TRANSIT
In the 1970s and 1980s, before construction of the city's subway system and
its Metrolink counterpart that connected Los Angeles to the suburbs, older
Angelenos, short of memory but long on nostalgia, spoke warmly of the Pacific
Electric transit system, referred to affectionately as "the Big Red Cars" or
simply "the P.E." Recalling the days when commuters could move quickly from
Long Beach or San Fernando to downtown Los Angeles on what was then recognized
as one of the nation's most extensive interurban systems, they decried the
buses and freeways that replaced the Red Cars after World War II.
Not so different were the comments of an earlier generation of Angelenos
who fondly recalled, in memoirs written in the 1910s, '20s and '30s, the pre-P.E.
days of the 1870s and '80s when transit riders first enjoyed the luxury of
horse-drawn streetcars. Several of the standard reminiscences - by Bixby,
Newmark and Workman - were written by residents who remembered the horse cars
with affection. Harris Newmark wrote that the pioneer Spring and Sixth Street
line, founded by Judge Robert Widney in 1874, was never crowded and stopped
anywhere for the convenience of passengers. Sarah Bixby related that on the
Main Street and Agricultural Park line:
It was the custom for the driver on late trips to stop
the car, wind the reins around the brake handles, and escort
lone lady passengers to their front doors.... Even as late as
1890 the car once waited while Katherine Carr ran into Mott's
market for her meat!
Boyle Workman, recalling a gruff but lovable druggist who often gave
children candy, mused that:
In my school days, after the horse-car line to Boyle
Heights was established, I always hoped the car would be
late. Then I could wait for it in Heinzeman's store and
receive a licorice stick.
Horsecars had a monopoly on public transit for over a decade, but in 1885
the first of several cable lines, the Second Street Railway Co., began
operations. Electric streetcars appeared on the city's streets early in 1887
but, beset by a variety of problems, that first line - out Pico to the Electric
Homestead Tract - failed financially and was converted to a horsecar operation
in 1888. At the end of the decade other transit developers, primarily Moses
Sherman and his brother-in-law Eli Clark, organized the forerunner of the
electric systems that became the Pacific Electric, primarily for intercity
transit, and the Los Angeles Railway, the yellow cars that dominated transit
within the city until after World War II.
Those early streetcar operations were frequent subjects of letters to the
Times, usually in the form of complaints about schedules, ill-treatment of
passengers, accidents or abuse of the horses and mules. The quaint and
leisurely custom of car operation in the mid-1870s was looked upon as an
annoyance by the 1880s. Sarah Bixby may have been impressed, but other riders
would not applaud an unscheduled stop as Mrs. Carr darted into the market for
groceries.
A) HORSECARS
By 1876 four horsecar lines were operating within Los Angeles. Widney's
success encouraged others to seek franchises from the city council, which
granted them willingly. The Main Street and Agricultural Park line, owned in
part by former governor John Downey and Isaias W. Hellman, ran south to
Washington Gardens, a major entertainment center. Other new lines ran on San
Pedro and Aliso Streets. As population grew and the city expanded, additional
routes continued to open throughout the 1880s and early 1890s.
Horsecars were slow, ran infrequently and were subject to numerous delays.
A frequent complaint from riders was about the time lost at switches. Most
lines were initially single-tracked with a switch, or turnout, where cars met.
When a car reached the point on a single track line where it was scheduled to
meet its counterpart traveling in the opposite direction, one vehicle would
move onto the switch until the other passed. Should a car run late, it was
necessary for the other to wait at the switch for its arrival. The suggestion
made below by "Citizen S" that one in a hurry should walk rather than ride the
horsecar was not entirely made in jest.
Even when lines were double-tracked delays were common and the time between
cars unpredictable. Riders complained about waiting an inordinate amount of
time for a car only to find two or three arriving at once. Newmark recalled
that as late as 1887 there were no cars before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m.
A major problem on all the lines was that cars frequently derailed, and
driver and passengers alike labored to return the wheels to the track. In the
early years service was often suspended on Widney's line in winter as the cars,
running on rails laid even with the unpaved street to avoid the bumpy crossings
for buggies that editor Mathes had complained about, mired down in mud.
These problems prompted letters to the Times. "Citizen S" and "W," both of
whom wrote as electricity began to replace horse power, captured the
frustration felt by riders who relied upon "rapid transit."
{Times, Jan. 17, 1888, p. 6}
Street-Car Tribulations.
LENGTHY ESSAY ON MULES AND WOMEN.
Los Angeles, Jan. 15.--[To The Editor of The Times.] I
started one day last week to call on a lady friend who lives
in East Los Angeles. Not being born lucky, and because it is
not considered the proper thing for a woman to run or shout,
I missed the car as it was turning the corner of First
street. Also, that car missed me. So it was a mutual loss.
A mortal hour did I then stand on Main street waiting for the
next that bore a painted declaration of intention to carry
its passengers to Downey avenue. Beautiful lines of
Scripture came to mind: "Possess thy soul in patience,"
"They also serve who only stand and wait," "Let patience have
her perfect work," etc. There is an end to all things, and
there came an end at last to this exasperating waiting. I
finally found myself in a besplashed old vehicle, with mud-
frescoed windows, that promised a lively shaking to one's
bones and a powerful antidote to indigestion. Near the depot
came the usual impedimenta in the long trains of freight
cars. How they cavorted back and forth, as if just for the
fun of the thing, oblivious and indifferent to the miseries
inside that insignificant little street-car. One may derive
benefit from almost every circumstance of life, and even this
disagreeable delay might be turned to account, so I ventured
a few questions to the conductor for future benefit.
"How often do these cars make a trip?"
"Every 10 minutes," was the reply.
"But I waited an hour," said I. "None passed except
those bound for Daly street."
"Oh, that makes no difference; you don't go by what it
says outside the car. All with two horses go to Downey
avenue."
