New-York tribune., 1901-08-10
is HE HACK OR A STAGE?
]. B. WALKER is ONE OR THE OTHER,
SAYS DEPUTY CITY MARSHAL.
FOR HIS DOWNTOWN AUTOMOBILE
LINE-HE TALKS OF HIS PLANS

FOR HIS DOWNTOWN AUTOMOBILE
LINE-HE TALKS OF HIS PLANS.
John Brisben Walker. the automobile manu-
facturer, encouraged by Wall Street men. among
them ex-Mayor Hugh ]. Grant. has started an
electric vehicle passenger service in the hnan-
caI district Yesterday he came into collision
with Deputy City Marshal Brown at the City
Hall, and the question of Mr.. Walkers status
as a transporter of passengers was wrestled
with for two hours Mr.. Walker maintained
that the hack drivers fees OF S5 which he paid
for his three wagonettes which run from the
Wall-st. ferry to the Cortlandt-st. ferry for a
10 cent fare. gave him the right TO carry pas
sengers anywhere in the city. Mr.. Brown de-
mands another So for vehicle license and says
that even then Mr. Walker may be violating
the franchise law in running his vehicles over
specified route. At the height of the colloquy
Mr. Brown. who is a lawyer as we'll city Of
fetal said
Mr.. Walker. you'll have to stop running those
vehicles at once. You stand here naked-with-
out the vestige of a right to them. You are
utterly outside the law. You are either a hack
or omnibus under the city ordinances You
contend you hack. say that you are an
omnibus"
Il an,"- broke in Mr.. Walker
You are either stage or a hack interrupted
Mr. Brown once more. 'and I notify you here
and now if you the proprietor OF that new
Wall-st. line. that you can't run those vehicles
without license
Il have made an agreement with the West
colt Express Company to start a line of these
automobiles from the Grand Central Station to
run to the Waldorf-Astoria in Fifth-ave. Does
any feature Of the city ordinances conflict with
me there?"
My opinion is" said Mr. Brown that as
soon as you lay out a specified route for your
automobiles you exceed the privileges Of a sim
pie hackman. But don't care about that. AS
your wagons carry more than two persons
you've got to get a license for a special hack
coach, as we'll for your drivers. After you
get that. if you violate the law in any way your
men will be arrested and then test case can
be made"
There are people ready TO subscribe 100000
TO fight this thing through to the end" said Mr.
Walker. People have a right to cheap trans
portation, and I'm determined TO run the auto
| mobiles. as planned. I'll be down here at $50
o'clock tomorrow -ea-ning to take out SPECIAL
| hack licenses. ON donday morning want to
put on four extra automobiles"
E-fore leaving the City Hall Mr.. Walker. who
was accompanied by his son. Randolph, who
is manager of the Mobile Rapid Transit Com
pany. operating the vehicles in Wau-st. said
to Tribune reporter:
the payment of the license tax We thought
that after paying the regular So hackmans
license fee we were all right We shall cheer
fully pay the vehicle tax, and If Necessary also
pay per cent OF our gross receipts TO the city.
We have made only a beginning in starting
automobile lines in this borough Ex-Mayor
| Grant, VINO spends the summer at Long Branch.
| suggested 10 few days ago that there were
| no means OF transportation between the Cort-
| landt-st- ferry and lower Wall-st.. and that
automobiles would be literally patronized- We
started them on Friday of last week with a
| fare OF 10 cents They have been well pat
| tronlZed. We expect TO them from Fulton
| Then we expect TO run line from the Grand
| Central Station 10 the Waldorf-Astoria, and
| another line from the Hotel Majestic to Wash
| ingtOn Park all with cheap fares.
! Il am confident that We have a right to Oper-
| ate these new carriages. The section OF the city
| ordinance bearing on the question says: Any
| carriage kept for hire shall be deemed pub
| lie hack. and so forth The point is raised that
We shall need charter or franchise if we run
| a stage over a specified route Our drivers have
| been instructed 10 ask the first person who gets
| into the automobile where he wants 10 go. If
| he says Chambers-st., instead OF COrtlandt-St.,
/ all right To ChamberS-St he will be carried.
| the other passengers getting off at Cortlandt-st
| That. in my judgment, constitutes a regular
| hack service in the eyes of the law There is
need OF transportation facilities from the ferries
| 10 various important points throughout the city,
| and we intend TO fin that want"
| .. ). ThomaS, or IhomdS x Post brokers' at
| No. Il Broadway said yesterday that the Gen
| eral Carriage Company's charter, granting privi-
/ leges of a sweeping nature. might be acquired
| by Mr.. Walker and his friends for the Mobile
| Rapid Transit Company The General Carriage
| Company is in the hands of the Sheriff
| Opposition 10 the Walker plans is expected
| from the NewYork Electric Vehicle Trans
| portation Company, owning the old Fifth-ave
| stage line. This company has a right run
| stages over various thoroushsares Of the city
ana TO cross the tracks of the Metropolitan
| Street Railway.
| The General Carriage Company chartered
| on May ;. 1899 in New-Jersey. with a capital
| OF S2OOOOOOO. 1t is understood this capital is
| soon 10 be reduced. Its officers are Cyrus Field
| Judson. president; w 5. Jewell. secretary and
| general manager; Joseph S Tracy. treasurer;
| II. W. Bates Joseph Letter. Robert L. McKfn-
| strv. r c. ELlis and z. =. Glenn directors