Evening star., 1942-07-25
Presents Operators View
OF Taxicab Problems


To the Editor Of The Star:
During the past few weeks since all
this confusion has been raised over the
new taxicab rates, your newspaper has
never presented the fair side of the
situation. Your editorials and cartoons
on this subject have been very bitter, and
1t seems like a newspaper OF your excel
lent standing should at least inquire into
the facts. instead Of printing such edi-
torials as the one of July 16 entitled
"Taxicab Compromise
Everything in our business costs us at
least 80 per cent more than last year.
This includes rental rates, gas, tires and
repairs.
Where last year one could rent q cab
for SIS week, the very same cab today
costs $2975. Gasoline cost us IA cents
gallon this time last year and today
Ala. cents gallon. A set of four tires
last year could be purchased for $35 and
were good for around 10000 miles, and
today the recaps cost from $3.50 to $7O5
apiece and they last about 5000 miles.
Leon Henderson told Senate Com
mittee that we are luxury and should
not be allowed new tires or decent re-
caps, but the II hours the cabs were "off
the streets" holler went up that we had
stopped the war effort.
1t is true that our business today is
better than it has been but we are not
making as much money as most people
think we are. Our costs are substantial
ly higher and when our cabs are laid up
for repairs, ETC., we cannot get other cabs
to drive as we could in the past
Where are all the taxicab stands that
the Iraflc Bureau was to establish for
us? 1t has gotten to the point, where
downtown one has to keep cruising all
the time, because there are 50 few cab
stands left to stop on and yet we are
criticized for needlessly wearing out our
tires and burning up precious gasoline.
Cab stands would cut our costs mate
rally
Get the PUG report and exhibits and
see the various discrepancies about dead
mileage and the guess that operating
costs were 20 per cent more than a year
ago. These cost figures were furnished
by the taxicab companies and were based
on last year, not since our entry into the
war. EARNEST r.. HJJMpHREv
Recalls Assassination Of Dollfus
And German Failure in Austria.
To the Editor of The Star:
On July Is, 1894, German-trained
agents in Austrian military disguise and
equipped with German-made arms
trlcked the regular guards of the Aus
TRAN government building thus obtained
access and murdered Chancellor Dollfus.
This memorable and fateful day, as 1t
Is commemorated each year by all Aus
trians, symbolizes Austria's determina-
tion to die If necessary for her freedom
Advices reaching us report that this
year Germany has rushed special con-
tingents of Gestapo into Austria and
has taken all measures to suppress any
public manifestation, any reminder of
the first and only major defeat Germany
has suffered since the First World War
In June, 1888, Germany had begun her
first campaign of aggression against
Austria. At that time German army of
aggression, trained and equipped &C.
cording to the new standards OF German
warfare, was launched against Austria.
Austrian born traitors or Germans who
had acquired Austrian citizenship had
been trained in German high schools
for murder and sabotage" and now were
smuggled into Austria. Two Viennese
were killed In 4 bomb explosion. ~
auxiliary policemen were killed or
wounded BY hand grenades In Lower