Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-08-17
PASSING OF THE COCHER
His Type Is Today Reminiscent. Rath-
er Than Ubiquitous.

IL Is well TO speak retrOSpectlVely VI
him, for war and the automobile have
done for the continental cocher what
they have done for his British proto-
type, all but abolished him. or modi-
fed him to the point of n~onrecogni
ton. Today the type is reminiscent
rather than ubiquitous, remembered
and recalled rather tina commonly
seen. Yet whatever his faults. what
ever we have against his individual
traits, his playful whip-crackings. his
righteousness on OCCASIONS and his
demands upon u purse and our pa
thence, his gradual passing from the
streets will remove one of the most
distinctive features of continental life.
The cdcher always seems to embody
a large share Of the mother-wit of the
people. The cochers, though never
banded in an International union or
fraternity, had this connecting link in
common. They also appeared to pos
sess certain other characteristics aris-
ing out of the traditions of their craft,
no matter whether h individual was
the alert cocher Of Paris, the phleg-
matte kutscher of Berlin. the drowsy
fellow of Amsterdam, the. intelligent
cocchiere of Rome, the l%oquacious
cochero of Madrid, or the impetuous
and importunate Neapolitan variety.
GnOSL VI lIleEl OcdEiy AOVSu d III.
form, and, all the distinctions and
graduations which it implied, big but
tons and colored coAts. But the most
distinctive feature was the hat. It was
Ia top hat for preference, a topper"
in, let US say, shining white or black
or brown. 1t served the unique pur-
pose of a tariff guide or indicator bet
teri than the distinctive markings on
the cab itself. Did you want a fine
turnout for the park, with. of course
charges to correspond. there vas the
white hat" Which you must take;
did you desire a more modest and
reasonable turnout, then the "brown
hat" was the thing for you, and so on.
The point was that you could tell the
character of the cab you wished to
hail, n it's approximate fare, merely
by watching the hat of the passing
cocher. Then, he possessed an inordi-
nate gift for distinguishing the for
eigner from the native. for lowering
about his hotel. for following him
through the streets, for waiting pa
tiently for him at the museums and
other show places, n generally for
sparing him physical effort, for a con-
s~ideration.
Apparently he was never quite sure
of what that consideration should be,
1t varied, in spite of tariffs and the
police. It seemed to adapt itself &C
commodatingly to the momentary
humors Of the cocher, or the form OF
service, Or the cut Of the "fare's'
cloth, or the time of the year, or the
size of his hotel. but it inva riably de-
fed arithmetical computations or the
~arbitrament of the hard and fast rule
Not that it was invaribly exacting
Times there were, and perhaps still
are, when one might catch him in 8
%relenting, kindly mood, when. hailine
him on1the boulevards of Paris or the
Corso in Rome, the offer of a shinine
franc piece, say, in the slack OF the
noon hour, might tempt him to ex
tend the course" to a destination be.
yond the limits Of the purchasin,
power of that coin or it's Italian
equivalent. But this, and the forego.
ing of the universal continental tribut,
OF the %pourboire. are privileges which
fall to h lot only of the habitue
never to the tourist.
On the whole. one must regret tn,
cocher's passing. II he had a weak
ness for dispute, and for crackinj
whips, if he bored with his verbosity
If he met us with a smile and Otter
left us with g. scowl, his successor o
the taxi has failed to display thos,
qualities which gave him a uniau,
place in the guide books. The ma
with the shining topper" has left
good place in our esteem. What i'm
preston he made upon his humbl
and oft sorry looking servitor. tn
horse, is quite another matter.-Chris
tian Science Monitor.