Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-09-21
GENEROUS AID.
MIR. c. P. HUNTINGTON sUBscRIBEs
$4,000 TO THE SWIMMING BATHS.
History of the Bath Scheme-Mr. Hunt.
ington's Aid to the Y NJ. c. A.-His
Practical suggestions.

|
ington's Aid to the Y NJ. c. A.-His
Practical suggestions.
In July last meeting was held in re-
sponse to a call made by the RECORD.
UNION to consider the question of con-
structing a swimming bath establishment
IN this city.
The great need for such public concern
was on all hands admitted. and really the
only obstacle suggested was the supposed
failure of some earlier efforts in like di-
rection as likely to discourage another at
tempt But it was soon shown that the
failures were not because of any want of
appreciation by the people of the un.
measurable benefits of such an institution.
The first bath burned down shortly after
its erection II was private concern, and
while it ran, paid. The second was the
property of boat club. and was a small
float in the cold waters of the river and
went to wreck in q sudden freshet. The
| third was a very narrow tank on K street
| tllul pdlu We'll IL pIOpeIly
Quoted. But it was allowed to fall into the
odium of disreputable custom and was
closed after year and half. While Mr.
| Aiken ran it, it paid him handsomely.
At the July public meeting il was re-
solved unanimously to establish public
| swimming baths upon a basis insuring
| their success, and modelled somewhat after
| the Palace Baths at San Francisco and the
| Del Monte at Monterey. 1t was agreed
! from the outset that there should be two
tanks fully 45 by 120 feet each, one for
ladies exclusively, and that the water
| should be running and of a temperature
about the same as maintained at the
| Palace Baths, San Francisco, since it was
certain that to use untempered water would
| limit very much the benefits of the baths
| II was resolved that tub baths should be
| included in the scneme, in the ultimate at
| tainment of its full purpose. Upon this
| basis nearly S., COO of stock was taken at
| the meeting by subscription. A committee
was appointed, with A. Bonnheim as Chair
man, to canvass the city, ascertain the pub
| lie sentiment, and to receive subscription
| for stock upon the understanding that
careful business inspection had shown that
the institution could be run on self.sup-
porting basis, and with profit, if desirable.
| The committee made five trips of three
hours each about the business part of the
| city in two weeks. In that time ii encoun-
| tered bat one citizen who opposed the
| scheme, out of several hundred addressed.
All others warmly and enthusiastically in
dorsed the movement and urged that it be
pushed on. When some $4,000 of the
desired $4,000 of capital stock had been
| subscribed second meeting was called and
| held at the Court house, e. A. TOerk pre-
| siding, as he did also at the first meeting
That gathering, like the first, heartily in
| dorsed the scheme, and devoted most of its
| time to discussion of sites for the baths
1t completed the organization, elected q
Board of Directors and instructed them to
incorporate and the old committee to con-
| tinue soliciting stock subscriptions. The
| Directors chosen were G. A. Yoerk, A.
Bonnheim, A. Abbott, E. B. Willis. G. F.
Dillman, V. S. McClatchy, DIR. w. A
Briggs.
This was on the 8th of August Alb
sence from the city, sickness and other un-
avoidable causes have prevented the Di.
rectors chosen from Incorporating as yet,
and one of them felt it impossible for him
| to give it due attention and sent in his
resignation, and his successor is to be
| chosen on Monday. Then came the State
Fair and absorbed local attention. But r.
Dale was in the meantime chosen tempo
| rary Secretary of the Board, and the origi-
nal canvassing committee, aided by one of
| the new Directors, continued its work and
brought the total subscription up to about
$4,000. 1t lost $500 subscription, how
| ever. because the subscriber absurdly
thought he had been slighted in not being
| chosen q Director, though he had attended
no meeting and no one dreamed that ne
wished the laborious position. II created
such amusement that the committee
started out and in an hours time filled the
blank made by the withdrawal, SO that
| there was up TO yesterday subscribed about
$4,000 of The capital stock.
There are also on file nine or ten offers
| of sites with conditional stock subscrip-
ton from $500 to 81 500 attached to each.
Two committees have visited the swim
ming baths in other towns, and one builder
has made it his business to critically exam
inc two large baths in San Francisco in
order 10 study the economics of such q
building here.
The canvassing committee cent out in
August a number of letters to old Sacra-
mentans asking them to subscribe for stock,
and now the responses have begun to come
in, the first large one being 100 shares from
Mrs. E. B. Crocker, and last evening the
| committee was able to inform the public
that another helping hand had been put
| forth, as the following letter from c. P.
Huntington will testify:
NEW YORK, September I3, 1890.
| Messrs C. a Yoerk. J. a. Woodson, Y. S. Nc
Cldtchy, r. Dale and 4. BoHIlheina, Sacramento,
| Cdl.-GESTLEMEN: Your letter of 2eth August
! relating to proposed establishment of a Swim
| ming Bath Association with capital of SIS ,000.
| is received. You say you expect to be paying
| institution. The question is whether or no it
| would not be better 10 get up an Association of
| that kind and have the prices so low that all
| the people could use it, however poor; but to do
| that ii would not be upon paying basis ! do
not say that would not take some stock in it,
| if it was organized in the way you propose; but
| l would suggest and would prefer that you
| have il with Just sufficient charges TO pay the
running expenses and just enough more to ere
! ate fund to draw upon in any EN- rgency and
| to renew the engines or any other
part OF the plant, when such re-
an institution ! would say here that l would
| take five thous md dollars whenever the Asso-
| citation was organized and enough subscriptions
| pledged by good and responsible parties to COM
| plete the whole thing and have it in perfect
c. P. HUNTINGTON.
This prompt and public-spirited action
on the part of Mr.. Huntington gives the
committee and Directors the highest graft
fication, as il certainly will all the friends
of the scheme. and they are 10 be numbered
By the thousand. L reflects upon Mr..
Huntington the highest credlt, ana proves
that he is not only the friend of the city
of his early home and the friend of
the living present, but that the prescience
of his business wisdom is unerring. His
expression that the baths should be run so
as to open them to the largest possible
number, al the lowest possible price, pre-
cisely meets the views of the active pro.
moters of the institution. So, too, his
suggestion that they should be run to be
selfsupporting, and keep up small revenue
for repairs, insurance and unforeseen con-
tingencies, is Gu siness wisdom that will meet
the idea of every stock subscriber. Indeed,
while the subscribers all believe the baths
can be made TO return good profit, not
one has subscribed with that merely in
view, but for a broader reason TO secure
for the city long-needed public institu-
ton. Every subscriber will be glad if the
baths are cheapeued to the level of self
maintenance only, with light rese rye to
project the investment and insure the
proper keeping up of the baths.
Mr.. Huntington's generous and wisely
explained subscription is therefore taken
d upon the basis he suggests. and thus about
ISL 900 OF the $4,000 is now subscribed,
and the baths may now be considered a
certainty. The Directors will meet on
Monday, and the good work go uninter-
ruptedly on until completion. There will
be no difficulty in securing the necessary