"But the Daly-street cars had two horses, I am sure,"
said I. "Beg pardon, mum, they were mules. They either use
two mules or one horse. You have to be particular, or you
make a mistake."
Ah, thought I, one must be a careful observer, and not
get on a mule car. You must note the length of the animale's
ears, the peculiar conformation of his tail, if it has
feathery ends, like the long, braided switches worn by young
ladies abundantly blessed with woman's "crowning glory." But
while mentioning these trifling inconveniences, I must not
forget the advantages this car line affords to the traveling
public. They will stop for you anywhere between the blocks.
In fact, their favorite pastime seems to be in stopping, and
also stopping a long time when they stop. It is an oft-
repeated libel, that horses do not live long after being put
before street-cars. They do, for many of these have already
attained a venerable old age. They are veritable equine
Methuselahs, and if there is anything that will tend to
promote beastly longevity, it must be a life on the Spring-
street line. Acting on the proverb that "a merciful man is
merciful to his beast," the company has provided numerous
little resting places. Sometimes you ride quite briskly for
10 minutes, then comes the horse-heaven or switch, as it is
called, and there you stop from 15 minutes to an hour. The
animals like it immensely, and the passengers joke or growl,
according to disposition or the amount of superfluous time
they have on hand. It takes just four hours to make a call
in East Los Angeles, provided you do not stay more than five
or ten minutes. You have just time to exchange inquiries
about health, complaints about your boarding-place,
information as to the newest wrinkle in dress-skirt
draperies, but if you have ideas beyond these--and now and
then women have--arrange with your friend to take the trip
with you. Carry a lunch, and you will have ample time and a
splendid chance for a long talk, and the ride will do you
good. It is decidedly anti-dyspeptic, and will speedily
settle any digestive difficulty. Should you happen to be in
a hurry, be sure and walk, for this line is intended only for
those with plenty of leisure--and time-killers of society.
CITIZEN S.
{Times, Oct. 26, 1887, p. 3}
The Olive-street Cars and the Church-goers.
Los Angeles, Oct. 25.--[To the Editor of The Times.] If
church-going people are ever excusable for an exhibition of
temper they certainly had abundant cause for indignation on
Sunday morning last when they were delayed at each switch
along the Olive-street line from ten to fifteen minutes, thus
making a great many too late for church. In order to reach
the depot or church it is now necessary to start a half an
hour earlier than a month ago to accomplish the same trip.
If the public have any rights which street railroads are
bound to respect it will not be long before they will be
bound to assert them if some improvement is not made on the
Olive-street line.
W.
Not all riders were as good-humored about their displeasure with the
city's transit service as "Citizen S." Thomas Lewis described in 1889 the
difficulty of utilizing public transportation for an evening on the town. A
"bench show," such as the one referred to by Lewis, was an indoor exhibition of
animals, usually dogs.
{Times, June 30, 1889, p. 6}
Inefficient and Lawless Car Service.
Los Angeles, June 27.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
The people living out on the line of the Main-street and
Agricultural Park Railroad should have some protection
against the treatment received at the hands of this company.
Wednesday evening I came in with my family to the bench show
at Hazard's Pavilion. On our return home we reached Main and
Fifth streets at 9:50 o'clock. We waited from that time
until 10:25, when a Figueroa-street car--No. 26, I
think--came along so terribly overloaded that the horse was
hardly able to drag the burden. The passengers were hanging
on the front and back platforms and all along the steps, so
that I knew it was impossible for another passenger to get
on. I went into the street to stop the car, but the driver
very properly refused to stop, as it would, perhaps, have
taken steam power to start the car again with such a load.
From that time until the next Figueroa car reached that
point, going south, it was 42 minutes, making the wait one
hour and seventeen minutes for transportation. In the
meantime Jefferson-street car No. 11 passed, going south,
loaded in the same unwarranted way, this being the only
Jefferson-street car passing that point going south during
this hour and seventeen minutes. About 40 minutes between
cars is all right for a country town, but in a growing
metropolitan city, where residence property sells for from
$75 to $100 per front foot, three miles from the center, such
a thing is an outrage. These beautiful streets are almost
entirely given up to the railroad company, valuable
privileges given up, for which others would pay handsomely,
and the streets kept in bad condition all the time on account
of the road being there; and this is what the people who
support this company so handsomely get in return. This kind
of service was all right a few years ago, when you could buy
acreage on this line for the price of one lot now in the same
acre. This is no longer a country town; we pay city taxes,
and are entitled to city privileges. If this was my first
sad experience on this line I would, as like hundreds of
others are doing today, keep quiet. But there is a point at
which human endurance fails to endure, and I have reached
that point. I have been riding on this line for about two
years, it costing me about $10 per month for myself and my
family, and I hail with the keenest delight the completion of
the cable road on Grand avenue, so that I may find a day of
deliverance from such service. I have consulted the City
Attorney's office, and find that the company breaks the city
ordinances in the following way every day: First, by allowing
more than forty passengers on a one-horse car, for which the
law provides a fine of $100, or imprisonment for 60 days, one
or both; second, an ordinance passed April 22, 1889, makes it
unlawful for a driver to leave his animal or animals
unattended at any time while the car is in motion, and the
penalty for breaking this law is quite sufficient--$100 fine
and imprisonment for 60 days, one or both. If the citizens
along this line will assist in enforcing the law, we may have
better accommodations.
THOMAS A. LEWIS.
While Lewis recognized the difficulty in restarting an overloaded car and
thus understood the reason car No. 26 had not stopped, he believed the answer
was to press more cars into operation, easing the burden on the animals and at
the same time providing the riding public with adequate service. That
overloading was not confined to the Main Street line is indicated by this
complaint to the editor from a resident of Bonnie Brae, located along Ninth
between Alvarado and Union Streets.
{Times, Aug. 26, 1887, p. 6}
Jumping on a Street-Car Line.
