The San Francisco call., 1896-05-13
Lady Members of the Natatorial
Society Desire Equal
Privileges.
NOT A SERIOUS DISAGREEMENT
One of the Most Delightful Attractions
of Hanford the Center of
Discussion.

HANFORD, CAL, May 12.-Hanford is
agitated; not turbulently, but interest
edly agitated. Fair woman has caused
the pleasant ripple in Hanford's s erstwhile
placid social life. Her right to swim in
the Hanford Natatorial Society's fine new
swimming baths is the question of the
hour in this city. No one is losing any
sleep over the matter, no hatreds are en-
gendered in the discussion, yet there is
keen interest shown in the question.
Shall there be a ladies' annex to the Nata-
toriaI Society? Shall there be day, or
two of them, set apart for the exclusive
entertainment at the baths of the sex that
may not yet voter
Shall there be certain hours each day
devoted to the lady bathers? Shall women
be denied the baths entirely? These are
questions of the hour at Hanford, and
they elicit greater public interest in their
discussion than one who is not a dweller
near the shores of Lake Tulare would read
lily believe. Hanford is proud of her
public schools, of her handsome public
and business buildings, of her remarkable
deciduous fruit crop (even in this remark
able year of late frosts), of her citrus fruit
belt, of her thrift and enterprise, of her
climate. her social opportunities and her
commercial progress and successes-last,
but by no means least-of her recently
acquired swimming baths.
This is one of the proudest and most
delightful institutions of Hanford. 1t cost
pile of money to build the big tank and
properly roof and wall it; and then the
lockers, equipments and the pure artesian-
well water that flows perpetually through
it cost another modest pile of dollars.
Messrs. Robinson & Rollins furnished
most or all of the coin, and then, when all
was IN running order, they wisely decided
to still further populariZe their enterprise
by turning its management over to the
hands of q club or society that should be
composed of some of the best known and
most popular young people in Hanford.
Thus the Hanford Natatorial Society came
into being. This society leased the swim
ming baths by the year from Robinson &
Rollins, and about three weeks ago for
mally opened the baths by some speech
making, much music and enough refresh
ments to more than go around.
Now, at this time the sex problem never
presented itself to either the builders of
the baths or the lessees thereof, so that when
the full list of membership in the Hanford
Natatorial Society was first made public
the names of not few ladies were found
on the roll. This fact and the seeming ne
cessity of setting apart certain day of
the week or certain hours of each day
when the ladies could have the baths to
themselves aroused all this discussion
that-is now going on SO keenly.
Many argue that men and women should
be permitted TO join the society on terms
of perfect equality. Others desire to es-
tablish ladies' annex to the club. Others
still-but these are not as strong in num-
bers as in words-desire to have women
banished entirely from club mem bership,
and would even go SO far as to prohibit
them from the use of the baths at all
times. At the present time the full mem
bership of the society is as follows: