, 1889-08-28
HACK DRIVERS GRIEVANCES.


They Have Them Against Each Other, the
Man with a Pull" and the Public.
In even the hack business trust ten
denotes are manifesting Ahemselves,
according to a cabman, whom a re-
porter of The News met at one of the
Jersey City ferries the other day. The
vast majority of hacks in this city, he
explained, are under the control of
n man who claims to have a pull"
at the city hall, but who does not own
a single horse or vehicle himself.
How a that be7" asked the re-
porter.
well, he enjoys the privilege of
going within the wharf gates and
soliciting patronage while the regular
hackmen are kept outside. He, CON
~sequently, has a monopoly of the bust
ness connected with four or five of
the principal ocean steamship lines,
and the others can have what is left
after he gets through.
he makes arrangements with the
big a companies which enable him
TO collect large commissions on the
business he turns over to them. Hack
men," the speaker thought, pan out
about the same as other people. In
the matter of honesty their regulations
are bad" he explained, because
many persons think they charge out
rageous prices, yet if those persons
were TO consider how much time is
lost in waiting for an ocean steamer
TO tie up or "a train to arrive they
would not have so bad an opinion of
the cabmen.
."Of course" in reply to another
question the hackman proceeded, Il
know some cab drivers are dishonest,
but they belong to that class to whom
licenses are issued without investiga-
ton as to character. Anybody can
get a license in this city. Men who
W their rigs are generally an up
right lot, and the rascals are those
fellows who hire a cab or coach for a
few days or weeks in order to get a
chance TO fleece he public.
Have we any rule about custom
ers among us2' Certainly. 1t is that
the first driver at a gate should have
first position, and each man afterward
in the order of his arrival, and is UNI
derstood by all hackmen. If the first
man cannot arrange satisfactory terms
with his first call, the call is passed
over to the next, and so on, the last in
the line being generally the cheapest"
why is the last man in the line
oheapest2"
because the very fact of his ON
ing late shows that he has coined
money elsewhere, and so can afford to
take less.
'If a man ut the head steps out of
a line at the ferry or railroad station
he loses his position, but not when in
a line before steamship passengers.
When in the latter line he holds his
position until he makesa bargain"
What class of people pay high
rates with the least reluctance2"
South Americans. They never
kick, The average English tourist
and New York city club man are the
hardest to deal with. The English
man is accustomed to the cheap rates
of London, and cannot understand
our higher charges over here.
THE average Frenchman is a good
fellow to deal with. His trips are
generally to hotels close by, and he
pays well. Bostonians as a class are
not good food for hackmen. The 25
cent rates in that city lead them to ex.
pect similar rates elsewhere. .
Whenever you see a hackman
whose badge number does not CORE
spond with the carriage number keep
a sharp eye on him, because some
thing is wrong about the fellow" was
the hackman's parting advice. New
York News.