Omaha daily bee., 1889-10-20
BREASTINC WINTERS STOR MS
Rueful Anticipations of Local Driv-
ers, Grip and Crankmens
THE SEVERITY OF EXPOSURE.
How the Hard w orkcd Men Face the
Zephyrs and Manrui'y strug-
gle TO Keep From
Freezing.
Winter on n Car.

"Yes, sir, you can bet your life its going
10 be cold wiuter,n remarked cable grip
man day or two ago, land we are prepar-
ing for Il. When say 'we,' mean us fol.
lows who handle the grips on the cable cars.
We have q hard time enough of IL, you may
depend, and, while last winter was an easy
one on us, we look for regular old snifter'
this coming season."
"Our life in cold weather is not as easy as
some people suppose" continued the grip
man. "While we are protected IN a measure
against a mild snow storm, u driving one
strikes us fair and square both ways. IL
makes no difference whether we are running
against the wind or away from it, we get it
just the same. Do we have any chance to warm
ourselvesl Well, hardly OF course, few
of US do. that is, the men who have old and
experienced conductors in charge of their
trains, for they can 10 inside on the north end
while the con- handles the grip for u few
blocks.
"Before the new schedule went into effect
we had a few moments at each end and could
have utilized it by going inside to get warm
But, since the new time card was promul
gated things have changed. We have to hus-
tie now to make time and "skinning' the
cable to make up is n thing of long ago"
"How do we dressl Oh, in various ways.
The most common is to use heavy under
y
garments and heavy overcoat The latter
we buckle around us, but no matter how
warmly clad we are bound to get cold for u
good stiff wind is bound to chill q man in
time.
"Feet2 Well, there is puzzler. A man
who can keep his feet warm in this business
is Il dandy. As a rule, we wear either rub
or felt boots. But both have a tendency TO
create sweat and. in consequence, PERSONS
feet soon become lilso two blocks OF ice, and
when man stands ten hours in one place with
only short intcrmisson for dinner, his feet
get mighty cold, let me tell you. OF course,
some people will say stamp 'em, but there
isn't much room for stamping, let ME tell
you. AS for our hands we can wear possibly
large gloves, but sometimes we have to pe
pretty lively, and in order TO make quick
stop, especially down Dodge street, when
one must stop the cable and set his wheel
and track brake in short space of time be
doesn't want too much on his hands.
II don't suppose that there will be great
many drivers on tho street car lines this
winter" remarked driver on the Saunders
street line, but the few that will work on
the suburban and branch lines will
suffer enough, I'll tell YOU. How do we keep
warml We don't. We sit out here and
make what is known as u stagger at it, that
hands are the worst On grip, the fellow
can keep a little circulation in the ends of his
toes, but here we are different. We start
with our feet warm and ganerally bury them
right, but when they do get cold they are
cold with a capital G. AS for our hands.
there is where we suffer most. You see we
are obliged to be driver and conductor and
eight out of every ten passengers calls for
change. Mttens, gloves or whatever we
wear on our hands must come Off and in
consequence our fingers get very cold. We
dress as street car men generally do, heavy
driving dead against the wind can manage
to keep half way warm for we
have little time at each end
to fire up and commence over
what do you think of this winterl" re-
marked q motor man IN reply to a question.
."Well, l hadn't thought anything ABOUT it
until YOU spoke, but guess it will be tough
enough. l have been IN street car service
for seven years, and never found any place
warm enough except the cashiers position,
right by the side of a stove. | guess we
who handle the electric end Of the motion,
will have worse time than the gents of the
bell punch. OF course, sometimes it's lively
work setting brakes, but then the greater
city, where all is protected. Out on the bills
where the wind gets full sweep ut a man,
things will be different Take the Walnut
Hill line or out on the Belt Line. or
out near Hanscom park, where the breeze
from the north gets a full swing at a fellow,
and stops are few, and guess il will be cold
enough. And in position OF this kind, while
| q man can afford to dress warm, he cannot
afford TO cumber himself too heavily. BE-
cause, you see, if he does, he cannot get ac-
zion on himself. It's all right ona street car
to muffle yourself all up, because there you
can pull your lines, set brake, holler whoa
and stop, but hero you are with heavy
train and full head of power, and if occa-
sion requires you have got to get a quick
hustle on youaself. The man who invents an
inside arrangement for propelling street cars
Will be a fellow who will receive more bless
iugs than any other man on earth.n
First Assistant Chief Salter. Of the fire
department, lost valuable overcoat at the
Naugle fire. The thief is known and will pe
arrnsted if the garment is moi rnturnnh