Q.David Bowers
In 1855 there were many bank failures and commercial disasters. During the previous year, 1854, there were 77 bankruptcies. In 1855 the figure increased to 197, with liabilities in excess of $8 million. On February 23, 1855, a date later known as the;, day of the great crash" or the "Black Friday of San Francisco," there was a run on the banks, and several prominent institutions closed. Page, Bacon & Co., Adams & Co., Wright & Co., and Robinson & Co. failed, and others had a difficult time as well. Adams' failure was the most disastrous as the largest sum of money was involved. There was a great uproar about this, for the bank closed with a large amount of bullion on hand. This asset formed a rich prize for lawyers to fight over. Subsequently it was nearly all lost in litigation expenses which extended for many years.
On July 14, 1855, a few months after the failure of the Page, Bacon & Co. and the Adams & Co. firms, and amidst the excitement in reference to the Adams situation, James King of William published a newspaper advertisement to the effect that Isaiah C. Woods had said on several occasions in his presence that Adams & Co. made $100,000 a year by selling gold dust to Page, Bacon & Co. King asserted that he himself had no knowledge of improper dealings until a few days earlier, but now it was evident that a fraud had been perpetrated.
Three days later King and Alfred A. Cohen, who had been accused in the transactions along with Woods, had an argument on Montgomery Street. Cohen challenged King to a duel. Next day King replied through the newspaper that he was morally opposed to dueling and stated his duty to his family as an additional reason. At the time dueling, while opposed by many, was considered by others to be a gentlemanly way to resolve disputes, The Adams furor increased and aroused many comments in newspaper articles.
King was called upon frequently to state his opinion, which he did very candidly. His desire to make his views more widely known led to his founding of a newspaper, the Daily Evening Bulletin, which first appeared on Monday, October 8, 1855. King minced no words and lashed out at Palmer, Cook & Co., another San Francisco bank, and its connection with Adams, referring to the members of the firm as "sneaking money lenders and political wirepullers," among other things. He also attacked David C. Broderick and accused him of being involved in the Jenny Lind Theatre swindle, of stealing money from the city, of spreading crime and immorality, of corrupting elections, and of selling political offices to the highest bidder. Other San Francisco newspapers were attacked and were described as being cowardly, dishonest, and indecent. Soon King's publication became the largest circulation paper in the city and had a print run of nearly 3,500 copies.
On the evening of Saturday, September 17, 1855, William H. Richardson, United States marshal, was killed in the street by Charles Cora, a gambler. Apparently Richardson was drunk and argumentative at the time. This caused great public excitement, for Richardson was well respected. Thirty-three years old, he had just recently been married. Cora was believed to be a citizen of Italy. He dressed very stylishly and was a professional gambler. Many citizens demanded the lynching of Cora, who had been taken into custody shortly after the crime was committed.
King printed rumors that a plot was underfoot to set Cora free and stated that $40,000 had already been raised to accomplish this. He printed that Billy Mulligan, the county jail keeper, was a friend of Cora's and would probably help with the escape. Further, King suggested that if this happened Mulligan should be lynched as well as the sheriff. "Citizens of San Francisco, what means this feeling, so prevelant in our city, that this dastardly assassin will escape the vengeance of the law?" King wrote. Cora's defense was financed by a close friend and associate, a prostitute named Belle. Expensive attorneys were retained. On January 17, 1856, the trial was held. After consulting for 24 hours, the jury could not agree. Seven voted for murder, one for manslaughter, and four for acquittal. King seized the stalemate as an opportunity to rally the citizens of San Francisco to take justice in their own hands as was done years earlier by the first Committee of Vigilance. The committee had been formed in June 1851 as a protection group against thieves and ruffians who arrived from all parts of the world and who were believed responsible for fires, murders, thefts, and other crimes. At the time, in 1851, the city officials were ineffective and many criminals went unpunished. John Jenkins, an Australian who stole a small iron safe, was "tried by the Committee of Vigilance, found guilty, and hanged in the public plaza." The next day the committee, quite proud of its action, directed that a list of its members, over 180 people, including some of San Francisco's most prominent citizens, be published for all to see. The next month James Stuart, an Englishman, was sentenced by the Committee to death. Order, if not law, soon returned, and flagrant crime in the streets diminished.
Eager to stir up trouble, James King of William reported in May 1856 that James P. Casey, San Francisco's supervisor, earlier had been incarcerated in a New York prison. Casey protested stating that "I don't want my past acts raked up. On that point I am sensitive." King showed him to the office door, at which time Casey said he would take care of the matter appropriately. An hour later while walking home King was shot to death by the aggrieved official.
In 1856, due to this and other dissatisfaction with the law and public violence which was becoming a problem in the streets once again, a second Committee of Vigilance was set up. Casey and Cora were set for a "trial" by the Committee to be held on May 20, 1856. The two prisoners had been forcibly taken from the jail and were in the custody of the Vigilance Committee. The "trial" was held, the two were convicted, and both were executed by hanging. The Vigilance Committee spread far and wide in a search for San Francisco's criminals and made many arrests, passing sentences of varying harshness. Action of the Vigilance Committee ceased in 1857, by which time its presence had instituted many municipal reforms.
Fire was a recurring problem in San Francisco during the early days. Devastating conflagrations occurred in 1849, 1850, and 1851. The initial blaze, which came tobe known as "the first great fire," started at 6 a.m. on December 24, 1849, in Dennison's Exchange on Kearny Street, opposite Portsmouth Square. The fire raced on to consume the Parker House and nearly all other buildings in the area, including the gambling district. Fifty structures were destroyed with an estimated loss of $1 million.
Reconstruction started immediately, and within a few weeks the area was rebuilt. The second fire occurred on Saturday, May 4th. It started at 4 a.m. in the United States Exchange, a saloon and gambling parlor which had been built on the site of the old Dennison's Exchange. In all, 300 buildings valued at $3 to $4 million were burned. Mainly affected were commercial establishments.
The city council, after observing that fires attracted many onlookers of whom only a few were willing to help fight the flames, passed an ordinance that every person had to help fight fires and save property when such a need arose, on a penalty of a fine up to $100. It also provided that wells should be dug, water reservoirs should be provided in various areas of the city, and that every household had to keep filled water buckets on hand.
Despite these precautions, the third great conflagration began on Friday, June 14, 1850, in a bakery on the east side of Kearny Street, between Sacramento and Clay streets. About 300 houses and other structures valued at $3 to $4 million were destroyed.