Henderson gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1911-19??, 1911-06-15
THE HORSE, THE NEGRO AND
THE CROCERYMAN.
.To~zes's Friend" Continues His De.
tense of the Delivery Wagon Horse
and Suggests a Feasible Plan For
the Betterment of Ills Condition.


tense of the Delivery Wagon Horse
and Suggests a Feasible Plan For
the Betterment of ftis Condition.
Confined from last week
In my article last week | spoke of
cruelty To the horse, and in my bill OF
Indictment, brought special charges
against the drivers of the grocery
wagons This week | desire to make
the suggestion referred to in my
former letter as to practical methods
for ending this abuse of the horse.
These suggestions were to be ad-
dressed to the ladies and to the gro
cerymen. Begging their indulgence
| humbly submit the following re-
marks:
When my attention was first called
to the cruelty of these drivers in
their treatment of the horses, my in
dignatiOn was keen against the men
who handled the whip, and my first
impulse was to report them to the
officers of the humane society. Upon
further investigation, however, |
found that the drivers were not solely
or even chiefly to blame. The ne
grOes as we'll as the horses were vic
tins Of forces at work further back.
The real cause OF the abuse is to be
found in a lack OfsyStem in ordering
and delivering goods. A very brief
consideration will make this fact ap-
parent.
The writer has remarked more than
once that the grOcerymen OF Hender
son are the most accommodating he
has ever known. He was pleased by
this courtesy until lie had counted
the cost. Just a moment ago, e. e.,
was informed that q horse, owned
by one Of the grocerymen OF the
town. had been so injured by unmer-
ciful driving that it had to be taken
from the wagon.
There is no limit to the size of an
order which may be given for imme
diate delivery. Frequently an order
is sent in for q single yeast cake,
with the instructions that it must be
delivered "at once" Just few mo-
ment5 before the time to close for
the night one of our grOcerymen re-
sponded to the call OF his phone. A
lady living more than a half-mile
from his store was in hurry for an
yeast cake 1t did not matter to her
that the order was worth only two
Do,,hnr1 oh 1i1
think Of the poor horse, already
worn out by rushing from place to
place throughout the long day. She
wanted an yeast cake-and of course
she got it. The grOceryman could
not refuse, nor could the horse. The
negro was in bad humor, and the
old horse, though doing his utmost.
felt many a lash from the cracking
whip. For this revolving cruelty,
who was most respOnsible2
Nor is there any limit to the num-
Der of orders one may send in for a
single meagre meal. One lady in our
town recently gave five separate
orders before she was prepared to
serve an ordinary Tepast. Another
lady had in her yard at once three
wagons belonging to the same store,
all filling orders for one and the same
meal, and the three orders together
amounted to the sum of thirty-tive
cents.
Aside from the mistreatment of
the horse, such a course involves an
economic waste, and comes danger
OuslV near to the border line OF dis
honesty. Such orders do not pay
for themselves, and place on the
business an additional tax. which
must be borne by the public.
Instances of such abuses as we are
considering could be multiplied in
definitely. They are of daily, il not
of hourly, occurrence Enough has
been said to show that the driver
must not be loaded with all the
blame for the cruelty which we are
condemning. Back of the negro is
the abused groceryman; and back OF
the grOceryman is the exacting,
thoughtless, but well-meaning pub
lie; and back of them all, the poor,
patient horse, bearing the accumu-
lated cIueIties of all his human CD
masters.
For correcting these evils we have
two suggestions, one for the grocery
man, and one for his patrons.
The grocerymen of the town could
end these abuses, in large measure,
by forming a Grocer's Association,
and adopting rules for the regulation
Of the business and the education OF
the public. First, they should decide
approximately as to the minimum
amount to be sent out in a separate
delivery. No man should be required
to send his horse and wagon to de-
liver ten cents worth of goods. The
expense of the team is greater than
the value Of the produce. Then, they
should fix the number and time OF
daily deliveries. There should be
two deliveries, one in the forenoon,
and one in the afternoon. Orders
for the first delivery should all he in
by a given hour, say ten O'Clock;
orders for the second, by four, for
example BY having all the orders
in before the wagons start, the
orders can be grouped, and all that
single trip.
Attention to this last suggestion
would correct one of the worst forms
of the abuse before us-frequent trips
to the same community. A few days
ago a wagon belonging to a grocery
man in town carried a small order
to lady living about three.quarters
Of a mile from the store. While the
wagon was at her door neighboE
on the opposite side of the street
seeing it, was reminded that she
needed a certain article for her din
ner, and at once sent in a hurried
order to the same store. The driver
returned and was Immediately rush
ed back to deliver second ordel
fifty steps from the place he had lei