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The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, January 11, 1891, Image 6

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STORY OF TWO LIVES.
How Collis P. Huntington Rose
From an Errand Boy.
THB BRILLIANT CAREER OP COLONEL
CHARLES P. CROCKER.
Bcmarkablc Tale From the Every-day
Life of Two Men "Who Won by
Pluck and Energy—lnside History
of the Building of the Central Pa
cific Railroad.
[R. F. Examiner, December 25, 1890.]
Charle» Frederick Crocker was born in
the city of Sacramento, the Capital of
California, December 26, 1854. He is,
therefore, at tho present time 36 years of
age. His father, Charles Crocker, one of
tho most distinguished financiers and
railway-binlders of his time, emigrated
from northern Indiana to this State in
18451. The elder Crocker was a native of
New York, but removed with his lather
in boyhood across northern Ohio and
northern Indiana into the northwest por
tion of the latter State. It was here he
grew to manhood and his earliest com
mercial venture was in the manufacture
of iron. The absence of economic com
munication between the different portions
of the country forced upon every com
munity tlie task of self-support. The
high cost of transportation operated as a
protection to the value of home products;
but for tho same reason the profit of
the forge was dependent upon a homo
market in its most restricted sense. The
stories of the fabulous riches of the gold
mines in California made a strong appeal
to the bold and enterprising nature of the
elder Crocker. He joined the earliest
Argonauts, arriving in this State in 1819.
His commercial and enterprising in
stincts led him to choose a mercantile
life us a career in his new home. ,Ho
soon found himself at the head of one of
the most successful commercial houses in
tho State. Three years later he returned
to his former home in Indiana, returning
again to California in 1853 with his newly
v. odded wife, the mother of the subject of
this sketch. In 18(30 he became identified
with Leland Stanford, 0. P. Huntington,
Mark Hopkins, and his brother, E. B.
Crocker, in the construction of the over
land railroad.
The career of the father in the field of
enterprise, upon which he achieved such
eminence, began when Charles Frederick
Crocker was but six years of age. It is
therefore dealing in fact rather than meta
phor- to say that his earliest recollections
wero associated with the construction and
operation of railroads. At the usual
Bebop] age he entered the public schools
of the city of Sacramento, which he at
tended until the age of sixteen. In 1870
he entered the University Mound College
and California Military Academy, where
he remained until April, 1873. As condu
cive to his general health, which during
his early manhood was not at any time
robust, as well as in view of its educa
tional advantages, the summer of 1873
was occupied in a tour of the British Isles,
Switzerland, Germany and tho Nether
lauds. Returning to the United States
in the fall of the same year, he entered
the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn,
N. Y. Here ho pursued his studies with
diligence, but failing health, which
threatened the loss of eyesight, forced.
him to retire from the school short of a
graduation in 1875, and at tho ago of
twenty-one he returned to this Stale.
The abbreviation of his schohistic course
was a most serious disappointment. It
was his intention to pursue his studios
until graduation, and he entertained the
further intention of taking a post-grad
uate course, with a full course in tho best
polytechnic school in tho country. His
first ambition was for scholarly* attain
ments, and while he has not yet chosen a
profession it was his own personal deter
mination, as well as the desire of his
father, that his attainments should be
limited only by his capacity to learn and
the capacities of the universities of the
country for imparting knowledge. The
disappointment of his plans in this par
ticular remains a subject of profound re
gret. Considerations of health, as well as
regard for tho broadening influences of
travel, led to suggestion of another trip
to Europe. A schoolmate of the same
age and a member of a family in medium
circumstances had projected a tour of con
tinental Europe, aud young Crocker de
sired to accompany him. The father,
Charles Crocker, required that the amount
of money which his young companion
would be allowed by his father should be
ascertained. This being done, tho young
man was furnished with exactly the earns
amount, and was told uuder no circum
stances to appeal to the father for moro.
The two young men, thus equipped,
started on their career, with the clear
understanding that economy would en
able tbem to extend their travel and pro
long their time abroad, while extrava
gance would shorten it. It has often been
claimed by the fathers of tho young men
that the most judicious uso was made of
their money, and that they achieved a
surprising amount of travel and observa
tion for the money spent. The assurance
that no reinforcement of their funds would
be made put them upon a judicious
and thoughtful piano of expenditure, and
taught a valuable lesson on the relation
of income to outgo. At tho conclusion of
this tour Charles F. Crocker returned to
California.
His failing eyesight admonished him
that his student lite was at an end, and
the first question which arose was tho
choice of a future career. He chose tho
occupation of his father, and determined
to identify himself with the great trans
portation interests of the country.
At this time his father was one of the
remaining four of the eminent railroad
constructors of this coast. It is au addi
tional evidence of the sound common
sense of both father and son that the boy
ot 21 was not given tbehigh-ounding offi
cial title which might easily have been
commanded, nor placed as an hereditary
figure-head in charge of some important
department. His first employment con
nected with the railroad system of Cali
fornia was as clerk in tho Division Super
intendeut's office at Oakland wharf. The
position was in no sense a sinecure. He
was required to perform the same service
and received the same pay as like posi
tions elsewhere. The details of operating
a line of railroad as it can be seen only
lrom the standpoint of the Division Super
intendent became familiar to him. It was
an apprenticeship in the most practical
field of railroad operation. The first dif
ficulty to be overcome was to make those
with whom he came in contact understand
that his position was real and actual, and
that ho exercised no more nor less au
thority than his position commanded.
The railroad operatives appeared to re
gard his appointment as a sinecure, or as
having been conferred upon him by rea
son of his relationship to one of the prin
cipal proprietors of the road; and, there
fore, when it became necessary for him to
give directions they were apt to be con
strued either as moaning something more
than if issued by another iv the same
position or as signifying something less
than the authoritative expression of one
in real authority. Eventually it came to
Ik? understood, however, that he was un
der the same disciplinary regulation as
any other clerk in the office, and that his
authority did not extend beyond tho
realm of the natural functions belonging
to the position. His first promotion was
to the position of clerk in the General
Freight office at the general offices of the
company in San Francisco, a position
which afforded a dear view of the whole
field of railroad operation in its commer
cial and economic aspect. In this position
he discharged the fun round of duties.