Los Angeles, Aug. 25.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Will you permit a sufferer to give his opinion of what
has become a nuisance to the traveling public of Pearl, Ninth
street and Bonnie Brae tract, viz., the one-horse line of
cars? It is a constant, every-day fact that the cars of this
line are overloaded, and consequently always behind time.
The company want the public to patronize them, but seem to
forget that the public has any rights that the company are
bound to respect. The Ninth-street service is simply
outrageous. There is no hour of the day up to 10 p.m. that
there is not from three to ten people waiting at the Sixth-
street terminus for a car out Ninth street. There is no way
of telling what car runs out Ninth. If the Humane Society
want to get some work on their hands let them watch the one-
horse cars, and they will have from four to ten arrests each
day.
B. B. TRACT.
In fairness, horsecars were not the only unreliable transportation about
which readers complained. Just as Elias Longley had complained about the Santa
Fe's service between the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles {see "Railroad"
chapter}, an unidentified letter writer suggested that the train that provided
interurban service between Pasadena and Los Angeles in the 1880s was equally
undependable.
{Times, Mar. 25, 1887, p. 6}
A Growl from Pasadena.
Pasadena, Mar. 23.--[To the Editor of The Times.] Will
you please mention in your paper that the "so-called theater
train" left on Tuesday evening not only before the theater
was over, but even before schedule time? Brush them up a
little for Pasadena's sake.
Modern commuters who complain about uncomfortable, graffiti-bedecked buses
had their counterparts in transit riders of the 1880s. Though the smoking ban,
cited by "One of the People," would eventually be honored by passengers on
public transportation, other complaints, such as the one raised by "Traveler,"
will be recognized by a later generation. Charles Forman, to whom "Traveler"
made his appeal, was vice president and superintendent of the Los Angeles Cable
Railway, which also operated a system of horsecar lines.
{Times, Mar. 31, 1883, p. 4}
Scene in a Street Car.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: If the elegant
Superintendent of the Main Street Horse Railway will for once
draw his head some three degrees toward the front, on the
perpendicular line of his body, and thereby bring his vision
on a level with material things here below, he will find that
his cars are in a most dilapidated and nasty condition,
whilst the management is terribly demoralized. On entering
one of these cars the other day I encountered two rascally-
looking Mongolians, with their greasy hampers of chow-chow,
occupying about four seats, and smoking villainous opium-
tinctured cigars, and sending off a cloud of smoke that
literally filled the car. Directly the driver slowed down,
and in jumped a representative Young America, who never
refuses a challenge at any game, and taking in the situation,
accepted the gage, drew out his three-cent long nine, and
familiarly taking the cigar from the mouth of one of the
Chinamen, lit his own and throwing himself on his seat, sent
forth a volume of smoke that rendered his victory no ways
doubtful. At this moment a passenger drew the attention of
John to the trio, and received a gruff "Vell, vat of it? I
can't stop 'em" for his pains. Looking round I found that
the notice "No smoking in the cars" had given place to the
card of a quack medicine man.
I was under the impression that when this company
obtained its charter, mutual obligations were entered into,
one of which was the comfort and convenience of the public.
ONE OF THE PEOPLE.
{Times, Sept. 29, 1888, p. 6}
Street Cars-Side-curtains Wanted.
Los Angeles, Sept. 24.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Great complaint is justly made by the street-car traveling
public of Los Angeles that Mr. Foreman does not provide his
street cars with side-curtains, to protect that side of the
car which is exposed directly to the sun. It is a perfect
torture to sit for three-quarters of an hour motionless in a
car in the full blaze of our southern sun. The street cars
of Los Angeles bring in a princely income to their fortunate
owners, the expense of providing side-curtains is very small.
The inconvenience of sitting on the sunny side is so great
that all the travelers crowd into the shaded benches, and
cause annoyance to each other there. Mr. Foreman, let us
have the comfort of a shaded seat!
TRAVELER.
B) ACCIDENTS
Though letters to the editor warned of grave consequences unless safety
conditions were improved, the number of serious accidents involving horse or
cable cars was relatively low. The death of an eight year old boy, crushed
under a car's wheels at the corner of Aliso and Vignes in 1888, was attributed
to carelessness on the part of the victim. Accidents unrelated to street
railways, such as runaway teams or collisions involving trains switching on
Alameda Street, which were a constant source of complaint, presented a far
greater problem in the long run than those caused by streetcars.
Horsecars frequently were manned by a single operator, who acted both as
driver and conductor. To collect fares, the driver sometimes placed the reins
over the brake handle and went through the car while the horse moved ahead at
its own pace. That, of course, increased the potential for accidents. In the
beginning the one-horse cars were small units carrying only a handful of
passengers, but as the population of the city grew transit companies placed
larger cars in service, still pulled in many cases by one horse and driven by
one man. The letter from Elisha K. Green, the wholesale dealer in windmills
and pumps cited by Wilson in his 1880 history of the county, gives a whole new
dimension to the phrase "one-horse town."
{Times, Dec. 5, 1886, p. 6}
HE DID NOT RUN INTO THE CAR.
Los Angeles, Dec. 4.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Yesterday's Times says I ran into a street car and lost a
wheel. Part of this statement is true and part of it is not.
I lost a wheel, but I did not run into the car. The car ran
against my buggy. I could tell you how it happened if it
would not take too much time; but I would like to enter my
protest against the manner that the horse cars are run in
this city. The railroad companies seem to have lost sight of
the fact that Los Angeles is no longer a one-horse town.
