Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-22

stccl Udf lnslue OF tho OOX DIS Ieet RESTING
upon q metal pan below. A current Of cleo
tricity is then turned on. reviving the system
exhaused by legislative toll. There are two
batteries. one stronger than the other. II de-
sired their strength can be combined, but no
member Of the upper House has thus far been
matte Senators utilize this electricity for the
treatment Of their trouble.
While undergoing the steaming process the
Senator can cleanse himself by means Of little
hose and sprinkler, regulating the temperature
Of the water as he likes. On emerging from
the box he Is subjected to massage treatment by
an expert operator. after which he goes to
sleep on wicker sofa. All the modern bath
ing appliances are here at hand, including in
genious shower baths, which spray the person
from head to foot by . multitude Of Jets, mar
BILE tubs lined with porcelain and room with
dry heat, which can be run up to 200 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Ali these Injuries Senators get free Of charge.
They pay nothing for bath, shave or hair cut,
unless, perhaps, by way Of gratuity. The bar
bers are employed by the government as
Skilled laborers" at $500 year each. They
supply their own brushes. combs and razors.
The "tonic. hair oil, bay rum. &C., which they
use are drawn from the general supply room.
OF course the services Of three tonsoriai artists
are not required during recesses Of Congress,
but at such periods their vacant time il devoted
to whatever work may be assigned to them about
the Senate wing.
The barber shops attached to the House of
Representatives are comparatively shabby.
They would not be credit to n fourth-rate
village. There is one on the republican and
another on the democratic side. They are
just alike. but there three chairs in the
democratic shop and only two in the republican
shop. The case was exactly the reverse when
Mr.. Reed occupied the Speakers chair and
there was republican majority. Every MEM
Der and employe pays for his shave or hair cut
at the usual rates. The BARRIERS are hired as
common labOrers at $50 q month.
The Genesis Of the Barber Shops.
Twenty-Five years ago laborer employed by
the House asked leave to put in a tonsorial
chair. Consent was granted, and from that
beginning the shops have grown. Between
sessions the BARRIERS. who are all colored, clean
committee rooms, &c. One Of them is q skilled
chiropodist and attends to the feet Of Repre-
sentatives who are afflicted with corns and
bunions. The latter do not have to pay any
thing for baths. Beneath the House there are
superb bath rooms with huge marble tubs and
hot chambers. The attendants are expert at
massage.
The testimony OF the BARRIERS Is to the effect
that about forty members OF the House during
the last Congress used oil on their hair. Among
$50 odd Representatives. Lynch Of Wise
has the most hair. In that respect he has q
rival in Smith OF Illinois, whose dark locks,
ders. Ex-Speaker Reed has the baldest head
Genial Gen. Wheeler, though a small man from
Alabama. has the biggest beard, mixed with
gray. Tarsney Of Missouri possesses the
largest mustachs and Hopkins Of Illinois has
the reddest hair.
In the Senate PETER Of Kansas has by far the
most luxuriant beard. He wears no necktie be-
cause he has such whskers. Blackburn Of Ken
lucky has the biggest mustache. Once upon a
time it was dark brown, but nowitisgray. Brice,
the Ohio man whose family have taken the lead
OF fashion in Washington. has the greatest
quantity Of hair. dark red in color. Baldest Of
all tho Senators is Gsllinger Of New Hamp-
shire. Bald-headed Congressman, strange to
say, are always anxious not to shine at the
polls. They want what the laundries term
domestic finish" on their exposed scalps
The Congressman who use oil on their hair
nearly all come from the far interior states
In this part Of the country such unguents are no
longer employed except in barber shops OF a
very low class. One of the tonsorial experts
at the Capitol, who has been employed there
for twenty years, was speaking yesterday
! Of the remarkable changes which during that
| period have taken place in methods Of hair
dressing. Not more than couple Of decades
ago Representatives and Senators commonly
dyed their hair, and more particularly their
mustaches. One instance was remembered
| OF a Congressman who had his beard stained as
| black as q shoe brush just before his third
marriage, thus rendering himself unrecogniz-
| able by the doorkeepers. At present the dye
| brush and bottle are almost never called for.
This barber stated that not more than one
| Representative in five years wanted his hair
| died nowadays. Once in while a mustache
| is treated with the old-fashioned stain, which
| is preparation OF nitrate of silver, applied
| with brush. Gray hair and whskers are no
| longer considered Objectionable. as they once
were. Persons who color their locks artificially
do it most commonly by means of so-called
hair reviewers They do not give the color in
simultaneously, like the dye, but gradually
darken the hair. The process is a gradual one,
accomplished by many applications Such
stuff makes the scalp caked and dirty, go that it
can scarcely be washed clean. Thus its effect
is most unhealthful. and its tendency is to
destroy the hair rather than to renew its
growth Hair dyeng does not pay. The case
will be recalled of the gentleman Who said:
For was thinking of plan to dye my whiskers
And sways so large fan that they could not be
SEEN"
TWENTY-FIVE wears ago." said the barber,
Congressman mostly wanted their hair a ointed
with oil until it was stuck down tight and slick
Then it was parted and further plastered with
cosmetic grease in sticks, after which it was
picked out with the comb to make it curly all
| over The cosmetic Was made of beef marrow
| and wax and the oil used castor oil, thinned
| with alcohol and favored with perfumes. The
| hair was worn very long and the proper thing
| was to have it as shiny and smelly as possible
Those were the days when peoples heads left
unpleasant-looking stains on the walls wherever
| they leaned against them. Nowadays the GUS
| toner usually says: Don't put any stuff on my
| hair that smells Most Congressman will not
have anything but little water. A few do not
| object to a small quantity of tonic. which il
| glycerine mixed with alcohol. Cosmetic IL
| only used once in awhile for a mustache."
Not more than twenty years ago pomade was
purchased for the barber shops at the Capitol
| In teu-pound Cans. 1t manufactured in
Philadelphia out Of beef marrow and lard, with
castor oil to soften it. The mixture was SUBJ
jected to mild heat for several hours, little
| wax being put in as it simmered. Afterward il
| was beaten up slowly. and, when nearly cold
perfumes were worked into it. In this manner
| was prepared what used to be known as bear
grease. the genuine quality of which was ex-
hibited by lfe-liks picture of bruin on the
label of each bottle of it that sold. The
| Representatives in Congress used up a ten
pound can of it in a few weeks. Many of them
preferred it to oil. while others took both. Now
the bears grease pomade has disappeared from
the market, being replaced by vaseline. of which
tine entire national legislature uses hardly more
| than 1--WE pounds in n tWeIvemonth