His first position was at the desk of
"over and short." The meaning of the
term will be fully understood by railroad
men, and as fully comprehended by ship
pers who deal with the General "freight
office. From this he was promoted to tlie
desk of "loss and damage." and from
tbis to the still higher position of claim i
adjuster. His employment in these ca
pacities lasted for one year, and to quote .
the language of the venerable chief clerk
of the office, who still occupies the posi- i
tion,, "He left an excellent record both as
a clerk and as "a gentleman." It was at ;
this time that General David E. Colton
died. Governor Leland Stanford, Presi- .
dent "Of' the road, sent for Charles F.
Crocker, and to the very great surprise of
the latter, informed him that it was de
sired that he should take Mr. Colton's
pkulo and dlst-hargs the duties of the of
fice-ie ft.Vacant by Mr. Colton'* death. It
will bo remembered that Mr. Colton was
tbe financial agent of the company, and
that he Was also the purchaser of fuel,
which ■ included the direction of all tlie
coal mines owned by the company, and
the negotiation for their sale and purchase
as occasion might require. This was a
promotion appealing strongly to the
pride of an ambitious young man, and
with many misgivings as to his capacity
for the discharge of the newly imposed
duties he entered upon the office. His
first plan to qualify himsqlf was te.make
a diligent examination of all the corre
spondence conducted by his predecessor,
thus .making- himself master of the past
details of administration, so th£t its
future conduct would" be tho equivalent
of the continuity of a single memory, in
this he succeeded admirably and,'as the
duties committed to him were executive
in their nature, the office of Third "Vice-
Pfevident, of .the Southern Pacific Com
pany was. created for him by the unani
mous vote of the owners and directors.
On September 7' 1880, at the age of 20,
he was married to Miss Eastern, the esti
mable daughter of A. M. Easton and Mrs.
Adelia M. Easton, the latter tho sister of
I). O. Mills. Mrs. Crocker was a lady of
rare accomplishments and strongly indi
vidualized character. To this happy
union three children were born. His
marital happiness was, however, of short
duration, and he encountered the tii-st
great bereavement of his life in the death
of his beloved wife, which occurred Feb
ruary 25,1887.
As tho son acquired knowledge and
competency in the general administra
tion of'the company's affairs, tlie father
began to withdraw his attention measur
ably from its more arduous duties and al
low himself, more of that well-merited
loisurp~ and retirement which his failing
health so imperatively demanded. In
1888 young Crocker was promoted to the
position of Second Vice-President. The
position of Third Vice-President which
had been created for him, would perhaps
have lapsed into a sinecure but for the
continued absence of the superior officers
<;f the property. Leland Stanford, the
President of the company, was frequently
abroad in Europe. C. P. Huntington, its
First Vice-President and financial head,
was located in Now York. The constant
expansion of tho railway system gave to
its financial affairs a primacy of import
ance which required the presence in tlio
general financial office in New York of
Charles Crocker. And thus Charles Fred
erick Crocker, remaining at home tho
solo representative of the real ownership
of the property, becamo the resident
Managing Director. Exigencies • con
stantly arise in the management of the
affairs of a great railway system, requir
ing immediate decision. Even tele
graphic communication with co-l)iroctors
abroad cannot wholly relievo the local
resident Director of responsibility in the
solution of important problems. Being
on the ground he must act, and in acting
must necessarily exercise a largo dis
cretion of judgment. His promotion,
therefore, to the Second Vice-Presidency
was well earned. In this new and higher
position came broader discretion of judg
ment. His official relation to tb<s admin
istrative affairs of tho conmauy, however,
was not tho heaviest Murden imposed
upon him in the year of his promotion.
On .August 14, 1888,' his distinguished
father died, leaving to him, as tho oldest
and most experienced member of the
family, primary charge of an estate val
ued at $24,000,000. Tho estate was inex
tricably interwoven with tho railway
system and its concomitant interests. It
was indeed a vast property, sustaining
complex relations to other estates, with
a very large percentage of its value de
pending upon the success of vast enter
prises, tho conduct of which demand the
most experienced business sagacity.
However active or real the official rela
tion sustained by Colonol Crocker to the
affairs of the railway system and to the
varied interests of the estate to which ho
was in part prospective successor prior to
to the death of his father, that event im
posed upon him additional and more seri
ous responsibilities. By the terms of his
father's will he becamo, in co-trustooship
with his brothor, Vv'illiam EL Crocker,
trustee of the estate and by priority of
age and experience its principal adminis
trator. Thus to official function was
added tho augmented responsibility of
increased personal ownership and the
higher duties of a trust relation. Four
teen months later his beloved mother de
parted this lifo. Thus in three successive
years ho was bereaved of a wife, a father
and a mother.
Upon tbo retirement of Leland Stanford
from the Presidency and the election of
C. P. Huntingtou to that office, Charles
Frederick Crocker became, by the unani
mous choice of the ownership, the First
Vice-President, and was fully vgsted with
all the discretionary power the position
implies. Thus at the early age oi thirty
six he stands a full participant in the ad
ministrative responsibility of interests
involving£>oo,Cloo,ooocapital. Nor should
it be forgotten that the advancement
herein outlined has been at the hands of
men who stand among the foremost rail
road contractors, operators and financiers
of the present age. Tho accident of rela
tionship may afford opportunity for the
achievement of official relations involv
ing the discharge of great administrative
duties,'but such accidents do not go be
yond the opportunity. In the discharge
of functions connected with the operation
of the great system of transportation, em
ploying hundreds of.millions of capital
and carrying millions in value of pro
perty and millions of precious lives, abil
ity must be present if the position which
accident may have- conferred is main
tained. Mr". Crocker's promotion may
havo been, in a. measure a concession to
his prospective ownership of the property
controlled, but to maintain any position
in the executive department of a railroad
system ability equal to the place must be
manifested.
