New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-14

~ \ ter of the Madison Square MacF'lim-
~ sys, q family whose name had con-
siderabs significance in New York's
Ace Of Innocence, made her position secure IN
the worlds best anthologies by declaring that
she hsd nothing to wear
Miss MxcFlimsy's declaration was made
before Madison Square Garden was converted
into swimming pool. Otherwise, her poverty
II wardrobe need have bothered her no whit,
for she could have spent the summer very COM
fo~+ablv in the brief garb of the tle-beach
maiden with nobody paying more than passing
attention to her
In fact. it is the impersonal and detached
..+;tude of the swimmers in Madison Square
Garden that helps largely to make the place
unique. Of course, there also the sta
+stical facts. One realizes without being told,
that this is the whale among pools-that there
must be thousands of gallons of water flowing
;r+o this elipse every little while, to maintain
use shades of green which mean purity
ard that there must be cement enough IN the
construction work to build one of the Great
pcrarnds-and that the man who conceived
the idea Of bringing the beaches to New York
ri-v in this fashion must have had a COM
b,nation of poetic vision and courage
Sucb things are realized easily enough, but
4 l. the crowd that affords the biggest sur
prise. Here are types that are easy enough
"A nick out when they are all ''garbed up" on
he demonstrating the monocled ciupnan
and the pursy dowager and the rest OF the carl
.a4,,res which architects in testing MOOD are
said to De fond of putting into church tacaoes.
But here they are not easy to pick out at all
tho chief reason being the oneness-not to
eosax Of the one-pieceness-of garb, which
sweens away all external distinctions.
T. is matter of fact that those who go to
Madison Square Garden to pose remain to
swim. They Join the ranks Of the swimming
mad. which ranks are astoundingly large Ac-
cordjng to the statisticians who are to be
found upstairs in the Garden business office,
there are at least five hundred New York
women who are now learning to swim IN this
biggest of swimming pools. Whether it's the
lnspiration of being able to splash about IN
this historic place or whether it is due to more
up-to-date instruction than the beginner mas
been able to get heretofore, the fact remains
that more local people are learning to swim
han at any previous time in New York's his
tory Also lney are lllullS ollcll ioH5i'1s D
satisfied in six lessons-for the modern in
structor feels profoundly discouraged if more
ministrations are called for in impartlng the
secret Of the Australian crawl.
With many Of the women who are learning
70 swim without the attendant discomfort of
sunburn are other members Of the family.
Little domestic parties to be picked out
here and there. father, mother and their
children are deep in the mysteries Of Austria
ian crawling. Mother is bravely bringing
arms out of the water, just she ha:
<een the swimming champions do, even though
sae has heard that the crawl is apt to give one
bunchy shoulders. But perhaps bunchy shou
DER muscles Will be stylish in 1925. They Ger
anly VIII have to be # the ranks Of ths
Australian crawers continue to grow. 81
mother craws, and father crawls, and thu
children crawl, to the glory of Australia.
Diving too IS coming in for its share O.
serious attention. None of the hit or mis-
diving Of the OF swmmin' hole sort. Dive
nowadays must have purpose behind them
They must be planned and executed deliber
ately. according TO the accepted models. Tha
Is another thing which the swimming Graz
has done-established standards Of grace an
poise which were never dreamed Of be
fore. Any one Of the instructors of gradu
ate pupils a. the diving board will talk Who'll
MaMmA