Evening star., 1909-08-29
More Persons Die by Drowning
Than in R.R. Accidents

~OME humanitarian should get up a
society for the prevention of death by
- drowning.
Such an organiza ton could find valua-
BILE work for itself to do.
There is impressive need of curtailing
in some way the tremendous toll in
human life paid yearly for the summer
pleasures.
The figures are constantly soaring to
point that puts drowning in a class with
warfare for the deadliness of it's mortal
ity.
In May for the present year the total
drownings reported in the United States
were 621, by June the number had grown
to 1.176, and for the month of July it
was 1881.
The death list for August has not yet
been compiled, but undoubtedly it will ex-
ceed any of the figures mentioned, for
August sees the summer vacation at its
height.
1t is the month when the inexperienced
swimmer tries to go across the Atlantic
ocean just to show how thoroughly he is
master of the water, when the fool of all
fools the worst. the man who rocks the
boat, gets in his deadly work. when the
inexperienced sailor tries to handle a sail
boat or yacht and brings about the inevi-
table capSiZing with its fatal result and
finally when the greed for money causes
the sending out of unSeaworthy pleasure
boats to sink or overturn with a whole
sale death list.
The regulars. those who are at the
seashore for the entire summer know
more about the water. They have the
advantage of being good swimmers; they
understand the handling of boats; or, at
least, they have the money to hire those
who do.
But the big crowd from the city on
Saturday and on Sunday the fellow and
his girl the father, his wife and four
children, the crowd of rioting young men,
ignorant of the water but more dar-
ing than Capt. Webb, is made up of the
ideal material to produce an enormous
swelling of the drowning list
If everybody had even a rudimentary
knowledge of how to swim the number
of drowning accidents would be cut in
half. but it is surprising how few people
comparative have that knowledge.
Take crowd at the seashore. OF the
thousands who are in the water at one
time 1t is rare to find more than a dozen
or so who are sufficiently at home in the
water to dare swim out beyond the line
of breakers. Nearly all stand knee deep
in the water along the shore, leaping over
the breakers and contenting themselves
with splashing wafer over their neigh
bors and themselves.
1t is fool1shness to say that 1t is the
good swimmer who browns No state
ment could be further from the truth.
1t is the rarest thing in the world for
the good swimmer to drown, unless, per-
haps he has been pulled down while
trying to save some frenzied non-swim-
mer.
Men are sometimes drowned by diving
into too shallow water or being thrown
against piles or piers, but with good
searoom a swimmer is safe even in rough
surf or waves.
The human body never was intended
to sink. Even without being a good
swimmer 1t is possible to float long
enough till help arrives, provided one
has reasonable GOODNESS and self-control.
Some years ago remarkable instance
of this fact was furnished al Cape May.
A twelve-year-old girl and her father
were swimming together, when, from
some oversight on his part she was
drawn away from him, and the Mortified