Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1875-09-04
Causes OF the Failure.

all the public interviews yesterday and to-
day Mr. Ralston stated explicitly the sus-
pension was not owing to any hostile action
by adverse parties, and tina. the best of
feeling prevailed between himself and par
ties who have been credited with the lock up
of coin. At an interview last evening at Mr..
Ralston's residence he repeated that asser.
ton in the presence of other parties. As
your reporter left the room Ralston followed
him into the hall and said: 1.-THE statements
have made as to the causes of. failure are
my statements to the world. AS matter Of
personal and private information tell you
that this failure is the result of persistent
effort for months to break this bank" I'm
der present circumstances your reporter
believes it proper to make this public. The
streets are still full of people, but the crowd
| is disposed to be quiet and orderly, though
| some feeling of uneasiness is evident. Every
precaution has been taken by the police de.
partment to preserve order, and it is believed
the evening will pass undsturbed.
why Raiston was Asked to Resign.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 30-Prominent
| bankers report that the immediate cause of
the demand by the directors of the Bank of
California for Ralston's resignation was the
discovery by the directors, during the inves-
responsible parties aggrcgatng in the neigh
borhood of a million dollars with no COLA
tcrals. 1t is also reported that il was the in
tention of the directors to have subsequently
called Ralston into their councils to avail
| themselves of his intimate knowledge of the
business of the bank.
The Downfall OF the Bank and the last
Occurrences of Mr.. RalstOn's Life.
| SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 28-On Thursday
Morning Messrs. Sharon and Mills, on behalf
of the Bank of California, made application
to Flood & O'Brien with view to the resto-
ration of the Bank to o sound basis. The
was that Flood g. O'Brien should take the
Bank, its entire capital stock, Its surplus
| fund-supposed to amount to million and
| half of dollars, and another million dollars
into the bargain Flood g. O'Brien were to
assume all the liabilities of the Bank, and
hold the Directors and stockholders harmless.
| Upon u hasty examination OF the affairs OF
the Bank, Flood & O'Brien came 20 the
determination that they could not afford to
assume these liabilities and the negotiations
| fell through. Then followed the suspension
of the Bank. Late In the afternoon the Di-
rectors had q short meeting and prepared the
announcement. signed by the Secretary,
which was published in the Bulletin Extra
the same evening; they then adjourned to 2
o'clock yesterday. At that hour the board
| met, all the members being present except
Mr.. Luning, who is absent from the State.
1t was not until that meeting that tho true
condition of the Bank was fully understood
by the Directors. The extent of serious
abuses that had been practiced in the institu-
ton had been concealed from them up to and
| for some hours after the suspension. In
view of the facts discovered, resolution
was passed appointing Mr. Mills Committee
sitting at his desk in another portion of the
Bank, and request his resignation. MIR. Mills
complied, addressing Mr. Ralston in kind
| language, but briefly stating his business.
| MIR. Raiston without remark wrote out his
resignation at the desk where he was sitting,
| and Mr.. Mills returned to the Directors room
and submitted the document. Then Mr..
him to leave the building. Mr.. Ratston i'm
| mediately left. The Board continued their
session until they were startled by the news
| that Mr.. Ralston was drowned at North
| Beach. Every thing indicates that Mr.. Raj
ston went directly from the bank to the place
where his life ended.
We have no doubt from information which
we have received from various sources, which
are perfectly reliable, that the true condition
of the Bank will be found to be about this:
| The liabilities will be upwards OF ia, 0O0,-
600. The reliable assets will aggregate from
| "a. 00O, 600 to $8, 1000, 900 aud the principal
stockholders will probably have to be assessed
| from 40 to so cents on the dollar to pay off
the liabilities. Following are the names OF
some of the principal stockholders: Bar
ron's Estate, Thomas Bell, Nicholas Luning.
| Moses Ellis, Captain ]. b. Thomas, Asa T.
Lawton, George Howard. William Norris,
! John @. Earl, 90hn Psrrct, D. j. Iassant,
| Michael Reese, d. o. Mills, Mark Living.
ston and D. F. Giffln.
Many of our men of wealth, having faith
| in the soundness of this institution, have
yielded to the opportunities of MIR. Ralston
| and have made large advances to try and sus'
tain the institution probably to the amount
| of $3, O0O, 600. The Obligations are in the
hands of o few capitalists, all of this amount
had been advanced for the purpose of
strengthening the bank.
The Funeral of w. G. Ksalston.
| The funeral services, to-day of Ralston
were held in Calvary Presbyterian Church,
and were conducted by Rev. John Hemphill.
| The National Guard, Odd Fellows. Regents
and Faculty Of the University, Chamber of
Commerce, San Francisco Stock Exchange,
Pacific Stock Exchange, Scandinavian Socie:
| ty, bankers, and brokers, and all classes OF
society. united In paying honor to the mem.
ory of the deceased. IL was estimated that
10000 persons were present
! AT the cemetery there were crowds OF PEG.
pie, chiefly women and children, who had
| been for hours waiting. The cars to Lone
Mountain came crowded with people II
looked as though the city had adjourned to
the cemetery. g
The coffin was taken into the vault and de-
| posited ON trsstles. The noble grand, of
| Templar Lodge, No. IN, l. o. O. r., Frank
| Ksnnedy, opened the services of the dead.
| A quartet -Messra Trehaye, Titcomb, Maxim
and Mcguire the hymn, Solemn
| Strikes the Funeral Chime" The Chaplin,
Mr.. Hemphill, then delivered an address,
the brethren walked around the casket and
deposited sprigs Of acacia, and once more the
choif sang asThy VIII be Done" Then came
4 the last prayer by the chaplain. Mrs. Ralston
and her son sat by the body as 1t ley on the
| trestles During the ceremony the crowd
seemed to sympathize with her grief. There
was naHe At that curiosity apparent which Is