San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-08-08
SIGHTS ON THE CARS.
Trials and Tribulations of Our Bell
punChers

Trials and Tribulations of Our Bell
Punchers.
~ don't know what makes it, but
its so. If you get dollars they come
in one right after the other. Now,
this morning L never took up one
single dollar in all the runs" said a
red line conductor, "and I'll wager
that within the last three or four runs
have taken up some ten pieces and
haven't enough small money left to
change dollar"
"Some people thinks this is fun.
They think that nobody but lazy pee
pie will resort to street car driving or
conductoring. They are as mistaken
a lot of people as ever you've seen.
The work in itself is not nearly as
easy as it seems, this work of
squeezing through crowded cars
for the fares; of unhitching
changing mules where the streets
are torn up, and OF putting the cars
on the track every time they run off.
Then we work from o'clock i'm the
morning till 1890 and IL o'clock at
night when there is nothing very
special going on in the city. Yes, sir,
we work from fifteen to seventeen
hours per day, at about ten cents an
hour, or $45 q month. The work isn't
quite as easy as it looks and many a
young fellow gets badly fooled" said
one of our oldest street car men in
town.
watch these hack drivers" re.
marked conductor as one of the cars
passed out of our over ground tunnel,
enormously call Soledad street.
"Where did you get that bell?" the
first hackman shouted as he espied
the conductor on the rear platform.
"Ring off," shouted the second
"How does it work, pard," cried
another, and so on until the two end
ones were reached, who cracked the
following cut and dried joke:
"Say Bill, they've got three mules
on the cars now, haven't they?" said
the first.
d" II only see two," replied the Sec
ond.
"Don't you see? There are two in
front and third one on the rear plat.
form with bell around his neck"
answered the would be wit, and his
colleagues laughed.
The conductor rung the Car bell and
the driver shut the brake
"What did you stop the car for"
inquired the driver.
II Just wanted to ask these fellows
where the joke came in," but the
passengers didn't laugh, and the car
rolled on.
"You blamed fellows, you needn't
talk" the guyed conductor angrily
blurted out. "You will be wearing
these things yourself before very
long,"
"Our public and private schools
ought to substitute treatise on what
not to expect from street cars and
other public conveyances, for one of
their fancy but useless branches.
You will find people with good COM
mon sense cause almost every con-
ceivable kindof annoyance" COM
planned one of the men who performs
the duties of both conductor and
driver, on one of our lines. "We in
tend to accommodate every body, but
they certainly cannot expect us to
wait until they have kissed every
body in the family goodbye; to stop
instaneOusly and on the spot when
year old children for four; to stop
upon the cross-walks when it's for
hidden by the law; to drive the cars
through the streets when the rails
are torn up for street repairs; to sud-
| denly stop in the middle of a curve;
to refund the fare when asked to
| please make room for the ladies. This
applies to both men and women, but
to the latter especially.
Yes, sir, street car driver has a
good chance to study peoples char
acters. Here is an instance the like
of which 1 have seen many times
when handling large numbers
of people. A rock on the track, a
miss lick at the switches or a heavy
swinging of the car will often throw il
off the track. Some times the ladies
and gentlemen will get off to Tighten
the load. Very often however, some
stubborn headed men will tell the
ladies who are willing enough to gel
off: You just stay ON there, your fare
is paid and you don't have to get out
of your seats!' And you ought to see
how humilitated the i'll advised
ladies stink out of the cars, one after
another when we answer the men
GAIL right, if you do not get back fol
moment, we are willing to stay
right here all night" The men gen
orally feel pretty sore and get even by
pittying the mules, damning the
rails, confounding the drivers, Gus.
sing the whole system and dubblipi
themselves blamed fools for riding
on the cars. do believe it pays bes
in the end, to be at least little bi
obliging. You not only make you