The times., 1900-03-18

/ commencement of The regular half-hour
| car trips which begin at midnight and
| continue until daybreak, they have suf-
fered greatly, and already many have been
compelled to abandon their business for a
more lucrative occupation.
These all-night cabmen who have for
merly enjoyed a good patronage in carrying
to their homes the late wanderers and
larking parties now stand dejectedly in
the shadow of their vehicles and watch
their old customers gather on the street
corners to wait for the owl cars.
The weather. beaten old drivers stand in
the dim light OF the Postoffice Triangle to
| hail, and eagerly watch, each belated pc
destrian that chances 10 pass.
Take you home for a quarter sir" yells
one as they rush. toward the prospective
/ haul"
Fifteen cents bids another. and the
victim Of the nocturnal Jehu by this time
quite bewildered by the rush about him. is
taken firmly by the arm and hustled toward
a carriage with a speed that impresses him
with a belief that he is in the hands of a
party OF abductors.
During these hard times with the cab
men it is not an UNUSUAL sight after mid
night to see a dozen pleading drivers sur
rounding some protesting citizen who
either desires to take or a car or prefers
to walk
You cant get ear tonight" the cab
bies will explain. The cars are blocked. %
and IL the innocent and half-frghtened
man can be coerced into believing it. no
time is lost in loading him into the near
est carriage.
Il don't want carriage" an angry man
will argue. but if the cahmen can in any
way get his address it's good odds that
fare will be secured then and there.
Il have only four blocks to walk the
irate gentleman shouts
Where do you livc?" is the question
then sure to come from the cabmeu. and
il their prey is a man easy" enough 10
tell, there is then small chance Of his es-
Gaping It's every cabbie FOR himself now
adays-or nighJs-and they resort to all
the known methods for securing a fare"
We are compelled to take these means
as a matter Of competition" they explain.
IF we simply sat on our boxes as before
We would be robbed OF our trade. II takes
money to support a family and horse,
and while we used to make s. a night
when the cars weren't running We 10 well
to earn "a dollar now.
IN tell you sir, said old Tom Gloster
the cabmau who is known TO nearly every
night hawk" in Washington last night,
this owl ear service will soon put me out
of I ba tod flI in
city for a long time and have always been
able to make a good living, but fares are
scarce now and ! haven't made a cent to-
night Before the half-hour ear service
was put into effect / always had four OF
five regular fares that ! could depend
upon but the ears are cheaper. you Euow,
and they've deserted me"
John r. Johnson, who runs three night
cabs from The stand in front of the Post
office upon being asked as 10 the effect
OF the car service on his business said.
IF the present state OF affairs continues
much longer large number Of night cdr
riage drivers will be forced to quit. The
poorer and less stylish cabs especially are
suffering and it's only question of a short
time before many will be compelled 10 de
sert the night whip in Washington. [ have
felt the effects OF the ear service to the
extent that my receipts have been cut
down 50 per cent Already a large num-
Der Of drivers who have worked success
fully from the various stands about the
city. OF several years have become dis
couraged and gone 10 other cities with
their horses"
1t is so dincult to get passenger after
midnight now" remarked James Leroy,
cabman. who has his stands at Pennsylya-
MIA Avenue and Fourteenth Street the
cabbies are growing desperate and more or
less reckless in their methods Of securing
passengers Before the ears ran all night
we cabmen had regular system which
was followed as a matter of honor, each
driver taking his fare according to or
der. We had head and a foot to our
stands and IT was custom practiCed that
the carriage al the head was always the
hrst 10 90 when a carriage was called.
But all this is changed. A man whistles
for a cab from aa opposite corner and i'm
mediately there is a combined rush Of
carriages which is ss dangerous 10 the
drivers as il is, TO pedestrians Drivers
lash their horses and dash madly toward
the fare in their eagerness TO be the first
on the SPOT In such instances there have
been whip fights among the men and car
riazes have been wrecked. The old time
friendship and goodfeeling which pre-
vailed among the night cahmen generally
no longer exists since the night cars began
to run
And this is true. Only a few nights ago