let of Verona, Oneida county, N. Y.
At the age of twelve years young Sage
began his career as an errand boy in
the grocery store of his brother Henry
in Troy, N. Y. He was quickly adj
vanced to the post of salesman and at
the age of twenty-five established
wholesale grocery of his own
He soon became one of the prominent
merchants of Troy and leader In pol
tiles. He was delegate to the ma
tional Whig convention In 1S4S and III
1858 was elected to congress from
Troy, serving two terms.
In 1857 the young merchant had ac-
quired fortune estimated at almost
half a million dollars, a vast amount
for those days, and determined to re-
tire from active business life. He had,
however, already become interested in
railroads and acquired large interests
in the roads now forming the Chicago
and Milwaukee and St Paul system,
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.
Associated With Jay Gould.
About this time he became intimate
with Jay Gould. with whom he formed
an association 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 purchas-
ed a seat on the New York Stock Ex-
change in 1874, it is believed that he
never appeared on the floor of the ex-
change. He rarely incurred any of the
tremendous risks which tempted his
dent methods with perfect coolness,
even in periods of widest excitement,
he made his way with almost unvary-
ing success from his first appearance
in Wall street
Only once, it is said, did Mr.. Sage
experience tremendous reverse,
which would have crushed most men,
but from which he emerged with cour-
age and confidence unshaken This
was OH the memorable day In 1884
when the great failure of Grant &
Ward was announced, resulting in the
loss to Mr.. Sage of about $6,000,OOO
on a long line of puts" His opera
tions necessitated the possession of a
vast amount of ready capital, and Mr.
Sage always kept his resources so
well in hand that in any emergency
he was able to command almost un-
limited funds. During his long asso-
citation with Jay Gould Mr. Sage was
prominently identified with the devel-
opment of lines of transportation in
the west and elsewhere He was cali
ed the father of railroad construc-
ton in Wisconsin and Minnesota At
the time of his death Mr.. Sage was an
deer and director in twenty y-five
great railway and telegraph corpora
tions
After the death of Jay Gould Mr..
Sage retained his interest in the prop
critics with which the two men had
been jointly identified and for years
was close adviser of George J. Gould.
Blown Up by Insane Man.
An incident which startled the whole
country occurred in Mr. Sages office,
II Broadway, on Dec. 4, 1891. He was
visited by Henry r. Norcross of Bos-
ton, 4 man Of unbalanced mind, who
demanded an immediate gift of 81 ,20O,-
600. When the offer was refused Nor
cross dropped a dynamite bomb upon
| the floor, the explosion of which blew
| Norcross to atoms, killed one Of the
clerks and wrecked the whole office.
Mr.. Sage was severely injured by the
explosion. His recovery was due to a
| vigorous constitution
Mr.. Sage was never known to take
holiday. It IS said that his last birth