El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-19
TAXI DRIVERS
MAY RAISE
Prices
New York Faces Another
High Cost in Living Elk
penses.
CHINATOWN JOINS
THE DRY COLUMNS


who live by the light Of the Great
White Way. First the walters struck
and demoraIized the restaurant SER
vice of the SKY sign" region. When
they had won their raise in pay their
employers took it out of the public By
piling. a charge for bread and butter
on top of their other Alpine prices, and
now the taSicab people are attempting
to devise a way to extort a few addi-
tional millions from the metropolitan
public.
An investigating committee which
has been studying the taxicab situation
has discovered some curious facts. For
one thing they learned that the hotel
and restaurant graft that is, the
charge made by the proprietOrs of these
places for permitting the cabs to stand
in front of them, amounts to the enOr-
nous sum Of 100000 a year. AS a re-
suit the taxicab people say they are
losing money and ought to have a
chance to raise their fares, the head OF
one Of the largest companies testifying
that his concern had lost 100000 in
three years, over $4,000 Of which was
represented by payments to hotels.
On the other hand the Independent
taXicab owners who have no restaurant
tribute to pay testified that they were
making 40 percent profit at half the
rates Of their privileged OmpetitOrS,
and that they could cut their rates
easily and still make money. Since
both sides to the argument drive in
the same streets and the advantage in
opportunity to catch fares is all in
favor of the organization people, the
investigators are wondering whether
they have added some new member
ships to the Ananias club or have dis
covered a great unknown philanthropy
ion, however, that the heavy payments
extOrted by the hotel and restaurant
men is one Of the chief reasons for the
high cab fares paid in New York.
Chinatown Gone Dry.
While the visit Of the greatest war
fleet Uncle sam has ever assembled
was a pronounced success there was a.
drop of woe in the jachies' cup OF JOY
in spite Of the royal way IN which
they were entertained. For the tarS
discovered what New Workers them
selves did not know, that the glory
had departed from the two features of
the metropolis that are famous among
all salt water sailors, and they an
nOunced after brief but thorough in
spectiou that the BOWery was dead and
that Chinatown had gone dry"
The lower BOwery and the little knot
Of crooked streets. almost within the
shadow Of the new 80 story municipal
building, where the tOngs have Waged
their bloody wars for 20 years, has al
ways been a great haunt for sight
seers- A year or two after two fright
ful murders there the place was
cleaned out so effectively that the Chi
nese population shrank from nearly
1900 to 1900 in eight months. Only
the saloons, the Chinese restaurants
and a few opium dens," maintained
solely for the edificatiOn Of credulous
sightseers at % cents a look were left
The first men from the fleet to OBJ
tain shore leave promptly cruised down
to their old haunt and drifted into
bar. Ginger ale%' said the barkeeper.
That was not exactly it. the sailors
thought. ''Sarsaparilla2 That was
worse. t'Buttermilk" was the third Of
fering and the jackies made a swift
escape. The sailors told their troubles
to a reporter when they got back to
their ship. There was an inyestiGa-
Chinatown saloons had been closed by
the state officers who had refused to
renew their licenses.
Fox Bites on East Side.
An epidemic of fox bites" in the
heart of New FORKS east side has
stirred up a hot discussion here which
is not yet settled. The trouble started
when six boys and girls appeared at
Bell eyue hospital about an hour after
time for school to begin and SOlemnly
barred six left arms for the surgeon to
examine. The children's story was that
three men-"dark fellows with rough
caps'-had sprung upon them from
around a corner, had dragged them into
doorways and rubbed their bare arms
with the rough caps till the blood
started. The following day more than |
20 cases of the same sort were re-
ported, the children with red patches
on their arms all telling the same
story Of the dark fellows and the /
rough caps"
All the children had the marks on !
the left arm except one little fellow /
and when the doctor told him to write ]
his name the yOungster took the pencil /
in his left hand. That gave the hos |
Dital people their first clue, and after /
some sharp questioning they declared |
that the fox bites were made by the !
children themselves, in hope of stay
ing away from school The fox bite 4
epidemic has gone on spreading how /
ever More than 200 cases have come /
to the hospital, and as the mothers Of /
the children insist that the scars were /
not made by the youngsters, the police 1
department has sent out detectives TO |
hunt for the mysterious dark feners-'
Clearing House Breaks Record.
The quiet old clearing house, which I
keeps out of public notice more sue
cessfully than any institution Of the /
same Importance in the city, announced /
the other day that it had broken I
record. The total amount Of cash bal I
3nces which were paid through 1t Tor
the first week Of October was SAL l
laorUSos OF the greatest sum III Us -1--e
history
As that is only a small fraction Of /
he total amount of checks which were
settled there, it gives hint OF the
yastness Of the banking business at the
present time. The explanation of the /
lugeness Of the cash sum that changed
hands is not only that all business is
decidedly lively now, but also that
October first was a quarter day"
when large amounts of dividends were Il
paid, and some of the chief dividend
payments were only partly completed.
Now, however, the dividend payments
ire coming in to the banks in large
sums Financial authorities consider
his fortunate as the money is badly |
needed to offset the Withdrawals which I
nave been made for harvesting and
moving the big crops in the west
which have strained the money market.
larder than ever this year
". J. Roundtree, formerly a fireman
IN the Southwestern. out of Tucum-
;ari. now has a position as section
brennan on the S. P. at TUnis n. NJ