Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-11
A REAL MEAN JOKE

Nope" said the prosperous-looking stout
man in the downtown hotel barber SHOP
genially addressing the suave, expectaht
barber who was trimming his hair with eA-
IRENE care, 81 confess that can't unoer-
stand all of this talk that some cheap
skates are making with regard to the tip
ping of BARRIERS. It makes me very weary
CHATS right, just take little on the sioe
there, but not too much).
The barber beamingly bent to his work.
while the accommodating stout man IN
the chair ficked an imaginary hair out OF
his eve with the third finger of his lert
hand, thereby showing fine blue-white
three-karat diamond set in a Roman goio
band.
"A man." went on the prosperous-looking
stout citizen, who'll buck about handing
over quarter or a haf-dollar, or even
more, to a barber who has SATISFACTORILY
performed his tonsorial stunt ought TO De
working on the Stag dump with the Poiacks
and the Huns at 80 cents per diem
you'll always find. as l dare say you We
noticed, that the man who fails to slip MS
barber tip almost invariably sinks OUT
OF the shop with his shoulders hunched Tor
ward and with hang dog look about him
that all too plainly betokens the inward
Self-scOrn that he feels.
Now, even the cheap and parsimonious
skate who sneaks out of a barber shop
d
perf1uous silver to the man who has been
exercising his skill upon him always Yields
to the ingratiating responsiveness or the
Pullman porter you'll Observable always
executes the dig for at least two DIS, or d
quarter, at the wind-up of his little rail
way journey.
rs there any good reason why Pull
man porter should be slipped two-bits for
merely making a bluff at brushing the Gin
ders off mans clothes, when a barber,
u SnpDt q
quarters of an hour upon the same chap s
hirsute, is ignored in the distribution or
this chicken-feed wealth?
Not a bit of reason In the world, my
boy, so far as l can see, and so man
who'll tip Pullman blackmaier and fail
to tip a barber is mean enough to sWlpe
the milk and the newspaper off your door
step at dawn's early light, and you can
just stick. a hat pin in that fact so that
you won't fail to remember it. Gunner
that's right go bit light on that top spot
where it's beginning to get trifie attenu-
ated).
tenance as he handed the prosperous-look-
ing stout man hand glass in order to
enable him to examine the back OF his
head, and the number of unguents and
sweet smelling ointmentS and fragrant
toilet waters that the barber sprayed and
scattered over the hair and countenance of
the generously inclined citizen with the soft
spot for BARRIERS was surely a caution.
Inen ne pTellleu the generous Hidii up
with powder, twisted his mustache into
snail points, scrutiniZed him with great
care all over to see if he'd made any mis-
takes of omission or commission and re-
moved the apron with flourish and an ex-
pansiye, eXpectant smile.
The prosperous-looking stout man ADJUST
ed his collar and cravat with great care,
smiling the while if in anticipation of
the pleasure that he was about TO pestoW
upon the barber.
The brush boy, who had been delighted
listener to his conversatio in the char,
put a vast amount of elbow grease into
busting off the clothing and hat OF the
proSperouS-lookng stout man.
When he was all fixed and ready, with
hat and overcoat donned, the stout man ad-
yanced upon the barber, who was Smlnngly
holding out the check, while the brush boy
stood by, grnning from ear to ear.
The adipose man pulled from his trousers
pocket a large fiStful of quarters ana
halves jingled the money unsteady, took
the check from the fingers of the barber,
picked out a large. shiny and perfectly new
half dollar from his bunch of change, smiled
with great amiability upon the barber
cleared his throat and
Then he turned upon his heel and stroiled
toward the pay desk, where he paid his
check took the change turned about ana
grnned at the barber and the brush boy
and walked out with his shoulders erect
and looking not in the least hangdog OF
sheeDish.
It's queer how many of these grisly Jokers
drift into Washington during the sessions OIL
the Congress