Cab Drivers's - Knock Down

This informations came from a friend who drove cab back in the early 50's. He was also a great source of information about Minot's High Third Street which will be the topic of this blog later this fall. The "Knock Down" may still be going on for all I know. When some cab drivers were hired they were paid an hourly rate, about $1.00 and hour and all they could steal, or knock down. A knock down goes like this. A cab driver takes a fare to a specific location. After delivery the cab would head back to the office to wait for the next call. If the cabbie could pick up another fare on the way back and deliver them to their location they could keep the money collected. They “knocked down” another fare that was not recorded or known to the cab company. Many cab drivers would have an on-going contest to see who could “knock down” the largest fare. The cabbies also would pick up small pints of booze and sell that when they could for a profit to their patrons after the bars were closed. Shown below is a fleet of taxi's in front of the State Fair Entrance in 1944.