The Washington times., 1901-12-29
CAPITAL BARRIERS
AT THE CAPITAL.
WESTERN CONGRESSMAN'S S DICTUM
Declares the TonsoriHI Artists of
Nashington Surpnss chose of
Any other City
Some Innovations.

\ Western Congressman has laid It
down in imperishable language that there
are more frst-class BARRIERS plying their
trade in Washington than in any city Of
the country and has given utterancc
merely to a fact which has been appre-
ciated for years by the legislators who
come to the Capital with the opening of
every Congressional session from all over
The country.
II has been recognized for a long time
ever since the days Of Webster and Cal
houn-that the tonsorial art has reached
its highest perfection beneath the shadow
Of the dome. and that here, of all cities
in the world can the really excellent
shave be had.
BY far the larger number Of BARRIERS in
Washington are colored men. and it is.
worths y note that large percentage Of
these are not natives Of the city. Most
Of them have come from the South. where
they learned their trade. and the better
wages and social position Of the Capital
C,.y have. in almost every instance, been
at present in the city five BARRIERS from
New Orleans, as many more from Mem
phis. and at least dozen from Richmond.
Where CoIored Gentry COrGre=ate.
One knight Of the shaving mug, who
claims Boston as his place OF nativity
conducts shop about which there is
such an air Of refinement and culture that
it would seem that only the most aristo-
cratic persons in the city would be his
patrons. As a matter Of fact all of his
trade Is negro. Here can be heard dis
cu~-ed the leading and perplexing ques-
tons OF the day. science. art. literature.
ana history, for the proprietor. a stout
anc jolly soul. sustains the reputation OF
the Hub.
The BARRIERS in t;se House and Senate
are wen known. Their patrons are not all
congressman. for Senator's and Represent
ativcs are. as a rule, provided with espe-
cial places az which to have their boards
trimmed or their faces lathered. in va
rious localities about the city. stin the
House and Senate barber shops do thriv
ing business, most Of the employees OF
both sides of the Capitol being their Gus
toners.
There Is ane lady" barber shop in the
city and while the masculine proprietors
OF others are not jealous, they have never
theleHs studied the innovation with con-
siderable interest. The lady" shop is
new TO the Capital but has been n per-
mEnent fixture in other cities Tor some
TIM. where the sign of line red poe
with its white and blue stripes is often
the tr' denmark OF women plying the art
OF hair trimming and shaving.
The Hypnotized Legislator.
4 think." said the Western Congress
man, that there are more first-class
BARRIERS in Washington than in any city
| have ever visited and l have been
over almost the entire globe. have been
shaved in New York and Poston and Chi
cago l have had my hair cut in Frisco
and Portland; ] have had ms hair sham
pooed at Denver and ttlanta and / have
been generally tortured in London. Port |
Said and Montevideo, but not until ! came
to Washington, when ! was first elected. I
had ] ever known what perfect barber |
was like.
Here you lie down in chair, throw |
your head back on a plush resi- with a
towel over IL. and then you Immediately !
begin to drop OF to sleep.
The darky barber will talk. Of course. !
for he is like all the rest of the follow /,
ers Of the craft. but he talks in that I
Southern languOr of the Dixie bred negro, !
and a man from my country, where the !
language is harsh, cannot help being /
soothed by it, Perhaps that accounts for /
my partiality to Washington. Il may be 1
THAI I am hypnotized every time l get /
into the chair; but l don't think so. / /
really believe that there are more good /
BARRIERS iu Washington than in any other 4
city in the world
Origin af fhe Striped Pole
The time was. a good many years ago, |
when the barber was most important |
parsonage, whose duties, in addition to
those OF the hair and face, were mani
fold and OF great dignity. The barber "in
We olden tyne" attended to the blood-let-
ting, then the cure FOR every complaint.
4 last relic of this remains today in the
sign OF the barber shop-the red and white
striped pole.
II has often been asked what the pole
signifies. While its history dates back
centuries. II is probable that the present
barber pole Is a relic OF the days when
patients were bled by the barber. The arm
Of the patient about TO undergo this
operation was bandaged tightly below the
spot to be opened. The white OF the pole
represents the white arm, the red. the
red arterial blood, and the blue the dar,:
yenal blood.
After the reign OF George II, in 1757.
BARRIERS ceased to beanything but BARRIERS,
and relegaied 10 physicians The Held of |
surgery. which for years included also |
the duties Of dentistry
In France the barber trade received
great impetus when Louis XIII and Louis
XIV came to the throne. Both monarrhs
were bCariless, and the fad OF wearing
Inc hair and beard long went out OF fash
ION as quickly as modern fad win die
turing a night. N0blemeu tuInbled over
themselves in efforts TO be Ike their SOW
ereiga, and the barber reaped the bene-
it,