The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-14
HARD LIVES OF
 PARIS CAB HORSES Mostly From Hungary and They All Look
 Hungry. FED ON BOGUS OATS No Attention Paid to Hurts and No Veterin-
 ary.
FED ON BOGUS OATS

l1ldl the PdrlS cap horses seem 10 snow greater signs of fatigue, misery and
 general decrepitude than ever. The impression conveyed to many minds is
 that 1t may be owing to the ever in- creasing competition of automobiles.
 But, though there may be much truth in this, there are other and more direct
 causes of the cab horses tribulations
 in the worlds gay capital The
 wretched condition of these poor crea-
 lures is in striking contrast to the lux
 ury around them, and a constant ap- peal to the pity of permanent residents andNstrangers. Long acquaintance with
 the conditions of things eompels one to speak with the highest praise of the
 cab horses of Paris, says writer in "The London Telegram" They are the most patient creatures in the world
 If there were a legion of honor for dumb beasts, the Paris cab horse would
 be the first candidate for ribbon Whether it is toiling up the steep, mar row and i'll paved streets of La Villette or Montmarte, or jogging down the fashionable avenue of the Champs Ely sees, compelled at the risk of it's life to dodge in and out among luxurious equipages and automobiles, with evil dence of wealth and ease on every side, the old Paris cab horse shuffles along without protest or groan. the picture of placid resignation and patient perse- verance. It's hours of toll are unlimit- ed, and it's oats closely weighed and counted. It is slashed with the whip more often than it is fed. When it lstumbles it is beaten, and when it falls it is kicked. Yet even after the worst fall it is ready to pick itself up and jog on again as patiently as ever, without even the hope of decent burial The graves of the animals cemetery at Genevillers are reserved only for the household pets that have never worked, or for 8 high bred favorite, who got all his life more oats than he could eat, and less exercise than he wanted.
 In spite of all these saddening re- 1 factions, the patient Paris cab horse plods on, limps or lamely canters along as best it can when no longer able to trot. It perseveres in it's devotion to duty, never asks for recognition in this world or a reward in the next, and leaves the hope of another existence to the simple humans who are already getting the better of the life here be- low. The varied sources of the cab | horses trouble may be reduced to three It is underfed, overworked and 1 i'll treated How long do you keep your horse at work, as rule?" asked cabman. From in the morning till 8 or at night" was his reply. Anoth
 CT said that he usually kept his going i from in the morning till or in the evening. What do you give your horses to eat?" asked another, and he complacently showed me the bag I which he said was the horses oats. Tt is not really oats, you know was his remark, but oats mixed with clip- pings of straw and crushed maize" When he opened the bag 1t was difficult to say whether the oats really were oats, so thin and unsubstantial they seemed. Well" he remarked, you see, the company does not buy the best oats that are to be had. Rather, it is the worst that can be got, sort of chaff or refuse"
 The horses, it appears, are purchased mostly in Hungary. They are a small, | hardy breed, capable of doing an im- mense amount of work, and cost only a comparatively small sum, e35O to G400 a head. Yet who knows, if they were treated little better their value might be increased At present the average life of poor Paris cab horse, 1 after it's purchase, is four years. Many of the unfortunate beasts succumb to the terrible life after six months. few may live as long as six years, but seven is the limit. If better treated, there is no reason why this average should not be extended. As it is, the public have only too frequently reason to complain. One is often afraid to take a cab, because on looking at the horse one has doubts whether the poor thing will not be dead before it has gone half a mile. Cabmen, too, are not at all backward in taking on two , or three nore persons than they should. Especially is this the case on racing days. How often does one not see a cab loaded with five persons con- | ing from Longchamps on Sundays, and the poor beasts break down on the Avenue de la Grande Armee or Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, unable to go a step further. It is pitiable also to see the cuts, wounds and sores of the poor creatures. A horse falls and injures a knee or a hip, and no more attention is ever paid to it. At the depots there are not enough men to care for them, and no wounds are ever dressed. This is why one may sometimes see five or six cabs pass. and each horse marked with a wound or sore on some part of It's body. A cab horse Is not six months ill Paris before it is marked or lame for life. Protruding ribs are also a feature, and one might almost say the fashion. If these things were bad enough years ago, they have been only aggravated in the last five years, and especially since the taximeter was in- troduced two years ago. It sealed the NOOH Ol llle ulilOIlulldle CdO nOfSej and now only the taximeter motor cab Is needed to give the coup de grace to the unfortunate beasts. Perhaps it will be better so, The sooner automo- bile cabs come to replace the horse drawn ones in Paris the better 1t will be for dumb animals and for the honor of humanity.
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