Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-05-08
JACK REEDS HELP.


How They Run the shop While He
Was Sick Abed-Some DrOll REM
iniscences.
Flood "reminiscences have their droll
as well as serious sides. There is one
just coming to light among Jack Reed
many friends which is causing many a
broad smile, although serious enough
to the popular Island barber. AS the
story goes the recent flood caused Mr..
Reed much worry and protracted hard
work; his household effects had to De
removed, his family taken to town, and
when the waters receded all things had
to be put to rights again. The result
was that Mr.. Reed caught heavy cold,
and then fever came on which knock
ed him out He could not see his Gus
toners suffer, so sent over to Martin
Ruggaber for reliable barber to run
the shop until he was able to be about
again. Mr. Ruggaber had had a strange
jour. filling a place while one of the
right, pleased customers and knew his
biz and as the regular had resumed his
work and the stranger was out of
job at the moment he sent him over to
Reed. The chap took hold at once and
appeared to be o. K. on Wednesday
and Thursday. Friday is usually
good day; the stranger was surprised
to see six or seven dollars come into
the till. He at once expressed himself
as much in love with the stand and in
timated to Mr.. Lallance, the Island
druggist, that he wouldn't mind buying
Jack out if he would sell. Just about
this time along came an acquaintance
of the knight of the razor, and he was
engaged to do the lathering and brush
ing up in order to facilitate business.
This assistant, however, must have had
a demoralizing effect on the manage
ment, for rumors of dissatisfaction were
becoming loud and frequent. One GUS
toner, getting hair cut, said after clip
ping two or three punches out of the
thickest part and giving the shears a
rapid movement around his head, he
turned him over to his assistant to put
the finishing touches on with comb and
brush. This he did in jiffy, removed
the towels and in one breath yelled out
next" and twenty-five cents"
why" said the customer, "Mr. Reed
never charges but twenty cents" "Ah,
to blank with Mr.. Reed, we want no
kicking here" Subsequently a lady
sent her little boy around for a hair
cut. The boy was under manipulation
of the tonsorial artist for about two
minutes, when he was dismissed as he
handed out the fee, with That's all
right, sonny In short time the
mother returned with the boy and COM
planned that his hair had hardly been
touched. The assistant remarked in a
very insolent way: What do the peo-
pie of Wheeling want in a bowl OF
soup?" Things were going from bad to
worse on Saturday. One customer had
one side of his face scraped and during
the process the new artists hand trem-
bled as if he had the palsy, while his
breath gave forth the flavor of some
illegal still in the moonshiners' district
Ihe customer at this stage took fright
and said, Il only want half a shave
this time, as l am going to attend a
masquerade tonight
At five o'clock precisely the pair said
they wanted supper, so proposed to fire
the shop full of customers and lock I'D
until they returned. Mr. Charlie Copp,
the proprietor of the premises, had by
this time heard and seen enough to very
much dislike the situation, and being
in the shop at the time, remarked they
might lock up if they wanted to, but as
landlord he would take the key. They
relinquished it with much reluctance
but they never came back. The money
drawer was empty, Reed was out about
ten ounces of refined glycerine and
nearly quart Of alcohol, which was
renewed at least once at the neighbor-
ing drug store. Reed says he does not
know what they could have done with
it all except to make a palatable combi-
nation with little sugar added. He
thinks if Mr. Copp had not pursued the
course he did that this brace of timer
ants would have looted the shop on Sat-
urday night after they had dismissed
the last customer.
TO CURE A COLD IN ONE DAY.
Take Laxative Era,,o o,,;,;. u,,,