Some of them compel one horse to haul cars with 50 or 75
persons on at one time, and one man to drive said horse and
act as conductor. While the driver is acting as conductor
the horse draws himself without any one to put on the brake
when there is danger ahead. Had there been a conductor on
the car my buggy would not have been broken. This is a
"penny wise and pound foolish" policy. Some one will lose a
limb or his life if this policy is continued, and then it
will cost the railroad company more than a buggy wheel or the
salary of a conductor. Hoping you will insert this in your
valuable paper, I remain, yours truly,
E. K. GREEN.
Even a two-horse car did not eliminate certain hazards. Passengers crowded
into the cars until there was no longer any space, either in the seats or at
the straps overhead in the aisle. With the lines carrying over two million
passengers annually by the mid-1880s, riders frequently stood outside on the
running board, or clung to the roof, subjecting themselves to dangers that
otherwise would not exist. The "horrible accident" that L. T. Clemans referred
to occurred at the Downey Avenue bridge and involved a buggy and a switch
engine, not a streetcar.
{Times, April 14, 1887, p. 6}
Death-traps.
Los Angeles, April 13.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Crossing the East Los Angeles bridge this afternoon, on the
two-horse line, and while thinking of the horrible accident
that occured at the end of this same bridge yesterday, I was
horrified by seeing a large, fleshy man knocked off from the
car-railing on which he stood by being struck on the head by
a large stick of timber that stood probably within a foot and
a half, if not closer, to the side of the car. The man was
knocked flat, and it was only by a miracle he was not crushed
to death. This is the second case that has come under my
notice--the first wherein I myself saved a Chinaman by
grabbing him and pulling him into the car.
These death-traps are too numerous around the city, and
the attention of corporations should be called to it through
the City Council, and action forced. Will The Times see to
this case in particular, and investigate the death-trap on
the bridge in question?
L. T. CLEMANS.
The coming of cable cars in the mid-1880s and their rapid deployment on
the city's streets presented still other problems. The safety fender or safety
guard, often called a cow-catcher when used on trains, referred to by "J. O.
B.," would not become standard equipment on Los Angeles streetcars until well
into the 1890s. By then the widespread use of electric cars, with their
greater speed and consequently greater damage in the event of accidents, made
the safety fender mandatory. The accident reported in the Times on June 20,
1889, occurred on the Los Angeles Cable Railway line at First and Spring.
{Times, June 23, 1889, p. 10}
Cable-car Accidents.
Los Angeles, June 20.--[To the Editor of The Times.] In
a city item in this morning's issue of your paper, headed
"Reckless People," an account is given of the narrow escape
of a 12-year-old child from "Death the Gripman" of the cable
car.
Now the question arises, Who are "reckless people," the
cable-car company running its cars without safety guards, or
the foot passengers who are obliged to crowd together in
certain places on our streets where so much noise from every
source so constantly exists as to make it impossible to heed
the significance of each distinct one?
You say "every precaution is taken by the railroad
people;" but the only perfect precaution and security against
the loss of life is the safety guard, and the city should
insist upon the cable cars being supplied with it. In less
than 90 days, a mangled corpse--a victim to a neglect of
supplying the cars with guards--will start every newspaper in
the city demanding the guards. Why not have the guards first
and save the life?
J. O. B.
C) HORSE-CARS AND THE S.P.C.A.
Those concerned with the welfare of animals regularly utilized the letters
column of the Times to carry their case to the public, although some of the
major abuses had already been corrected. Bull and bear fights, for example,
had ended in the 'sixties though cock fights and other forms of amusement
involving animals in a way that reformers frowned on continued. Among the
primary concerns in the 1880s was the mistreatment of draft animals. In a city
that was supported by agriculture and had the major railroad connection to the
harbor, horses and mules crowded the streets, whether pulling wagons or
carriages. Because of their presence in the central part of town, their abuse
was quickly noted and reported by disgruntled observers in the press.
{Times, June 16, 1883, p. 6}
Cruelty to Animals.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: Please inform a
constant reader of your valuable paper whether or not there
is any law in this place for the prevention of animal
cruelty. I see almost every day horses abused most
shamefully--beat, starved for food and water, and kept
standing on the streets from early morn until as late as 12
and 1 o'clock at night, exposed to the hot sun and flies;
also, poor, lame horses that are not able to work, having
sore feet, sore backs and sore shoulders, and yet without
food or water all day. Could there not be some remedy for
the poor dumb beasts? In other towns where I have lived they
had protection from the abuse of heartless and cruel owners.
Is there none here?
J. B. SHEPHERD.
[We believe there is ground for this complaint. There
is a city ordinance on the subject. Complaint should be
made and the ordinance enforced.--Ed. Times.]
To correct this condition a group of concerned citizens had organized, in
Nov., 1877, the Los Angeles chapter of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. Among the leaders in creating the organization were Dr.
Walter Lindley, the leading physician in the city, James J. Ayers, prominent
newspaper publisher, and attorney Pierton W. Dooner. By the early 'eighties,
however, the society was inactive, leaving animals without any organizational
force to look after their interests, as noted in this complaint.
{Times, Dec. 13, 1884, p. 3}
Where is the S.P.C.A.?
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: The writer has been a
wanderer in the land, and a resident in all the larger cities
of the Union, and not a few of its towns, but she has yet to
discover one where man's inhumanity to the creatures over
whom he has control is so common, so inexcusable and so
lightly regarded. A member myself of several societies "with
the long name," I have asked with amaze, upon witnessing some
of the daily brutalities upon our streets, where is the
S.P.C.A., only to be told that there is none here. Here in
this busy, flourishing, cosmopolitan town-city, whose
population is made up of people from all over the country,
and which claims--and rightfully too--so much of cultivation
and growing wealth! One is almost tempted to believe those
who tell one that there are but two factors at work here, the
searchers for health and the searchers for money, while the
refining and softening influences that teach us forbearance
toward the weak and protection for those below us are ignored
in the rush for more purely selfish aims. Only a day or two
ago, on a principal street here, a brutal teamster abused his
straining, overloaded and underfed horses for hours at a
time, and while women wept and begged and men warned, a
policeman stood idly by and did nothing! What could he do if
there is not a decent public sentiment strong enough to put
in working and legalized order some machinery to control such
beastly men? I beg pardon for the word. When was ever a
beast so ignoble, so cowardly, so brutal? The organization
and establishment of a society is a simple affair enough.
