Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-29
Long List of Lives Lost From In
ability to Swim in the Riv-
erS A bout Pittsburg.
PUBLIC BATHS NOW A NECESSITY.
Records Of the COroner'S Office Tell Ter
rible Tale of Many Deaths
in Deep Waters,
EXCEEDING THOSE IN SHOPS AND MILLS
An Official Talks About What Is Necessary TO Remedy
the Growing Evil

John Neel, aged Is years, was drowned in
the Monongahela river yesterday morning
while bathing. The body was hauled out
of the water few hours later and taken to
the parents home The family lives in
McKeesport Coroner Mcdowell will hold
an inquest on the case this morning. Like
many other cases of similar character the
boy was unable to swim. Late last night
the Coroner received word of another case
of drowning. An italian boy, whose
name could not be learned, fell into
the water near Stoop's Ferry and
was not recovered until dead.
These cases bring up once more the story
often told in The DISPATCH of scores of
drownings in the three rivers surrounding
Pittsburg and its suburbs. Ever since the
Iron City gained the fame of an important
municipality the record of death in the
rivers has been kept up. Fathers, sons and
brothers have been taken away by scores
and many home has been filed with sor-
row. A glance at the records in the Cor
oner's Office suffices to show the alarming
rate at which life is destroyed in the rivers.
Hundreds of Sad Stories.
On the well-flled pages of that death
book hundreds of tales of suffering are
recorded in a few brief words. They are
stories of mourning homes, of heart
broken fathers and mothers, whose
little boys, in the pursuit of childish
pleasure, have been hurried off by swift
currents and seen no more until their
bloated bodies are picked up miles below.
In those old volumes the records of dozens
of poor wives are kept who have been
Suddenly left destitute by the taking off of
a supporting husband.
Each year the story has been told and
each wear brings more sad details to sup
plement it. Day after day the bodies of
dead bathers are carried into the morgue,
many in disgusting state of decomposi-
tiOn. 1t takes little investigation on the
part of the Coroner to bring out the cir
cumstances. The jury returns a verdict of
death by drowning and the corpse is turned
over to the bereaved family. A large por-
tion of the Coroner's business comes from
this source 1t is almost entirely through
the summer months that these fatalities
occur however, and two-thirds of them are
due to bathing in the rivers.
Since Coroner Mcdowell went into Office,
in 1887, the record of these deaths in and
about Pittsburg has reached 100. They
were all during the warm weather season
and include only those cases where the
bodies were recovered and fully identified.
The unknowns picked up in the rivers
swell the list to 1S4. Aside from these
there have been many others who have
gone down to unknown resting places and
no accurate account can be had concerning
them.
Danger of Bathing in the Rivers.
Accounts clearly demonstrate that bath.
ing in the rivers by persons unable to swim
has been largely responsible for this heavy
death rate. In 90 cases out of 100 the in
ability to swim has been the direct cause.
These facts bring out more forcibly than
ever before the necessity of the establish
zent of some means by which the less
favored people of the city can learn the art
Of saving themselves when in deep water.
THE DISPATCH has before advocated the
usefulness of public bath houses, but
while the subject met with uni
versal favor among the people
those in authority failed TO take any action.
As a result the record so far this summer
has not fallen off any from those of previous
wears. Every day the river banks are the
resort of men and boys, hot and tired from
the mills and furnaces, seeking the cool
waters as their only opportunity for bath.
Almost every day the telephone at the
morgue bears message of death by drown
ing and the wagon hurries off to bring in the
body of hather. The police are unable to
prevent it.
Coroner Mcdowell, whose work brings
him into daily contact with these scenes, is
firm in his convictions about the necessity
Of public bathing places. He, has
advocated it ever since he has
beep in Office, and has made a careful study
of the situation He feels that something
should be done, and done quickly, to stop
the loss of life in this direction. In speak
ing of it yesterday he said
The Necessity of Public Baths.
f'Pittsburg cannot go on in this way much
longer. The necessity of a bathing place
for the working populace has become so
NANTES that city officials can no longer re-
frain ;ioa taking some decided action Our
miles of river front on these hot days pre-
sent too great a temptation to boys and men
70 think of regulating the evil by force of
law Men who work all day in the
mills, suffering in the intense heat
need nothing more than they do a plunge
in the water. That they will have it has
been amply proved. In most cases they
are not at home in the water, and in get
ting beyond their depth are almost certain
70 be drowned. But the worst phase of the
matter is the total lack of any place where
BOYS can amuse themselves. Everybody
knows how boys delight to paddle in the
water and how few can afford even the
small sum charged by the several private
swimming pools along the river. As result
they take to the open banks, often in
places where they are little acquainted
with the depth of the water. Many are
drowned, and those who are not make it ex-
ceedinglv unpleasant for people passing
over bridges or along the banks. All the
police in the two cities could scarcely pre-
vent this.
During the past year or two this bathing
question has impressed me more and more
with its seriousness. When one considers
the sorrow and destitution in families where
loved ones have been suddenly taken off
the great need of a change is easily seen.
During the summer months more persons
are killed in the rivers than in all the mills
and factories. I may say this is altogether
the fault of so few men and boys being able
TO swim.
Swimming Lessons Desideratum.
"The main question is to provide some
proper means for teaching the people this
accomplishment without the dangers which
now accompany such training. 1t is after
all simple question, and by the expendi-
ture Of a comparatively small sum of money
it could be settled. A large bathhouse
could be erected ON each of the rivers for
less than $500. This is a small amount for
the city to expend on so important mat