Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 March 1896 — Shaving on a Man of War. [ARTICLE]

Shaving on a Man of War.

“There is lots of money in the barberin'g business on board a man-of-war,” said a bluejacket, on whose cap was a black band bearing in letters of gold the name of the hoodoo ship Olympia, in a barber shop. “How’s that?” one of the barbers asked. “Why, that’s easy.” answered the bluejacket. “Take the Olympia, the ship that I belong to. She’s got 400 men on board. They all get shaved and have to have their hair cut. All a man has to do is to ship as a landsman for three years and be assigned to the barber shop. Your pay from the government will be $36 a month, and you will rank as a petty officer. Then you’ll get $1.50 from every mftn on the ship every three months. That makes $450., Add to that $36 a month, which is SIOB a quarter, and there- you have $558 a quarter. That’s not bad for a barber. The barber gets another landsman to wash the towels and other flxin’s for S2O a month, but, I tell you what, the barber has to hustle.”—San Francisco Examiner.