Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-08-13
Mark Twain's Hints To Barbcrs.
SUGGESTIONS WHICH, IF ADOPTED. wILi REVOi.I
TIUNIZE THE ART OF SHAVING.
Hartford Courant.

II is safe 10 say that nine out OF ten OF the
men one meets on the streets 10 our cities shave,
or rather are shaved. Some shave the mustache,
some the chm. some the cheeks. Indeed, one
must so INTO mathematics 10 the tables OF per-
mutations and combinations 10 find how many
varieties OF shaving are possible. Woman is
accused OF being The party who deVotes her
time 10 appearances and the fTiVolities or the
n1ilof, out after all, man Goes bis share OF II.
The reason he escapes the Charre is that he
blandly sets down ms decorative WORK as being
matter OF necessity.
Ard IL is tue that shaving is q very old Gus
tom, Dol have We anything TO say against IL,
pr that II Is unnatural and is and should be
acknowledged 10 be, g concession 10 the LOOK
ng glass and TO vanity. But the point is that
GA as is the al [ IL is singular thing how few
Know how TO shave. Nearly all men shave Ia
the passive voice. This may be taken as the
grammatical phrase or as an acknowledgment
OF the voice OF the barber which they have 10
endure. Each signitlcatiOn Is true. Ana While
IeaTly all men consent 10 refer their shaving 10
few Who make ii a business, Only q fraction OF
that few understand their art.
There is a financial blunder at the bottom OF
1t that makes trouble all through. The dogma
t6at shave is a shave is a mistake. one man,
With q Stln beard and iQll face, VIII choose 10
baye his whole expansive countenaDce clean
Shorn; another VIII shave only his upper ilp.
10 each IL Is "a shave" and each is charged
alike. one may require thirty minutes atten-
uon, the other len minutes. The first Ndl dun
a razor, the second not affect its edge. To each
IL is ten cents. Now. a BARRIERS working day,
we will assume, Is ten hours long. II lac is
occupied IhTee-QuaTteFs or the time. he must
be buster than usually appears. This gives him
seven hours labor. and IL he struck a day OF
hast-hCur faces bis whole receipts would be
Size. Ii his luck gaze him ten-ninute eases
lie would take I'm 81 10. Even this would not
pay were IL not for the seductive side Issues
the hair cuts and shampooS OF the trade that
bring IN Dore per hour than the fundamental
Industry.
Now, as the price and the circumstances of
Shaving go, ii Is constant hurry or fnish a
| nan, As shaving scarcely pays al the best, and
| II lie is ole OF the more absorbing subjects -fuf
shave and sin beaTd-it is a loss 20 work
upon him. To shave him carefully takes too
much tine ard costs the edge OF the razor To
skin oytr bis iace, cutting of sections OF beard
here and there and leaving odd cases OF hair
| along the deserts OF the cheek. saves the razor
! but spoils the person who pays for the opera
tfon, aid who should Lot be entirely forgotten
| The scale OF prices ought to be regulated by
| Wha' che gets. and BARRIERS ought TO have the
| courage TO charge for what they do.
This done, revolution In the art would fol-
| low. Speed would not be the great aim. At
tention could be given 10 the removal OF the
beard, Which, in old times, IL was as important
10 remove as the lather. and the man who went
out or the BARRIERS shop would leave satisfied
lnS,ead OF hoping that the next time Il might be
better. We recommend these considerations 10
Tie uaCe without charge for the advice. Sha-
VIZ IS custom OF civilization; scaiping Is a
1Ckt n or Say6gery: playing with soap bubbles
is d game OF childhood. IL is now a matter OF
lux Inch OF these operations falls 10 the bar
lars latrCn to-day.