Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-09
Red Cross Plans
to Save on Water


heQ cross Plans cipalities what
to Save on Water. y. 70 a., no anu o,
suit in the saving of many lives which
would otherwise have been lost The
introduction of the sport of water
polo into the public schools. according
to the life saving experts, will not only
tend to make its players more at home
in the water, but will also enable them
to lose their fear of the person whom
they are trying to save, and will give
them firmer grasp upon the essential
holds necessary to break away from
the frenzied grip of drowning per-
son. A devotee of water polo is usually
a thorough master of the art of Olsen
gaglng himself from an adversary who
naturally uses somewhat the same tao
tics as a drowning person approached
by his would-be rescuer
The problem of lessening the annual
Toll or lives taken by the water is es-
sentially a municipal one, because the
death rate outside of the cities is COM
paratively small The wharyes and
docks of the larger cities, where men
and boys are allowed to dive off UNI
Needed, and where the supervision is
very lax, are the direct danger points.
1t is true that canoeists often meet
with upsets, which cause considera BILE
loss of life, but persons who have stu
died the matter say that these acct
dents are not nearly so frequent nor so
fatal those that happen near the
docks and wharves.
In the first place, canoe accidents
generally occur near other canoes, one
of which usually contains a swimmer
of sufficient prowess to We the per
son foundering in the water while a
cry for help from the end of a dock
will oftentmes be heard only by those
who can swim no better than the
drowning person and who fear to risk
Then, again. it must be remembered
that the difference in social caste be-
tween the average canoeist and the
man or boy who dives off a dock is
far more space in the newspapers than
will the death of wharf winner,
thus impressing the average reader
with the feeling that fatalities result
ing from canoeing are far more nu-
merous than they really are.
Tnasmuch as it is the duty of the
city to guard the docks and wharves
which line the wa
Guard Docks ter front, the problem
l yr1L of lifesaving is
dAu "AaiVeS. easily seen to be one
which it is up to the city to solve, both
by proper patrollng of the harbor
front and by the education of all pu-
pills of public schools in the art of
swimming and rescue work.
Much is being done at the present
time to teach the young to swim, but
the methods used are far from being
the best, according to the Red Cross
experts. In the first place, the majority
of a at he nf
and therefore teach the crawl stroke,
which enables one to pass rapidly
through the water but is not adapted
to distance swimming or continued ex-
ertion. The result is that the average
swimmer who has received his instruc-
ton from teacher of this kind is
una BILE to swim any distance with the
load of an unconscious person upon his
back both because his natural stroke
precludes swimming without the use of
his arms. and because his legs have not
been sufficiently developed to sustain
himself and his burden by kicking
alone The breast stroke, which in
cudes a powerful kick with the legs,
or any of the strokes which include
the scissors kick" are far preferable
to the crawl or other speed strokes in
the opinion of life-staving authorities.
Again, the instruction at the major
ity of public schools is deficient in that
it fails to teach the pupils how to pro
eeed to the work of rescuing those
who are struggling in the water. The
mastery of swimming strokes is but
one branch of the art of life wing
of the most elementary nature; it is
essential that the swimmer know how
to approach the drowning person. how
to take hold of him, how to break his
grip and how to dispose of his weight
so that he will not be too much of
burden in swimming toward safety. 1t
is the duty of the city to teach all this
say the swimming experts, because
upon the city devolves the RESPONSE
bility for the lives cost by drowning
in public swimming places.