Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-08-16

| long ne IS likely 70 Keep Ihem. u the
answer is unsatisfactory, away he goes,
cracking his whip and turning round to
laugh at fellows annoyance. II you
| jump into the carriage without waiting
| for it to stop and then tell the driver
| where you want to go or that you pro-
| pose to take him by the hour, he does
his best to get nd Of you by walking his
horse under the -pretense that the animal
Is tired.
Paris eabmen interfere with each other
as much as possible, u-treas their horses
! and insult their fares on all possible
occasions Their driving license is called
permits de couduire;" it must be re-
turned to the prefecture OF police when
the man passes from the employ of one
company to that Of another, and not un-
I'll a new one has been issued can he
resume work. The council propose sub
stiruting for this license a ''brevet de
capacite," to be issued by jury Of ex-
aminers after they have satisfied them
selves that the applicant is duly qualified
TO discharge the duties Of his calling.
Once IN the possession of such diploma,
a cabman viii be at liberty to take en-
ployment wherever be can find it with
cut interference from the police, who
have only TO satisfy themselves as to his
personal character before he Is allowed
to go before the examiners. A dispute
has, however, arisen between the NUM-
cipal council and the police authorities
as to who shall appoint these examiners.
The council insists on exercising this
right, and so does the project of police,
and as they are unable to agree the
matter has been referred 70 the minister
Of the interior.
Carriers also i'll treat their horses quite
as badly as do the cabbies. They are
not so apt to Lash their beasts, but they
do overload them, and they drive them
when they are unfit for work. No where
else are cart horses groomed so seldom
as here in Paris. Many animals look as
I if they were never touched by curry or
brush, and it is positively painful to see
how some entire horses are neglected.
Private coachmen are good to their stock,
however, and many of the private car
rage horses are the best to be seen any
where. It is curious fact that the fin
est and most stylish turnouts are the
property of prominent members of the
demi monde. There are great many
such women who own two, three and
four carriages and all the way from two
to ten horses. Bus drivers and those on
street cars are also kind to their horses as
a rule. The other afternoon, going
through the rue Auber, street laid with
asphalt, and where there are more acct
dents than elsewhere, / noticed that, it
was raining and the pavement very slip
perry, my Jenu did not tighten the lines,
and when l said something about the
danger of not doing so, he replied:
Bah! | have driven this mare for
four years and she has never fallen once;
she trots over the asphalt as if it was
velvet carpet. She has Partisan foot"
The mare had lean sides, through
which her ribs showed plainly, but she
went along at fair pace. -Four years
of service as a Paris cab horse seemed
rather phenomenal, and said as much
to the coeher. He assured me, however.
that it was not at all extraordinary. In
the stable to which his turnout belongs
there are said to be several horses which
have been on the streets for eight years,
and they are none the worse for it. The
principal thing, said cabby, is to get
them acclimated and accustomed 70 their
work. If this is done carefully and ju-
diciously horse will stand hack service
as well and as long as any other kind Of
work that it may be put to. Two hours
later l happened to be standing on the
front platform of street car when one Of
the two beasts pulling it refused to go
faster than walk. After one or two
cuts the driver laid aside his whip with
the words: The poor animal is only fit
for the bone yard She has plenty OF
willingness, but no legs" and tears were
in his eyes as he spoke.
Noticing that smiled, and no doubt
guessing why, he went on to tell me that
he had been on the line since it was
started fourteen years ago. That he and
his mare had entered the companys
service on the same day, and that since
then she had two round trips every day,
each Of them from fourteen TO fifteen
miles. The company had still five or six
horses that dated from the opening Of the
road, while at least half its stock had
been in servicefroin eight TO ten years,
and all of these were yet able TO do their
work. The omnibus company are not so
lucky with their horses and are forced TO
replenish them more frequently than do
the tramway companies. The reason
for this is that the former are obliged, by
reason of the weight of their vehicles, to
use breed of large, powerful horses, nos
unlike those of Normandy, and known
from the province whence they all come
as Lmonsins. They are fine looking
beasts, but they do not stand fatigue,
nor can they resist the constant exposure
TO all kinds of weather, which is part OF
their work. The tramway companies
employ little Breton mares, ugly, clumsy
beasts, but full of nerve and endurance,
and the result is they lose very few
horses from the effects Of overwork or
inclement weather.-Paris Cor. New
Orleans Picayune.