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Show A CONTRAST. The Pleasure Vehicles of a Few j Years Ago and the Livery Busi-j Busi-j ness of To-day. I A few years ago it was a rare sight to see a fine carriage or a fashionable buggy rolling through the streets of this city and the man who owned an antiquated vehicle which had probably pro-bably been a stylish rig in the colonial colon-ial days, was looked upon with a de-greo de-greo of awe by his less fortunate acquaintances. ac-quaintances. The old carriage was regardod almost as a sacred object, commanding the respect of the family fam-ily and, in most instances, there was good reason for manifesting reverence rever-ence for an object which had been in the family for generation!, and a sight ot which led one to contemplato the days of his youth when his father came in poases&iou of the family carriage car-riage by the death of a venerable grand parent. To the young who were at that time growing up . in the community, those old, square-top carriages were associated witli tho funeral of one who, in life, was a little lit-tle more noted than those around. Always on such occasions the old, long-bedded carriage with its heavy springs and substantial wheels was brought out and filled with tho mourners, or the "upper ten, "driven to the cemetery and back with a slow and solemn' pace, which deported well with the general appearance and asociation of the ancient structure. "In those days a contrivance called a "spring board"which would-"give" a little when the heavy lumber wagon jolted into a ditch or struck a rock in th6 road, was the popular pleasure seat, and a common steel spring seat, such as ore haulers now have on their wagons, was a luxury indicative of unusual prosperity, and the possessor of one of those could put on some of the airs of an aristocrat. Light spring wagons were almost aa scarce as the ancient carriages with their stout tapestry aud lancy silk ornaments. orna-ments. - But what a change between then and now ! To-day scores of peoplo in this city own their private carriages, their buggies, their phaetons and other road craft for pleasure, and some as fine rigs as one cares to look upon can now be seen at any and all times of tne day rolling through our streets behind spanking teams. There are private turnouts which have been brought here, for the most part, within the last fire years. The bank-, ers, merchants, many shopkeepers; tradesmen of various classes own carriages car-riages and teams. Besides these the city supports four well-furnished livery stableswhosc pleasure vehicles aggregate about seventy, and all of the latest and most fashionable styles, Irom the elegant barouche with its deep, soft eushions to the delicate basket phaeton; the most gaudy buggy to the unpretending unpretend-ing low-wheeled dog cart. Iu order to make these useful about one hundred hun-dred and thirty horses are kept as a motive power in the four stables Mulloy & Brown's, Mark He K.i aiming', ai-ming', Morrell & Voorhees' and 11. E. Brown's. These do not include a half dozen smaller establishments, where saddle horses and perhaps a buggy or two are kept for hire; nor do they include Lhe twelve or fifteen hacks which are always oo the street and in front of the hotels, day and night. There is an immense expense attending the supporting of these livery stables, and people who do not ride wonder who it is that contriDutes towards keeping them up. Livery man say that on an average their; horses aud vehicles are all out four or ! five times a week, and on Sunday' ' afternoon it is almost impossible to secure a buggy and team unless by engaging it beforehand. The prices range from $4 for the use of a single horse and buggy an afternoon to $20 a day for a barouche and four; and 'tis not alone the rich who "ride in chaises," lor the poor, the very poor are frequently seen gliding through the streets behind a span of three-minute steppers; in fact the poor do more towards supporting the i stables than the rich. The tourist J drives about town for a few hours; the ; mining capitalist who makes an occasional occa-sional visit to his property, goes in a livery rig; the man of a family periodically peri-odically hikes his wile and little ones out for a drive; but those who pay the most for pleasure-riding are young clerks in storeSjand bookkeepers. The young man who stands behind the counter and tears calico, or weighs sugar, or mf asures out peanuts for a small salary, usuauy ecuuomixra uuu curtails his expenses during the week in order to take his Dulcinea for an airing on Sunday afternoon. The stable-keepers say a large majority of that custom is from the clerks and their class. However, the young men spend their own money and doubtless get the worth of it; therefore the o'hers should be glad, and more especially as the clerks help support such necessary neces-sary establishments in the community commu-nity as livery stables. But all we desired to do was point ' the contrast between then and now, a few years ago and the present, in' the maLter of plensure-ndirig, and tho facilities for obtaining that luxury. Silt Lake is now well supplied with fine drving horses, excellent riding animals and an abundance of vehicles, and people to enjoy them. |