Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-16
Twenty-Seven Lives Saved.

No death and no material personal in
jury has occurred at the beach this season.
Twenty-seven lives have been saved of per-
sons in peril. OF those nine were saved by
Life Guard ]. N. Salkeld. six by J. w.
Smith. two by H. S. Marean, two by Ma
rean and Smith together, one by all three
guards together, one by the key boy, r. H.
Martin, jr. one by substitute Life Guard
Davis, seven by the colored life guard, E.
green, and one by colored key boy, S.
Sayles. Mr.. Stevens says the beach train
ing has impressed it's patrons with the
idea that instant assistance is the great
OBJECT to be attained when a person is in
danger of drowning, and many of the
beach patrons have rendered temporary as
slstance until relieved by the arrival Of a
life guard.
The structures of the old beach," says
MI Stevens. ARE nearly all torn down:
the dressing houses of the new beach are
nearly done; the inlet fume is in place,
ana the dam over 1t is far enough advanced
to furnish a footpath avobe tide mark
The $4,000 appropriated for improving the
inner basin Is certainly not enough to COM
plete 1t according to the plans designed,
and it is matter of much anxiety to me
whether the committee on the bathing
beach will be able with that amount to
prepare it for a fair test during the next
season.
The Inner Basin.
'The main uncertainty requiring test as
to the merit of the inner basin for a SWIM
ming lake is whether the water can be
kept healthy. The conditions that may
endanger this are first, conta animation from
decaying vegetation, and second, stagna-
ton for want of replenishing with fresh
water. The vegetation to combat Is a
heavy growth of weeds around the borders
and in the water of the lake. These would
disappear If the bottom were graded and
sanded, but that can only be done after
the water is pumped out. Grading and
wharves are also needed to render the lake
serviceable, to surround the deep water for
safety and to direct circulation in chang
ing the water This latter is the means
designed to prevent stagnation if a pre-
ventive becomes necessary.
There is a demand that the beach be
kept open from early morning until late
into the night but a very large percentage
of all the bathing done at the beach has been
between 3 o'clock and o'clock in the after
noon, and there has always been some de-
mand for the early morning hours. The
days have heretofore been a great deal too
long for one set of hands, and until appro-
priation can be had sufficient to pay two
sets of hands each day. 1 recommend that
it be open to all from until II a. M and
from p. m. until sunset for 100 days from
June l, 1903, legal holidays excepted
Exclusively for Ladies.
while the whole lake will be open at all
regular hours to lady bathers, there will
be a section reserved for the exclusive use
of such ladies as prefer it, SO there will be
no need of special ladies' days. When the
whole plan of wharves is perfected, 1 think
that fewer life guards will be needed, but
for the coming year [ think the same
number should be employed as heretofore
To insure good service and safety to ap-
parel and valuables think young men
should be substituted for young key boys
AS there has been some complaint that en-
poyes did not attend to their duties in the
absence of the superintendent, and as the
duties of superintendent render it impossi-
BILE for him to be at the beach with any
regularity in business hours, 1 recommend
the employment of assistant superin-
tendent who shall be man of sufficient
reliability and dignity OF character to COM
mand the respect and obedience of the en-
ployes. and whose duty it shall be to stay
at the beach from Z a. m. until it is closed
al night and that every employee does
his duty at the beach a. all times, and to
conduct the general management of affairs
at the beach in the absence of the super
inteD6ent''