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A Chicago taxicab with Oswald Mosley and his first wife, Lady Cynthia Curzon in 1926 (note the snow chain on the rear tire). Mosley founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932 and was imprisoned by the British government from 1940 to 1943.

Source:

English politician Captain Oswald Mosley and his wife Lady Cynthia standing outdoors in front of a taxi cab. DN-0080242, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum; search the photo ID number at the American Memory web site for more information.)

The Cab-Hold-Up Affair / 15

Since 1908

In 1908 there was no inkling that attacks on cab drivers would become almost routine and produce the tragic rollcall of fatalities that we see on the Taxi Library Memoriam page.

The automobile changed everything. Motor cabs could travel at much higher speeds than horse cabs, carry out many more trips and make a lot more money. In 1910 Chicago taxicabs were grossing an average of $20 a day (1), three or four times as much as a horse cab was able to earn.

Bandits quickly began to consider taxi drivers as potential targets. The taxi itself became an attraction and car theft was the principal motive in many cab robberies.

Furthermore, taxi drivers were much more vulnerable than horse cab drivers because the automobile allowed a robber into the blind spot right behind the driver's back.