Let there be a few members among us who are fitted to judge
fairly of such cases as need arrest, who will give at least a
passing attention from their business to the cause of these
poor oppressed, whose own mouth cannot complain. Let the
money from the fines imposed go into the city's coffers, with
some sufficient supply excepted to pay the needful legal
expenses, and the thing is done. The transgressor is made to
feel his guilt in the only vulnerable spot--his pocket; the
city gains, and above all the whole community gains in human-
ity and in a higher moral standard, and loses a little of the
old savage leaven which shows in us all. Among all the
well-to-do and active citizens of this beautiful town are
there not some who will give this matter their earnest atten-
tion? The writer, for one, is willing to be taxed to an
amount within reason, for the support of such a society, and
there must be many more so willing. When these brutal men
understand that useless cruelty means a fine as surely as day
follows night, then and only then can we walk or ride through
our streets without either wishing our hearts were stone or
our hands able to defend and punish.
MEDAL.
Among those who took an interest in this issue was Dr. Dorothea Lummis, who
successfully resurrected the S.P.C.A. in 1885. Lummis, at that time the wife
of Times City Editor Charles Lummis and a respected doctor in her own right,
was in an especially influential position once she undertook the task of
reactivating the organization. The Saunterer, whom she refers to in this
letter, was Eliza Otis, wife of the Times' editor. It is possible that
"Medal," the woman whose letter Lummis refers to in her opening sentence, was
in fact Dr. Lummis.
{Times, July 1, 1885, p. 3}
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: Some months ago an
appeal was made through your columns, in the interest of our
dumb friends the animals, but it met with no apparent
response, at least in the direction of any active work toward
a society for the protection of animals.
Since then, however, the humane sentiment has been
growing, perhaps owing not a little to the occasional earnest
words in the Saunterer's column of the Times. Hoping to be
able again to direct attention to the matter, I first wrote
to Mr. Nat. Hunter, Secretary of the S. P. C. A. in San
Francisco. He replies as follows: "I am quite sure that
there is now a corporation in your county for the prevention
of cruelty to animals. Search the records and if I am
correct it will be necessary to resurrect the old society, or
to disincorporate it before organizing a new one, as the
statute provides that the corporate body first formed in any
county shall be the only one so entitled to the benefits and
privileges of this act." Mr. Hunter then further offers to
aid in the formation of by-laws, etc., and incloses a copy of
the law enacted in California, March 20, 1874, which is
entirely efficient to cover all cases that could come up for
punishment. It will be seen, therefore, that an active
organization is all that is needed, either to infuse new life
into the old society or to properly annul its existence and
form a new one. Any information as to the members, meetings
and records of the old society will be most helpful, and such
information will be most gratefully received.
M. D. Lummis, M. D.
347 Fort street.
[It is true that all the machinery of a society such as
is referred to by our correspondent is in existence in this
city, and only requires putting in operation energetically to
accomplish the objects sought. We believe P. W. Dooner,
Esq., can give full information on the subject.--Ed. Times.]
While complaints about cruelty to horses in the early 'eighties had been
in regard to animals used for pulling wagons, the increased use of streetcars
to serve the city's mushrooming population after mid-decade resulted in a
growing dissatisfaction with the transit companies. The earliest horsecars had
been small, capable of seating about twenty passengers, and a single animal
could move them without difficulty. But with the introduction of larger cars
to meet an increased demand for service, the mules and horses strained to pull
the load. Rarely, however, were the companies successfully prosecuted for the
overloading practices mentioned below.
{Times, Oct. 18, 1885, p. 5}
Cruelty to Animals.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: Cruelty to animals, as
perpetrated upon the streets of our city every day, is a
crying evil. The horses on the Sixth-street car line are
often driven on the gallop, and are seen covered with sweat,
struggling under the lash of an ignorant or thoughtless
driver. The owners of these horses should take into more
careful consideration the loss resulting from wasted
horseflesh. They would undoubtedly find it profitable to
employ drivers with some knowledge of the capacities of the
animals placed in their charge. There is a law against
cruelty to animals, which an outraged people might invoke,
and both enlighten the minds of the officers of the company
and warm the chilled hearts of these reckless horse-killers.
HUMANITY.
{Times, Mar. 9, 1887, p. 2}
Economy and Cruelty.
Los Angeles, March 4.--[To the Editor of The Times.] It
is probably economy for the one-horse railroad which runs out
to the AgricuLtural Park to overload what cars it does run,
and thus avoid extra cars and extra help; but it is powerful
hard on the 700-pound horse which hauled the 6x12 car this
morning. For some days past a large and increasing number of
workingmen have taken this car each morning, and it has been
so overloaded that some who wanted to ride could not find
standing-room even, and had to walk or wait. This morning,
between sixty and seventy men were on the car at one time,
and even the roof was covered. The aforesaid 700-pound horse
was so exhausted when Washington street was reached that
another had to take his place, and many remarks were heard
denouncing the corporation that would subject a specimen of
that noble animal to such strain and exhaustion. "The merci-
ful man is merciful to his beast." Though compelled to stand
up more times than I can get a seat on this car line, I do
not mind that so much as to see a dumb, patient and intelli-
gent animal forced to perform labor beyond its strength, to
put coin in the pocket of greedy capital. If this meets the
eye of the managers of said road, will they please reflect on
the idea of being more merciful to their horses, though their
patrons are denied seats and delayed in reaching their work,
as is now the case?
CARPENTER.
{Times, Mar. 22, 1887, p. 2}
The Case of the Overloaded Car.
