Evening star., 1898-11-14
dried and mended the bathing suits and tow.

els.
| Suit Clerk.
Soon after the bathing beach opened it
| became apparent that the work expected of
the laundress was more than one person
could satisfactorily perform. She attempt
ed to attend to the washing, drying, repair
| ing, delivery and custody of The bathing
suits and towels. A suit clerk was therefore
| employed to deliver the suits to the bathers
ana keep them arranged and under surveil-
| lance, and to do general chores for the same
| pay as the laundreSS. This position was also
a part of The system of checking the receipts
| tor the rent of the suits and towels.
| Check Clerk.
| The duties of the check clerk were to
| ceive, number and file the registry blanks
! of description of each bather, issue room
check to each. receive and check all valu
| ables, issue tickets for all suits and towels.
| keep the record of the temperature of the
water and receive and transfer to the
| perlntendent all funds received at the office
| for rent of suits, etc. On many days
| much as hundreds of dollars worth of val
| uables were contided to the keeping of this
ofhclal, and on one occasion dia monds val
| ued at S1,1O0 were checked at the office. The
| compensation of the position was 81 a day
| during the earlier part of the season, but.
| with the approval of the Commissioners,
was later increased to s1.25. The hours Of
this and the two next preceding positions
| were the same those of the assistant
| superintendent and guards.
| No charge made for the care of valu-
| ables left by bathers with the clerk for
| safekeeping. Only one failure to return
| such valuables to the owner occurred; in
| that case they were delivered to the wrong
| person. Further liability to mistake of that
| kind can be precluded by requiring all de-
| poSitorS of Valuables to leave with their
| deposits card containing their auto
| graphs and to write their signatures upon
| another card or book for comparison with
| said autograph as prerequisite to the re-
| turn of the deposit.
| Prof. ]. ID. Hird of the health department
and Prof A. w. Dow, the inspector of as
| phalts and cements of the engineer depart
| ment both of whom are practical and eX-
| perienced chemists, tested samples of the
! water of the tidal reservoir on which the
| bathing beach is situa ted, and reported
| that in their judgment it not objccuon-
able for bathing purposes. These samples
| were obtained at the lowest stage of the
! river, when the proportion of impurities
| IN the water was presumably at its maxi
mum. The water at and in the vicinity of
| the bathing beach was found to be the
| purest.
Appropriations. Receipts and Ex-
| penses.
| The appropriations and receipts were as
| follows: Balance of appropria ton of
| March 3 1897 of $1,000; for the care and
| repair of the public bathfn beach on the
Potomac river in the District of Colum-
| bia, $2o2.95; appropria ton Of June 30, 1895
| for the same purpose, $1,000; balance of
| appropriation of June II, 1895, (vol. % D.
! 4ol) made available by the provision in the
| District appropriation law of June 30 1s.is
| Sl,SO5.19; receipts from rental OF bathing
suits, rental of refreshment stand, and
| other charges, s75711; total, $3,765.31.
| Expenses incurred on account of the
! Washinton bathing beach from April ID
| 1888, to November ], 1898:
For compensation of officers and en-
| ployes 81, SO; for labor, sl9661; for i'm
| provements and supplies, ETC. s910S1;
! total, S2,65l.3o; balance, s1,11401.
| Registry of Bnthers.
The number of bathers registered during
| the season was IS. 1S1, more than 16 per
| cent larger than during the preceding sea-
| son.
Inc gross expense of supervision was, as
shown, about $3.50, but from this should
! be deducted the amount of the receipts
| from rent Of bathing suits, leaving a net
| expenditure for supervision of about $500
| or less than l Is cents for each bathur.
Estimates for 1900.
While the Commissioners were prera ring
their annual estimates for the fiscal year
| 1900 they directed the committee on the
| bathing beach to make an estimate of the
| cost of the management Improvement and
| repair of that institution for the fiscal year
| 1900 for consideration in connection with
| those estimates. 1t was concluded hat no
matter what provision might re rlade for
| carrying into effect project for lifting the
| inner basin as a public bathing plant it
| would be necessary to keep the present
| beach in good order until the c,mplett,n
| OF any other.
The committee submitted a report en-
bracing the following estimate for the man
| asement, care and Improvement of the
! tathng beach for the fiscal year to end
June 80, 1900: Superintendent, for entire
| year, $500; life guards DIT 81 EACH 81. for
| 100 days. $500: 2 life guards at 81 each. 81
tor 100 days, $500 Il in afternoon only: l
check clerk at s1.25, for 100 days 1925: l
| suit clerk at 70 cents, for 100 days SO; i
| laundress at 10 cents. for 100 days, SO;
| key boys at 80 cents each, Sl.50, for 100
| days, $50: l key boy at 30 cents
| for 100 days, $50; sand-1 900 cubic yards at
| 70 cents, and placing same. $500: sodding
| and grading terrace placing water tank
ana hXtures, sewer system additional bath
| houses and other improvements, repairs
supplies and miscellaneous expenses 81 so5
| Total, $1,000.
| Recomme n atious.
The committee is of the opinion that there
| is an unnecessary element of danger in the
| bathing plant now arranged which is
| substantially as it was the preceding year
| This plant consists essentially of large
| pasket-formed structures suspended in the
| water by means of large box floats There
| are three of these baskets Two of them
| tone of depth of three feet the other of
| four feeO are stationed at the northerly end
! of the beach. and one (three and a half feet
! deep at the southerly end. The object in
| having them was to furnish bathing in
| closures of unvarying depth, as they rise
| and fall with the floats to which they are
| attached, and consequently have the same
| relative position to the surface of the water
| IN the basin at all stages of the tide As
| mere bath tubs they are excellent, and if
| they We're housed in fenced, 50 that
| those who use them could only get in and