Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1883 — Barbering in Germany. [ARTICLE]

Barbering in Germany.

I have had something to say before about the backwardness of hotels, so you will not be surprised to hear that none of them are provided with barbershops. I believe there is only one hotel in Berlin, the magnificent Central,which has a barber-shop attachment, but even in this instance the shop is a long distance from the rotunda, and it is the custom in Berlin, as elsewhere, to have the barber come to your room in the hotel. This is but another outgrowth of the infamous fee business. In order to get a barber yon must first ring for the waiter. The waiter enters that call in his set of books. Then the waiter must send a messenger. You must give something to the messenger. Then when the barber comes in it is expected that you will give him a little extra change for his trouble. On his way out he probably divides with the porter and the waiter. I have never seen a first-class barbershop in Europe. There are none to be found anywhere, I believe, which will compare with the tonsorial palaces of Chicago or any of our large cities. The prices charged are very low—from ‘2J to 4 cents for a shave, and about 10 cents for a hair-cut. Regular customers pay by the month or quarter. My bill for the last quarter was about 8 marks, including fees, or equal to about SI.BO. And during the quarter I visited the barber, or he visited me, on an average three times a week. But many a time, when I have l>een sad at heart, I would have given the entire SI.BO for one good American shave,and considered it cheap. —Car. Chicago News.