It is extremely doubtful whether a com
pletely candid biography was ever writ
ten. At best the biographer adopts a par
tial view. If the portraiture is at the
hands of friendship, the warm colors of
charity are applied; if by the hand of en
mity, the distortion of malice is present.
"Paint me as I am," said diver Crom
well to the artist beforo whom he was sit
ting for a portrait. "If you smooth out
one wrinkle, or attempt the outline of
symmetry where deformity exists, I will
repudiate the picture." The task of the
biographer, however, differs from that of
the artist. The former deals with intel
lectual and moral elements of character,
which elude exact measurements; the lat
ter may invoke in his work the common
rules of drawing and perspective. Crom
well was perhaps less vain of his personal
appearance than of his record as a states
man; and if he could have anticipated the
work of some of his biographers, we are
inclined to the opinion that he would have
verdicts of contemporaneous history and
preferred less faithful portraiture. The
biography alike encounter distrust as to
their impartiality, but there must exist
somewhere between the Charvbdis and
Seylla of detraction and flattery a
free and open channel of per
sonal criticism, wherein a just esit
mate of our contemporaries may
find unobstructed way. Taking note of
this chart. I may be permitted to say that
my first knowledge of Charles P. Crocker
began in 1865. One day in the summer of
that year, a surgeon who occupied offices
on the same floor with my own, called me
to his assistance. Upon entering the office
I found a lad of about eleven or twelve
years suffering from a broken arm. He
was a sturdy young fellow, in whom the
sanguine temperament was loudly pro
claimed by a very florid complexion.
Although suffering much pain, he made
no complaint. Both bones of the lower
arm were broken about midway between
the elbow and the wrist, and the hand
hung limp and listless when held at a
right angle at the elbow. Whilo the sur
geon's preparations for the operation were
going on he engaged his little patient in
conversation.
"How did this haoDen?" he asked.
THE SUNDAY UNION, SACBAMENTO, CAI,., JANUARY 11, 1891.-EIG-HT PAGKES.
"On the play-ground."
"Docs your mother know of the acci
dent:''
"No; I came straight from the school
house here."
"Why did you not inform your people
of the accident?"
"Because I thought I would como here
and get my arm fixed. I know if I went
home they would send for you, and so I
came right here to save time."
I held the upper arm at the elbow while
the painful operation of setting was per
formed. There was a slight tremor of
pain as the surgeon drew the arm into
line in the operntion of replacement, but
no outcry. When the operation was
completed and the boy sent home the
surgeon told me that he was Fred
Crocker, the son of Charles Crocker. In
this incident there are many indications
of character which identify the boy with
the man—the quiet, undemonstrative en
durance, the self-reliance, the plain com
mon-sense view of the whole situation,
the consideration of the question what
was the right thing to be done and tho
immediate action when the conclusion of
the proper action was reached. In school,
in business, in the domestic circle, in
friendship, in short in all the relations of
life, these traits have been manifest. Per
sonally, Charles F. Crocker is below the
medium bight, with fully rounded form,
which confers the appearance of robust
health and vigor. His manner is delib
erate and readily invites confidence. His
method of conversation is unrestrained,
easy and free of ostentation. His me
thodical habits of" business are suggested
by the obviously careful arrangement of
his statements. When hesitating in the
choice of words, he never accepts that
proffered by his auditor, but proceeds
with his own selection, and when it is put
forth the auditor perceives that the hesi
tation was not the result of search for a
missing word, but rather the deliberate
choice between many words nearly
synonymous in the mind. Mr. Crocker is
well-informed upon a great variety of
topics. His taste in reading runs in the
line of history, essay and contempora
neous literature. It is one of the charms
of conversation with him that his opin
ions are original and real. This is refer
able in part te the absence of those attri
butes of character which constitute the
politician. Up to the present he has not
been assailed by political ambition. His
opinions are therefore the real convictions
of his mind. He is broadly familiar with
the political issues of his own country
and the leading powers of the world. He
would achieve a high degree of political
sin-cess with great facility. Keal influ
ence resides in character. The faculty of
attracting and holding the confidence of
the masses of men has its root in the
stability of friendship and the continuity
of purpose. We feel to possess instinct
ively a knowledge of what some men may
do under stated circumstances, and there
is no deviation of confidence from real
integrity and high purpose.
In thus retracing briefly the career of a
young man born to fortune 1 am not un
conscious of its departure from the mo
notonous features of American biography.
Nearly all of our countrymen who have
achieved sufficient eminence to justify
the presentation of biographical sketches
to the public have arisen from obscurity.
The early disadvantages of our great meu
are tiie favorite theme of the eulogist. The
contrast between the poverty and ob
scurity in which their young life was
passed and the ultimate eminence
achieved by them is constantly dwelt
upon. We share in the admiration for
men who by the force of manly character
bave raised themselves from the obscur
ing levels of our common humanity to
the summits of true greatness. We share
in a proud admiration for the broad liber
ality of American institutions which in
terpose no obstacles to the achievement of
the highest distinction on every field of
human activity. At the same time it
should not l>e forgotten that it is less diffi
cult to acquire a self-reliant and strongly
individualized character in the school
where necessity is master than to acquire
the more solid elements of manliness
against tho demoralizing tendencies of
great riches. Tho way from poverty to
wealth is much easier than from wealth
to substantial character. The philosopher
who said that men acquire wisdom in
solitude, but character m tlie stream of
life, has furnished a key to the success
of men of eminence whose lives had
their source in poverty and obscurity.
