Year: 1875

From Poverty to Power--Ambition OF Men
BOrnILOw--The Bank of California Moth
- ing bat William q. RnIston--Thc Enor-


nous Aspirations and Dealings of Both.


From mateof a Mississippi steamboat
to head of one of tile largest banking in
stitutions in the world-undoubtedly
the largest in this Western half of the
world-seems a transformation dazzling
and dramatic. But it was a gradual one.
In this instance, as in al others, it was
no royal road that led to position and
power. The climb was Q hard one and
had its different stages and hating
height reached. Different indeed the
fall. Yesterday. looking up, men won
dered 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 crush
ed and sliapeless 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 suffices. 1t is very hard at Just
this point TO refrain from preaching.
But / will. This corpse found floating
and drifting about the bay of San Fran
cisco has been dragged ashore. and if
you can look upon it without learning
something, all that the ghastly lesson
conveys, indeed, sermon would. but be
thrown away.


William G. Ralston was the most rest
less and ambitious man I ever knew.
and among restless and ambitious men
my lot has prime cipally, fallen. AS already
limited, Shis beginning was an obscure
one. The precise details of his early life
do not remember, and will not endea
vor to repeat, though have had them
from his own lips. But unless much
mistake, the banks of the Mississippi
river were the only banks with which he
had to do prior to immigrating to Cali
fornia in the early gold days, and with
these he had to do in the capacity of
mate-some say deck-hand only-of a
stern-wheel steamer.


To the comparative lowness. of this
starting point, may we not attribute that
aspiring ambition which led to fall 2
For you may have noticed that men born
to 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 does not exactly follow
that those who start on the top round of
the ladder are uneasy till they have
climbed to the bottom, but it 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 90
down if accident knocks a hole 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
a point in life at which to 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 60, and
this programme carried with it very few
Limitations ias you can we'll imagine.
Nothing short of all could satisfy the
man. AS in business, 80 with pleasure.
For pleasure in itself he did not really
care-indeed, I much doubt If he knew
what it was. Lavish surroundings con-
tributed 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 seat by relays of horses
at the close of each days business, with
all the speed and more of style than any
two railroads could furnish. For horses,
as horses, he cared very little, and: about
horses, as horses, e.knew less ;fbut his
q. stables were fultof the most famous OF
Roers. For wine, he had no inordinat@
fondness, think, but down in his cellars
you found brands which are commonly
supposed to he reserved for the tables