The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-06

IL
William NJ. O'Brien and W. C. Ralston.
Maurice Dore was born in 1920 at Liner
ick Ireland, and came to California in
lS49. He chose San Francisco for his resi-
dence, and in 1868 or 1869 began business
in real estate with General H. H. Cobb as
his partner. The house handled all the
vast tracts OF land and large sales of that
time.
For number of years he was the conf
Dental adviser of w. G. Ralston. He was
the actuary of the Montgomery Real Estate
Corporation, owning all the properties
from Market to Howard street, and for
many years Mr.. Dore had the entire man
agement. He was noted for being one of
the cooest-headed of men in business;
| nothing ever dismayed or excited him.
Some months before the failure of the
Bank of California, at the request o. Mr..
Ralston, he had drawn large drafts for the
various corporations for which he was act
ing and negotiated large sums of money
for the benefit of the bank.
at the time OF the banks failure he had
outstanding hundreds of thousands of
dollars of paper upon which money had
been raised and used by the bank to sus-
tain its credit. Immediately after the fail
ure 1t was suggested to him that helshould
make an assignment of all his property so
that something could be saved for him by
the gradual settlement of this paper. He,
however, understood his liability to be
secondary to the liability OF the directors
of the bank and declined to do it, and he
informed one of the prominent personages
that there would be large number OF es-
tates which would have to be exhausted
before his was called on, and he advised
that the directors rescind the resolution to
place the bank IN bankruptcy and to make
| some provision for paying it's liabilities
and restoring its business.
During the exciting incidents at that
he tad oil h oh
knowing that the large fortune he then
| possessed was at stake.
The true story of his having $400, 900 be-
longing to Mr.. Ralston in his name, and
| which attests his answering integrity
| and honor, is this:
! He and Mr.. Ralston had been equally
interested in very large speculations and
| investments in California land, and parti-
| cularly in what was known as the "Sutter
! County land" on which large sums of
money had been expended in acquiring
and retaining. He had made large adj
vances to- the account, and it was unset
| tied at the time of Mr.. Ralston's sudden
death.
| The amount due Mr.. Dore was about
| $3.50, 900. He was advised that legally he
had the lawful right to hold all the prop
erty and could not be com PEELED to sur
render it until a settlement of the accounts
was made.
He replied that while that might be the
legal position in which he stood, he had
| obtained the title to the property for Mr..
| Ralston between them, and that he would
consider it dishonnrable to hold it, and
that he should fulfill the trust reposed in
him by informing Mr.. Sharon to whom
Ralston had conveyed all his property in
| trust
He was the principal owner of the
| Guadaloupe quicksilver mines in Santa
Clara County, and had other large posses
sions in the State
Owing to the decline in the price of
| quicksilver the investment proved an nm
| fortunate one and from being the owner of
a fortune estimated at $1,000, 600 few
years after the Bank of California failure,
he became financially embarrassed. He
was undismayed by his adverses, and
went to work with an energy possessed by
| few men to retrieve his losses. He met
with much encouragement. The late w.
| s. O'Brien and ]. c. Flood, the bonanza
king, had great confidence in his accuracy
OF judgment and his great integrity. and
he received a hearty support from them
and others. so that at the time of his
death he was enabled to leave reasonable
competency to his daughters.
IN an interview with Joseph M. Nougues,
the attorney and legal adviser of Mr.. Dore
he said:
In my judgment Mr.. Dore was very remark
able man. He had perfect aversion to any
| thing like display. He was universally cour-
| teous in his intercourse with every one. He
never stopped to take an advantage. He never
boarded money, and while he never allowed
his name to display itself in the lists oil osten-
| tatious charity, when he was able he never
| refused aid to a deserving person. Among
many of his old acqunintances of the early
days who had met with reyerses he assisted
them from time to time, and was always
pleased at being able to tighten their burdens
| He was exact in all his dealings, and while
| he was not communicate of any church, his
| life was that of O most perfect Christian. He
| lived by the golden rule. His death was en-
| blematic of his life. He expired as peacefully
as an infant going to sleep.
Mr.. Dore leaves two daughters-Miss
Nellie Dore and Miss Charlotte Dore-apd
grandchild, the son of the late Charles
Dore.
| Naxu