Necessity confers self-reliance, concen
tration and earnestness of purpose. Tho
man whose boyhood was passed amid the
discomforts, the apprehensions and even
the terrors of poverty may readily refer
the strength and tenacity ot his character
to its formative influence. Even the nat
ural affections of the poor boy are power
fully enlisted on tho side of his determi
nation to rise from the conditions which
offend every aspiration, from the com
monest ambition to the dearest affections
tho human heart can know. When life
begins in a complete competency, or iv
great wealth, there is no spur of necessity
to prick the ambition of aimless exertion.
The history of a thousand distinguished
men proves that poverty is the groat con
structor of character, whilo wealth is its
most insidious destroyer. The conscious
ness that the means of the gratification of
every desire aro practically limitless has
the poison of surfeit, and tho possessor of
a great fortune in youth is beset by the
danger of morbid tendencies. The am
bition to acquire a competency is most
worthy, and if the most honorable place
in life "is the ranks of honest industry the
most honorable place in these ranks be
longs to him who, standing shoulder to
shoulder with his fellow-men in the great
industrial army, is there from choice, not
of necessity.
Of the four railroad constructors and
operators, citizens of California, who
achieved such distinction upon the great
field of their chosen activity, Charles
Crocker was the only ono who had sons
to succeed him. As tho prospective suc
cessor of his father, a high position in
railroad management was naturally con
ceded to Charles F. Crocker. The public,
therefore, never troubled itself to inquire
whether his promotion was by merit or
as'the result of inheritance. His advance
ment was looked upon as the natural and
inevitable course of things. Under snch
circumstances, but little if any thought
will be given to the question of intrinsic
merit underlying hereditary promotion.
This is a most trying and, indeed, a ftiost
unfortunate position in which to place
any aspiring and ambitious young man.
It deprives him of the opportunity of
rising by force of energy or of rejoicing iv
each upward step as the unmistakable
concession to fitness. Thero may be, as
in the case of Colonel Crocker, there cer
tainly is, the record of a well-ordered,
sober, _ methodical and industrious lifo,
wherein the attendant promotion to high
station is attributed to inheritance, when
In other cases it would be accepted as an
evidence of real merit; and yet it is
within the realm of sober truth to say
that the subject of this sketch has received
no undeserved advancement and that the
position he has attained has been honor
ably won and fairly maintained.
Tf Mr. Crocker has not achieved official
distinction it is a high ecomium to say
that he has not sought it through the
vanity which desiro public adulation. If
it is said that in making his way he has
occupied tho vantage ground of great
wealth, it is a higher distinction to say
that among all men of wealth he Is tho
most unspoiled of millionaires. If at his
present young age retrospection encount
ers but little to gratify his higher ambi
tion, it discloses nothing to "regret. At
the age of SO ho has achieved wealth, pos
ition and high and honorable distinction
among men.
c. p. mrsmyGTox's career.
History of His Remarkable Financial
Ability and Success.
Collis P. Huntington descended from
the very best of Connecticut stock. He
inherited a splendid physical develop
ment, a vigorous brain, a completely nor
mal mentality, well-balanced faculties,
and mental and physical activities, which
are temperamental, supervening upon a
constitution possessing marvelous capaci
ties for endurance. Experimental edu
cators have declared tbat while intellect
ual brilliancy and scholarly attainment
are possible in a single generation, long
sustained mental activity and constantly
augmenting mental power are legacies
which may be inherited only by the de
scendants of an educated ancestc-ry.
His education was obtained in the com
mon schools of Now England, as such
schools existed over half a century ago,
and comprised three months" schooling
In the district school during the winter
and three months In summer. Ho may
be stCd to have entered upon a business
career at the age of twelve years.
Whether from accident or choice, his first
business venture.was in mercantile pur
suits. His first'introduction into this
realm of activity was at the very bottom
round of the ladder upou which he has
climbed to such distinguished eminence.
The position of errand boy in tho village
grocery and store of Phi'neas \V. Noble
constituted his incipient introduction
into that world of trade and commerce in
which he eventually became a master.
It was in its truest "sense an apprentice
ship. It began with the ABC of sweep
ing up tho store, lighting the tires and
running errands. llut what was more
important, it was an introduction, at a
very plastic age of life, into a mercantile
and commercial atmosphere. The village
store, with its mercantile spirit, was thu
world of commerce iv miniature. It en
compassed all the essential elements of
trade, barter and commerce, and com
prised within the range of its business
activity the ultimate and fundamental
principles which, when once mastered,
need only to be expanded to tit tho
broader theater of the world's exchange.
What the deck, the masts and the broad
expanse of ocean wero to midshipman
Nelson, that country store was to the ap
prenticeship of the errand boy Hunting
ton.
At the age of fifteen he went to New
York and purchased on his own account
out of his small savings a few goods,
watch findings, jewelry, silver goods,etc.,
but principally watch findings. These
goods ho sold for a little time in the
vicinity of his home. Put inherent
energy and a true spirit of enterprise are
the great emancipator* from the thrali
dom of endeavor in the service of others.
While still fifteen he went south, selling
watch findings and watches. Even at
this early age his capacity for higher ven
tures manifested itself. The faculties of
negotiation were added to the skill of
merchandising. He purchased at a heavy
discount dock notes from a man who had
employed 100 people traveling through
out the .South. He was signally success
ful in collecting these notes, and pur
sued that business, traveling throughout
the Southern States from the age of lifteen
to twenty-one. In this wav 110 became
acquainted with tho Southern States.
In fact, in a short time he knew the whole
United States as well as or better than
any man of his age in the country. Ho
had thoroughly mastered the geographical
relations of trade between the different
portions of America, and thus was his
attention early called to the general sub
ject of transportation and its importance
to commerce.
