Paris Cabbies Under Military Escort.
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Our Paris representative writes: " After nearly two months of peaceful striking, disorders occurred in Paris taxicab circles last week. The Auto-Place Co., whose 2500 cabs have been imprisoned since the commencement of the movement, announced that it intended to put about one thousand of them on the streets in the hands of inen obtained from various quarters. Instead of a thousand, however, it was only possible to get together drivers for 86 cabs. To get from the company's garage to the city of Paris, it is necessary to cross Levallois, the stronghold of the drivers. With cavalry ahead and in rear, a policeman by each driver, and a cyclist policeman riding by the side of each cab, the imposing procession set out for the city gates. The driver of cab No. 4 collided with cab No. 3, and a few seconds later the driver of cab No. 7, like the others, a novice, ran into the cyclist policeman appointed to accompany him. These accidents broke up the order of the procession, and a band of strikers appearing out of a side street at this particular moment, the drivers of the two leading cabs were told to get down and in a few seconds their vehicles had been overturned. Before the police could interfere, seven taxicabs had been thrown over on their sides, the petrol ran out of the tanks, and somebody having carelessly dropped a match there was a blaze. Ti. was then that the authorities showed their determination: the cavalry charged, the police drew their revolvers, blows were struck and arrests were made almost indiscriminately. Half-anhour later the storm passed away as quickly as it had broken out ; the cavalry returned to barracks. " During the same day about 70 cabs belonging to the Auto-Fiacre Co. were put on the streets without any opposition. The police authorities have announced that each striker arrested will be deprived of his driving licence."