Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-11-30
TIE oAsaeN or PANS.
Abuse Of Horsehesh In ths French capl-
taI--Need OF Henry BerEh.


tal-Need Of Henry Bergh.
That Paris g ''a paradise for women
and he'll for horses IS an old saying,
the truth of which, as far as its latter
half is concerned, is painfully visible
every hour in the day. The public cab
service in this city is simply awful, and
often wish that / could kick some of
them or give them a. good punching.
Cabmen are, Of course, q necessary class
of fellows, but most of them treat the
public in a way that should not be toler-
ated. On Sundays, if it is fine day, 1t
is difficult to find one who will consent
to take q fare by the hour; it is even
hard to find one who will drive ga la
course" that is when you want to go. to
any distant part of the city. If you ap-
peal to policeman he viii say that he
can only compel cabmen who are at
stand or whose vehicles are standing still
to take up fares. Knowing this. cabmen
keep off the stands and usually, when
hailed, do not come to a full stop until
they have ascertained where the person
who needs their services is going and how
long he is likely to keep them. If the
answer is unsatisfactory, away he goes,
cracking his whip and turning round to
laugh at fellows annoyance. If 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 rid of you by walking his
horse under the pretense that the animal
is tired.
Paris cabmen interfere with each other
as much as possible, ill-treat their horses
and insult their fares on all possible
occasions. Their driving license is called
a ''permis de conduire;" it must be re-
turned to the prefecture of police when
the man passes from the employ of ono
company to that of another, and not UNI
til o new one has been issued can he
resume work. The council propose sub
shutting for this license ID "brevet de
capacite," to be issued by q 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,
q cabman will be Mt liberty to take en-
ployment wherever no can find it with
out 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 MUM
cipal council and the police authorities
as to who shall appoint these examiaefs.
| 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 to the minister
| of the interior.
Carriers also i'll treat their horses quite
as badly as do tho cabbics. They arc
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
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 tho best to be seen any
where. 1t is curious fact that the fin
, est and most stylish turnouts are the
property of prominent members of the
demi monde There arc 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
rule. The other afternoon, going
through the rue Auber, street laid with
asphalt, and where there are more acct
dents than elsewhere, 1 noticed that, it
was raining and the pavement very slip
perry, my Jenu did not tighten the lines,
and when / said something about the
danger of not doing so, he replied:
bah! l have driven this mare fo1
four years and she has never fallen once
she trots over tho asphalt rs If it was G
velvet carpet. She has Partisan foot. "
Tho mare had lean sides, through
which her ribs showed plainly, but she
| went along at fair pace. Four year:
f of service as Paris cab horse seemed
rather phenomenal, and l said as mucl
to the cocher. He assured mo, however
that it was not at all extraordinary. Ii
the stable to which his turnout belong
there arc said to DO several horses which
have been on tho streets for eight years
and they are none the worse for it. Th
principal thing, said cabby, Is to &c
them acclimated and accustomed to thel
work. If this is done carefully and ju
5 diciously horse will stand hack scrvic
. as well and as long as any other kind o
: work that it may be put to. Two hour
later l happened to be standing on tn
front platform of street car when one o
tho two beasts pulling it refused to s.
faster than ii walk. After one or tw'
cuts the driver laid aside his whip witt
the words: The poor animal Is only Il
l. for the bone yard. She has plenty o
: willingness, but no legs" and tears wer
: il MS eyes as he spoke.
y Noticing that smiled, and no doul
guessing why, he went on to tell me tina
: he had been on the line since it wa
started fourteen years ago. That he an
his mare had entered the company
: service on the same day, and that sine
4, then she had two round trips overy day
. each of them from fourteen to fiftee
4 miles. The company had still five or 81
Y horses that dated from the opening of tn
3 road, while at least half its stock In
| bepn in service from oioht 10 ten years