Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-08-17
the English language "as she is spok-
Four Cents for a Shave.

Four Cents for Shave.
The BARRIERS at home, either union
or no1-union. will be shocked to learn
that the nrice of shave, in the best
barber shop in Nottingham, city Of
over 100000 people. is two pence a
cents.) One gets good shave, too
but there are no furbelows-witch !
hazel and powder or extras Of any
kind. understood when paid the
price Why this barber shop was furn-
ished in ths pia1nert manner, and had
no nne upholstered pattern barber
chairs Or other expensive furnishings.
When I told the English barber that /
would pfy seven pence halfpenny (1S|
cents) sur a rhave at home he said he
would Ike 10 be an America 4 barber
for a few years, and get ric' and live
in ease the rest Of mis- life on his
money.
Liverpool.
Liverpool. IL a great CITY Of over
100000 population AMI is growing
rapidly. 1t Owls ard operates It's own
street cars, electric lights aud water
works. and 1t does all Of this at a
profit for the municipality. Street car
fares for ordinary distances at all
hours of the day are penny (2
cents.) The lines are being extended
as rapidly as the needs Of the public
require. The cars are strange looking
two-story affairs and when you stand
at a central point and see a half
dozens Of them moving down upon you
In different directions you wonder IL
an earthquake has struck the town,
or If the buildings have been put upon
rollers. Notwithstanding the cheap
fares, the street railways OF Liverpool
made for the city profit Of over
$150,000 last year The lord mayor
of Liverpool Is elected annually. 1t is
an honorable office, paying salary
Of about $4,000 which is said to be
not over half Of what is required TO
keep UP the lord mayors establish
ment. As. a, social functionary he Is
q person OF great Importance
The members of the city coun
ell are elected by the people and.
serve without salary. They are usn-
ally retired merchants or men
If means who can afford 10
give their time to the public and are
willing to do so. The people over here
are willing to elect such men to Office,
whereas as rule men Of this class in
the United States, who permit them
selves to be nominated for city office
almost inevitably go down in over
whelming defeat. sought a reason
for this, and also for the almost en-
tire absence of even a suggestion ct
graft in city affairs In English cities.
The reason Is to be found very large
ly in the different manner in which
the saloon business and the liquor
traffic Is conformed with in England.
Just imagine condition where the
city administration Of Ottumwa, Day.
export, ETC.. had nothing to do with the
granting of liquor licenses. and all the
license money going to the federal
government. Such condition would
make a great difference in the manner
Of conducting city campaign, and the
question of an open or closed town
administration would not come off at
recurring city elections. The English
system and the laws of parliament
are an immense help in securing hon
est and efficient city government. I'm.
der these conditions, many entor'
'prises can be successfully carried on
by the municipality which, could not
be done under conditions as they ex.
list in the United States. There are
many saloons. They are called pub
lie houses over here, and they are
patronized by men, women and chill
dren. They are strictly supervised,
however. and the slightest infraction
Of regulations will cause the license
to be revoked. In Liverpool dis.
tinct temperance sentiment Is making
itself manifest and for several years,
no new licenses have been issued.
The result is, by natural process of
elimination, the number Of SALOONS
in Liverpool Is being reduced annually
from rs to go am told that the ell
mination will go on until the number
of public houses per capita becomes
very much less than at present. Practi-
cally all the liquor sold Ia public
houses in England is sold by barmaids.
With the American idea Of saloon
this sounds shocking On the con-
trary, the barmaid seems to be re-
fining and moralizing influence. She
is all business. and won't stand any
foolishness. The average American
rounder who would start out to fiirt
with the barmaids would soon fud
himself in jail. and probably with a
cracked head in addition. The curse
of England Is the universally OF
drinking among the working classes.
On Saturday evening in Liverpool the
whole family goes to the public house
instead Of the old man and the older
boys, as Is the case in the United
States.
The biggest thing about Liverpool is
the nins or ton miles of stoutly built
docks accommodating the largest
ocean liners The docks and the
great shipping interests Of the city
can be excellently seen from an over.
head, elevated railway, which runs
the entire length Of the docks.
Adopting American School System.
English cities, especially the more
progressive ones, like Liverpool, are
adopting the American public school
system as rapidly as possible. AS yet
these public schools are attended only
by the children of the poor but they
are accomplishing a great work that
is destined to grow and increase as
the years go on. English boys Of the
better classes are sent away from
home TO school at q. very early age