The Washington times., 1922-06-25

NIL .-- -'-.'-7'-s' ~ "
k<T TITLE fish should keep
close to the Shore" says
- the ancient sage. A tyro
st swimming must. OF course.
stick 70 the shallow water. but,
not too shallow. my about six
inches above the waist; otherwise
your feet or even knees wfli strike
bottom and throw you out of your
stroke.
II you can set soms one 70 wade
ai6ng side Of you ana Just hold his
hand lightly under your chin. 90
that you may feel you are mot go
ing down BY the head until you
get the hang of II and lind what Il
feels like to keep afloat. Il win b.
. help. But, sven this u not sb-
soluteiy necsssary.
II II hardly necessary TO nasn-
ton the utter folly Of throwing .
child into the water go that he'll
have to learn how 10 swirn."
DESTROYS CONFIDENCE.
Quite apart from the brutality
Of such an action. Il win give the
little unfortunate q fearful nsrv-
Gus shock. and probably make his
first mental associations with
swimming p thoroughly dstsst-
able that II may bs ysars bsfors
he'll gst over II.
Moreover. Il In ths surest imag-
inabls way 10 utterly destroy his
confidence In whoever played him
such . trick. One thing must al
ways be remembered above every
thing else: Never 90 In swimmins
aionsi Not even after you have
learned 10 swim and think you
know the water thoroughly,
In the 80 there are undertows
and tidal currents TO sweep you
OF your feet, and sudden swiris
Of Icy cold water running In b.
tween the river banks inland,
which win chill you IKE . blast Of
cold wind.
CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
The bottoms Of IN streams and
even lakes and ponds are con-
stantiy shifting. almost a. rapidly
a. snovdrifts In . blizsard.
The patch that was a. smooth
as . noor and not more than foup
feet under water last week, or
even yesterday. may be Q hole
ten feet deep, while the place you
dived into In perfect safety last
time may have Swallowed up to q
fraction of its former depth. or.
worse yet. have some old snass or
undsrbrush drifted into Il to
tansie you MP when you get BE-
low the surface. and perhaps give
you . fight for your life before
you can Tree yourself. I
Even the most siriilful swimmer
must never dive into water that
he has not been In himself that
very day. % that he knows enact
ly how deep II u, Clear water is
oftsn very deceptive - to depth.
ana muddy water 10 obviously
tricky: yet every year there are
many fatal accidents due to some
ones trying to make . tsnfoot
dive into thirty inches Of water
and breaking his neck in the pro.
cess, or wading reckiessly In on Q
shallow sand bar 10 step over .
new cut shelf and find himsslf
struggling IN tan test Of water.
SPACE 10 NEEDED.
Also. there should bs plenty Of
space In al directions i have
seen . small negro In Ksy West
20 up onto the uppsr deck Of the
Havana boat. some fifty feet above
the 80, thsn dive OF into the four
foot space between the ship and
the wharf, and bob up 10 claim .
dollar for doing II. ~.
- But the special Providsnos that
looks out for fools and children
must have Sslt that Il bad .
double interest In him.
Always % in swinmans With
Q sroup Of Jour fsisods saA -
sure that at least twv o. thrVs
oe thsm know how - swim. o.
else where you are within plain
sight end, sasy calling distance
Of other people near the sdgs OF
the water. .-fs s.s a'
lTwo-thirds o. the drowning 40
cidents that happen In the sum-
msr time como from soins into
the water alone. or With only, one
or two others. none Of whom
know how TO swim.
Another thing TO rsnember II
you live In or near . city or
manufacturing town, % not 10 90
In bathing within 800 yards Of the
mouth OF . sewer or the waste
pipe from . factory.
WHO TO KxcLUDEs
N you DO. you run the risk Of