Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-27
REMEMBERED WITH KINDNESS.

But, for all that, his innate politeness,
his readiness to help you on and off with a
heavy bundle, his entire willingness that
you should stand on the platform if you
wanted to rather than suffer a sweat in the
overcrowded aisle Within the way in which
he winked at the sign over his shoulder,
Positively no smoking!" the quiet infu-
ence he exerted over his conductor, and the
resulting absence of that chestnut so often
heard nowadays, "Stand farther up the
aisle, pleaser'-how all these traits do now
endear him in our memories.
Of course, he couldn't keep clean and
bright like his successors. He caught all
the mud and slush from the horses feet.
Breasting the fury of every storm, a neat
fit was not so much the object of his outer
clothing as quantity. He had no glass win
dows between him and the wind, and there
fore he wore three shirts, blouse, double
breasted coat, and sometimes two overcoats
Stuffed thus, how could you expect him to
present tailor-made appearance? With
wages much below what the carmen of to-
day receive, could you have ever wondered
at the ragged edge of his pockets?
THE DRIVERS UPS AND DOWNS.
The future historian of the Pittsburg
horse car veteran will discover three dis
tinct epochs in the career of these hardy
men. They may be divided as follows:
First, The Dark Period; second, The Sue
cessful Period; third, The Perilous Period.
In the first period the lines of the horse
car teamster had fallen in hard places.
even now when I think about it." saws
the last of his race, ''my eyes grow heavy
and my limbs feel peculiar kind of numb
ness. We worked in those times IA, 16 and
IS hours day-aye, my friend, have done
80. 4trn 1orr ot oe&,
had the first epidemic of horse-disease
on our line. See that boy sitting there on
the dashboard of the back platform? Well,
he's nv son-a strong, healthy lad now;
but, sir, it's his mothers doin's The first
five years of his life 1 never saw him by
daylight, except about two months in each
summer, and then it was as he lay asleep in
his trundle bed at clock in the morning.
] always went to work along about that
time, and didn't get home again until 10 or
II o'clock at night Once 1 had nv run
changed, so that could drive the last car,
getting into the sheds about half-past mid
night, which would make my car the last
out in the morning. I thought in that way
could have
A RoMP WITH THE YoUNGSTER
when he woke up, but we were burnt out
that year, and couldn't get house nearer
the station than two miles, so had to leave
home that much earlier. Yes, Johnnie was
a long time making my acquaintance at that
rate. Conductoring? Oh, yes, he's been
conductor of my car for year past. 1 make
him toe the mark, too, because know the
business through and through, and 1 will
never have it said of boy of mine that he
didn't know how to handle the reins as well
as the punch.
"How'd you like standing almost motion
less az q statue on this yere platform for 16
and IS hours, day in and day out, winter and
summer the same?" concluded the driver.
But, this, of all traditions of the horse car
men, is well known. The story in poetry of
the car driver whose child died on a winter
night while he was with his mules made a
nation cry. When the life of the horse car
driver reached such low ebb the rock bot
tom it struck was humanity's help
The high-water mark of the drivers call
ing came with the second period. Trades
unionism put its brotherly arm around the
oppressed teamster, and there was per-
emptory demand for shorter hours of duty
for him. Public opinion backed the cry