Wichita eagle., 1888-04-04

A CAR DRIVERS TALK.
ONE OF THE MANY WHO ARE
STRANGERS At HOME.
An Early Breakfast-A Workman Who
Doesn't Get Time to See His Children.
Story OF a Busy Life-Hard on the Legs.
Benefits of ORGANIZATION.

|
Story OF Busy Life-Hard on the Legs-
Benefits of Organization.
I'm driving in Brooklyn now, and I'll tell
! you what the last tie-up done for us, speak
| ing about organizing. Before that we used
| to get five minutes for lunch, and the super
! told US we came there to work, and not to
/ eat; now we get forty minutes. Then we
/ used to have to put the team away, and take
! the collars off, when we came in at the end OF
the days work, and also get there half en-
/ hour early and find our team, one in one end
! of the stable and the other in the other end,
and harness em and bring 'em out to the car.
| Now that's all done for US. And then we
! used to have to wash our cars, and we used
to have to buy the bell for the Off horse,
| which cost Is cents Well, that's all changed.
| We don't do none of those things now, and
get forty minutes for lunch besides. The
| difference is this, that 1 knew plenty OF fel-
lows that used to leave home, say at in the
| morning, and not get home again till after
! at night. and then if another man was took
sick YOU had to take his place, so that I've
done three hours extra on top OF nay day and
got home at midnight and not seen soul OF
my family in thirty-eight hours many time,
without a cent extra pay. But there's no
more of that.
get UP about half past in the morning
and light the fire and crack the ice IL the
pitcher NAV be, and cook myself an egg or
two and some coffee, and II my wIfes awake
slip in and whisper a word with her without
waking the children, and then I'm on deck at
O'Clock. don't live near the stable on ac-
count Of the bad neighborhood for bringing
| I'D little ones SO | can't get home to my
| lunch: but I've got four decent rooms and
decent people for neighbors above and below
me- and pay $40 month get 81 a day
and work seven days. because l need all l can
make l give my wife all except twelve shll-
| lings, which gets me my lunches and tobacco,
| and she used to lag up dollar now and then,
| but that's all gone, and there's no laying up
| now on account of her and me needing the
doctor. Well, I get home at at night and
take my loaf and read my paper till 10 o'clock,
with the bite of supper she saves over for me,
and then go to ben The only thing hard IS
my not seeing my children.
can truly thank God that my little Emma
knows me now, but up to years old she
did not knew NE from any paSser by in the
street. l had a cham, and he didn't believe
me when said that, but he believes me now.
This is how it was: / was doing my fourteen
and sixteen hours work on the Third avenue
in New York, and had need of every cent
and a constitution like horse, so l made
every day tell / had been doing that till
little Emmie was 3 years old, and then
nv leg began to trouble me, and one day
had to Law off couldn't walk without help,
so Jack. my chrInl, got away and helped me
home. There was Emmie and her mother
and Jack and me, each took chair, and I
whispered to my wife SO that the little girl
wouldn't hear me.
''Emmie, DEAR" says my wife, God bless
and keep her to me, lone of these gentlemen
is your father. Do you know which one it
isw
''This is my papa" says she.
And then Jack believed what I'd been tell
ing him, for the little child walked right
over to him and climbed on his knee and put
I'D her mouth for kiss. She had seen my
beard in the bed once in q while, but Jacks
beard and mine were as like as two brooms,
and she chose the wrong one.
Well, in one way of looking at it, I'm
sorry to say that she knows me now quite as
q child ought to. May be it's what they call
! q Providence, and the finger Of God is in it,
but, anyhow, my legs is that bad now that
once in a while l have to lay off for day
and rest them by walking about and sitting
down-for when you get car drivers leg
on You it's curious thing that walking is as
good for it (if you can stand the pain as sit
| ting down What do / mean by q drivers
leg! Well, you'll find many a man at the
break has It in these three cities, where
they'll not let driver sit down, and in fact
all will get it sooner or later if they stick to
the business 1t comes of standing up So
many hours without the chance to walk
that a conductor has, up and down the car
collecting the fares One drivers legs will
be the size of telegraph poles and another
one, like me, will get punches Of veins as big
as your fist sticking out Of his legs. There's
no cure except the almshouse or the potter's
field though l do find q great help in my
elastic stocking. I'm q better man since
put it on.
All the talk about the torture man
! feels when he first gets on car-well, it isn't
bosh, for you see young fellows give up their
/ jobs every week on account Of the agony
they suffer-but it amt the frst few day; it's
the whole life It's hard on the legs, and
they never get use to 1t. A young fellow
thinks if he's stranded and knows about
horses that he can be a driver. Well, he'll
find out it's more in the constitution of man
than in knowing about horses. l wore out the
first pain in my legs in about three OF four
DAYS But then came the swollen veins
They must come. It's the natural conse-
auence of the business. leave rahroading,"
says my doctor. Oh, it's easy to say it, but
/ when man is tied to pair Of car horses
and has wife and family to support there's
no such thing as looking for other work. 1t
won't come to him, and how can he go to it?
! But in the regards of that I think am very
/ lucky, for my boy will be old enough to ap-
prentice TO machinist of my acquaintance
in another couple of years, and after that
| he'll chip in little toward keeping the family
| and I'll be able to lay off a day now and then
/ spoke about the almshouse and the
potter's field but there's no such thing for
us. That's another old thing done away with
| by means of organizing In our local we get
/ IS a week when we are slck-which will pa
! CITY Toe landlord and keep a bite in the cup
board Ia case of death there's no provision
/ but we make up subscription and get
together $40 or $50, may be, which is
| enough 10 leave the potters field in the dis
| lance: and the only cost TO Us of keeping up the
| local is thirty-five cents a month, so that we
! don't feel it very hard, though there's dozen
things crying Tor every cent thai most Of US
! earn. Now, that's pretty much all l can
| think Of about driving q car.-New York
| Sun Interview.
The simplest method to secure him Is TO use
common gig light and the bare hand A
/ frog j. attracted and charmed by light He
| will swim to land toward q torch At night
| he rests on the tangled edges Of the water,
| about foot within, but always with his head
| toward his destination. You must not reach