Los Angeles, March 19.--[To the Editor of The Times.] I
noticed a piece in The Times of March 10th, under the heading
of "Minor Locals," which attracted my attention. Being
conversant with the case, and hearing the contradictory
evidence of the witnesses for the defense, and the plain,
straight-forward evidence on the part of the prosecution, I
ask, why did not the horse get justice? I answer: Because
"judgment has fled to brutish beasts and men have lost their
reason." The tangled evidence given by the witnesses of the
defense was enough to decide the case against them, without
any evidence from the prosecution, had justice ruled.
Furthermore, the driver stated that his belief was that a
loaded car, started from the north junction of Main and
Spring streets, would run alone to Washington Gardens--an
idea most absurd in theory and impossible in practice, and
which I defy him to prove on any day that he may designate.
Nevertheless, it was received as true, and hence his
conclusion was that it was no particular draft on the horse,
except in starting, and, as he only stopped once, he had but
once to start.
The driver again stated that from thirty to thirty-five
people could be comfortably seated in the car, and that on
Fourth street he had about thirty to thirty-five passengers
on. If that be the case, how was it, then, that at Fourth
street, where I got on, the car was so full that it was with
difficulty that I obtained foot and hand-hold, not being able
to stand even erect enough to keep my balance without the aid
of my hands? Why was it, also, that the driver, telling
passengers along the road that he had a load, yet allowing
all to pile on that could hang on, and, according to his own
testimony, running along by the car to gather fares, still
testified that, in his opinion, "the car was not overloaded?"
If the car were loaded when he said "loaded," was not any
addition to the load overloading?
One of the witnesses on the defense testified: "I do not
think the horse any more sweaty when he reached Washington
Gardens than when he left the north junction of Main and
Spring streets." If not more fatigued, no more sweaty, why
did the same man advise the driver to change horses at
Washington Gardens? I would also like to know how came about
the unprecedented fact that, the car being late that morning,
according to the driver's own testimony, and the horse being
allowed to take his own time, without being urged, he yet
reached his destination in time, when the customary pace of
the horse is an ordinary trot, when the cars start on time?
There must certainly have been a mysterious shortening of the
track some way--it was done by slapping the horse with the
reins, and thus urging him on, under his already too heavy
load, which the driver testified he did not do, but which I
saw done with my own eyes.
Here is another point--quite as mysterious as any. Why
did the two witnesses on the defense remember so plainly all
the circumstances relative to the case, in favor of the
defense--the company--and yet remain so oblivious to just as
noticeable facts on the side of the prosecution? Dont you
"smell a mice?"
Would that some one experienced in the business would
put these testimonies together and see how beautifully they
fit. Would that we might have some animals, gifted as
Baalam's ass of old, that could say to us: "What have I done
unto thee that thou has smitten me these three times?" so
that we might wake up to the fact that brutes have feelings
if not souls, and be useful in legally waking up some others
to the same fact.
M. B. WILSON.
256 San Pedro street, Los Angeles.
{Times, Sept. 30, 1887, p. 6}
A Street Car Complaint.
Los Angeles, Sept. 29.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
The public who are obliged to patronize the Main-street car
line are constantly complaining of the poor accommodations
they have to put up with on account of the crowd and so few
cars. The officers of the Humane Society should assert some
of their authority and see that the poor horses are not
abused, as every one knows they are. The cars are so loaded
that the poor brutes can scarcely tug along and yet they are
whipped and whipped into a run and when they come to a stand
they are so weak and exhausted that they can hardly start.
Some one should look after these things and compel those
stockholders with hearts not as large as the head of a pin to
spend some of the enormous profits for the accommodation of
the public and the protection of the poor dumb brutes.
A CITIZEN.
The S.P.C.A., also known as the Humane Society, was authorized by the 1874
law cited above to enforce legislation that protected children and animals from
abuse. To that end, the society's Humane Officer, Martin V. Wright, attempted
to apply the law. In Los Angeles the city council had adopted an ordinance in
1886, cited by Wright, limiting the number of passengers on horsecars. In
response to complaints about violations made either directly to him or to the
Times, Wright expressed frustration at his inability to satisfy critics, courts
and transit companies. Nor did he share Harris Newmark's delight in the fact
that a car would stop anywhere for the convenience of a solitary passenger.
Wright's comment on the large number of strap-holding standees would interest
bus riders a century later who threatened a fare strike if seats were
unavailable. He anticipated an axiom well-known in the transit industry: "The
profit is in the straps."
{Times, Oct. 6, 1887, p. 10}
The Street-Car Horses.
OFFICER WRIGHT OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY SPEAKS HIS MIND.
Los Angeles, Oct. 5.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Complaints are made to me, almost daily, in respect to the
overloading of the street cars. Especially is this true of
the Main-street and Agricultural one-horse line.
I am tired of the unjust censure cast upon me by many
because I do not put a stop to these abuses. Patience in
this matter has ceased to be a virtue, and with your
permission I want to say something by way of explanation to
the public.
I am willing and ready to investigate and prosecute any
and every violation of law that comes under the jurisdiction
of the Humane Society. But there is very little
encouragement for me to try to do so when the same parties
who make these complaints almost universally refuse to aid me
in the work. If I do not happen to know them they refuse to
give me either their names or residences. The gentleman who
wrote a communication to The Times a few days past, and
signed himself "Citizen," would have manifested more moral
courage had he signed his name to his article, or at least
had given his residence. But no, that wouldn't have done,
for in that case I might have found him and asked him to come
into court and tell what he knew about the matter of which he
was complaining. If I had he would doubtless have given me
the stereotyped answer: 'I don't want to get mixed up in
these court troubles. I'm in business and it might injure
me." This class tie my hands and then the croakers step up
and kick me. We try to obey the injunction, "Whosoever
smiteth thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also."
But the turning process in this case is superfluous, for with
the howling croakers on one side, and conscienceless jurors
on the other, we catch it on both cheeks at the same time.
There are three sources of cruelty to street-car horses,
namely: Overloading, overdriving, and too much stopping.
