The San Francisco call., 1898-04-17

ing at such a good pace that when they pulled the wrong rein and the car and one of the wheels came in contact the whole outfit went over The car didn't touch one of the children, but one of the papers had it that all four were crushed under the pilot, and that 1t was all my fault, but 1t was more interest ing to tell it that way than to state the honest facts
 J. H. DUKELOW-We all have about the same trials 1 guess-children play ing in the street, people walking along meditating when they ought to have their eyes and ears in active service, persons getting off the wrong side of cars right under our wheels almost, ana careless or ignorant drivers To see the small boys that are allowed to drive wagons here is astonishing. If they can sit on seat and hold reinS they are given charge of all sorts of rigs, and though thev may do well enough when there is nothing to frighten them, if they see a car coming or get into a tight place, they are just as apt to pull the wrong rein as the other, and bring their horse and themselves right across the front of car Grown persons who are not accustomed to driving do the same thing, too, and when we run into them we are the ones that are blamed Then there are persons who think 1t smart to annoy and alarm us and some will deliberately walk out in front of a car for that purpose, and laugh at us when we slow down. Hardly a week passes that l don't get a dead fright over children, and it does seem to me that parents and guardians ought to be made to keep their charges out of the middle of the street. Children stealing rides and playing tag off the pavements risk their lives daily, and the ones who don't teach them better ought to have some of the blame when T;rVl,% I1 T for there are so many intoxicated peo- pie and you never know what they are going to do. Down on Third street not long ago a man came out of the shadow and l thought he was going to board the car. Before I could stop, though, he walked right in front of me and the car struck him. 1 heard the bump and it frightened me terribly, but as I had slowed down on seeing him it only knocked him over. For a wonder he said it was his own fault, for he had been drinking and didn't know what he was doing, but that didn't make the shock to my nerves any less.
 J. s. BUCK-I came very near being killed myself over on Broadway last summer There were a lot of boxes stacked up on the edge of the sidewalk and a boy ran right out from behind them across my track. I couldn't stop the car, to save me, until it hit him
 
 was only hurt a little a big crowd gath cred and wanted to hang me right there. One man pulled a knife, and altogether I had a narrow chance of it. You see. peoples sympathies are all ways with the one who gets knocked down or hurt by the car; they never stop to think out the motorman's sids of the affair and so it is a rare thing when we car men get fair play in these matters.
 A. E. OSGOOD-If the public were half as careful of themselves as the railroad men are of them there wouldn't be any accidents at all comparatively. I don't believe that there's a man on the lines who would hit a dog with car purposely, much less human be- ing We are on the lookout to avoid trouble all the time, but there Is hard ly one of us who hasn't had adventures with reckless or careless persons on foot or in teams, that just make us sick with fright for the time being. Rainy days, when the track Is slip pery, and foggy days, when you can't see clear before you, are times we specially dread, and children running in the street and newsboys jumping on and off cars, and sometimes trying to jump from one car to another as tbey pass. make our trips particularly ex- citing.