The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-11-16
TRuckMAN AND SMALL BOY.
Etiquette Of Free Rides in the Street
The Rule as to Bundles.

T. >
he Rule as to Bundles.
The small boy dearly loves to ride
on the tail of a truck, and as a rule
the truckman is kind to him and lets
him ride. Influenced by the truck
mans example of tolerance, bunch
OF small boys riding thus on an empty
truck will make room for still anoth-
er boy if they can.
Suppose four boys are sitting across
there, scattered somewhat, and so
occupying all the space; if another
boy comes prancing out from the side
walk the four boys will crowd up and
give him a chance. And if the fifth
boy has a bundle that he wants to get
a lift with, one of those four boys will
back up and sit on the floor of the
truck to give the newcomer room.
While the truckman is thus kind to
to the small boy and freely let's him
ride, yet it is commonly understood
that the small boy shall not fill the
truck and SO make load for the
horses; his privileges are understood
to be confined to the tail Of the truck.
AS many of him as can sit there may
do so; but if they should fill up the
body of the truck they would be liable
all to be ordered off.
And bundles are a somewhat tick.
1ish proposition. Some truckmen who
may willingly let boys ride draw the
line at bundles, and especially at big,
heavy bundles, and the driver of
light wagon who might let boy jump
on behind would almost certainly shoe
him off if he tried to get on there
with one
So a row of boys sitting along on
the tail of truck might decline to
make room for another boy who came
along with a big bundle, knowing the
aversion of some truckmen to carry
ing dead weight free, and if some boy
did back up on the floor of the truck
to make room for such boy to get
aboard, the boy that backed up would
be likely to insist, when the new
conner was safe aboard, that he should
move up back and let him return to
his place .on the tail so that it would
be the boy with the bundle upon
whom the truckman's wrath would
fall.
Still there are exceptions to all
rules, and even the driver of a light
express wagon may, let a boy with a
bundle get aboard and ride. Such
wagon the other day had when first
seen eight riders aboard altogether,
including the driver, a youth, who had
with him on the drivers seat two boy
friends. The other five were free rid
ers, boys who had jumped the wagon.
One of these was a district messen-
ger boy sWho.Was calmly sitting on the
top edge Of one of the wagons sides,
with his feet on the floor, and the
other four sat on the wagons tipped
down tailboard. ..s
Seeing the wide latitude of freedom
allowed by this driver still another
boy, this one with bundle, ran, out
into the street and put himself and
his bundle aboard, too, and the driver
let him ride, so that on this wagon
there were riding nine boys, one of
them carrying a bundle.
But even this does not mark the
limit as to the number Of boys that
may sometimes be seen carried by
drivers exceptionally tolerant. Thus
there was seen going down Broadway,
New York, recently long empty
scenery truck on which were sitting
sixteen boys, strung along, nine on
one side and seven on the other, two
long struggling rows Of boys sitting
back to back and with their legs hang
ing down and all immensely enjoying
their novel ride on this peculiar
daschhund of vehicles, and presenting
incidentally an unusual spectacle.