Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-10-13
CABMEN OF OLD ATHENS.
THEY plFfER.FRoa THEIR TRIBE M
OUR YOUNG AMERICA.

once Of routists-iiorse Cars In Athens.
We were landing at the prnus. Jtst
~ our gig was rowcd mp 10 the steps oi
the landing place we saw sturdy look.
ing little fellow running with all hls
might TO get ut the top Of tho steps "
the time we should wrive there. III
was cabinan. lie VI all the cabmeu
had been the first 90 catch sight Of M.
aud IA there were dozen other cahmen
on the spot. this was quito triumph on
his part. We surrendered our elves inso
his hands therefore with. satisfaction.
for though he was not handsome. being
altogether y most disrcpuiablc looking
little rngamuffin. he had shown the pos.
session Of qualities and we had need OF a
.cab.
But when. following him through
mnlodorous crowd. We arrived at HE
vehicle. we were discouraged. for the
vehicle itself was q dilapidated. ram.
shackle, unclcan thing. aud the two
mays, scarcely larger than goats, were
% bony, NANCY and misVEablc looking
that Il seemed cruelty 80 animals 20 CON
sent to an arrangement that involved
their dragging about .thrce full gruyu
persons In addition 10 tho little driver.
We therioru decided, porcihpioTily. Cha,
~ there was no contract made, we should
not get into that vehicle. bus would
choose another tn fuit uurtclyoa. We dc.
cided this inside our own heads, but Ia
NO doing we counted without tho hosts
OF cabmcn.
a niscovriEi.s Rf0urs.
Having selected good cab, with I.
decent pair Of horses, aud proposed u
bargain . the driver. without regard 10
the shrill and continuous clnmor Of ON
li.ilc ragamufin. we found that his olo-
gucncc had more cogcncy than our Offer,
for tho driver Of the vehicle chosen
would not accept us as his passenger
because we "bclunged" 20 the other man.
lie had captured 'us. had acquired u
right of property In us which III other
cabmon were bound to respect, and every
cabmau " whom wo successfully al.
dressed ourselves refused ~ In the .lmo
way, We were boycottcd The cab
mon ~ tho Pirpus wcfo ono aud indi-
visible In thoir determination that We
should make our entry into Greece bc
hind tho worst pair u horsos.oyvr aou,
or otherwise go nfoot. II the Greeks
had stood togltlsr half ~ we'll In their
dealing, with the Turks anil other foes
"a they did on this occasion against
three peaceful wayfnrcrs, tue amou,
"drcam thai Greece might etill be free
might have become n dazzling and mag
nifceut reality.
But we hal read long before this Ia q
book by oua Plato, called the "Repuhlic,
that Socrates aud several other fellows
had one day walked down from Athens
20 tho Pirirus, and In fact that they had
there talked among themselves tho whole
contents Of that interesting book, and
We are reasonably sure that as 20 the
walks and talks Of Socrates we are
equal to tho walks, at least, and 70 We
would wall, either with Socrates or with
tho melodious Irishman who, when he
did NOT walk. ''rodo in chaiscs.' We
walked, therefore. with tho lnshman'-
alternative obiursation ON our tongues.
And as We walked along the awfully
dirty street, with the ships ON one side
aud the wretchcd ht,le shops and yilC
smelling restaurants on tho other
wrctchcd shops and vile smelling res
taurunts having over their doors gran
eloquent signs Ia Greek, which, though
bad, was good enough to keep In ones
mind the ancient glories-as we did all
% this. actually passing on the way mong
m,nt with tho head OF Thcmistocles on O
Doric column. one little rngamuilin Of q
driver followed W. like pcstilcnt hor.
ily, tearing ahead at full speed and halt
ing in front Of US and declaiming con
tiantly that we We're his aud that W,
were cheating him by refusing 10 ride
With what immense energy ho woult
dash ahead, halt in front Of Us, get dow
aud open tho door OF his cab and nppea
tous to enter. Buthe appealed TO heart
hardened with silent rage. We wen
within fow miles Of the spot whcr,
Dcsmosthcnes said savage things at tn,
roaring - with pebble stones In hi
mouth, and II this fellow could have sal,
all these things, even " ho had practice,
with payings,ones IN his mouth, he coul,
not have convinced us.
riIE FRIENDLY HORSE CAR.
Suddenly there came an unlocked 10
solution 20 thismoan little drama. Their,
appeared upon the scene, here at tn
very end Of the long walls, that awful!
modern con,riyaHcc, horse car. Now
asa horse car Is presumably tho prop
orty qf corporation, and ~ the grcu
distinction OF corporation Is that II Ia
no soul, ono perceived that hero W
might be free from the immediate con
sequences of the boycott, aud We enter
cd the horse car, which, by the way, wa
certainly tho cleanest vehicle In all tina
part Of Greece,
As soon ~ we entered the horse en-
we were ont of all our trouble, but "
were forced to reflect that We We're NJ
following the great example of socrat'
and 10 consider that II Socrates had bee
able 20 return TO Athens In horse ca
this fact would have cut short all thu
noble conversation under tho trees, an
the world might have been without II
first great idea Of an Utopian state,
But q iscvilent thu. modern institr
tluus nro having fair play ia Greece
The boycott aud the horse car arc dom
what they isy for civilization thor
and other Ene thiRgs viii follow. MesI
willie one secs erShgh 10 convince hin
ns lie wnudors on tho AcgOpOlis that M
very rubbish of the ParihonOn ~ wort
al tho resi- Of Greece as II Is, and u b
comes comfort 20 know that hlstor
. has pretty well proved that the 20 cal
ed modern Greeks arc not Greeks ui "a
but only descendants Of horde ,
N,tnDtgllt tluXs who NMurturt In an