The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1909-07-16
The MeddLer
~U The coat fifs yOa. pm II on. :"

| With the interest that has been awak-
| ened in water sports by the erection of
the dam comes the need of place where
| children can learn to swim without risk
ing their own lives and subjecting their
parents to continual worry. The Con
necticut river itself, while an enjoyable
and convenient bathing place for those
| experienced in the art, does not have
| the shallow shores and gradual slopes
| which beginners require in order to learn
to swim in safety. There are places in
| West river, however, that possess these
| advantages and are already used to a
| considerable extent by the youth of the
community. TO assist these and other
| youngsters in the art of caring for them
selves and others in the water some ex-
penenced swimmer might well be en-
gagged to spend portion of every after
noon during the remainder of the sum
mer at a certain point in West river. AT
slight expense bath house could be
erected on shore and perhaps float and
springboard installed. No doubt there are
a score of local young men who are good
swimmers and would be glad of the OPP
portunity to earn little money teaching
Others what they know about water pro-
pusion. And it is equally certain that
there are scores of fathers who would be
glad to contribute toward the support of
an institution which would let them feel
that their sons were being taught to
swim under safe surroundings.
The merchants who use points between
the railroad track and the river as sites
for rubbish fires could avoid considerable
annoyance by using discretion in their
choice OF material for sacrifice. No one
objects in the slightest to fires that burn,
but when pile of non-combustible refuse
Is left to shoulder and the wind is in
such direction that the fumes are watt
ed into the rear of the store and offices
along the east side of Main street the oc-
cupants of said stores and offices are likely
to forget about the invgorating mountain
atmosphere which visitors are continually
harping about and to wish that they lived
in place where there are more strict
smoke nuisance laws.
And speaking of nuisances calls to the
mind of The Meddler another practice
which ought to be stopped-by the village
officials if it cannot be done any other
way. That is the practice of throwing
refuse into Milestone brook In its pres
ent low condition the brook is hardly a
thing of beauty and a JOY forever even
when free from rubbish and when the
dam just below Main street bridge is
cluttered with paper, boards, excelsior,
old harness collars and the like the vista
Ghul pltStnIS llSel " JHc NlSllOE WdlhlIS
up from the station must put him in
mind of a surface sewer. Not week
ago The Meddler saw the head clerk of
one of the stores in the vicinity of the
bridge deliberately dump large basketfu1
of paper and other refuse into the brook
Probably the man did not give the matter
thought at the time, but if he had re-
manned to watch how the stuff affected
the appearance of the stream he would
have seen the error of his way.
Whenever highway is closed the barri-
cade which is put up to indicate mo
passing" should be equipped with Ian
tern after dark. This probably sounds
like trite advice yet it is needed by the
person or persons who closed the lower
West river road early in the week. The
NIeddler was coming down from West
Dummerston just at dark Wednesday
evening in an automobile mot his OWN
when at the junction of the upper and
lower roads the machine suddenly struck
a heavy pole which had been put up
across the road. Fortunately the obstruc-
ton was not fastened SO securely that it
bothered the machine to dislodge it, but
that fact does not excuse the carelessness
Of the persons who left the barricade
with no light of any kind.
The Meddler