This very unusual employment at a re
markably early age wiih at once an intro
duction to many phases of human charac
ter, as well as great diversity of trans
action. It embraced the features of travel,
and their consequent enlargement of the
mind afforded opportunities for observa
tion relative to many communities, and
revealed the nature of their various en
terprises, showing here fossilized con
servatism and there the awakening spirit
of enterprise, enabled comparisons to be
made as to tho deficiency of products in
one part of the country and their super
abundance in others, and was a contact
with commerce and exchange al a point
broadly suggestive of tho great oflice per
formed by transportation in the produc
tion, distribution and consumption of tho
objects of human desire.
Notwithstanding these trips abroad, a
mercantile business had been established
at home, in which a brother had become
interested, and shortly after tho discon
tinuance of his Southern trips the an
nouncement of the gold discoveries in
California attracted tlio attention of the
whole country. The now El Dorado was
a most enticing field to young men of
energy and enterprise, and leaving the
business which had partially been created
by their joint effort in the' hands of his
brother, early in the spring of 1819 Mr.
Huntington took passage ter California
by way of Panama.
Upon arriving here and looking over
tho field, the geography of the country
was first studied. Mr. Huntington's edu
cation in this branch of knowledge had
been essentially a commercial one; that is
to say, he understood geography in its
commercial aspect.
Practically, tho entire business activity
of that day was in the mines. Tho first
great mining enterprises had the country
now comprising the counties of El Do
rado, Yuba and Placer for their field of
operations. Mr. Huntington, already a
student of transporation as a factor in
business, saw at a glance that Sacramento
was the best point from which to sell to
the traders.
In due time the houso of Huntington &
Hopkins had been established and was
being conducted on the most approved
business principles. It was rapidly ac
quiring wealth and prominence. It came
to be recognized as sound, both financially
and morally. Perhaps no house in tho
Stato had higher mark of commercial
credit in tho reports of commercial
agencies. The house itself dealt princi
pally in hardware, but Mr. Huntington's
spirit of personal speculation was irre
pressible. He dealt in all kinds of mer
chandise, outside of the lines carried by
the house. He purchased and sold nearly
every species of imperishable goods
which men would want. He engaged in
the brokerage business for other houses.
With that forecast that belongs to genius
in any occupation, it was his practice, in
accordance with the custom of the time,
to purchase large lots of goods in antici
pation of their scarcity, owing to the in
adequate means of communication be
tween the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards.
The period of scarcity which his busi
ness acumen foresaw resulted in sharp
advances on the articles stored by him
and consequent high speculative profit.
The commercial conditions wore highly
favorable to phenomenal fluctuations of
prices, and Mr. Huntington's speculative
ventures in the year 1804 yielded him a
profit of §800,000. As illustrative of the
speculative methods of the timo it may
be incidentally remarked that of this
large profit $200,000 was credited to the
single article of powder, tho houso of
Huntington & Hopkins in that year for a
short time being the only source of sup
ply. Notwithstanding the Hush condi
tion of the times a very large percentage
of the business done by the houso of
which Mr. Huntington was tho head was
done on credit. Supplies wero sold to
the miners in the distant mountains. The
miners' transactions with tho house were
carried on book accounts. It is recorded
as a singular fact, and ono highly compli
mentary to tho commercial honesty of
the time, that none of its accounts were
lost; that while mining operations and
enterprises were characterized by great vi
cissitudes of fortune, sooner or later these
accounts were nevertheless all collected.
The experience of the house of Hunting
ton & Hopkins, however, iv thia regard,
was not common to all houses. A very
largo part of its success in the way of
closing its books by payments of bal
ances must be attributed te the superior
finesse of its conductors.
By the period of 1555 the agricultural
capabilities of California wero in a great
measure recognized. The American oc
cupation of tho territory had continued
long enough to make the peculiarities of
the climate beiter understood. It had be
fore begun to !>o perceived that the period
of verdure in tho broad valleys and fer
tile hills west of the central axis of tho
Sierra Nevada Mountains was longer
than a like period in the Northern, Mid
dle and Western States. The groat diver
sity of horticulture so favored by the
clemency of the climate had began to be
apprehended. The settlement, which up
to the time of the recognition of the nat
ural resources of the country, had been
regarded as nomadic, began to lose its
ephemeral character, and the American
population turned its attention seriously
to the great question of laying tho found
ation of a civil aud social 'fabric.
Perceiving that the discovery of gold
and the resultant hegira from the Eastern
States in search of the precious metal was
soon to becomo a mere incident inthe set
tlement of a country possessed of really
great natural resources, the thoughts of
far-seeing men were naturally turned to
tlio question of establishing cheap and
expeditious communication with the
main body of the civilization of this
country.
In the meantime the Comstock lode, on
the eastern fiatik of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, had been discovered, and had
been so far developed as to make its vast
riches suspected. The necessity of car
rying supplies across tho mountains to
this new ElDorado of mineral wealth
bad resulted in a reconnoissance survey
ol some of the mountain passes. T. D.
Judah, a civil engineer, had made some
of these experimental surveys over tlie
mountains! The newly acquired national
significance of the enterprise had strongly
attracted Mr. Huntington's attention.
Heaving that Mr. Judah had returned
and would hold a meeting for the pur
pose of securing aid for tho completion of
the survey, Mr. Huntington attended tho
meeting.
Mr. Huntington, though present, did
not give anything, and when asked
whether he was going to subscribe replied
that he did not think a great transconti
nental road could bo built bycontributions
to a picnic. At the close ol the meotinghe
approached Mr. Judah, making himself
known to him, and invited him to come
to his house on tho following evening.
The appointment was kept, and this first
meeting between tho engineer and tho
financier constituted the incipient be
ginnings of the Central Pacific Railroad.
Mr.Huntington agreed to form a syndicate
to advance the sum of $35,000 in cash
toward the completion of a survey. After
much persuasion he secured the co-oper
ation of his partner, Mark Hopkins.
Subsequently, ho approached Leland
Stanford on the subject. This was but a
short prior to his election as Governor of
the State. Governor Stanford entered
iuto hearty co-operation with the scheme.