For the former two the street-car companies are to blame; for
the latter the people who patronize the cars, including my
human croakers, are responsible. In regard to the matter of
overloading, the companies are not wholly to blame. Part of
the blame, should in my humble judgment, rest on the Council,
which passed the ordinance regulating the number of
passengers to forty on the one-horse lines, and sixty on the
two-horse lines. I have talked to a great many of the
drivers and conductors, and without an exception they have
said that from twenty-five to thirty is all that one horse
should be required to haul, and not over fifty for two
horses. I trust that the Council will, without delay, amend
the ordinance in accordance with the above suggestions.
In regard to overdriving, that is a fault which like
overloading may be impartially remedied by putting on more
cars. This is an absolute necessity for the comfort of the
tens of thousands who are coming to visit our city this
winter. At present I do not believe that the street-car
companies of this city furnish seating capacity for over 50
per cent. of their passengers.
But my observation convinces me that of all the woes of
the abused street-car horse, that of having almost every
minute to try and strain and toil to start the heavy-laden
car is the worst and most inexcusable; and who is to blame
for this? Not the street-car companies, for they some time
ago passed regulations on all their lines, and placed printed
notices in all their cars ordering their drivers to stop only
at crossings. This both the poor horses and drivers hailed
as the day of semi-jubilee. But alas! this joy was as the
morning dew that passeth away. A howl of lamentation that
would have almost knocked the walls of Jericho down came up
from the suffering public. Here was an order which, if
effectually put in force, would, as every driver will tell
you, do away with half the horse's work, for it is now no
uncommon thing to see a car stop three to five times in a
single block. But the wrath of the multitude of sympathizing
and kind-hearted croakers had to be appeased, and the order
was revoked and once more "a thousand hearts beat happily."
In conclusion, let me add: The street-car horses do not
work over three or four hours a day, and I know by frequent
personal inspection that no class of horses are better
groomed and fed than they are. I say this because there are
those who suppose that they are in the harness all day. I
desire to do exact justice to all parties concerned as long
as I remain an officer of the society.
M. V. WRIGHT.
Officer Los Angeles Humane Society.
Wright's explanation seemingly had little effect, as evidenced by
"Observer's" letter. Although "A Former Cruelty Witness" came to Wright's
defense, "Hemp" challenged that view, offering reasons why critics were
unwilling to join Wright in court to prosecute transit operators. "Hemp"
violated an unwritten rule that letters be confined to a single subject by
raising additional issues, only tangentially related to the cruelty topic, in
his closing paragraphs. In so doing, however, he made a proposal - for signs
bearing street names at each corner - that would eventually be adopted by the
city council. "A Former Cruelty Witness" also raised an unrelated issue by
responding to "W's" letter, printed above, complaining that poor transit
service on Olive Street made church-goers late for Sunday services.
{Times, Oct. 26, 1887, p. 3}
A Horstile Plaint.
No. 811 Downey Avenue, Oct. 25.--[To the Editor of The
Times.] One who patronizes the Pearl and Sixth street line
of street cars would like to know how it is that an
enterprising and progressive town like Los Angeles, and on a
line so well patronized as this one, should allow one poor
worn out horse to do the work of two able-bodied ones, and
the driver to do the work of two men. Last night, in making
the trip from South Spring to Downey avenue, one poor, tired
animal was made to draw forty-five full-grown persons by
actual count. Why does not the Humane Society attend to this
matter and put a stop to such cruelty? The community ought
to demand that better service be put on this poorly-equipped
line at once.
AN OBSERVER.
{Times, Oct. 28, 1887, p. 3}
The Horse Car Lines.
Los Angeles, Oct. 26.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Here it is again, in your yesterday's paper. Great Caesar!
Why don't "Observer" collect the evidence, witnesses from
that same overloaded, one-horse car, and do a little himself
besides howl in print? Let him get the evidence and the list
of witnesses and present it to Officer Wright, standing
himself on the prosecution side. The chances are that if
"Observer" were called upon to testify he would bob up with a
Bible excuse, either that he had just got a wife or had a
yoke of cattle to break. Officer Wright is overloaded with
wicked women and suffering "kids" and can't do all things.
As for the Olive-street church goers, what's the matter
with walking and putting the nickel in the church basket,
hey?
A FORMER CRUELTY-WITNESS.
{Times, Nov. 2, 1887, p. 6}
The Street-Car Topic.
Los Angeles, Oct. 28.--[To the Editor of The Times.] In
Friday morning's paper is a letter from "A Former Cruelty
Witness," who censures "Observer's" letter of October 25th,
relative to the horse-car lines. It appears to me that it is
the business of the people to call the attention of the
proper authorities to the weak points in our city. An
observer of these weak points, on account of business,
modesty or other reasons, with which "Bible excuses" have
nothing to do, does not wish to go into court to prove these
weak points. His business he has executed by calling
attention to the points. Let the authorities investigate and
prosecute. Because one does not wish to go to court does
not, in the least, show that he is a crank. Perhaps some
"Observers" are ladies.
Officer Wright has time and again had his attention
called to the cruelty to animals on our street cars. Let him
get on a street car and observe himself. This cruelty is not
an uncommon thing; it is of hourly occurrence. He will not
have to wait long to see an overloaded car. Then again, what
if a horse is only used a few hours daily, is this anything
to justify a horse being half killed those four hours?
"A Former Cruelty-Witness" shows fine lines of justice
in these few words: "As for the Olive-street church-goers,
what's the matter with walking and putting the nickel in the
church basket?" Let him try it, and see what the matter is.
Los Angeles has the poorest system of horse-cars of any
city I have ever been in. They never run on time. It is
very often that cars going toward town on Olive street are
seen waiting on three switches, while a car going south is
nowhere in sight. Besides running very irregular, there are
other grievances. The conductors are usually on the front
platform, talking with the driver, instead of being on the
rear platform watching for people who wish to get on or off.
