The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-12-08
l he Doctor Says
RlCKSHA ON WAY
OUT in shanghai

'lnrikishas are on their way a.
Of the street scene in saaprbs, ' !,
order to increase manpov..
other fields, the city's trsn,n,,,. n
ton authorities have approy s,'''
three-year plan which will 49,.
pletely eliminte the familiar ,is,. .'
as a public conveyance. @'"'
Shanghai, China's most INN.
tant commercial center u a!po {,
scene OF riksha graft jn rss M
ton in 1884. 1t was found ts ssu y,
sha boys cleared only So a mol Tx
paying nearly halt their ' S.S
earnings to the COMPANY t ts
which they rented their riks hoa
None OF the carriages was eooss
owned. '0olle'
An individual coolie could ,,..
only about Is shifts a month '0.h
competition for the rikshas '' a. ~
great and there were not sro "ss
to supply the demand. this ms,s,
enforced idleness for MANY Frals
10000 rikshas in shanghsi 'va
companies made large annual r ~s
tits. With the advent Of street,, p.o'
automobiles a n d bicycles rik. as
were the cause Of frequent trats'
snarls. a''''
The Rev. Jonathan cobl. .
American Baptist missionary .1s
former United States marine 1 nn
der Commodore Parry, conceivsd
the idea Of the man drawn NV
riage, says the National Ceoyr,
phic Society, but there are iva
versions Of how it actually CAM
to be built. According to one ,tory
the missionary wished to provid,
some means to get his invalid VIII
outdoors. He believed a modified
baby carriage would solve
the problem, and showed a picture
Of such a child's vehicle in Cooley,
Ladies Book to a japanese carpen.
ter, asking him to try to make
similar carriage.
The other version is that us
missionary, while talking to a hieb
Japanese official suggested The
riksha as a solution to the unem.
ployment problem then faced BY
Japan. Whichever the case, the
first riksha was built in 1871 a
two wheeled carriage with shafts
by which the runner pulled It. The
first license for a riksha was Oh.
tanned in Tokyo. The original We.
hicle was improved later by Jap.
anese who designed new springs,
a hood and wheel guards.
In Shanghai a riksha costs be.
tween SIT and $40; those rented 10
the public cost about $40, and on
each a small tax is paid to the
municipality. Some privately.
owned rikshas have been equipped
with American balloon tires, shin.
ing chrome wheel sDokes, and lac.
quered bodies and have had arts.
tic coast Of arms painted on their
sides. Before the war an America
could ride in a public riksha for
week on what it would cost him
in carfare to ride a day in the
United States.
At all hours OF the day and night
in oriental cities, the cries Of rik.
sha boys can be heard - warning
others of ruts, shouting to clear
the way, or heaping abuse on other
coolies. Their summer clothing
seldom varies; large straw hats,
loose coats, cotton shorts, and
straw sandals. When it rains, they
don prickly straw raincoasts or
cloaks make Of oiled paper. In
winter they wear long trousers and
padded coats.
Riksha boys usually do not
marry as they cannot support a
family. They work diligently and
have great endurance, sometimes
running 30 or 40 miles a day at
rapid pace. Constant exposure and
inadequate food shorten their lives
considerably.
The oriental go-cart was called
iinrikisha because the name liter
ally means ''man-strength'Ve'
hicle." In Japan the slang express
sion is jin-riki, but the more p''
lite term is kururna, which mea"
wheel. To foreigners it is known
simply as riksha.
At one time in Japan there was
an unWritten law of the road winch
compelled riksha boys TO keep
their carriages in well-regula'ed
single file, with the Oldest anu
most honored passenger in "'
lead.