o doubt, to excuse in some degree the
meanness with which they conduct their enterprises; for it is a striking
fact that the heavier such a company's business grows, and the more its
profits increase, the more parsimonious it becomes towards its employees
and the public.

There is not a line in the city that has a sufficient number of cars to
accommodate its patrons. More than one-half of those who ride on the
cars are obliged to stand during their journey. As a rule, the cars are
dirty and filled with vermin. The conductors and drivers are often
appointed for political reasons alone, and are simply brutal ruffians.
They treat the passengers with insolence, and often with brutality.

One meets all sorts of people on the street cars, and sometimes the
contact is closer than is agreeable, and keeps sensitive people in
constant dread of an attack of the itch or some kindred disease. Crowded
cars are much frequented by pick-pockets, who are said to be frequently
in league with the conductors, and many valuable articles and much money
are annually stolen by the light-fingered in these vehicles.

[Picture: NEW PALACE-CAR IN USE ON THE THIRD AVENUE LINE.]

If the drivers and conductors are often deserving of censure, they have
their grievances also. Their employers are merciless in their treatment
of them. They lead a hard life, working about fifteen hours out of every
twenty-four, with no holidays. The conductors receive from $2.00 to
$2.50 per day, and the drivers from $2.25 to $2.75. In order to make up
the deficiency between their actual wages and their necessities, the
conductors and drivers have fallen into the habit of appropriating a part
of the money received from passengers to their own use. Many of them are
very expert at this, but some are detected, discharged from the service
of the company, and handed over to the police. The companies of course
endeavor to put a stop to such practices, but thus far have not been
successful, and plead as their excuse for the low wages they give, that
this system of stealing prevents them from giving higher pay. Spies, or
"spotters," as the conductors term them, are kept constantly travelling
over the roads to watch the employees. They note the number of
passengers carried during the trip, and when the conductors' reports are
handed in, examine them and point out such inaccuracies as may exist.
They soon become known to the men. They are cordially hated, and