Later Charles and E. B. Crocker were in
duced to bear a portion of Ihe expense of
the survey. Tho syndicate number six—
Huntington, Hopkins, Charles Crocker,
Stanford, James Bailey and L. A. Booth,
or seven, including T. D. Judah, who was
to give his surveys for that interest with
out contribution of money.
At the time of his subscription, Mr.
Booth had a mine at Virginia City, which
ho thought was worth a large sum of
money. A week or two later, and before
any of the money had been expended, be
told Mr. Huntington that the indications
of a profitable nflne has disappeared and
that there was, therefore, no longer any
inducement on his part to remain in the
syndicate. The understanding was that
a contribution su the Cost of tlie survey
did not commit any party making sucli
contribution to any further investment.
A survey was to he made over the Sierra
Nevada mountains and an outlook taken
from the eastern slopes. The report of
this survey when completed was highly
satisfactory. Notwithstanding many
mountain chains have since been sur
mounted, the summit of no range is ap
proached a grade of liko persistency of
ascent. A line was run without losing a
foot from tide water to the summit of the
Sierras, except a loss of twenty-four feet
near the town of Colfax. The engineering
experiments Inning disclosed a practi
cable route fora railroad, Mr. Huntington
became convinced that tlie road could be
built. From this point the new purpose
of becoming the projector and constructor
of a great overland railroad became one of
tbe fixed purposes of Mr. Huntington's
mind «nd one of the definite plans of his
lifo. The first point of safety in tho con
struction of the road resided in the fact
that a road could be built to Dutch Flat,
where it would find connection with a
wagon road to the Comstock mines. This
link of the road at least wotdd be profita
ble and its construction was immediately
determined upon. The undertaking was
formally inaugurated. One of the original
syndicate having fallen out by the way,
the other six paid in each month the ob
ligations incurred by the construction,
until Newcastle was reached. After pay
ing about 1200.000 each, James Bailey be
came distrustful of the enterprise and
decided not to pay any more. Engineer
Judah also became appalled at the magni
tude of the financial phase of the ques
tion, and each soid upon satisfactory
terms to the live remaining co-partners,
aud thus it was that Huntington, Stan
ford, Charles and E. B. Crocker* and Marl-
Hopkins became the solo proprietors of
tilt- road. Tho Central Pacific Railroad
Company in California was organized in
isoo. Aaron A. Sargent was Representa
tive in Congress from California. Ap
preciating the new phases of national is
sues, which had revitalized the old
suggestion of constructing a great high
way to the Pacific Ocean, he compre
hended fully tho propitious character of
the opportunity, and with that directness
and energy for which ho was so distin
guished, ho introduced and passed the
Act granting Government aid in the
construction of a railroad and telegraph
lino from tho Missouri river to the Pa
cific Ocean, approved March 2, 1862. The
road was constructed, however, to New
castle without Government aid. A por
tion of the finances necessary for tho
prosecution of this undertaking was ob
tainod by tho issuanco of convertible
bonds, but which in fact were never con
verted; at the end of ten years they wero
taken up.
In its every aspect, whether in the di
rection of the details or in the solution of
the broader and higher problems in
volve, the construction of tho Central Pa
cific Railroad was a gigantic undertaking.
To fully appreciate its magnitude, the
discouraging features of the nine in which
it was undertaken must be considered.
These can only be generalized here. • The
Government had granted aid in lands and
and had created bonds, but the perpetuity
of the nation itself was rendered doubt
ful by tho fast-gathering clouds of civil
war. Tho national credit was scarcely
better than that of solvent individuals.
Personality is inseparable from every
great undertaking. Ilowcver feasible the
undertaking, however aided by national
subsidy and credit, the standing of'an en
terprise must inevitably borrow its char
acterization from tho character of those
directing it. The men who stood spon
sors for this great undertaking were citi
zens of the most remote and most obscure
littlo group of Anglo-Saxon civilization
in tho world. Thus the financial phase of
the undertaking became supremely para
mount, and by comparison subordinated
evon te simplicity all the mechanical pro
blems of construction.
Near tho close of 1862 Mr. Huntington,
armed with the full powor of attorney
from the company, went to New York,
fully charged with the administration of
its financial affairs. Henceforth upon his
success or failure would depend the suc
cess or failure of the enterprise. Ho
k nocked at the gate of the financial world,
strong in the consciousness of the legiti
macy of the undertaking he represented.
Thus to Mr. Huntington was confided
that portion of tho task, tho successful
accomplishment of which required the
highest diplomatic and negotiating facul
ties.
' In New York Mr. Huntington had
already established a very high personal
credit He had been a purchaser of goods
in the wholesale market since 1837, and
all obligations incurred in his mercantile
life had been mot by prompt payment.
His acquaintanceship in the mercantile
community was extensive, and he availed
himself of this acquaintanceship most
effectively to float the securities of the
new undertaking. The success which
attended his efforts is now a part of the
well-known financial history of tho coun
try. At the timo of tho building of the
Central Pacific Kailroad its capital and
securities constituted the largest aggrega
tion of capital in tho United States. In
addition to the procurement of money
necessary to the successful prosecution of
the enterprise, tlio duties of purchasing
agent were superadded. Some idea of
the magnitude or the transactions in this
lino will bo realized by the statement lhat
Mr. Huntington purchased in one day
65,000 tons of rails and chartered over
twenty ships in which to transport them
to the Pacific coast.
In estimating the difficulties which at
tended any undertaking after its trium
phant accomplishment appreciation is
lettered by ths almost irresistible tend
dency to measure their magnitude by the
standard of existing facilities. To-day
fivo overland roads span the continent.
Communication between tlie Atlantic and
Pacific seaboards on American soil is
cheap and expeditious. An equal num
ber of lines of telegraph now confer cer
tainty upon communication.
