1940 - Memoirs of a Santa Fe Taxi Driver

I knew Henry Barbero late in his life. He was a loud, vulgar, devious old bastard who stank of beer and cigarettes. He was boastful, argumentative and obnoxious. Nobody liked the guy but my grandmother Luz, otherwise a sensible woman, married him and – for better or worse – Henry Barbero was family.

Visits with my grandmother in those days were often spoiled because, sooner or later, Henry would act a horse’s ass, then everyone would go home mad. But that changed when I discovered an interesting fact: When he was a young man in the late 1930’s, Henry Barbero was a Santa Fe cab driver. Suddenly, the prickly old coot was interesting to me.

So, during family visits, I spent time with Henry asking questions about Santa Fe in the 30’s and 40’s. And while Henry was so occupied, the rest of the family could have a peaceful visit with my grandmother.

Henry had a surprisingly good memory of Santa Fe in those days. Once, he recited the names of all the businesses operating on Water Street in 1939, one by one. It was nearly poetry. He drove a 1935 Desoto Airstream 4-door sedan for the Santa Fe Cab & Transfer Company, owned and operated by Jack Stacy. The telephone number was 374. The company motto was “Speedy – Safe – Dependable Taxi Service!” I learned a lot of interesting facts like this from listening to Henry Barbero.

The only time his memory truly failed him was when I asked him why he stopped driving a cab. He couldn’t really remember, he said. Then, years later, I ran across an interesting story in the pages of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Here’s the gist of it:

On March 28, 1939, Henry Barbero was employed as a taxi driver in Santa Fe. While driving his taxi on upper Palace Avenue, he struck and seriously injured two boys, Carl Waller and Billy Fisher. One had to go to the hospital.

Henry was cited for reckless driving, but the charge was quickly bumped up to second offense reckless driving when Henry’s poor driving record was discovered. The new charge was serious, a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 6 months in the county jail and a $1,000 fine.

By the time the charges were sorted out, Henry Barbero was an unemployed taxi driver, so he was appointed a local lawyer, Charles Barker, to aid in his defense. Assistant District Attorney Arthur Livingston prosecuted the charges and District Judge David Chavez presided over the legal proceedings. For reasons not apparent in the news accounts, the trial was delayed into the next year.

Finally, on Saturday, January 13, 1940, the trial of Henry Barbero began. Trial was to the court without a jury, so it was up to Judge Chavez to weigh the evidence and return the verdict. Police witnesses included the citing officer, Tom Nicholson, and State Police Captain A.B. Martinez (who testified as to the scientific method for determining rate of travel). Two eyewitnesses, Mrs. R.B. Johnston and Rumaldo Quintana, testified that Barbero was driving erratically and at a good speed when he ran into the two children. Though both had recovered by the time of trial, neither boy testified. The news accounts don’t say, but it doesn’t appear that Henry testified in his own defense. At the end of the trial, Judge Chavez found Henry Barbero guilty and sentenced him to 30 days in jail and a $300 fine.

Ordinarily, that would have been the end of the story. But a few days later, on January 17, 1940, the Santa Fe New Mexican posted an editorial entitled, “Reckless Drivers.” These are the interesting parts:

Probably at no time in recent years did the residents of Santa Fe become aroused about reckless driving as they did nearly a year ago when two youngsters were struck by a taxi driven on East Palace by one Henry Barbero . . .

It developed that Barbero has been in court on traffic counts before. And while awaiting district court trial for reckless driving, he was pinched on a charge of driving without a license . . .

It is not our job to mete out justice but like any citizen, we can voice an opinion. And that is, that Henry, in view of his past record, needed more than 30 days. Reckless driving needs to be stopped and apparently the first time Barbero erred, he wasn’t much impressed by the law. A heavier sentence for reckless drivers seems the obvious answer.

That’s still not the end of the story. This seemingly mild editorial opinion apparently irritated District Judge David Chavez. The judge fired off a letter in response, a letter which appeared in full in an article in the January 18, 1940 New Mexican, headlined, “Chavez Flays Editor of New Mexican.” Excerpts are presented below:

You, Mr. Editor, were not present nor heard the witnesses testify under oath, so that you could have heard both sides of the case, and all of the facts and circumstances. Therefore, whatever information you obtained must have been second hand, or from a biased source.

… I would not reply to your editorial but for the fact that in the Barbero case children were involved, and the writer’s affection and high regard for the welfare of children is well known to the people of Santa Fe, even though you, a new-comer, may not know it.

… As to what sentence you would have given Barbero I am not interested, but for your attitude of haphazardly endeavoring to discredit the court I can only say that I have the utmost contempt.

(A little blustery for general consumption, I think. Still, Judge Chavez’ response had heat, if not much light. As it turned out, the New Mexican really did have a reporter present during the testimony of State Police Captain A.B. Martinez and, as the editor slyly pointed out, the same reporter was present and waiting during the court’s two-hour lunch recess. And the “newcomer” business was a jab at Frank Rand who had only recently purchased the New Mexican. Chavez was leader of the Democratic Party in Santa Fe; Rand was a Republican. And reading the last part, about haphazard endeavors made my head hurt.)

Now, that’s the whole story.

Henry Barbero injured two kids, was convicted of a misdemeanor and went to jail for a month. To boot, he touched off a lively front-page exchange between the editor of the New Mexican and a sitting district judge. That was big news in Santa Fe in 1939. It’s puzzling that Henry didn’t remember any of this.

Thinking back on it now, I can only conclude that when I asked Henry Barbero why he quit driving cabs and he said he didn’t remember, Henry was not telling the truth.