Year: 1875

From mate of aMississippi steamboat


to head of one Of the largest banking


institutions in the world-andoubtedly


the largestin this Western half of the
wOrld-seemS a transformation 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 a hard one and
had its different stages and halting
places; by no single bound was the
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 crushed and
shapeless mass at our feet. Less farm
deed from top to bottom than from bot
tom to top; for the one journey years
are necessary, for the other single
minute suffices. 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 Fran
cisco has been dragged ashore, and If
you can look upon it without learning
something, all that the ghastly lesson
conveys, indeed, a sermon would but be
thrown away.


William C.. RalStOn was the most rest
less and ambitious man l ever knew, and
among restless and ambitious men my
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 en-
deavOr to repeat, though | have had
them from his own lips. But un-
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 sold days, and with these he had
to do in the capacity of mate-some say
deck-hand only-of stern-wheel steam
boat. To the comparative lOwness 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 does not eX-
actly follow that those who start on the
top round of the ladder are uneasy till
they have 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.. Raj
ston 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 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 pleas
ure in itself he did not really care
indeed, | much doubt if he knew what
it was. Lavish surroundings contri-
buted little to his happiness,
but he maintained the establish
ment of a prince. How it was
afterward, when railroads came to
be built, l do not know, but in
the day of my knowledge he
was whirled to his country seat by re-
laws of horses ut the close of each days
business, with all the speed and more of
style than any two railroads could fur
nish. For horses, as horses, he cared
oh hnrSnE


he knew less; but his stables were full
of the most famous of goers. For wine,
he had no inordinate fondness, | think,
but down in his cellars you found brands
which are commonly supposed to be re-
served for the tables of royalty alone.
His hospitality " was marvellous; but
| do not know that any one can say he
was hospitable. Go to him with let
ter of introduction-or without one, if
you happened to be an eminent editor,
prize-fghter, lawyer, theOlOgian, horse
thief, or a member of any one of the
learned professions and he insisted
upon you making his house your home
while you stayed, furnishing you with
horses, steamboats,, palace cars, or any
thing else you wanted to go with when
YOU went. Invited down to his country
seat, YOU were at liberty to remain as
long as you pleased, and perhaps you
would not see your host more than once
during your visit. The whole rancho
and all it contained were at your dis
posal, however, and if a man could not
enjoy himself with such freedom of
range as this, the fault surely could be
but his own. have heard it said that
the Bank of California allowed him
S25, 200 a year wherewith to entertain
Eastern visitors. Again, L have heard
it stated that no limit was fixed, but that
a carte blanche was given him to enter
tain valuable visitors as he pleased, and
that at the end of the year he drew for
the total expense incurred. If you ask
me which of these stories | believe, |
reply, without the least hesitation,
Neither!


You have heard of the Bank of Cali
fornia, of which William c. Ralston
was President at the time of his death,
perhaps Do you know what it was?
No? Well, the Bank of California was
William c. Ralston. At the time of its
organization he was cashier only, it is
true, but if you suppose that the Presi-
dent of a bank is any thing less or is
meant to be any thing more than a re-
spectacle fgure-head, you know less
about banks in general, and New York
banks in particular, than one would
suppose possible in this age of general
nlightenment. As cashier, William c.
Ralston ran the bank. As President he
ran the bank. Thebank he always was,
and when the bank no longer was, he
died-by suicide, some say-naturally
enough, say l. Here you have the whole
history of the bank in a nutshell. As
for the directors or trustees, all, they
were good men and rich men, un-
doubtedly; and as such they, in COM
mon with other stockholders, will now
have an opportunity of performing the
first real duties which the honorable
situation of stockholder or director
makes imperative, viz, paying in a
handsome assessment TO make their
stock good. Thus the end crowns the
,rorl- apd porban- eona daV the daV of