Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-06-12

THE BARBER.

am sure there are no tonsoria
artists in this wide, wide world. tt
compare with our own. and, by the
way, the modern, up-to-date barber
| believe, is in reality genuine
United States institution.
In days of old when knights were
bold. there were no such profession
by itself. For the so-called barber o
those days might shave your face OF
powder your wig, but they also blet
you and cut your cOrnS. People il
those days had themselves bled fol
the sclfsame reasons that city mer
now have morning "eye-opener' -
and you know what this means.
believe bleeding instead of an eye
opener is a custom that might bt
revived with much benefit to tn,
livcrs of the lieges BARRIERS only
bleed ones pockets nowadays But
we cannot begrudge them fair fee
for they are very deft indeed. BE.
fore one can undertake to hang his
Shingle' out nowadays as facial
operator, craninum manipulation and
capillary abridger, he must pass an
examination as to his qualifications
to do the work in ship-shape order,
so to speak.
Some of the questions asked appli-
cantS for a T." card" or license, before
the board of examiners may sound
very simple, but they are important,
nevertheless. For instance, the bar
Der is apt to smile at the apparent
simplicity of the questions. What
kind of lather brush do you use?
How are the bristles fastened on the
handle?' That's easy" he says to
himself; but the answers are not
always satisfactory. There are GER
tain kinds of handles that gather
verdigris and other unhealthy ac-
cumulations. and the up-to-date bar
ber will use only those that have
proved the best and most cleanly.
Another simple question is. What
do you use for washing lather from
a customers face?' The barber
who writes, " A sponge" in the
answer blank, is advised to cut it
out right away, Us Il most repre-
hensible practice, and to provide a
clean towel for each customer. The
question, What do you use for APP
plying powder to a customers face?"
sometimes elicitS the answer, Pow
der puffs. " This practice is also CON
demncd by the examiners. There is
no surer method of communicating
skin disease than by application of
the same powder puff to each GUS
TONER'S face.
| am informed the last examina-
tion form consists of sixteen ques-
tions. upon which the applicants must
secure Il percentage of seventy. He
must be citizen of the United
States; tell how long he worked at
the business; whether he served as
an apprentice under regular bar
ber. or just picked up his trade; on
what kind of stone he prepares his
razors for use; what kind of solution
he uses for disinfecting his razOrS,
clippers and shears; what he uses
for cleaning hair-brusheS. combs and
shaving brushes; how to stop the
flow of blood in case Il customer is
cut; and give his ideas on the best
remedies for treatment in skin and
scalp diseases, for faces with erup-
tions caused principally by close
shaving, for dandrutf, and for loss of
hair. The law does not expect a
barber to be a physician, but it does
expect him to be familiar with the
best methods of preventing skin dis
ease by the use of proper antiseptics.
L do not think that if | had my
life to begin again | should choose
to be barber, but if did should
find out some really good shop in n
busy, bustling, good street, and go
in for my profession in style which
would commend itself to every man
of sense. Before opened my doors
at all | should furnish my place, not
only in the most elegant fashion. but
in manner which would ensure per-
feet chemical cleanliness of every
utensil used, and | would invite
inspection of my premises. ltShould
be sanitary and hygienic in the
extreme, and rs such | should ad-
vertiSe it, mentioning also in
beautifully framed cards in my win
dows Il list of the many horrible dis
eases from BARRIERS itch to cancer,
that is contracted in the more ordi-
nary shops of this kind. | should
charge just Il little more than my
ncighbOrS; but being assured of
safety, my customers. | have no
doubt would throng my shop all day
long. would have plenty of read
ing material, SO that no one would
grumble for having to wait his turn.
Well, what then? O, only this:
| should make 4 modest fortune. re-
tire, and order my automobile and
steam yacht. LUE +. VERNON.