The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-05-01


city so fat. sleek and prosperous private coach
men in wealthy families. They live it were, on the
fat OF the land receive good wages. bad times
and their apartments the stables they manage are
in many Instances, as well built and comfortable as
those in which their masters live They tho only
class OF servants the nature OF whose duties compels
employers TO furnish separate establishments for thcm
to live in with their families As a conscquen they
Independent and perhaps more insolent than
any OF their fellow servants In our uptown streets
of Fifth these private stables may be found In
rows well built and comfortable the mansions or
which they are appanages Where house room is pro-
vded tho coacnman lives ront free, and is In many
provided with gas and coal also. Forty or nfy
and much seventy five dollars month paid to
coachmcn who have no food furnished them. The
writer knew OF coachman who drove for a gentle
man on Brooklyn Heights and who received 500 a
month and his board and yet he had to do any
thing but sit on the box For family living in good
style very great deal Of expense entaed by keeping
carriage and pair Is sometimes necessary three or
four horses They must pay first OF all coachman who
does nothing but drive and who viii not soil his hands
by doing anything else Then there Is tho footman,
who may condescend, when In good humor, to wait on
table, The groom and the stable boy complete the list
One might think that with such good wages, good
feeding and comfortable living in general, private
coachmen could well afford TO be honest In dealing with
their kind and In many instances, liberal employers
but IN the majority OF they not II Is unde
nably true that as class private coachmen arc the
most dishonest and Enthusiastically OF all servants.
This may seem very sweeping assertion, but II Is
borne cut strict Investigation by facts Let any
employer IN New York to-day call his private coach
whom he trusts to pay the feed bills get the
horses shod the carriage repaired who has tho
privilege OF choosing a carriage or span OF horses
aud ask him what percentage he receives from any OF
these parties Tor cheating his master Tho coachman
will nil ap nj 10
on his own part or on the part OF any other private
coachman but Il honest he VIII not DO able TO state
do not cheat their employers In the most Wholesale
and persistent manner.
HOW IT Is DONE
And now now is this ncfarous swindling, which
places the much maligned public hackmen many cubits
higher in the scale Of honesty than tho private coach.
men, doney gentleman OF wealth and who has good
social rank desires to buy pair OF horses and perhaps
he does not drive horses ride them know anything
about them. Perhaps IN fact, he wishes TO buy them
merely to please his wife, having expensive Eng
lsh coachman, groom and footmcn, who may
and oua of .hs stable with sraws in their mousn
| talking with solemn air OF wisdom OF Hcpsom and
the darby" As the gentleman himself does not know
coachman to 60 to the dealers or the livery stable
| proprietor who may have horses for SALE The coach
man having already duly impressed his employer with
belief in his preturnatural sagacity to horses has
carte blanche given him US 10 how and what he shall
buy. Mr. Coachman proceeds to the horse dealers and
inspecs the animals for SALE Ho finally, after good
deal of seemingly useless chatting, pois TO horse that
| ssmeht do" II the ''condilions'' are favorable The
sscondtons'' the amount OF money that tho
dealer willing deduct from the bill or add TO IT, rs
! the may be- IN favor OF tho coachman
NAL SO no IS. Looks as 4 he Would 20 we'll and good
and sound, opes" remarks the coachman with spoo-
uIation in his eye.
/ him. He's worth II, every cent and can't soil him
less, says the dealer who knows whom ho Is talking
with.
"A very tidy little animal but 5000 is Ugh isn't IT."
says the coachman. my idea is that ought to get
little pot of money myself 70 make tho trade good
Chow much do you want ~ asks the horse dealer
~ won't sell that stock less than 5000 Hc is worth
| IL, and that's my price"
make your bill for $3.50 and send It in to the old
man. Let have $3.50 and tho horse will stay in tho
old mans stable. You know he might get sick or 20
off his feed and then I'd have TO send him back 10
This IS said with cunning look at the horse dealer
Tho latter not wishingto lose the sale, takes the nn
and the horse. which at most Is not worth moro than
$3.50 the stable OF the buyer at price which
IL not merely cxorbtant, but Ia downright robbery
ceutare. the horse WILL alter few days DO sent back
| lame sick in such condition from doses OF pare
gorc that ho will DO unable 10 stand up The coachman
| then informs his employer that the horse was not
worth shed room and that the dealer IS cheat and
cannot be trusted In trade: THIS Is one Of tho
sources OF dishonest revenue OF the private coachmen
| Of this city, but thcre many more.
DEALERS STORY.
In gathering information OF these swindlos q was
found very difficult TO get ut some OF tho bottom
facts" until the livery stable keepers and horse and
dealers and harness Makers as well as the horse
these coachIncn had been informed that their
would not no used When assured OF this they spoke
them by coachmen in private families. One OF the
largest private livery stable keepers In New York stated
his experience rs iolows:-
al don't want TO talk about this matter publicly.
Tho trouble Is that have 10 do business with those pr
yate coachnen all the have horses boarding with
mo that brought here by them, and have TO make
my bills out for moro money than actually
ceivc They rob their employers on every
~ Lrwon nua foil mo turn h0r
TO board only charged $50 month for them, and
he took them away to = dirty stable, where they arc
there - or Is supposed TO- because s is on the bill
When settling day comes the coachman pays $40 and
the Other SO be ns Of hsw w I h.s so y
eighty horses In tho last twelve months
to these private coachmen for thor employers, and he
coachmcn and stable boys on these horscs-which, OF
course all came out OF the pockets OF the buycrswas
more than $4,000 The figures. think speak for
themselves These coachmen arc also IN the habit OF
breaking and injuring carriages so that they may DO
taken TO the whcewrghts or the carriage manuiactur
Tor repairs and they may lovy blackmai on them
In the same way
seI.ook at tho way horscshoers have TO agree with
these fraudulent private coachmen. Say that black
smith wishes to charge only 81 % pair for shoeng
horse He wants to be honest mes, ana desires nothing
comes with horse 10 be shod and tells the blacksmith
that he raise his price from 81 % pair to 50
pair because no wants percentage OF seventy Eve
cents pair Tor his own commission.
sBut don't want to do IL, says the honest black
smith; Il don't want TO cheat your boss.
IAN right says the private coachman. I'm 60 to
another man, in such street. He won't kick, can
sfhen the blacksmith losos his customer. and that
settles IT.
at Is the same way the harness shop Everything
that will ruin out set or harness done by
tho private councilman, and the harness maker COM
PEELED TO pay him 81 every time he brings set to DO
mended. You may be that they nave 70 DO
mended a good many times Look nj the feed men
who sell oats, iced, bran, meal, hay and
They pay these coachman percentage every
pound OF hay and straw and every bushcl Of
meal and all that percentage Is added Oh to the bills
sent to the OF the horses. II 10 the same all
the way through tell you the private coachmen are
the worst thieves among the servants Of rich people.
Then the channels cloths for cleaning carriages and
brasses, he brushes, combs, sponges, water pals,
rakcs and shovels, all necessary articles IN a
well ordered stable belonging 10 private
gentleman continually missing while under
the tender Of these honest coachmen,
and have 10 be replaced monthly in many stables And
the accounts rarely examined by the employer Of
the thing goes and Will not b. stopped unless
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