Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 September 1903 — FAST MAN WITH A RAZOR. [ARTICLE]

FAST MAN WITH A RAZOR.

Eastern Barber’* Record la B*vCute*« .Bkavea in Thirty Minutes. Seventeen beards cut from the chins of an many longshoremen 1* Frank Bala’s record in the competition for the gold medal offered by a sporting paper to the barber who should shave the most men In thirty minutes. The record was made In Bala's shop at 323 Furman street, Brooklyn, before a notary public, an official timekeeper and threescore witnesses.

About seventy-five men were crowded Into the shop when the trial began and people were standing three deep before the windows. The subjects, naturally, were about . the toughest, from a tonsorlal standpoint, that Furman street could product In fact, only those whose beards rasped with a manly harshness as Bala ran his fingers over them were admitted. Andy Dean was the first man la the chair. He had about five days’ growth of beard, which shaded almost Imperceptibly on each side into a short, bristly, black mustache. Bala laid out six razors that had been prepared especially for the slaughter, tucked a few towels under his belt and picked up the loaded lather brush. “Are you ready?” called out Jim Lake, the timekeeper. “Yes,” said Bala.

“Go!” roared the timekeeper, and Bala made a downward jab with the bnlsh that scattered lather from one ear to the other. Two quick swipes with the brush on each cheek, a purrled chasing of fingers over the raspy mat and the longshoreman was ready for the razor. Two strokes finished the left side of the face, two more cleaned the right side and a few quick ones scraped the chin and neck bare. Andy never murmured. “Done,” cried Bala. “One minute and forty seconds,” sang out the timekeeper, and then there was loud Applause. John Nesplng, whose beard is red, was the next man up, and he also was turned out In one minute and forty seconds, bleeding only slightly from a gash on the chin. John Cowan’s capillary adornment was easier and it went down in one qiinute and fifteen seconds. Joe Packard and Jim McCarthy were finished In about the same time. A Frenchman who couldn’t speak English, but who knew that he needed a shave, was the sixth man. He came out holding his face in his bandanna and jabbering volubly. John Keeler, Pat Herring and Tommy Williams were finished up in fairly quick time. Bala was warming to his work now and he trimmed Jimmy Henessy’s face In exactly one minute, the best time made. Jimmy had considerable blood on him at the finish. An unknown man then took the chair.

“One minute and sixteen seconds,” said the timekeeper as this one got up.

Louis Bey, a Turk, came out in quick time with part of his promising young mustache gone. The McNally brothers were finished up in less than three minutes and two other men were done in just about as good time. “One minute and ten seconds more,” the timekeeper shouted. But Bala had run out of subjects. “Quick,” he screamed, as he changed razors snd the timekeeper himself was pushed into the chair. Bala took the last bunch of hair off his chin just as the gong sounded. He was cheered to the echo. Then, just to show that he wasn’t down and out, he cut a man’s hair in two minutes and fifteen seconds and shaved Buck Busteed, the man with the Iron beard, who is barred out of all Furman street barber shops, In just one minute and fifty-five seconds.—New York Sun.