The Rock Island Argus and daily union., 1921-11-14
Frederick Haskin's I Letter
Declining Terror of the Taxi.

down by the department tho d..
OF a public hack must p-o5,. .5''e'
upon demand of its officials ~
ord OF all trips made BY his che
during period of 60 davs nrior :.
the demand. Such a record
often be called upon TO provo '''ay P
allbi for the driver himself NJ LI
! passenger not only in cases NJ a.,
klnd but IN important crin,ir-5
cases. The driver who fails IN Ia r.a
duce such a record or who ~ ~
sents one of questionable artba5
ucIty IS not at all to be pRviad
The department also has = H..
or other rules with which The vi-S
| driver will comply. 1t is specise5
for instance, that he must bo -.
least q years old. of sound nbr
sique, with good eyesight. and ny,
subject 10 epilepsy. vertigo. bss,.
trouble. or other infrmitv Of bo5-
I or mind which might render b,-.
/ unht for the safe operation ~
public hack in crowded traffic
| Qualifications OF Taxi Drive,
He must be able to read avs
write English the rules contin,,,
have progressed as far as FIRST ma
pers toward naturalization if aIisu
porn. must be clean in dress and
person and not addicted TO the nss
OF intoxicating liquors. He mu.t
present satisfactory testimonials ss
TO character and previous record
signed by reputable citizens and
supply detailed description of his
personal appearance. together with
hngerprInts and photographs for
the files of the department. This
photograph must also be attached
20 the little red license book which
every driver carries, to be nro-
duced for identification purposes al
any time, at the request of either
the passenger or officer of the
law.
Every taxicab must carry a
taxi-meter. likewise a printed copv
OF the legal rates of fare. A high
er rate may not be demanded For
a driver to offer his services at a
@lat rate on the excuse Of meter
out-of-Order' is against the law
the fact alone of the meter not
working properly automatically
susRendS his license until such
time as the appliance is adjusted
and approved anew.
ANY public hack displaying the
'ready-tSr-business' signal must ac-
cept any passenger who applies. to
be carried anywhere within the
city limits, whether it be lust
around the corner or to the furthest
point of Staten Island A driver
who doubts the ability of q pas
senger to pay may demand pay
ment in advance at legal rates. but
must tender receipt.
NO vehicle shall be licensed
when the body thereof is so con
structed as to enclose the diver
with the passengers. or when such
hack is equipped with curtains on
the inside Neither may a driver
permit anyone to sit beside him on
the box, such restrictions being
necessary lest a taxiCab be con
verted into a medium of crime
New York now has between sey-
en- and eight thousand hacks A
large number of them belong to
corporations. who employ drivers
on a salary basis and stand resp0n-
sible for their conduct. Many in
dividuals who own one Of more
ears have also formed associations
for their mutual benefit. Such an
association has its own emblem
and color scheme for the cars, as
well as its own hack stand and
exchange, but each mem
Der pockets his individual profits,
The taxi business. like most 9TH
ers. grew enormously during the
war. and with it the demand for
drivers. The department of IT,
censes has d sad time enforcing its
specifications for drivers in the
face OF / labor shortage. 50 that
some rather desperate characters
swept into the hack ranks. Up n-
til last year, in fact, one could neV-
pr be quite sure whether taxi
ride would turn out TO be a con-
yenience or an adventure This
year. however. We are more Than
back to normalcy. The streets are
illed with empty cabs, even during
he theatre hours. and the er7'-
while traffic terror has become "a
model Of decOrum.