The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-04-17

trade. They make good BARRIERS In
time. for women are quick and Light
handed, but most of them are scared
10 death of The razor and live in terror
of cutting somebody's throat IT'S a
profitable business for them, though.
for they usually learn all branches.
from shaving to halrdrosslng and
manicurlng, and they command big
wages and get liberal tips BARRIERS
like 10 employ them. They are steady
and work we'll and the cranklest GUS
toner isn't going to complain Of his
shave or haircut If 1t Is done by a pref
ty girl. No, It isn't an unpleasant
trade for a woman unless she makes
It so for herself.
How do we start a beginner? Just
by giving a man a set of instruments
and somebody 10 practise on, and set
ting him to work. He can't learn to
be a barber by looking on and being
told about Il. any more than he could
learn to ride a bicycle by watching
somebody else When a beginner is
ready for work / make him put in the
first day learning how to hone and
strop his razor. Then / assign him to
a chair and let him look on while
shave a man. The next man he lath-
ers in and / give the first shave, let
ting the student finish him. In shay
ing you always go twice over a mans
face, once with the grain and then
against It, The third man the student
takes alone while | look on and cor
rect him when he goes wrong. After
that he needs only occasional super
vision, unless he gets hold of an es-
pecially tough subject.
After four days Of steady shaving
we let the student try his hand at
hair cutting. That's harder than the
shaving, but all / can do is to give
/ him pair of scissors and show him
/ how to hold them, and let him go
ahead, while l stand by and tell him
/ where he is wrong. He has to get the
knack of it himself, and the whole
secret of good barbering lies in that
knack. 1t is easy to get if a man has
light hand, a loose wrist and steady
nerves to start with, but anybody can
get it with time and practice. 1t all
lies in practice, and the value Of a
place like this is that the student is
practising etery moment Of the work
ing hours. We shave and cut the hair
of over a thousand men every day.
and we average about so students to
do the work, so they haven't much
time to stand around and talk about
how it ought to be done or to watch
somebody else.
Before any training schools for bar
bers were established-and they only
date from the Worlds fair-a man
could not learn the trade anywhere
but in a small shop. The big shops
won't bother with green hands. When
a man wanted to be a barber he had
to go to some little shop and start in
as porter. He might put in six or
eight months sweeping and busting
and running errands before he was al
lowed to touch a razor. Then he was
put at honing and stropping the RAJ
zors, cleaning combs and brushes, and
finally at lathering in, combing hair
after it was cut, and putting on the
bay rum. For real work he had to
wait his chance until some extra good
natured man came in who didn't mind
being shaved by raw hand, and such
men are not so plenty as they might
be. Hair cutting was out of the ques-
ton unless there was a big rush on
or boy came in. Boys don't mind
how their hair looks, but most men
are fussier about haircut than any
thing else. OF course a bright young
fellow with his wits about him could
get the knack in time, but it was slow
work because he couldn't get real prac-
tice enough to keep his hand in.
Here, after seven weeks Of steady
practice in shaving and hair cutting
the student Is ready to go into the
finishing room. There he is taught
hair dressing, how to SINCE and sham.
poo, how to use tonics and dyes, ant
finally how to trim the mustache anC
beard. That takes another week, anC
then the man is ready for his diploma
and is fit for any shop in the city. Oh
yes; there are positions enough FOL
them. We have more applications fol
trained workmen than we can fill.
"The older men here? Most Of then
are learning the trade nnt To work q