The St. Johns herald., 1891-12-17
SKILLED WHIPS.
Something About the London Cab
 men and Their Ways.
The Army of Hardy Men Upon Whom the People of the Great City Depend for Con-
 veyance.

veyance.
 That ''Cabby knows his fare" is a truism. At the same time, admitted that our London Jehus are perfectly well able to look after themselves, it will also be granted that they are an exceedingly useful body of public ser wants, popular with prince and plebeian alike, says an English paper.
 A hundred thousand ''faree," by a moderate computation, are daily taken wherever they please in London; in- deed, we should not be surprised by the calculation that S5O,OOO a day is spent for this convenience. 4 recent report of the Metropolitan commissioner of police put the number of licensed ''han- soms," two-wheeled cabs, at 7,396, and of ''clarences," or four-wheelcrs, at 4,O13, while there was an increase of ], ,136-mostly hansoms- the year 1888. The number of cab drivers was 15,- 514, some Of them probably doing night duty with cabs driven by other men in the day time. It is usual, in such cases, to put in fresh horses in the after noon.
 Here is an army of skilled whips, everyone of whom must pass an official examination before he gets a license, and most of whom previously belonged to the classes of persons accustomed to manage horses; they were coachmen, carmen, grooms, or stablemen. Part of their examination relates to their knowledge of the principal streets of London, the railway stations and the public buildings; they are not required, we believe, to learn the table of dis tances and rates of fares. Differences of opinion sometimes arise upon such points as these, especially with passen- gers who seem to be strangers to the locality; but the experienced Londoner knows how to consult an official table, and can guess by the time and pace how far he has travelled in the cab.
 In the streets of London, exclusive of the city, there gre about six hundred public cab ranks besides those at the railway stations, with an average of nearly ten standings for cabs at each place, but these are seldom entirely oc- cupied. Considering the enforced idle ness of the many long hours spent in waiting for fares, the behavior of the men on these ranks is generally as good IS could reasonably be expected.
 A wise and kindly movement, which deserves greater public support, has been sixteen years in progress, to or ganize the institution of "cabmens shelters" with wholesome refresh ments sold at fair price, and with little supply of books and papers to read at the cab ranks where these men are detained in sufficient numbers to make it worth while.
 ''Cabmen's shelters" arc of different models and sizes; but those of later construction are decidedly ornamental to the streets, being elegant in design and often prettily decorated. They are of light wood, yellow deal, with oal1en corner posts and oal1en curb around the bottom, for strength and durability, and properly fitted in the interior, which is divided into two compartments, with shelves, tables, seats and lockers, with a cooking stove, an iron coke bin or coal bin, lead lined or galvanized iron sink for washing, place for keeping pTONlSlOIS, duO NuCSoCA 1OI CAOChCEN and utensils, will cost about one hun hundred and seventy-fve pounds. The stove, the hardware and utensils, twen- ty or twenty-five pounds more.
 The dimensions of the new model cabmen's shelter are eighteen feet or eighteen feet six inches in length, seven feet, or seven feet six inches in width, and ten feet six inches height; but the old pattern was seventeen feet long by six feet or six feet six inches wide. There is room for eight or ten persons to sit comfortably at the table, while the attendant in charge has his sepa- rate compartment and kitchen at the end.
 None but cab drivers on the stand are admitted, to the number, in some in- stances, of a hundred or more in the day, forty or fifty being common av- craze number served. They have tea or coffee, bread and butter, meat or eggs or bacon of the best quality and well cooked, at prices regulated by an official tariff. Newspapers, popular magazines, and a few books amuse their leisure half hours; if they want to smoke pipe they can go outside to the cabstand.
 X Candid Doctor.
 It is easy to believe the story which