Show SAGE BIES AT RIPE OLD AGE veteran financier and stock lator would have celebrated his nineveth Nine teth birthday on august ath next new york russell sage died sud denly sunday at his country home cedarcroft Cedar croft at lawrence LI I 1 be immediate cause of death was heart failure resulting from a complication of diseases incident to old age the veteran financier would have cele orated his ninetieth birthday on aug 4 mr sage had been in exception ally good health since his arrival at his summer home about six months ago at noon sunday he was seized with a sinking spell and collapsed falling into unconsciousness about two hours before his death which oc burred at 4 30 clock russell sage millionaire and nestor of american financiers was born on aug 4 1816 in verona onel da county new york where his par ente ellza and Pen dance sage mem bers of a little company of p onders from connecticut had halted while on their westward march in quest of a homestead at the age of 12 rus sell sage began his career as errand boy in the grocery store of his broth er henry in troy at the age of 22 he established a wholesale grocery 0 his own in that place in 1857 the young merchant had accumulated a fortune of about halt a million a great sum in those days and began to retire from active business he had already become interested in railways his first transaction of this character being a loan to the lacrosse railroad company which led to fur ther transactions resulting in his ac quiring large interests in the roads now forming the chicago milwaukee st paul system of which he be came vice president this deter mined mr sage to devote bis time to wall street and in 1866 he opened his office about that time he formed an association with jay gould which continued several years in 1867 he originated the present method in puts calls and straddles in which he dealt later on a colossal seals when he purchased a seat on the new york stock exchange in 1874 it provided that he never appear on the floor of the exchange only once it Is said did mr sage experience a tremendous loss which would have shaken another man but from which he emerged with conal dence unshaken from that demor able day in 1884 when the great tall ure of grant ward was announced resulting in the loss to mr sage ol 01 about on a long line 61 puts his operations 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 control al most limitless funds at the time of death mr sage was an officer and director in twenty five great railroad and telegraph corpora ons |