At the time of Mr. Huntington's arri
val in New York to enter upon the great
duties with which he was charged no rail
road Bne had penetrated west of the Mis
souri river, and but a singlo line of tele
graph was to bo depended upon for com
munication. Practically, the entire line
from the Missouri river to tide water on
the Pacific coast lay through a country
occupied by untamed savages, whose
hostility to advancing civilization would
seriously complicate the task in hand.
Ihe geographers of tho world had writ
ten upon the face of the maps of the re
gion with unstintina- dogmatism the
characterization, "The Great American
Desert." The South pass, discovered by
Fremont, was the only geographical des
ignation to be found on tlio face of any
map indicating a gateway through the
RockyMoft&tains. There were but few
to believe in the practicability of railroad
construction through that pass. The
territory to be opened by tho construc
tion of the road was three times greater
than that subdued by Cajsar to Roman
dominionjin all hjs wars of conquest.
As the financial agent, by whose finesse,
address and skill tho funds necessary for
tho prosecution of the work must be pro
cured, and as purchasing agent, who must
procure and ship everything used iti tho
construction and equipment of the road,
Mr. Huntington confronted many diffi
culties. Tho duties committed to him
were superlatively paramount, demand
ing iii their successful discharge the com
bined ability of the financier, tho diplo
mat and the far-sighted negotiator. Great
difficulties are forever the opportunity for
great distinction, and the manner in
which these difficulties were mot and
overcome by Mr. Huntington proves the
possession on his part of financiering and
diplomatic faculty equal if not superior to
that of any American who has gained dis
tinction upon theso fields. The masterly
manner in which the paramount prob
lems committed to him wero solved en
titles him to the high distinction of the
pioneer builder of American transconti
nental railroads.
Mr. Huntington's career furnishes an
example of those whose claim to distinc
tion is disproportionate to the official posi
tions held by them. Notwithstanding his
clear insight into the relation between
legislation and the successful prosecution
of any business, Mr. Huntington has
never at any time consented to serve in
any official position. At no time in his
life could he be classed with the politi
cians. This has been due very largely to
a singular absence in his mind of any de
sire for distinction merely for his own
sake. If at any time ho has been beset by
personal ambition, it has been for the ac
complishment of largo undertakings in
the realm of financial and commercial
activity. The common comprehension
seeks in high official station for
justification of any claim to dis
tinction. This is true, because the
discharge of duties in public sta
tion affords standards of comparison
with distinguished men who may have
occupied analogous positions. A Presi
dent of the United States may leave the
impression of his personality upon the
history of his country, and the measures
of public policy inaugurated by him may
be brought into comparison" with the
policies of the long lino of Presidents
in which he stands. Standing
alone, the statement of tho biographer
that the subject of his biography became
President of the United States carries with
it a presumption of the possession on his
part of exalted character or distinguished
ability. But of one who has achieved
great wealth by the successful prosecu
tion of great enterprises, as broad in their
beneficence as the entire basis of modem
civilization, it may be said that he has
won a more jnst distinction than can
possibly be conferred by mere official
prominence.
Men possessed of genius for originating
great enterprises, devising general poli
cies and the administrative force noces
sary to carry their plans and policies into
successful operation, have seldom been
credited with the capability of directing
the smaller details of their plans. The
possession of eminent administrative
ability, presupposes a habitual mental at
titude commanding a general rather than
a specific view of things. It is like tho
study of topography from a commanding
summit, wherein the minutia of detail is
obscured by distance. However true tbis
may be of men in general, Mr. Hunting
ton affords a conspicuous example of one
equally master in tho conception of gen
eral policies and tho direction of tbo
smallest details. Tho possession of these
great characteristics is due chiefly to the
clearness and incisiveness of his mind,
which perceives with a siugle glance all
the bearings and combinations of a busi
ness proposition at its first presentation
He possesses also a singular faculty of
perfect concentration upon the matter in
hand, which, coupled With a directness of
method admitting of no digression from
the subject under consideration, brings
negotiations to speedy conclusion. Thais
affairs of tho largest magnitude to which
other men would feel justified in devot
ing the attention of days are with him
concluded in as few hours, opening large
margins of time ibr the bestowal of that
diligent attention which he confers upon
every matter of business, from its broad
est generality to its latest details.
No one, however obscure his position
in administrative relation to the broad
empire of alia:rs over which Mr Hunt
ington presides, has ever had cause to
complain of inattention to any letter ad
dressed to him. Every letter of a vast
volume oi correspondence is answered in
such a manner that tho correspondent
perceives clearly tliat every item of tbe
letter answered has been carefully noted
and clearly understood. In this way h"s
personality is present in every detail of
the vast business undertakings, of which
ho is, by reason of superior energy the
moving and directing oenter, and thus
also is diffused and distributed through
out tho whole tho strong propulsion of
his matchless; tmnrgy. To this masteryof
details is attributable the superior practi
cability ol his plans General administra
tion is closely allied to theory, and when
pursued wholly without knowledge of
detail tends to become rarely theoreti
cal and consequently unpractical.
It ts tho common belief, justified by
common observation, that ono possessed
ot such eminent faculty for the practical
affairs ol life could have little sympathy
with other realms of thought arid being.
Mr. Huntington supplies a. vorv notable
exception to the theor-,. Soiric of tho
most notable schemes of his active and
busy brain have had refereneo solely to
the accomplishment of results in which
the public good h*.s been the controlling
factor. One <rf tho chief incentives to tho
construction of an overland railroad was
the influence its completion would have
upon the- solution of the slavery question.
hy the oroation of new free States. Mr.
Huntington saw clearly that tho construc
tion oi a grcsit highway of commerce from
the Atlantic to the Pacific seaboard, alorv
the latitudes of freedom, would extend
settlement along the highway, which
would carry with it tho institutions of the
free States of this Republic—that North
ern settlement and sympathies would be
first in possession of tho great unsettled
territory west of tho Missouri river if it
secured first and most important com
munication. In making a subscription to
the construction of a railroad in the Con
go basin, Mr. Huntington remarked that
it the investment were wholly lost he
would find his compensation in promot
ing the civilization of the Dark Continent.
