Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-08-14
MUNICIPAL LIFE-SA WING
By Frederic ]. Haskin

IT HE substitution of the sport of
water-polo for the majority OF the
swimming exercises now taught
in life-saving in the water. as .exempli-
work retained by the Red Cross to
the great toll which the rivers and
harbors annually levy upon the munich
palities.
According to the latest available CEN
sus figures at least 5000 persons met
their deaths through drowning acci-
dents last year. and, as this fgure was
ceding. year it is probable that the
death list for 1915 will be considerably
more. than 10000. How great has been
the increase in fatalities from acci-
dents upon the water may be gathered
from the fact that the average number
of accidental deaths from drowning for
6,S51, and from 1901 to 1906 the aver
age was 1852. Thus in the last decade
the toll demanded by the water in pay
has just doubled.
This undoubtedly is due to the tre-
mendous increase in public interest in
most of all, in swimming.
In considering this subject one has
TO travel in something of circle for
the mastery of swimming strokes is
essential to the lessening of the an
nual loss of life in the water, but at
the same time, the increase of interest
| in the sport of swimming has been
largely responsible for the great num-
/ Der of lives lost. The unavoidable con-
clusion is therefore that swimmers
only to sustain themselves upon the
surface of the water, but also to rescue
those who are unable to save them
{ selves.
; Teaching Municipalities
1t Is for this reason that the Red
each has the its wa Po
! and how to do it-a campaign which,
It is expected. will result in the saving i
@ab bSen yfs vhffhh fhe TGq6
the sport of waterpolo into the pub
| lie schools, according to the life-saving
Will not no only n te1d tbe to eE maze ITS
will also enable them to lose their fear
! of the person whom they are trying to
fnd he w SHe be
| break away from the frenzied grip of a
drowning person. 4 devotee OF water.
| polo is usually a thorough master of
the art of disenga ging himself from an
adversary, who naturally uses some
what the same tactics as drowning
person approached by his would-be
The problem of lessening the annual
| toll of lives taken by the water in es-
death rate outside of the cities is com,
paratively small. The wharves and
docks of the larger cities, where. men
and boys are allowed to dive off un-
| needed, and where the supervision is
very lax, are the direct danger points.
1t Is true that canoeists often meet
loss of life, but persons who have
studied the matter say that these ac-
cidents are not nearly SO FREQUENT nor
\ so fatal as those that happen near the
docks and wharves.
| Canoe Accidents
In the first place, canoe accidents
Of which usually contains a swimmer
\ of sufficient prowess to save the per-
son fioundering in the water. while a
will oftentimes be heard only by those
who can swim no better than the
drowning person and who fear to risk
| Then. again, 1t must be remembered
that the. difference in social caste be-
tween the average canoeist and the
such that the canoe accident will get
far more space in the newspapers than
! with the feeling that fatalities result
! ing from canoeing are FAR more numer-
Gus than they Teaiiy na are sutv ., the c,tv
to guard the docks and wharves which
line the waterfront, the problem of life
saving is easily seen to be one which
proper patroling of the harbor-front,
! and by the education of all. pupils. of
public schools in the art of swimming
Much is being done at the present
time to teach the young to, swim. but
the best. according to the Red Cross
| experts. In the first place. the ma
| jority of teachers aim at the goal of
| speed, and therefore teach the crawl
stroke, which enables one to pass rap
| Idly through the water, but is not
adapted to distance-swimming or con
tinued exertion. The result is that the
| average swimmer, who has received his
! instruction from teacher of this kind,
is unable to swim any distance with
| the load of an unconscious person upon
| his back, both because his natural
stroke precludes swimming without the