Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-10
WHY NOT TAKE OVER THE TIDES? :?
By Simeon Strunsky

"VoU don't consider it at all probable,
L he said, wistfully, that the Govern
ment will be taking over control of the tides
before Labor Day, do you?"
That depends" 1 replied smartly. II un-
derstand that Mr.. McAdoo is usually disen-
gagged between 7:17 and 1886 a. M
II have looked up the legal side of the
question:" he went on smiling family at
something he glmpsed outside of my window.
There are no legal difficulties The Federal
Government has jurisdiction of all navigabie
waters. OF course, at low tide you couldn't
navigate anything very considerable Off our
beach, but you might at high water. AT any
rate, something has to be done to SystematiZe
things It's absurd the way they carry on
now
THE tdes?" I said
t<YTNHE tides" he said. "As a war measure
i you know. l am not in the army, but
to the extent of my abilities l am trying to
do my bit That's why we came out to Dngle
Cove, so that 1 might get a bath in the sea,
my wife said, after these hot days in town
In a way she's right. If 1 can't keep myself
decently fit up to Labor Day, whatN happen
to the Government when 1t comes around
next June collecting my income tax? l
pointed that out in a letter L wrote to the
Collector of Internal Revenue, which he
hasn't answered yet And now am l to go
on buying war-savings stamps? L could go
on saving on sugar, of course but / want to
do something more than that for my country
There are half hundred men of about my
age out in Dingle Cove who are in the same
fix"
You haven't specified it." I said.
SSITS very simple" he replied. Take the
i women and children who stay out all
| day at Dingle Cove. They can go bathing
any time between and 7, and so assure
| themselves of a sufficient quantity of water
| in the bay. But how Is it with US who go
| into town every day? l leave my office to
| make the :O6. Say l am fortunate and
| make the 5:44. BY the time / get down to
| the shore the water is somewhere on the
other side of the sound
| Where does all the water go to-
| | shifted contemptuously, as the safest
| thing to do. "Oh, back into the ocean, l
| suppose"
| "Thats Just it," he said. ITS this total
| failure to regulate distribution i have in
| mind. There's plenty of water in the sea as
| it is; enough to float our Transports across
| and our food ships it will be some time
before Mr. Schwab crowds it up. It's diff
| ferent in our bay. by the time the 5;44
| gets in.
There's surely one way" I said rather
| impatiently. Think Of your income tax and
| your war-savings stamps and walk out a
| bit from the end of the dock. Other people
do more for their country
| GIT ISN'T serving my country to go and
| develop calluseS on the soles OF my
| feet" he replied with some asperity. And
| when i cut myself the mussel shells
consume a considerable amount of peroxide
| that General Gorgas needs badly enough
| You said walk out a bit But when l have
| been an hour and three-quarters on the cars
| am in no condition to walk half mile
under difficulties"
| "Oh, half a mile" said.
| Half mile" he insisted, "and 1t gets
| shallower as you keep on. You might swim
out, of course, but then you get abrasions OF
| the knee. Shall show you?"
| r AGREED TO let him read his statement
| | into the record without further proof
| mo" he said firmly, lit must be plain OF
| a moments reflection that a man somewhere
| in the neighborhood of 100 pounds canno
| swim in eleven inches of water with ease
dignity or moral satisfaction So you wall
out, and before you know it you are top o
the mussel beds"
| "Mussel beds?" I said.
"The mussel," he observed, els a succulen
| biyalye whose food value, as the Department
| of Agriculture regretfully points out, has no
vet begun to be appreciated by our people
But 1 think / can understand why. Its fooC
value may be all that the Department o
Agriculture claims. but taken externally, oil
the sole of the bare foot, the Elussel leaves
much to be desired. 1t has the extraordinar.
| regularity of being at the same time ex
ceedingly slippery and developing razo
edge. That IL to say, when you step on on
hpnch or dock o. beyy " whatevsr the nam