Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-05-11
servations and experience of our
Observation-Disclosures Farmer
THE SHIPS BARBER.
HE is AN IMPORTANT FuNcTlohARY
ON AN OCEAN LINER.

He Docs Thriving Dusincss In
souvenirs-Hc Has Many Ways For
Turning nm Honest Dollar.
One of the important functionaries
In modern sen travel is the ships bar
ber The old days of the sailing ship.
where every man was his own hair
dresser, where razors grew dull long
before the end Of the voyage, and, ex-
cept for faithful few, bushy boards
soon made all look like Esau of the
Scriptures, are In sharp contrast to
the conditions on the modern liner.
Among the hundreds of first class pas
sengers on the present day Atlantic
hlers the amenities of the toilet hold
full sway, and the man who should
5come to dinner with two or three
days growth of stubble on his chin
would be looked upon with distrust OF
Mt the worst politely asked where his
ranch was or how many cattle he had;
hence the ships barber.
His duties are no sinecure, but he
no rival shop over the way. and, though
his charges.are usually moderate. they
are somewhat In excess of what he
may hope to receive In the ordinary
course of trade ashore. His tips nre
frequent and oftcntimcs quite prince
ly. for the men he shaves are the fa-
vorcd ones of the great centers Of
business and social prominence.
The ships barber does not live by
shaving alone, however. lie has side
lines which are profitable. On many
ships he carries Il stock Of supplies for
the toilet, curlos and variety of small
wares which are tempting to the pas
senger and which add to his income
Moreover. If he is ingenious he may be
the starter of fads which cost the pas
senger an easy dollar or two and add
to the rotundlty of his pocketbook
Sometimes lie has photographs of the
ship for sale, and il he finds these are
going slow he suggests to some inno-
cent passenger that he should get the
captain and chief officers to sign them
and thus secure an additional and valu.
able souvenir. The passenger smiles
and takes the hint. But he values his
souvenir too highly to keep it hidden
in his stateroom Not he. He shows it
with glec to his fellow passengers, and
then begins a procession to the barber
shop and thence to the ships officers.
AT the end of the voyage the photo
graphs of the ship are ull gone, and so
is the patience of the captain. who has
other things to do besides holding re.
ceptions with ndmiring passengers and
signing his name by the hundred that
the ships barber may reap harvest
Of Yankee dollars. What the captain
thinks Of the transaction is not said
aloud in the saloon. but the barber does
II the passengers SO admire the cap.
tain and the ship as to wish souvenirs
of both?
On the transatlantic voyage the bar
ber's harvest time is short. He must
make what hay hc can in the sunshine
Of a five or six day trip, but on other
voyages lie has much greater oppor-
tunity. For instance, the ships of the
White Star line, u branch of the Inter
national Mercantile Marine, clrcum.
navigate the globe. They sail from
England to Australia. thence to China
and home by way of San Francisco.
This is round the world trip which Is
growing In favor with ocean travellers
who have the leisure to take it, and OH
such trips the ships barber's room be
COMES an important headquarters for
the passengers. Often the barber on
one Of these long voyage steamers
keeps sort of general store and is
costumer and wigmaker us well.
On the Australian voyages 1t is quits
customary to hold several fancy dress
balls during the passage, and here the
barber gets in his fine work. He has
n stock Of costumes that would do for
small theater. and he lets these at
good prices to the people who have not
the patience or the ingenuity to get up
such things for themselves. You go
to the ships barber with the requisite
shillings in your purse and come back
prince or lady Of the royal court,
a clown or tramp, u devil or an an
gel, rs your fancy dictates. You press
the button Of your purse. and the bar
Der does the rest.
A berth us ships barber is not
therefore an easy one to obtain. He
is signed on as steward at a nominal
wage OF shilling month or some
thing like that, but that does not mat
ter. An able man can make the posi-
ton stepping stone to lucrative
and legitimate trade, and the oppor
tunities to fill the berth are watched
and applied for far in advance.-NeW
York Times.
Men, Women and the Mirror.