Evening star., 1935-06-23
Taxi Drivers View of Strike
He admits 1t Failed But Resents Implication He s.
aCrook after Working II to 10
Hours Day.

A tdricdb driper, Louis Jono-
blort, 1914 TweIfth street, has set
doDn the tollotoing Ue sion OF the
recent strike seen through the
eyes OF the cdbby.
Among the phenomena of the year.
must, without doubt, be counted the
recent strike of Washington cabbies.
In any other metropolis, the thing
would be expEcable; in stodgy, peace
full Washington it is simply one or
those things which, like a Los An
geles food, never happens.
1t was pretty much of fiaSco and
it seems to have left everything pretty
much up in the air. My fares ask
me pointed questions and try to be
polite about my weary answers; If
they think cabby is pretty stupid, they
don't want to convey the idea to him,
at least not too brutally.
Now and then, on a long ride, go
into the matter. The elucidatlon Is
lengthy. All strikes, say I, are-n we
are to believe students Of the ques-
tion-entirely spontaneous and quite
unplanned. This Washington cabby
one certainly was.
Long months of toll preceded it.
Then four Shriners took taxi to
the Chevy Chase Country Club.
When they got there they paid the
cabby 20 cents. There was an alterca-
ton about that, of course, and in the
alteration the cabby got a black eye.
The Shriners are decent fellows. I
carried quite few loads of them when
they we're here and on the whole I'm
sorry they had to leave. That Chevy
Chase affair was simply unfortunate.
CThe Star has heard the story Of the
four Shriners' trip to the country club
in many versions. The name of the
club has ranged from that of the
Washington Golf and Country Club in
Virginia to the Manor Club IN Mary
land. Whether there was such an oc-
currence The Star does not know.
But most taxi passengers have been
told about it.)
Strangers in Capital.
Possibly you and would have done
the same thing if we came, like they
did, strangers to the Capital and If
we were then Immediately showered
with dark hints about the crooks at
the steering wheels of the city's taxis.
We would have felt, no doubt, like they
did, that here we had cabalistic
tribe. a sort of minor branch Of the
Maf1a, to be def1ed and vigorously
combstted. And we, or at least /, hate
to be gypped as heartily as they did.
But that story, nevertheless, shed
discredit ON the Shriners. 1t spread
rapidly and sank deep into the weary
cabbys consciousness. It became
symbolic of gross injustice. 1t gave
him a hostile attitude toward all
Shriners. There were minor occur
rences in the same key and it all added
up. When Official" cars began to
haul 10 and IL Shriners from the
Union Station at once, things burst.
Cabbies tried to blockade the entrances
to the Union Station so that none
could come or go. And from that first
moment of open protest, inevitably, the
strike was on.
It was nothing but a mood, bold
move of protest. Most of us, dare
say, knew as well as you and the rest
of the public, that we were biting off
our nose to spite our face. But we
poor cabbies had suffered so long
that there was for us something tonic
and grand and entirely satisfying in
this moment Of defiance, costly though
it might be.
There was a first meeting on the
Diamond Associations lot. It was
adjourned until more volunteers
might be recruited. At the second
meeting the strike was declared. Per-
hapS a third or q half Of Washing
tons $500 cabbies were there. But
others were told of the strike by work
ers cruising about the city, usually
three or four In q cab. Most drivers
acquiesced In the strike, rather gladly.
Some agreed to it reluctantly and
very few opposed it. Those very few
were right, Of course. For If work.
men are striking, they should at least
strike against somebody. But the
Washington cabby is not an employe,
he is his own boss. And In striking,
he was striking against nobody but
himself, unless it were the public.
And certainly one can't strike against
the public. This strike which wasn't
a strike was a huge success. Hardly
a cab moved. It's so easy, do you
see, to enforce q strike in the taxi
business. I, for instance, am buy
ing this cab of mine. / have q certain
amount of money in 1t. I'm not
going to risk my investment for the
sake of one days work And at the
slightest threat Of violence most of
my colleagues will feel the same way
about it and acquiesce in anything
whatever. It would not be impossible
for 10 determined hoodlums to para
lyze the entire taxi business.
Price Another Matter.
So there you have the strike. That
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