There is a wide two-horse car on Olive street, marked
"Main, Spring, Sixth and Pearl streets." The cars that run
from the foot of First street to Main street only are marked
"Olive street." To say the least, this is very annoying to
strangers in the city. If these are only temporary
arrangements, why don't the company paint the right streets
on canvas and tack it on the right cars?
This subject of streets leads me to ask why the names of
the streets are not placed on each corner, for the
information of residents and strangers alike. Yours truly,
HEMP.
As Officer Wright had suggested, overloading was not solely the fault of
the transit companies. Passengers, insisting on their right to take the next
car in sight regardless of the number of riders already crowded aboard, bore
some responsibility. That was the crux of this exchange between "Tender Foot"
and "S. W. R."
{Times, Jan. 28, 1888, p. 6}
Hard on the Mule.
Los Angeles, Jan. 25.--[To the Editor of The Times.] I
recently made an interesting trip through Main street on a
car that runs to West University. We took passage on the
corner of Main and First streets about 3:30 p.m., car loaded
full, drawn by one poor mule, almost panting to death, which
dragged us slowly along until we arrived a little way beyond
the junction of Main and Spring streets, when we were stopped
by three cars that were stuck by one poor mule not being able
to proceed with his load. Our driver was compelled to change
mules, so that he could try with his load to work the poor
mule back to the stable on the corner of Main and Washington
streets, which he finally accomplished. Of course we sup-
posed that when we got there, if ever we did, which seemed
very doubtful, that said poor worn-out mule would be changed,
and we go along at some decent rate, but to our surprise and
vexation the foreman at the stable ordered the driver to
proceed with his load with said same mule. The excitement
among the passengers was intense as the poor beast rolled
along at about the rate of two miles per hour, and many
inquiries were made if there was no law in this city against
cruelty to animals.
The writer has traveled for near 70 years, but never saw
such willful brutality as that here referred too, which is
chargeable not to the honest driver, but to the foreman of
the road and those who employ such a man. Let me inquire if
you know any remedy for such villainy and whether those
patronizing this car route have any rights said company are
bound to respect? I have written this, if possible, to
arouse public sentiment against this car line loading 40 to
60 passengers on a car and then drawing it with one poor
mule. Question in conclusion. Have mules any rights that
this railroad company are bound to respect?
TENDER FOOT.
{Times, Jan. 31, 1888, p. 6}
Hard on the Mule, Likewise on the Driver.
Los Angeles, Jan. 29.--[To the Editor of The Times.] I
was very much impressed with the article by "Tenderfoot" in
yesterday's Times headed "Hard on the Mule," and the way the
wrought-up feelings of the passengers on that belated car
were described brought a picture to my mind which in language
looks like this: The shades of evening had just settled over
our city, and the drizzling rain, which had scarcely ceased
the whole day long, was increasing with the darkness. On a
corner on Main street stood a person, whose size or sex I
will not attempt to describe, and I thought I heard it say:
"I am waiting for a car." The wind as it shook the boughs of
the trees would dash the rain upon the pavement and pass
through their thick foliage with a roar that was quite as
monotonous as the ripple of the water in the gutters.
Presently the red light of a car appeared coming down the
track and the jingling of the bell was soon to be heard above
the noise of the elements. The form advanced to where a good
view of the car could be obtained, and by the dim light which
shown down upon the heads of the passengers, it could be seen
that the car was well loaded. Then, with a hesitating step
forward and a second look at the car as it neared the
crossing, it turned and walked away, saying, "That poor mule
has load enough; I'll wait for the next car."
"What! Is it a dream? Was it alone
On that dreary night in the drizzling rain?"
I am proud to say it was not. There are many such
people in our city, but they are not of the class who write
complaining letters to the newspapers.
During the hours when the travel is heaviest the cars on
Main street run every two and a half minutes, and yet if a
driver refuses to let passengers on he is promptly reported
to the company by some "foot, tender" or otherwise, who is
ready to swear there were not many people on the car. Let us
cultivate a little more patience and a higher regard for the
feelings of that mule.
S. W. R.
The complaints in the letters column continued throughout the 1880s with
little apparent improvement in conditions. Not until electric and cable power
had replaced mules and horses did the issue disappear. In 1897 the last
horsecar disappeared from the streets of the central business district, though
horsecar lines continued to operate in other parts of the city until after 1900
and at the Sawtelle Soldiers' Home until 1904. That same year the remaining
cable car lines converted to electric power.
The electric interurbans, "The Big Red Cars," made their final run in
1961. Two years later buses replaced the local electric streetcar lines still
operating in the city. Ironically, one of those lines was on Pico Street,
where electric service had fitfully started nearly eighty years before.
In the last letter of complaint to the Times in the 'eighties Methodist
minister C. B. Ebey worked so many unrelated grievances into his first
paragraph that the editor felt compelled to wryly interject his own
interpretation of the event Ebey described.
{Times, July 3, 1889, p. 5}
An Alleged "Disgraceful Scene."
Los Angeles, July 2.--[To the Editor of The Times.] A
disgraceful scene occurred on Maple avenue, between Seventh
and Eighth streets, yesterday (Sabbath) afternoon. A company
of Sabbath desecrators were returning from the Pico Heights
baseball grounds on board of a Maple avenue and Pico Heights
street car. The car was packed full inside and upon the
steps. Near Eighth street, the poor jaded horses gave out
and were taken off from the car. The crowd on the car hooted
and yelled like veritable savages, running the car by
shoulder power for a block. Surely there was not a policeman
in the ward, or the gang would have been arrested.
A "humane society" is evidently needed in this city to
protect poor, dumb beasts from exhaustion by being made to
draw overloaded street cars. I have lately moved into your
city. Are such scenes common?
C. B. Ebey.
[Did the "inhumanity" and "disgrace" consist in the
passengers pushing the car and thus relieving the overworked
horses?--Ed.]