The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1880-11-11
Hints to BARRIERS.

Nearly everybody has read Mark
Twain's experiences abroad in getting
shaved, and who has not laughed at
the description of his anticipations of
enjoying the bliss of a Partisan shave
and its 1amentable sequel. In recent
article in the Hartford Courdnt he
treats the subject seriously. He says /:
1t is safe to say that nine out Of ten
of the men one meets OH the streets in
our cities shave, or rather are shaved.
Some shave the mustache, some shave
the chin, some the cheeks. Indeed,
one must go into mathematics to the
taDlOs of permutations and combina-
tiOns to find how many varieties of
shaving are possible. Woman is ac-
cused Of being the party who devotes
her time to appearances and frivolties
of the mirror, but, after all, man does
his share Of it. The reason he escapes
is that he blandly sets down his dec
orative work as being matter of ne
cessity.
And it is true that shaving is a
very old custom, nor have we any
thing to say against it, except that it
is unnatural, and is, and should be
acknowledged to be, a concession to
the looking glass and to vanity. But
the point is that old as is the art, it is
o sing ular thing how few know how
to shave. "Nearly all nren shave in
the passive voice." This may be ia
ken as the grammatical phrase or as
an acknowledgment of the voice Of
the barber which they have to on-
dure. Each Specification Is true. And
while nearly all men consent to refer
their shaving to few who make it q
business, only fraction of that few
understand their art.
There is q financial blunder at the
bottom of it that makes trouble all
through. The dogma that II shave is
q Shave is q mistake. One man with
u stiff beard and u full face will choose
to have his whole expansive counten-
ance clean shorn another will shave
OH his upper lip. To each it was a
''shave," and each is charged alike.
Ono may require thirty minutes' at
tentiOn, tho other ten ninu tes. The
first will dull razor, the second not
affect its edge. To each it is 10 cents.
Now, barber's working day, we
will assume, is ten hours long. Ii he
is occupied ree-quarters OF the time,
he must be buster than usually ap-
pears. This gives him seven hours
labor, and if lie struck day OF half
hour faces, his whole receipts would
be $l.4O. If his luck gave him ten
minute cases, he would take i'll 1920.
Even this would not pay We're it not
for the seductive side issues-the hair
cuts and shampoos of the trade-that
bring i'll more per hour than the fun
danlental industry.
Now, Us the price and the circum-
stances of shaving go, it is constant
hurry to finish man, as shaving
scarcely pays at the best, and if he is
one of the most absorbing subjects
full shave and stiff bcard-it is q loss
to work upon him. To shave him
carefully takes too much time and
costs the edge of the razor. TO skim
over his face, cutting Off sections of
beard here and there, and leaving odd
oases OF hair along the deserts OF the
cheek, saves the razor and spOils the
person who pays for the operation,
and who should not be entirely for
gotten. The scale of prices ought to
be reg gulated by what one gets, and
BARRIERS ought have the courage to
charge for what they do.
This done, q revolution in the art
would follow. Speed would not be
the great aim. Attention could be
given to the removal of the beard,
which, in old times, it was us impor-
tant to remoYc as the lather, and the
man who went out OF the BARRIERS
shop would leave satisfied, instead of
hoping that the next time it would be
better. We recommend these consid-
erations to the trade without charge
for the advice. Shaving is IA custom OF
civilization; playing with soap bub-
bles is q game Of childhood. 1t is
now matter of luck which of these
operations falls to the barber's patron
to-day.