Connecticut western news., 1875-09-10
A CALIFORNIA BANKER.
An Interesting Sketch of the Late President of the Suspended Bank of California.

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 An Interesting Sketch of the Late President of the Suspended Bank of California.
 A New York Sun correspondent writes as follows Looking at W. O. Ralston any one would have said that he was, of all men, the one most unlikely to commit suicide. Knowing him, that presump- tion would have deepened into pro- found conviction. He seemed an em- bodiment of intense vitality, physical as well as mental Of medium height and stout figure, he seemed to be possessed of great muscular strength and activity. A strong will was stamped upon every ineament of his countenance. His gray brown eyes were keen and cold; his lips were thin and straight his cheek bones were high and cheeks rather flat his brow was sufficiently lofty to give good promise of badness his smoothly shaven chin was square and had a snappy way of closing on negative, as though worked by spring. Ever since anybody knew Ralston he has been in contest with somebody, or with legion of people. He was ambitious. Enter prises which he could not control and hold the lions share of, he crushed un- scrupulously. ..s....
 Ralston was president, vice president, directors, and everybody else, in that bank. D. O. Mills, the president, was only figure head, and '" the whole duty of man., as understood by the other said officers, was to keep their mouths shut. Ralston knew everything, planned every thing, controlled everything. |" See Ralston about it, was all one of them would venture to say. So, with his restless love for dabbling in all things and getting hold of all things, Ralston got surprising number of irons in the | fire of speculation. He owned large share of the ore road at the Comstock lode, and controlled the milk business of San Francisco. He was two-thirds owner of the California Theater, and raked in good share of the profits on the supply of artificial ice. He ran the Kimball Manufacturing Company which made wagons and furniture and all sorts of things, and he ran the Mis- sion Woollen Mills, and the iron works. He was the right bower of Friedlander, the king of the grain ring, or else Fried lander was his right bower-any way they worked the grain business of the coast between them, and ofttimes caused the heart of the Granger to mourn. He furnished the brains for several heavy "jobs" upon the city, two railroad schemes, the Ravenside bridge, the Spring Valley Water Com pany's sale of their works and other enterprises" not all of which were successful, however, fortunately for the city. He was largely interested in the gas monopoly, and put Q million and Q quarter dollars into the Palace Hotel project. He held powerful influence in local and even in State politics, and used to elect pretty much those whom he saw fit to put in office.
 | In the stock market Ralston was 8 king. Both Sharon and Jones were deeply under obligations to him, and he participated in their schemes, which were always on gigantic scale. Year after year would come what was known as " the spring rise" in stocks. For 8 l few weeks the fictitious values of all sorts of stocks would be vastly enhanced or would huctuate with such activity as would cause the hair of conservative financier to stand upon end. Those ex- cited operations were not upon the basis of any real discoveries of fresh value in the mines, although they professed to be. The simple fact was that at that season the gold of the Bank of Califor- mia could be most conveniently used for speculative purposes, and consequently advantage was taken of the opportunity by Ralston, Sharon and Jones to "give l the boys new deal" A little later in the season, when stocks had been work ed off at high figures and double profit had been made on an artihcially pro- | duced general depression of the market, the gold was called in, to be used by the l grain ring in their speculative operations. | Through such manipulation the private | fortunes of Ralston and those intimately associated in his operations became enor- nous, but the banks standing was far from being proportionably improved. He was said to be worth twenty millions of dollars. That was probably an over estimate. California air seems prone to encourage overestimates, but he must certainly have been very rich. His pa latial residence at Belmont cost mil lion of dollars, and he expended in main taining it an average of over three hun dred thousand dollars per annum. Then he built house in San Francisco for a city residence, which is said to have cost half million of dollars. Before that he kept up the style of bachelor prince in suite of gorgeous parlors in Commercial street, between Montgomery and Kearney streets. There the big fish in the political puddle used to as
 semble, put up jobs" on the innocent
 public, and hold high carnival.
 Sumptuous repasts used to be fur
 nished from Martins to Ralston's par
 lors across the way, and many belatec
 Chinaman has paused in wonder, gazing
 upon the flashing lights and listening te
 music and revelry floating out from the
 great windows of the dingy-faced old
 building in which the money king anc l; his friends made merry. Sometimes tht ) iron shutters were closed, and then the l ear of the passing wayfarer was enchant ed by the silvery laughter and the me l lodious voices of fairer and gentlel beings than politicians and stock specu lators. Alas for the merry times gont } by! Those parlors have been dis mantled the luxurious baths, and pie. glasses, and bronzes, and carved side ) boards, and crimson silk counterpanes
 and silken curtains, and Persian rugs have all been scattered.
 Ralston in his office, at the bank, an( Ralston in those parlors were distinct in dividuals. In the bank he bore the al of an autocrat. His desk and chair wer elevated on & platform in the center ot {
 large room, to which one was admitted
 by servant. All about the walls wer big, leather-seated chairs, for peopl craving audience with him. He re ceived his visitors in turn, wheeling hi ! chair away from his paper-laden desk t. F confront each. One who brought I heavy letter of credit approached. Ral
 ston assumed mechanical smile for thi
 visitors benefit.
 "Merely visiting California 9'' ~ 2 "Yes, for my health.' ,- L
 "Going to see Yosemite s''
 f "I scarcely know"