Wichita eagle., 1889-10-22
GOT UP TO LOOK PRIVATE.
EQuIPAGEs FOR RICH CUSTOMERS
BY THE MONTH OR YEAR.

BY THE MONTH OR YEAR.
A Singular Business Organized to Furnish
Wealthy Families with Elegant Private
misunderstanding About washing
ton News and Coachmen.
A prosperous iveryman living on Fifth
avenue makes it his special object to study
the desires of those who affect what Thack-
cray calls the ''coach got up to look private I"
He lets out thirty such equipages by the
month, and there are others who do quite as
large a business Of the same sort. Miladi's
hired victoria, horses and coachman go with
her as her own when she leaves town for
the summer. In her absence the winter
brougham is sent to the shop for repairs, and
when it has been put in thorough order it is
wheeled away into dark loft to await her
return, for the Hrougham is miladi's even in
her absence, and itrmust not be desecrated by
the transient customer. If, however, miladi
expects to pass year in Europe, repairs to
the brougham will include the substitution Of
some other persons arms on the panel
THE COST OF STYLE.
Of course scores Of families that spend but
short season in New York hire their coach
and coachman for only few months or, per-
haps, few weeks. Private arms can scarcely
be expected on a coach taken at these terms,
although there are happy condolences where
good people with taste for heraldry have hit
upon the same arms and have succeeded
portunely to another's coach 1t happ
often that those who use handsome h'
brougham in town are content with q
simple equipage and an unliveried coachman
in the country.
Liverymen make pretty penny at this
sort of business Presentable coach horses
can be bought at from S275 to 1926 each, while
brougham costs 81 200 and a victoria 81 COO
The brougham is kept in perfect repair for
$3.50 year and the victoria for $780, These
are liberal estimates AT $3.50 per month the
lveryman can well afford to furnish every
thing in first rate style. Of course there is a
profit on the coachman. When the horses
lose something Of their style, say in two or
three years. and the coaches have been re-
paired three or four times, they are hired for
general public convenience.
They are then good for three to five years
more. Horses for this business are seldom
bought at less than six or more than nine
years old. They come from the west, where
they are bred especially for this purpose.
Style is one of tho first conditions, but above
all things they must be well broken. If they
survive four or five years Of general hack
business they are sold to farmers, who pay
from $50 to $50 for such horses, and expect
to use them from three to seven years
Those who use the coach got up to look
private" are not necessarily either snowy
poor or shoddy rich. The secret of the prac-
&c no Of e. in Nov
York. If an intelligent real estate dealer
were asked to instance an example of osten-
tatious wealth in this city he would probably
mention the "Washington News" Not one
New Yorker in thousand could tell what or
where this is, or these are, whichever you
prefer. Of course ''W Washington News"
means simply Washington stables
The word news is intensely British in its
modern usage. It is a common name in Lon
don for stables, but probably occurs nowhere
in this country, save in the instance just
named. You'll find washington News in
gilt letters on a little blue board at the en-
trance Of broad private alley running east
and west from Fifth avenue just above Wash
ington square. The news are the stables for
about dozen ultra fashionable old houses on
North Washington square. Here are housed
the horses, coaches and coachmen of New
York's most exclusive residents. Real estate
men, who know the value Of land in that re-
gion, look with awe upon people who deliber-
ately devote that much space to the mere
housing of horses and coachmen. New
Workers who cannot find stable room on their
own property must keep their equipages at
boarding stables, and frorA the boarding
stable to the hired coach is only short step.
A LIvERYAAN'S EXPERIENCE.
eve don't pretend sud a livery man, ''to
furnish an equipage that shall rival those of
the Astors, the Vanderbilts and other million
aires, but we do say that tho hired coach can
be made to look better than two-thirds of the
strictly private equipages. Perhaps our
coachmen are not quite as obsequious as those
that drive for the same family year in and
year out, but the fellows are civil enough
AS for livery, we have to be careful that
everything is neat and quiet. The man
whose coach is hired does not care to attract
attention by startling livery. Green and
gold is the thing with us. Nobody is more
exacting than our customers as to the condi-
ton Of carriage, horses and harness Now
and then you see a private coach that is
manifestly the worse for wear, but we should
not dare to furnish such a carriage to any
regular customer. In fact, think that in
three cases out Of four the noticeably well
appointed equipage is hired Do customers
insist upon the coat Of arms? Hardly. Few
persons in New Yo. X have the right to use
such decoration and those who have adopt
ed them from mere vanity are usually rich
enough to have their own carriages and
stables
Eyes, it must be confessed that the weak
point of our eGuipages is the coachman. 1t
is hard to get good men to take such places,
because the family that hires coach and
coachnan in lump isn't half as careful of
the turnout as family that employs its own
coachnlan and owns its coach and horses.
Many a millionaire will stay at home rather
than take out his horses in bad weather and
strange as it may seem, be Is often consider
ate for his coachman's health and comfort.
Our customers have no such scruples They
ride early and late without regard TO the
weather This is why we find it hard to get
first rate coachmen. We are always glad TO
get hold of dismissed private coachrnan,
provided his offense has not been serious
Such man knows how to wear livery. can
sit box with the rigidity of pasteboard
figure and will seldom fall short in the mat
ter of respect and obedience Rum is the
great trouble with most of these men. Every
body knows that the best coachrnen, as is the
case with other servants, come from abroad.
The native American docs not take to such
occupations. The SWEETEST turnouts in New
York seldom equal those OF the British aris-
tocracy. because the London goodman has
more STYLE than the New York coachraan.
Coachee in New York still retains some trace