The Barber Licensing Wars
A test case in Walla Walla pits state health inspectors against local barbers resisting a price hike.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The case of the state against Robert Chancy, accused of violating the barber law providing for the issuance of certificates of registration, came up in Justice Cann's court Tuesday. Before any witnesses were called, the defense introduced a demurrer to the complaint. The complaint stated that Chancy shaved and cut the hair of a human being for hire and reward, but the defense objected because it did not specify which person's hair was cut. After argument, Justice Cann overruled the demurrer, and Fred Brown, treasurer of the state barber examiners, testified that Chancy kept an unsanitary shop on Washington Street and had not renewed his certificate of registration in a year. Chancy is one of twenty-six barbers whose licenses were revoked by the state board, purportedly due to unsanitary conditions. However, it is widely whispered that the board's actions were actually retaliation because the smaller shops refused to conform to a newly mandated raise in the scale of prices for services.
“It is said that the licenses have been revoked by the barber examining board because the smaller barbers have not agreed to conform to the recent raise in the scale of prices.”
This 1903 skirmish over occupational licensing and price-fixing foreshadows the ongoing civic debates regarding the role of state boards in limiting entry into trade professions. The use of 'sanitation' as a pretext for economic gatekeeping against smaller, independent shops remains a classic feature of local regulatory battles.
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