Tho faculty of mind and the discipline ,
of will which enable him to acquire such
complete concentration of thought on any
matter of business in hand also confers
upon him the faculty of wholly dismiss
ing business considerations in moments
of leisure, in social intercourse and in the
domestic circle. The. closing of the desk
and tho offico door behind him completer
ly emancipates his mind from tho cares,
perplexities and annoyances of business,
and in these moments of freedom his
mentality undergoes a transformation as
complete as it is surprising. The man of
affairs, whose restless energy is felt as
a quickening factor in all the financial
and commercial concerns of a continent,
becomes the genial center of social uiter
course, or the cordial entertainer pn a
home whoso domestic atmosphere pre
sents the highest, charms of refined hos
pitality and elegant serenity and repose.
Tho history of human progress pre
sents in the succeeding eras of its ad- '
vancment a constant succession of dra
matic spectacles. Tlio representative
thought of any time determines the dra
matic plane, and for the time being, jrp
pears to close tho avenues for distinction
upon any other field. The chief ac
tors become the heroes of histors*; to
them is committed the great roles, and
around them Tevolve tho minor parts.
Thus tho history of any distinguished in
dividual and the times in which ho
achieved distinction are so completely in
troactivc pj to lose almost entirely dra
matic coherency unless presented at a
single view.
The distinguishing feature of the times
La which Mr. Huntington has borne so
conspicuous a part was that of material
development. During tho nast fifty years,
and covering tho period of his* promi
nence upon the stago of public affairs,
the American republic has grown fi-otu
almost an infancy of national life into a
vast empire of wealth and population.
Its stride*) havo been marked oy a con
stantly advancing frontier which pre
sented a resistless wave of development,
sweeping across a great continent iv
which vast territorial areas havo been
laid under the subduing scepter of indus
try and enterprise. It will remain for
ever the most phenomenal period of our
country's growth. Hereafter its progress
will be by less remarkable stt-os.
Tho development of the past fifty yeara
has produced on this continent conditions
more nearly analogous to those of the
older civilizations. The tidai-wavc of ad
vancing civilization has already passed
over the most important areas ot* tite na
tional domain. "Tho social, commercial
and financial conditions of the future will
be less alluvial in their character, and re^
somblo more tho granite formation of
longer historic periods. Tlio future his
tory of our growth must supervene upon
developed rather than primitive values.
The past fitly years of our history will,
therefore, as already indicated, mark the
moot phenomenal period of our growth.
It was 11 time rich in opportunities for
distinction. Its history, when fully -\v rit
ten, will present a succession of eras fat
more interesting in their dramatic action
than the crimson pages which record the
triumphs of arms or embellish the annals
of conquest. In common with all great
historic eras, it will not be wanting in
great personalities; men, whose strong
character and symmetrically rounded
greatness appear as tho controlling mov
ing spirits of the time; men, to whose
hands were committed the great parte
of the dramatic story, just as the great
parts in every drama are committed
to the highest genius; and among these
the name of Collis P. Huntington will
take the highest rank.
state;
CITRUS FAIR
-FOR-
Northern California
—WILL, BE HELD AT—
MARYSVILLE,
January 12 to 17, 1891.
Cash Premiums, $2,500
SPECIAL EXCURSION
Leaves Southern Pacific Depot,
Sacramento, SATURDAY, Jan
uary 17th, at 10:35 A. M., by
"way of Davisville, Woodland
and Knight's Landing, over
new road through Sutter coun
ty. Returning SATURDAY
EVENING, leaves Marysville
at 9 o'clock.
Ka,re, round trip, $2 50.
JB6F" Tickets for sale at Rail
road Ticket Office. jge-iot
Baker & Hamilton,
—IMPORTERS AND JOBBERS OF—
HARDWARE, IRON, STEEL,
COAL, POWDER,
Agricultural Implements and Machines,
BARBED WIRE, CORDAGE, BELTING.
SAX-RAMEyfTO .CALIFORNIA.
JOHN C. SCHADEN,
Corner Fourth and L streets,
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL' DEALER
—IN—
Groceries, Provisions, Hay, Grain, Eta, Etc.
T. A. LAUDER,

Importer and Dealer iu
: Buggies, Carriages, Carts, Harness,
Whips and Robes.
9g7_K STREET SACRAMENTO.
A. MEISTER,
CARRIAGES, VICTORIAS, PHAETONS.
Buggies and Spring Wagons.
9*Q, 912, 914 Ninth st., Sacramonto.
SHERWOOD HALL NURSERIES,
Timothy Hopkins,
MENLO PARK, SAX MATEO. COUNTY, CAL.
Carnations, Roses, Chrysanthemum^
and Cat Flowers.
«3- SWEET PEA SEEP A SPECIALTY.-****.
PIONEER MARBLE AND SITE WORKS,
.J9Q J STREET, BETWEEN EOtKi'l f.
£&*) and Fifth. Sacramonto. Monuments,
Total) and Grave Stones. Mantels. Encaustic
ruing. Eio. Direct importer or Scotch and
Eastern Granite Monuments. CALL AND
I_ _ MIN E. „., f
Waterhouse & Lester,
—DEALERS IS—
Iron, Steel, Cumberland Coal, Wagod
Lumber and Carriage Hardware,
lOgA**!!, 713, 715 J St., Sacramen to.
GUTHRIE BROS.,
PRACTICAL PLUMBERS, STEAM AND
Gas KitU.iv;. Hooting aud Jobbing. Terms
reasonable. V>- ,j street.
S. CARLE,
SUCCESSOR TO CABLE & CROLY, CON
tractor and Builder. Orders solicited and
j jiromptness guaranteed. Office and shop.
1 ll** aiouond St., bvtwean K land J«

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