The New York herald., 1879-08-03
THE FREE BATHS.
Health and Comfort Sought in Their Basins by
Crowds Of Men and Women
INSUFFICIENT ACCOMMODATIONS
Specimen Scenes in the Water
and Around the Entrances.

There seven free baths provided by the city Of
New Yo-k for the accommodation OF its people dur
ing the summer months. and from what HERALD
reporter saw yesterday 1t might be inferred that
thrice the number would not more than sufhce for
the wants of the population. The regulations OF
all the baths are uniform; they are all open from
five in the morning till nine in the evening. Mon
day. Wednesday and Friday of each week reserved
for women and Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday are
devoted to men and boys. The women do not avail
themselves of the facilities offered as largely as
members of the other their aversion to miscel
laneous gatherings perhaps operating as restraint
Nevertheless the lady superntendents of the differ
snt baths say that they have frequently more apph
sants than they can comfortably provide for On
Friday last the female bathers numbered. on an
average. $500 to each of the baths The baths
re located respectively. at the Battery,
the foot of Bethune street. North River;
West Thirty fifth street. North River; Gouverneur
street. East River; Fifth street. East River; Thirty
seventh street. East River and Hath street, East
River. At the Battery and at Fifth street baths the
number of women who bsthed on Friday was close
five thousand at each place. The Battery bath.
which has been open only two weeks. is already
one of the most popular in the city. Its patrons
believe that the water is purer there. and. SO to
speak, has Q more oceanic flavor than that of the
rivers Miss Fernandez. who has charge of this bath
ladies' days, says that she has had experience
OF upward of three years in the bathing business
and has never seen greater rush Of bathers than
this season. She says the Battery bath seems to be
The fsyorite one with persons of her own sex and
Ihe receives these visitors from Harlem Hoboken.
Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Jersey City.
LADIES THE BATTERY
The crowd Of women and girls who were patiently
waiting admission to this bath between six and
eight o'clock on Friday night went far to verify the
Superintendent's assertion. At times there at
least hundred of them in line. and it took all the
persuasive efforts Of the police officers to that
proper order maintained. No applicant. how
ever was denied and each was accorded thirty gjn-
utes to compleos her ablutions and her toilet.
Those who came to the bath at the hours
mentioned were mostly working girls. and
salt wstsr with peculiar relish The mp MANY W ons
hours spent by them in close confinement at hard
work appeared to make them more than commonly
Rppreciative of even this slight relief from
the heat Of the atmosphere. As they departed
in couples and groups they showed in their
their brief .nstatorisl recreation had infused
new life into them. The only regrets expressed
% Wele .nst ~ % sIe the case ,ns
made on Friday showed that 4.5OO women had en-
joyed the luxury Of q bath at the Battery on that
At the other baths the numbers ranged from $500
to 6.O00 the bath at the foot of Fifth street. East
place was crowded with bathers to the same extent
all day. The working girls made their ablutions in
Sne cary morning h nours ana a. tne close Q. the
by mothers with their The Fifth street bath
is intended to accommodate what is probably the
largest tenement house district in the city, compris
ing the Eleventh. Seventeenth and Eighteenth wards
fronting on the water as well as those more remote
would gladly avail themselves of the privilege Of
free patn providing adequste iaciIities were rur-
calculation the baths can accommodate only 5000
women in one day, or 10000 men.
INEVITABLE ovERcRowDING.
is just like all the free baths in the city. It con-
ains sixtyeght each about three feet square,
and the basin in which the bathers enjoy themselves
IL 30 by GO feet. Three hundred persons aud
sometimes four hundred are allowed to enter ut o
time. and this may give an idea of the overcrowding
that unavoidably takes place. Four. five and six
persons have to be accommodated at in each of
the rooms. The keepers claim that they do all in
bes hs s s
but they say. so long the appli
cants cheerfuy submit to discomfort. they cannot in
refuse them entrance. The scene at the Fifth
street bath yesterday morning fully corroborated
the statements OF the keeper. The bath house is
anchored ut the side of wharf 300 feet long. At
five o'clock yesterday morning the line Of expectant
bathers extended the entire length of the wharf.
They were mostly hardworking men who had passed
restless and weary night in their sitting abodes
and were seeking to freshen themselves for their
daily toll. SO eager had many of them been to
early admission. 1t said, that they slept in
wagons and on doorsteps in the neighborhood
The previous night. Some Of the seepers were said
to have taken pillows to lessen the hardship Of
their out of door repose and their wives made their
appearance promptly at dawn to apprse them of the
hour and to take the pillows home.
A MORNINGS CROWD.
The crowd who waited yesterday morning was in
the best OF humor, and the men chafed each other
freely. Many such ordinations heard along
the line as Have you got your Newport fannels
with you" to which the answer would
after come. 81 have got Zulu uniform"
Steadily the rush continued. but no disorder
or turbulence was noticed. Once inside
and boys rapidly Invested themselves of their
scanty garments and no one seemed ut all incom-
moded by the contracted dimensions OF his Dress
Ing room. The water. pure and SIMPLE. was evil
the accessories of the toilet received little or no
tentiou. Twenty minutes only is allowed to each
male bather between five and eight O'Clock. The
feet. and 400 bathing in it at a time it
Will be seen by very simple calculation
that just twelve square feet of surface is the
stretch his limbs and recruit his strength for the
day. The crowding, hustling and shouting within
such comparatively narrow better be
imagined than described
THk BATHERs.
The scene seemed sufficient to convince any locker
on that the inhabitants of New York are q water
loving people and that any want OF cleanliness that
may EXIT among the poorer classes Is TO be at
ributcd rather to lack Of opportunity than to the
habits OF the citizens. Necessarily In
miscellaneous assemblaee of people such as
there many whose habits and breeding render
them anything but pleasant companions, morally or
physically The keepers are vigant. but no amount
or precauton can utterly exclude those whose pres
ence Is undesirable. and while the odations
continue to be restricted. they now are, inter-
co,irsc with objectionable persons must remain
avofdsble to all who obliged to resort to the free
baths in pursuit Of health and cleanliness.
LAST WEEKS BAruERs.
The following statement shows the number of
that used the free baths In this city during
week