THE BARBER'S RIGHT TO TALK.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13100, 31 January 1936, Page 3

THE BARBER'S RIGHT TO TALK.

The freedom oi barber shop oratory has been upheld, say> the S gag rule prevail in halls o; Par. ment. and censorship delete the meat from overseas dispatches, and pressure be applied by the wealthy and influential on newspapers, there still remains a haven ot tree speech, a spot where the art of harangue may l>e pursued unthreatened and unhampered; a corner where the girt of gab may be exercised to the ultimate garrulousness—the little barber shop around the corner! Yes, Tony may flail the air with descriptive gestures while denomit - ing democracy and upholding Fascism, he may tweak tho no>,> and bear down on the Adam’s apple, he may derange the tie, pluck pencils from the vest jxx'ket. pour boiling water into the hot towel, or rub turpentine into the epidermis. The case in point involved a man who, while laughing at a barber's joke, cut his hand on the barber’s razor. Justice Nicholas M. Pette. oi the Now York Municipal Court, held that the barber is quite within his rights who talks while he works, in fact is acting “in a manner quite within the usages ot the art in vogue since the dark days oi ages past.' The case was styled Arinin Vann versus Rose lout a. and in it Mr Vann charged that while he was being shaved l»y James Casciello. an employee of the establishment otherv ise known as J i:. “started to ftxil around" and began wise-cracking and tickling him. continuing in this wise, despite admonitions, and so causing the plaintiff to be in “a continuous >tate of laughter, uncontrolled. Finally the plaintiff, it was charged, jumped up. and liis hand came in contact with the razor. Denial was entered by tin* defendant to the tickling charge, whereupon Justice Petto, in a seven-teen-page decision, found the mi*lin:> was “an unavoidable accident": that “barbers usually have a tendency to *fool around' with customers.” and that if i custom*:* doe< not answer a loquacious barber, he may “ipso tact*'." be treated as a cranky customer, which may >*> reflect upon the smooth cutting quality ot the razor as to produce a shave half pulled and halt scraped, so that the face inav smart for days.” “If you speak at an unopportune moment," the decision continues, “you may flirt with injury, or at least with a mouthful of soap that will be far from appetising. If you seek a compromise by winking, maybe intending thereby to to!I the barber to shut up. the wink ma> have tlii‘ opposite effect. for the 'barber may think that the customer is encouraging him in his discourse." It was said in legal quarters that the case was the first of it> kind m Ihe history of the New York courts.