River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1899-10-05
TRICKS OF HACKMEN.
Many of Washington's Cables Need
Constant Watching.
when Arrested for Any offense aud
Drought Before n Judge They
Resort to Old WelIer's Dodge
and Prove an Abb.
Ispecial Washington Letter. /

"The hackmen of the national cap
ital are a hard lot, and many of them
are criminals" says an old policeman.
''The hackmen have recently formed
an association, and have been granted
a charter for lodge by the Federation
of Labor; but l don't see what they
need lodge for; surely they do not
need protection. On the contrary, the
general public needs protection from
the hackmen.
One good thing for the public is
recent court decision authorizing po-
licemen to arrest hackmen for solicit
ing trade. Heretofore they have been
permitted to drive onto people, and al
most over them, in demanding patron
age. The court has decided that such
soliciting is unlawful, and the hackmen
will therefore be restrained from such
disturbances of the peace.
They resort to all kinds of tricks,
and, although there are some good men
in the business, as a general PROPOSE
ton it may be said that the hackmen
are dishonest and dishonorable. As
soon as a policeman's back is turned
they will do something which they
know is not right. Moreover, they all
stand together.
when one of them is arrested and
taken into court, he has an attorney to
Immediately arise and abuse the po-
lice force, for arresting the poor hacks
man, who is trying so hard to make
living for his suffering family That
cry has become an old one, and has
little effect in court now, but it is still
raised every time hackman is arrested
and brought to trial.
'As an example of how they defend
themselves | will tell you of the ar
rest of one of them who had been in
the business for five years. He violated
the regulation preventing hackmen
from overcharging customers. When
he came into court he swore that he
had only been in the hack business for
about two months, and that he did not
know the regulations. He had five wit
nesses to swear that he was new man
at hacking, and a man of good reputa-
ton. His plea did him no good, how
ever, because every policeman who had
served in the uptown hotel section testi-
fled that he had been a hackman for
not less than five years, and that each
one of them had known him to be in
the business that long. He was fined,
of course, and now he says that he has
It in for the policeman who arrested
him. That means that he and his gang
will iniure the policeman, if they can
80 ;,,4 l,a Il at.Iy OF
Il once saw lady get ahead of
hackman in very cute way. L saw
him following her down II street, and
talking to her. That sort of solicitation
of business is exceedingly annoying to
ladies, and is unlawful. When I came
near / heard the lady say: i think
you are the man that waited on ME
yesterday, are you not?' The hackman
had never seen the lady, hut hackmen
do not hesitate to lie, so he said:
'Yas'm, I'm the same driver The lady
replied: L thought so, and that's the
reason / don't want YOU
"One day last week a lady reported
20 me that she had given hackman
a five-dollar bill instead of one-dol-
lar bill, by mistake. She had one and
five-dollar bill in her purse, and gave
the five, thinking that she was hand
ing him the one. BY her description
/ soon located the hackman, and de-
manded the four dollars which he had
robbed the lady of, but he denied hav-
ing taken a cent more than one dollar
He admitted that he had taken her
to an entertainment, but he declared