The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-06
THE SUN, SUNDAY, JUNE q. 1908.

uovlce QumpeQ ~uueXpeCtedly lnto Tn
water who made the least attempt L
put this knowledge 10 use. On the con
trary be or she, coming up sputtering
begins to yell for help, swallows q lot o
water, rolls helplessly and sinks unles
some one interferes. 1t In risky for a perol
who can't swim to go to the help Of an!
one In the water, even a child, be thinks
but he has seen the latter done with stlol
good results that he isn't willing to la,
down any cut and dried rules.
sFor a mar TO stand stock still and sex
o child or q young woman 60 under whil'
help ID on the way seems a pretty
oowardly business to most Of us. and oni
man ] know well rather than do 1t kicket
9s.l bis she e;., an. nd d rS,I's int u after s,,n Z ten e,
good In another second said the swim
miag teacher.
sThis man had never tried to swim
BE had never taken q leaaon, hs did MOI
Ike + -ster well enough. but be hat
seen Others swim and when he ciutchet
the girl, who was u~nconscieu3. hS tried te
move bis other arm a. he bad Q vWfm.
meS do ard wieele bis Iaee- He vn moi
scared q bit and both were saved.
q man. Instead Of shutting his mouth
tight he opens It as far a. possible. and
is too scared TO remember what TO do witt
his arms and feet.
III a person keepe his head the very
danger he Il IN will almost teach him how
to swim: The trouble 10 he doesn't keen his
head. / am told that there Is a pleasant
little custom practlsed In Russia OF throw.
ing new military. recruits without warn:
ing INTO deep wafer to see what they will
do. II they can't swim, this p the means
taken to teach them how and It has been
found entirely effective, / believe.
1t b my business TO provtde . trolley
for. pupils too timid TO take FIRST Lessons
without being held up with . belt, and a. q
o to an end it's all right. but be-
ginners who don't Q the trolley learn
twice as fast as the others and they make
better swimmers too
Al a well known physical culture estab-
swimming la taught the teacher said that
In his opinion u was absolutely foolish Tor
any. n h did not know how 70 swim
to jump to the help Of a person in
Hanger o. drowning. .
The n are a hundred to one
he announced. that both will be drowned.
1t may seem cowardiy for men to stand
on the bank looking at some n drown
and II Is cowardly If there is any
mortal thing they can do besides jumping
in the water. Thore Is generally, some
thing that can be done and that the
average spectator hasn't presence OF
mind to do.
1t always surprises me to find 30 many
men who cant swim: In my opinion
mothers son OF them ought to know how
% swim. In that case It wouldn't make
30 much difference whether women knew
how to swim or not. supposing in an emer-
gency a man was in sight. There are
boys who never need TO be taught to swim.
They take to 1t naturally and teach them
selves II anxious mammas will let them
alnnA IhaFa ara nthar hOvR who don't
take naturally to the water and won't
learn. to swim unless made to. They
ought to be made TO. Every mother
ought to see to IL that her boy gets used
to the water long before he H. 10. .
Instead o. doing that; though. most
the water and Shrek and scold 10 young.
ster tumbles In or gets his shoes and
stockings wet wen.
Let q child tumble in the water . few
times and no not only loses his fear OF
the water but he learns to use his mind
while In the water and to find out some
OF the dangers a well as the pleasures
Il was much Interested in a young mother
! met once at q seashore resort who every
time she went In bathing. which was
once q day, persisted in carrying with
her q tvo-year-old boy. Tho sight
did me good, although the boy at first
and k1okod IN O panic OF lear,
and all the other mothers In tho place
called his mother inhuman.
.She kept the baby in about two min
utes the first day although hts shrieks
were awful, and FOR one week there was
little Improvement. After that there was
trouble and before long the little fell
low would run to the beach ahead Of his
and want to start in alone, which
Of course he was forbidden to do. As
soon as his legs are a triie longer he is
to be taught how to swim and dive, his
said. One day I learned the rea-
son for her Spartan methods. A
brother was drowned in a boat
accident because he could not swim.
.Up to fifty wears OF age any one can
to swim, but the earlier YOU begin
10 be at home in the water the better,
all the correct movements
including floating and diving. are taught
three feet OF water for the timid, continue
In five feet and eight feet and with
and without a belt and trolley. Swim
ming schools do a better business now
ten years ago. but after all only a
small percentage OF the population in
nv Judgment knows how to swim or