Omnibuses and cabs

by Henry Charles Moore

Many instances of the Rothschilds’ generosity to individual ’busmen could be given, but it would be indiscreet to mention actions which were performed privately.

The Rothschilds are not, however, the only Jews from whom London ’busmen have received substantial benefits. The late Messrs. Barney Barnato and Woolf Joel were very generous to them, and Mr. Morris Abrahams has placed them under a debt of gratitude by starting, on October 26, 1897, the Omnibus Men’s Superannuation Fund. Mr. Abrahams, who is a cousin of the late Mr. Barnato, had for some years taken a kindly interest in the ’busmen of the neighbourhood in which he resides, when he was asked to contribute to a fund being raised for the benefit of an old driver, who was incapacitated from further work. He did as desired, and was present at the meeting at which the money was presented to the ’busman. It struck him, however, that this gift was only postponing the old man’s days of poverty. The money would keep him for about eighteen months; at the end of that time the man would be still less able to earn even a few pence. The need of a superannuation fund was so obvious that Mr. Abrahams rose and suggested to the men that they should start one, adding that if they would support the movement he would provide all the money necessary for founding it. The men received the suggestion with cheers, and raising Mr. Abrahams aloft, carried him round the room. Finding that the ’busmen would appreciate a fund of the nature he had suggested, he set to work to start one. His first step was to instruct two men in the employ of the London General Omnibus Company to apply for a week’s leave, so that they might go all over London to ask the ’busmen to appoint a man from each district to represent them on the committee. The two men obtained the necessary leave, Mr. Abrahams paying them their usual wages, and expenses, while away from work. The first general meeting was held at the Horse Shoe. Six hundred and thirty ’busmen were present, and £40 was collected from them in subscriptions. Mr. Abrahams, who was in the chair, presented the fund, on behalf of Messrs. Barnato, with £250. From that day the Omnibus Men’s Superannuation Fund has made rapid progress, and has now 1300 members and a reserve of £3200. Mr. Abrahams is the president, Mr. Alfred Rothschild the vice-president, and among the other supporters of the Fund are the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Westminster, the Earl of Crewe, Lord Rosebery, and many members of both Houses of Parliament. Mrs. Aubert made a donation of four hundred guineas, and Mr. Woolf Joel left the Fund £250. The trustees are Mr. E. R. P. Moon, M.P., and Mr. Lister Drummond, and the committee is composed of twenty-eight ’busmen; the chairman and vice-chairman are both ’bus drivers. The Fund gives fifteen shillings a week for life to any member incapacitated from following his customary employment. The first recipient was “Fat” Smith, a well-known driver of a Kilburn and Victoria omnibus. In his young days Smith drove a stage-coach in Wales, but coming to London in the sixties he obtained a job as an omnibus driver, and retained it until about three years ago, when old age compelled him to resign. The Fund has twenty-three pensioners in all, and the number will soon be increased.

The theatrical profession has given the Fund valuable aid. Mr. George Alexander lent his theatre for a matinée, at which a large number of the best actors and actresses gave their services. The performance lasted from half-past two until six, and hundreds of people were unable to gain admittance. At the conclusion of the performance the old ’busmen went on the stage and bowed their thanks. Mr. Abrahams has received promises of further help from theatrical managers, actors and actresses.

When the Fund had been started a few months the ’busmen decided to present Mr. Abrahams with a testimonial, and had collected £60 with which to purchase it when he heard of their action and communicated to them his intention not to accept the gift. He requested that the money collected should be returned to the subscribers. But four years later the men were determined that he should have a testimonial, and on June 27, 1901, they presented him, at a meeting at the Holborn Restaurant, with an exquisite silver model of an omnibus. Jim Perry, who is eighty-one years of age, and has driven a London omnibus since 1844, is faithfully reproduced as the driver of the presentation omnibus. Perry may be seen any day driving a London General Omnibus Company omnibus between Baker Street and Victoria Stations. The conductor of the silver ’bus represents J. Baker, a Fulham conductor, known as “Sailor Jack,” who acts as collector to the Superannuation Fund.

Mr. Abrahams has, without ostentation, given both time and money to the Fund, and it is to be hoped that London ’busmen will never forget their indebtedness to him.

At the present day there are about 3700 omnibuses on the London streets. For each omnibus there is a stud of ten horses, except when the road on which it works is hilly, and then twelve are required. The majority of omnibus horses are Canadians, and are purchased at the London repositories when between five and eight years of age, the average price paid being £30 per horse. They are then graduated to the work, and become seasoned in two or three months. When seasoned they work from four to five hours out of every twenty-four. After working for about five years they are, generally, unfit for further omnibus use, and are sold by auction, the purchasers being, in most cases, farmers. Many horses recover their “straight legs” after a spell of farm life, and farmers have been known to send up to London as English bred horses Canadians which they purchased, some months before, as “fresh from omnibus work.” On several occasions omnibus proprietors have discovered that their new “English bred horse” is a Canadian which they had sold, deeming it unfit for further use. It may be asked how it was that the purchaser did not recognise his old horse before buying it. But omnibus proprietors in a large way of business are continually buying horses, and cannot possibly recognise every animal they have possessed; but their horse-foremen, however, discover the British farmer’s smartness. In all large studs a number is allotted to every horse as soon as it is purchased. That number is burnt on the near fore hoof, and entered, together with the colour and sex of the animal, in the horse-register book. It is also painted on a slip of zinc and placed over the stall the horse is to occupy. When the animal dies or is sold his number plate is destroyed and a fresh one allotted to his successor.

Each omnibus costs from £150 to £160, and lasts for about twelve years. It is renovated every year previous to being inspected by the police, who, on passing it, affix a number plate to the back of the step. The police have two plates, which they issue on alternate years, so that a constable can see at a glance whether an omnibus is licensed. For each plate licence an omnibus proprietor has to pay £2 a year, and also an annual tax of 15s. to the Inland Revenue. Until about ten years ago the Inland Revenue tax was £2 2s., and would in all probability have remained so had not Mr. John Manley Birch—one of the oldest established proprietors—sued the Crown for a rebate on the ground that as omnibuses came under the Hackney Carriage Act he could not be compelled to pay more than the hackney carriage tax of 15s. Mr. Birch’s action was made a test case and was decided in his favour, one year’s rebate being allowed.

When an omnibus is no longer fit for London work it is sold at auction, and becomes, eventually, a summer-house, a workmen’s shed, a cricket club’s dressing-room or refreshment bar. The London General Omnibus Company burns its old vehicles.

Until a few years ago it was a common thing for old London omnibuses to be purchased by colonial and provincial proprietors, and a “Kilburn” would be found at work at Liverpool, a “Camden Town” at Clacton-on-Sea, and a “Hammersmith” or “Bayswater” in New Zealand. But municipal authorities have, in most places, decided that an omnibus which is unfit to be at work in London must be regarded as unworthy to ply in their districts, and consequently the value of old omnibuses has fallen considerably.

English-built omnibuses are acknowledged to be the best obtainable, and Mr. Christopher Dodson, the well-known London coach-builder, supplies many of the leading continental proprietors. Mr. Dodson has recently invented a new staircase, which is more convenient for passengers, and reduces considerably the risk of accidents. It is already in use on some of the Road Car Company’s Putney and Brondesbury omnibuses.