Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-07-14
From the New York journal.

THE EXTORTIONS OF HOTELS.
From the New York Journal.
Keeping a buggy has become an expensive
luxury the past two or three years, in New
York city particularly. The prices charged by
nrst-class hotel-keepers are outrageous and
yield them an altogether unfairly large profit.
Where man has single horse and buggy he
Is compelled to go to boarding stable because
it would not pay to hire a stall to keep one
horse, for it would mean the hire Of man as
we'll to take care it. When a gentleman has
three or four horses. it pays to hire stalls or
whole stable. because the necessary cOachman
can act as hostler also. But it is also very ex-
pensve. well-knOwn drive of fast horses has
stable OF his own on Goth street, not far from
9th avenue. In this he keeps four horses; two
for the road and two for carriage driving The
value of the stable and land is $4,000. He paws
his coachman S60 and gives him rent and coal,
the latter at an average of two tons month.
Here is the exact cost:
r r1 pei So'i
Coal. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 12O
Wages, cOachman and groom. ~ 1000
Shoeing. repairs and harness. ........... $50
Feed at $40 month, each horse. ., $50
Total. Observation-Disclosures. So. $50
OF one horse in four per year, either from being
worn out. Injured or dying. The gentleman in
question pays an average of 81 200 each for his
horses so that the total cost would be about
| $3.50 a. year, including everything or some
thing in the neighborhood of 500 week, sup
posing carriages to be already there
In proportion it costs more to keep one horse
and buggy or phRton. Any uptown iirst-
class livery stable man charges s35 month for
| the Keeping OF one horse and wagon. Six years
ago the price was $50. In 1879 it was raised to
to be so high that they raised the monthly
board to $50. Last fall the livery stable keepers
banded together and resolved to make the price
$50. You had to pay it because no frst-class
stable would take your horse at less. Oats
had gone down, but that made no difference.
They said they wanted to recOup on what they
had made when oats were up. The $35 COM
prises the storage of one wagon and sleigh if
| necessary and the cleaning OF the harness. An
| owner of horse can 90 five times day to have
his horse harnessed if he wants to. There is no
extra charge. The man who keeps a horse is,
however, expected to fee the man who takes
| care of it and the man who cleans the wagon
The groom can give extra care to trotter in
bandaging. and so forth, which is we'll worth an
| occasional dollar. The wagon washer, too, can
put much or little time on wagon.
Beyond the S35. say 50 in fees. Then there
! is the shoeing at So month. buggy is al
ways wanting something done-rubbers,
washers, bolts, occasionally something is
smashed, spokes get loosened, and the tires
need setting. This all costs an average of about
50 month, If not more, SO that the total of
keeping one horse in New YOrk-as a good
horse should be kept--amounts to from $40 to
S45 month, or $3.50 per day The actual keep
of the animal does not exceed So month with
twelve quarts of oats per day, two armfuls of
hay and straw for bedding. One man takes care
OF four horses and he gets $50 month, an aver
age Of $7.5O to each horse. Rent at 81 a stall,
other expenses at SIS a month, and the actual
expense to the stable-keeper on each horse is
S24.5 so per month, giving profit of only $40. so
per horse-not too much considering that the
risks involved, the care and attention the know
lege required, and the tact that three months of
the year may almost be put down as dead loss.
It is very large stable that will accommodate
200 horses. The profit on this would not be over