Year: 1875

Every body has heard by this time, OF


the failure of the great Bank of California
and of the suicide of its President, Vim. c.


Ralston, who, up to the time of his collapse.
was thought to be one of the richest nabobs
in America. Here's what John Paul writes
to the New York Tribune about this man
and his bank:


Cooks POINT, August 29.-From mate of
a Mississippi steamboat to head of one of
the largest banking institutions in the
world-undoubtedly the largest in this
Western half Of the world-seems a trans
formation dazzling and dramatic. But it
was gradual one. In this instance, as in
all others, it was no royal road that led to
position and power. The climb was hard
one and had its different stages and halt
ing places; by no single bound was the
hight reached. Different indeed the fall


Yesterday, looking up, men wondered ::
to-day, looking down, they stand aghast.
For one of the adventurous who then stood
with feet seemingly firm planted high up
the hill, which so many aspire to climb. now
lies crushed and shapeless mass at our
feet. Less far indeed from top to bottom
than from bottom to top; for the one
Journey years are necessary, for the other a
single minute suiiices. 1t is very hard at
just this point to refrain from preaching.
But will. The corpse found floating and
drifting about the bay of San Francisco has
been dragged ashore, and if you can look
upon it without learning something. all
that the CHASTITY lesson conveys, indeed. a
sermon would but be thrown away.


William c. Ralston was the most restless
and ambitious man ever knew, and AMONG
restless and ambitious men nv lot has
principally fallen. As already limited, his
beginning was an obscure one The precise
details of his early life do not remember.
and will not endeayor to repeat, though |
have had them from his own lips. But IN.
less ! much mistake, the banks of the
Mississippi River were the only banks with
which he had to do prior to emigrating to
California in the early gold days, and with
these he had to do in the capacity of mate
some say deck-hand Only-of a stcrn-wheel
steamboat. To the comparative lowncss of
this starting point, may we not attribute
that aspiring ambition which led to a fall ?
For you may have noticed that men born
to a middle station in life plod always in it
contentedly, while those born in the lower
levels are scarce ever satisfied till they have
climbed to the top of the social shaft. 1t
docs not exactly follow that those who start
on the top round of the ladder are uneasy
till they have climbed to the bottom, but t
is very frequently the case. In this matter
society Is like the ocean, that which breaks
loose from the bottom struggles up, and
good ships which are launched and expected
to swim ON the surface go down if accident
knocks a whole in them. Little by little,
Mr.. Ralston got on. But the more he got
on the longer were his strides. Most men
set for themselves point in life at which
10 rest when reached-at least they say
they will rest at it he never did. The
only point where he proposed to stop was
when he had gotten as far as he could 90,
and this programme carried with it very
few limitations as you can well imagine.
Nothing short of all could satisfy the man.
As in business, so with pleasure. For
pleasure in itself he did not really care
indeed, much doubt if he knew what it
was. Lavish surroundings contributed little
to his happiness, but he maintained the
establishment of prince. How it was
afterward, when railroads came to be built,
/ do not know, but in the day of my
knowledge he was whirled to his country
scat by relays of horses at the close of each
days business, with all the speed and more
ofstyle than any two railroads could furnish.
For horses, as horses, he cared very little,
and about horses, as horses, he knew less;
but his stables were full of the most famous