The Sunday Shave Showdown
A Tacoma barber is fined for keeping his shop open on Sunday, sparking a long-standing legal battle with the barbers' union.
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.
Henry Kretch, the Hotel Fife barber, was this afternoon adjudged guilty in the Superior court of keeping his shop open on Sunday. This case has been agitating the barbers of Tacoma for months. Kretch has maintained that inasmuch as his shop was in the hotel, he had a right to remain open on Sunday, as it was a part of the hotel, and for the convenience of the guests to have barber shop facilities in readiness. He was fined in the municipal court, and appealed. Last Sunday he had his bonds all ready in expectation of arrest, and was arrested in due time on complaint of the union barbers. Two of his men were also arrested.
“Kretch has maintained that inasmuch as his shop was in the hotel, he had a right to remain open on Sunday.”
This dispute reflects the era's 'Blue Laws,' which strictly regulated Sunday commerce and labor. The tension between unionized labor and non-union 'hotel services' anticipates later labor-rights battles regarding working hours and Sunday closures in Washington state.
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