Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-01-24
THE WHEELS OF NEW YORK.
Vehicles Of Almost Endless Variety and in Count
less Number.

The vehicular peculiarities of New
York are many. A very large part of
the city goes on wheels. That approach
to perpetual motion which is the ma
tional characteristic is exemplified by
the incessant locomotion which is the
incessant wonder of the visitor, in whose
ears is ever sounding the rumble of tires
| upon the pavement. There is such
variety of vehicles that but few persons
! can even tell their names There is
such perfect adaptation to different
service that one can almost tell the time
of day by the character of vehicles on
the streets. The early dawn, for in
| stance, develops the milkman's rafting
| round, on he dashes from one street to
another, passing pleasant words with
| the rosy-cheeked domestic. Next comes
the butcher cart, driven by stout young
| fellows, with brawny arms aud well
combed locks. Then the grocers' wagons
and licensed vendors perambulate the
residence quarters and provide for the
| feeding of the great city. Soon the car
and stage lines begin to run oftener and
( to fill up with the toilers on their way to
| business. After breakfast the carriages
| begin to come out. Ladies go shop
ping or making calls, or brokers drive
down to Wall street.
Broadway begins to sparkle with
liveries and shiny broughams. Great
trucks begin to appear, The streets are
crowded, and down town occasionally
the labyrinth of wheels gets jammed.
In the afternoon gay equipages course
toward the drives in the upper parks
and out of town. Men in buggies, sui
kies, and skeleton wagons, women in
phaetons, couples in victorias and bar
ouches spin out on the smooth, hard
roads, and gladden. the hearts of the
publicans. As nightfall comes on the
pleasure seekers drive home to dinner
and the cartmen go home in long pro-
| cession. Soon there are few vehicles IN
the streets but the cars, stages, and
carriages. Gradually the public con-
veyances decrease in number until the
carriages, about midnight are almost
the only vehicles. Then the newspaper
wagons come out, and so day By day
the advancing hours of the city keep
time to the moving wheels.
There is no accurate record to be had
of the number of vehicles in New York,
Mayor Marshal George A. McDermott
who has charge of the licenses, esti-
mates that there are 10000 horses and
1000 vehicles of all kinds in the CITY,
There are over 1000 express wagons
licensed but that number does not in
clude the wagons of the large express
companies which. by special adjudica-
ton of the courts, are exempted from
license SO long as their business does
not include the taking up and delivery
of the same goods in the city. OF pub
lie carts. moving vans. &C., there are
nearly 5000. They have their regular
stands assigned by the Mayor. There
are about 1000 dirt carts used exclu-
sively for carrying dit, sand, gravel,
coal, paving stone, ashes, garbage, and
building rubbish. They are not allowed
to carry anything else.
There are about 5000 vehicles of
various kinds licensed to peddle mer-
chaudise, chiefly food The number of
stage licenses has been gradually di-
minished as other means of locomotion
have come into public favor There
are now 21l licenses issued while
formerly there were thousand. There
are only three lines. having seventy
stages each-the Madison avenue line,
the Fifth avenue line, and the Ninth
| avenue line