Its example should thrill and
encourage those who are inclined to falter. It is a beacon light to
those who are to continue the struggle with the petty details and the
larger duties of everyday life. And among the contributors none are more
to be admired or borne in reverent respect than the directors, those men
who held either large or small investments in the "California" and were
true to their trust.
Conclusion
Whether the end justifies the means depends upon the judgment of the
critic. It is possible that there is too much of personality herein, but
in justice to the writer, it must be borne in mind that no attempt has
been made for literary style; that the task imposed upon him was
attempted solely to comply with the insistence of others and that the
use of the first personal pronoun is the readiest vehicle of expression.
No special mantle of credit rests upon his shoulders. If there be any
such garment it drapes the shoulders of every man connected with the
company from the humblest employee up through the heaviest stockholders
to the highest official. It overlaps and falls with becoming dignity on
the shoulders of those who are fellow citizens and fellow Californians,
who shared with us as we shared with them the heat and burden of the
days succeeding the never-to-be-forgotten disaster of April 18, 1906.
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