Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-07
Policeman Had Involuntary
Automobile Ride
UP AND DOWN THE CITY
WAR TO BE WAGED ON SCIEN-
TIFIC SLOW CHANGERS.
Novel Method of Thieving - Rath-
skellars Supplant Roof Gardens
Gotham Gossip.
spec,al Correspondence of The Evening Star.

NEW YORK, June 6, 1902
There is so much of tragic character TO
be ncessantly chronicled In connection
with automobling in New York that the
occasional humorous occurrences are over
looked by the New York newspapers. one
of these happened the other day. A couple
of naturally as well as artihcially gay
youths on a visit here from Texas char
tered a big electric machine and proceeded
to make 18th avenue. one of the main drl"inS
thoroughfares of the town, look as II II
were being swept by series OF Slmoons
along it's whole length. They navigated IN
a steady cloud of dust that made their ma
chine all but indistinguishable, and they
made such a tumult with Wild West
yells. that most of the other drivers of We
hicles along the avenue were glad to take
to the side streets.
Finally. a square or two above the park
a mounted policeman gave chase to the
wildly-careering machine. The cop had
pretty good specimen of horse under hln'
but even a thoroughbred can't do mile
inside of minute, and that was approx
mately the speed which the two youths IN
the electric machine proceeded to hit up
When they perceived that they had the
mounted officer completely Outclassed. they
decided to have a little fun with him. So
they let him gain upon them at the end OF
each square or so. and then, just as he got
to within parleying distance, they'd let out
another link or so. and leave the cop to
look ridiculous on his tagged horse. Now,
even a New York policeman may not pull
gun and blaze away in broad daylight at
couple of speeding youths on one of the
main thOrOughfareS of the town. After he
had kept up the pursuit, both up and down
the avenue, for half an hour, the young
men pretended their machine in
trouble. and they pulled up. The policeman
rrTf1r.. he boil =;
and climbed into the machine He'd no
sooner done that than the young man who
was plotting the auto pulled 'er wide
open. as the cop afterward said, and and
then the policeman was off for an involun-
tary ride at dazzling speed. His patience
was about at an end by this time, and so he
pulled his pistol and commanded the young
man at the lever to slacken up on pain of
being punctured.
Puncture away" said the young man.
feeling assured that the policeman was only
essaying a bluff. and he sent the machine
along at speed that kept it rocking most
or the time on two side wheels. For solid
hour, or as long as the electric "iuice''
lasted. the raw young Texans raced the
perspiring and volubly swearing policeman
all around upper New York. Then. the
battery having run down. and their alco-
holfc JOY having been spent thew climbed
down and marched in fairly good order
with the policeman to the station This
stunt cost each of the Texans 500 in the
police court on the following day but the
spectacle they presented in boldly kidnanine
a mounted policeman right on one of the
most crowded and fashionable thorough
fares in New York had certain element of
wild and woody fun in 1t that would have
been absent had the affair terminated-and
1t was a miracle that it did not so terminals
in one of the auto tragedies that are be-
coming so woefuliy common in the daily
history of New York.
Scientific Slow Changers.
Absent-minded New Workers who patron-
lie the Il trains. and whose absent-rnind-
edness causes them to contribute much for
gotten change to the so-called "slow-
changers among the ticket men in the
course Of a year, VIII be glad to know that
the Il officials are taking steps looking
20 the elimination of the slow-changers
Inc s!o"-changers are the ticket men who
are so reluctant to pass forth change that
they haoitual!y permit the absent-minded
individuals who purchase 81" tickets To
race away without getting what is coming
TO them For example the wooIgatherino
man. with MS wits In a dormant state when
ne has most need of them, passes in a &,
note 10 one of these scientific sIow-chanpers
The man behind the window hastily masses
MIN ticket, but. having a shrewd eve for
members of the absent-minded division. he
Is exceedingly hesitant In his method of
getting together the patrons 90 CHANCE
II happens many times in the course of a
day that rushing man, bent on keepinp
an appointment for which he has hut q
Slight margin of time. will bolt AWAY from
the ticket window without waiting for bis
change and the very profitable raLenfs
derived from this source is said to have
created the scientific slow-changers
They give the rushing man every omar
tunity to run away without the money fbat
Is coming 20 him, and there have been So
many complaints in recent years of the
practice. and particularly of the imperti-
hence of the L ticket men when REQUEST
co TO make good In such cases that tho
L. onlclals nave at length got after the
tribe. The cool brazenness of most of the
Il men IN instances of the sort described
could never be exaggerated. If two min
utes after you have walked away from an
L. window without having taken the
change coming to you you return to the
window and ask the man to make good in
Hinety-nine cases out of a hundred he will
not only badly deny that you have Ieft
any change behind but he will sunnIemert
MS denial with an outbreak of verbal inn
perunences well calculated to make Won
Ieei, In the View of the listeners like the
proverbial thirty cents The fine efYrontery
of the old-fashioned slow changer Of tbe
circus ticket wagon was amateurish work
indeed compared with that of the New
York u ticket man
Inc method now being employed of get
ting rid of the habitual slow changers oy
the various Il" lines is the old-time ..spot-
ing system, and yet there are few Now
iorkerS VINO nave suffered in purse as well
as IN other respects through the swindlinp
practices and the vicious language of the
ticket men who will not approve of
any method, however undetermined. that
VIII serve to shut out the cheerful grafters.
Clever Method of Thieving.
Scarcely a week passes in New York in
which there is not some theft on large
scale. which serves to call attention to the
loose methods of most New York employ
ers of household servants in the matter of
exacting references and investigating the
Same.
A case which happened only about ten
days ago Is A fair sample of MANY A
prominent and wealthy society woman. the
daughter of a former mayor of New York
FOUND II necessary to employ a maid the
young woman that had been with her for a
number OF years having been compelled to
give up her position. owing to a domestic
affiction. The society woman advertised in
one OF the New York papers for a maid
and had several dozen personal applicants
Tor the position on the following day She
selected one of the applicants out OF hand
because of the girls good looks, tidiness
and sprightliness. AS a mere formality she
asked the girl for references The tidy.
spr:ghtly young woman handed over to her
new employer an exceedingly laudatory