The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-09
TIE SHIPS BARBER
ne IS AN IMPORTANT suNcTIoNARo
ON AN OCEAN LINER.

Turning an Honest Dollar.
One of the Important functiouaries
in modern sea travel is the ships bar.
Der. 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 line,
Among the hundreds OF first class pas.
sengers OH the present day Atlantic
6iers the amenities of the toilet hold
full sway, and the man who should
come to dinner with two or three
days growth of stubble on his chin
would be looked upon with distrust or
at 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
has the joy of knowing that there is
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 are
frequent and oftentimes quite prince
ly. for the men he shaves are the IA
vorcI ones of the great Centers OF
business and social prominence.
The ships barber does not live by
shaving alone. however. He has side
lines which are profitable. on many
ships he carries stock OF supplies for
the toilet, curios and variety OF small
wares which are tempting to the pas
senEcr 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 ado
to the rotundlty OF his pocketbool;
Sometimes he has photographs of tbs
ship for sale, and if he finds these are
going slow he suggests TO some inuo
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 statcroom. Not he. He shows il
then begins procession to the barber
shop and thence TO the ships officers.
At the end of the voyage the photo
is the patience of the captain. who has
other things to do besides holding re
ceptions with admiring passengers anG
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 i'll the saloon, but the barber does
not care. How should he be blamed
if 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 he can in the sunshine
of five or six day trip, but on other
voyages he has much greater oppor
tunity. For instance. the ships of the
White Star line, branch of the Inter.
national Mercantile Marine, circum
navigate the globe. They sail from
England to Australia, thence to CHM
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 OF,
such trips the ships BARRIERS room be
comes an important headquarters for
the passengers. Often the barber on
one Of these long voyage steamers
keeps a sort of general store and is
costumer and wiGmaker as well.
On the Australian voyages 1t is quite
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
a small theater, and he let's 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 i'll your purse and come back
prince or lady of the royal court
a clown or Il tramp. devil or an an.
gel. as your fancy dictates You press
the button of your purse. and the bar.
Der does the rest
\ berth as a ships barber is no:
therefore an easy one to obtain. Hs
is signed on as n steward at nominal
wage of a shilling a month or some
thing like that, but that does not mat
ter. An able man can make the posi-
ton n 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.