United labor bulletin., 1912-02-15
DENVER BARRIERS
Defend The Law
Board of Barber Examiners Nee
essary for Health and
Safety of People.

Regarding the criticism of some Of the
dissruntled BARRIERS Of the state on the
operation of the BARRIERS license law, If
these critics who have been crying
graft" would read their license cards
they would find, printed plainly upon
them, that their licenses expire on the
31st day Of December every year, and
the penalty lies for failure to renew
them thirty days prior to this time; so
that, if, through their negligence or ig-
norance, they fail to renew them, they
have no one to blame but themselves.
We are for the license law, and our
reasons are that we have the best bar
bers belonging to this and other unions
in the state, to be found in any state in
the union, and the members of this
union, in full meeting assembled, unani-
mously indorsed the action of the bar
bers board of examiners Every barber
knows that Colorado has been the dump
ing ground for years for all the ioaters
and irresponsible, half-skilled and drink
ing BARRIERS of the country-men whose
habits have made it impossible for them
to obtain employment in other places.
These we deem undesirable and
menace to the respectable members of
the trade.
We We're amused a few days ago when
the secretary of the board of examiners
visited an adjoining town where several
BARRIERS had failed to renew their Ii
censes. One of those offending BARRIERS
said, IF the board can show us where
they have ever turned down an incompe-
tent barber, we will gladly renew our
licenses"
The whole board visited this town the
next night and called an open meeting
in the town hall, and then plainly
showed where some thirty incompetent
men had been refused licenses since last
August, for being drunkards, mac
quereaux, hop fiends and no-account, in
competent BARRIERS.
On this statement being shown, the
disgruntled crowd took another tack ami
affected to be insulted that the board
members should be travelling around the
state casting aspersions upon the char
acter of the BARRIERS, thus placing the
BARRIERS in a bad light with the public.
We opine that the BARRIERS are made of
the same material as other men. There
are good and bad characters among
them, and it is the bad characters that
the board desires to eliminate, and by
doing this they are protecting the worthy
members of the trade.
The disgruntled men who are against
the law are mostly those who desire to
conduct an unsanitary shop without
hindrance. The law demands that shops
shall be kept in a sanitary condition for
lHe pTOIecIlOn OF the pubic nealtn. InuS
each customer must have separate,
clean towel used upon him. The public
is entitled to a square deal, and a GUS
toner should see that he does not have
hot towel placed upon his face that has
been used upon another customer before
him. 1t costs a few more dimes a week
to run a strictly clean and sanitary shop,
but the public is entitled to this.
A barber handles more people than
I II Il, IT, II
not think of patronizing either of these
professional men if their places of busi-
ness were not kept in a thoroughly sani-
tary condition. And yet the chances for
contracting an infectious disease are
equally great in unsanitary barber
shop as in one of these offices.
The BARRIERS license law is in opera
tion in fourteen states, and the law has
been carried up to the supreme court in
seven of these states, and in every case
has been declared constitutional The
state whenever they are ready.
The respectable BARRIERS are proud of
the BARRIERS license law of this state
because it throws a safeguard around
them and their patrons, the general pub
lie. 1t operates to protect the public
from the grating barber whose only de-
sire is to rob man when he gets into
his chair. Respectfully,
Journeymen BARRIERS Union No. 205
BY DICK PALMER,
SAMUEL CREPEAU,
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