The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-06-05
TIPS FOR BARRIERS.
Various Opinions Of New York
Workmen on the Subject.

York are very strongly in favor of receiv-
ing tips from such customers as chooTe
to give them. General discussion on the
subject has been reused by u letter from
l.. T. Van Fleet, Secretary OF Union loS
of st. Louis TO W. II. Klapctzky OF 5yra-
cusc, General Secretary of the Journey.
men Barber's international Union OF
America strongly deprecating the accept
ance OF tips Mr.. Van Fleet writes; :,
detest this tipping" custom castGIn-'a a,d 4
the barber who willingly accepts tips
simply does so by bowling in humble sup
plicatiou to receive them, because ne mas
done or intended TO do work Tor whlch
he cannot demand a recon- pense.
We should not allow customer 10 pay
us Just what he thinks our labor -
worth, and II IL is done Tor charity
consider IL an insult.
This "tippingn business IS an lndica-
tion that they want their work done ior
less than the standard price, and IL mas
been practiced and encouraged by par-
bers TO such an extent that prices nave
been decidedly lowered. This no DOUBT
is one of the many reasons for our low
wages and long hours.
Every barber should stand absolutely
free and independent, and be too dlgni-
resist the temptation at first than to
sufer the result later; besides, 1t is more
manly to earn your living than to'recieve
charity or bribes.
In another part OF his letter the writer
refers disperagingly TO "Charley Boy"
BARRIERS who STOOL around man. shaw
ing him for three-quarters OF an hour or
more, catering TO the whims OF some
crank and sacrificing their seit-respect Tor
a paltry sum-" A customer spoiled by
such barber, he declares, is untt for
iirst-class man to operate on thereafter.
a. .so Il ~ y1Q
York city exponents OF the art tonsorial.
ssI'll have TO ask YOU TO leave my name
out" said prominent downtown bar
Der to the Sun reporter who approached
him on the subject, because i don't
want my shop TO stand as place where
tipping is a necessity. A man can come
mere and get a good shave without spend
ing a cent more than his check calls Tor.
But, as q matter of fact most OF our regu-
lar customers do tip. Every man mas ms
own little idiosyncrasies about the way
he wants to get shaved. This one Is ten
der skinned under the chin, another
wants his upper lip shaved sideways,
another must have his face sponged with
cold water before the lathering begins
and 1 know one man who begins 10
sneeze violently If the barber as much as
presses the tip of finger on his nose, so
we always look out Tor that popularity
in him and carefully avoid his nasal organ.
tip Is the acknowledgements made by
the customer for the care OF the barber in
respecting his peculiarities, that's all.
Said one of the big hotel BARRIERS:
ssYou can put II down that tipping bar
bers will continue when this man Van
Fleet is dead and buried. Probably they
don't give tips in st. Louis, and be-
cause he doesn't get any he thinks that
no one else should. Why is it n.Ameri-
can? I'd like to know. Why shouldn't
the bar Der who does bis work well get a
tip aa much as the waiter or the cabman?
Some highfalutin cabby tried to pass n
resolution doing away with tips to cab
men at enc of their meetings not long
. ago and understand they almost mobbed
him. Something of that sort might hap
pen to this st. Louis man II he dared get
up and make such motion at a union
meeting here. ~
my experience is," said barber
whose shop Is in the middle OF the whole
sale business district, aud who shaves
well-to-do business men for the most part,
stthat the average man Is perfectly will
ing.to tip good barber and does SO, not
because he is afraid of being made the
victim of inferior work II he doesn't,
but rather as q mode Of appreciation OF
artistic work. it is only in the cheap
shops that there is no tipping. AS for
what Mr.. Van Fleet says about wages
being lowered In consequence OF the
prevalence OF tipping, that is not true.
good barber's wages are sl0 to S12 week,
which he frequently more than doubles
IN tips. This gives him good wages, and
to earn them he has TO be bigh-class
barber, so that, really, tipping has eleva-
ted the business in art"
ssDoes each man pocket the entire
amount OF the tips given him?" asked
the reporter.
s'That depends on the shop" was the
reply. s.In some shops he does. In
Others It goes into pool. which is di-
(. vided at the close OF the day, each
journeyman taking his share, the head
or boss barber getting little more than
the rest, and certain per centage going
to the shop. In other places each man
pays In a certain percentages of his tips
to the establishment In shops where the
entire amount OF the tips is kept by the
barber the wages are likely to he low"
"Do you consider the taking OF tips
degrading?"
'sfy no means. AS have already said,
think 1t has elevated the trade. l know
of no barber, no matter how high he is,
who will refuse tip. Ten cents is the
usual tip, although sometimes we get but
i've, or, again, where the customer has
hair cut, shave and shampoo he not in
frequently gives quarter"
the reporter.
s'Oh, well. a nickel isn't much, and
that's all he expects. Often man who
tips the barber will pass by the brush boy
or vice verss, but the regular customers
generally have some change for the boy"
"That's Is cents for the shave, ten for
the barber. and i've for the boy. Isn't
80 cents pretty big price for getting
sbaved?' asked the reporter.
mot for first class work." replied the
barber, stoutly. "But of course IL don't
have 10 cost that much. You can get
shaved for 10 cents"
"But you don't get as good a shave"
suggested the reporter.
swell, perhaps the Barber isn't quite
as careful IL he knows that you aren't
going to tip him and that there IL reg
ular customer waiting who will. Nat
urally he may be in something OF hurry
to get done with you. Nevertheless, no
man has to tip barber in my shop"
All the BARRIERS with whom the re-
porter talked were unanimous in saving
that Van Fleet, who has been quite a
prominent figure in the union, has ruined
his chances OF never holding any good
Office IN IT,.
whats the sense OF his bringing up
the of9tl ion. ANYWAY 9p th,av asx ssThinos