Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-03

per cent during the same period. while deaths
of females increased by more than So per cent.
However, by far a greater number OF males are
drowned each year than there are OF the OPP
posite sex, the division for 1920 showing 4,55O
male deaths, as against SOS involving females,
in the registration area of the United States,
and in 1927 deaths by drowning included 6,34O
boys and men and 9O6 girls and women.
Deaths by drowning must be classed as pre-
ventable in most instances. record OF tnelr
almost daily occurrence, as reported In the press
during the Summer months, points cOnclusively
tn such an indication Too many non-swim-
mers or beginners venture into water that Is
too deep q good rule worthy of consideration
being that non-swimmerS and beginners Snoulo
never wade in water deeper than the middle
of the chest, unless the condition of the bottom
is known well.
MANY drownings each year are due to
ignorance of the elementary principles of
swimming and of proper methods of resuscita-
ton. One authority on deaths by drowning has
said that an inventory Of persons taking ekcur-
sions on steamers, those who hit wilderness
waterways in canoes, or who go rowing on lakes
out from Summer resorts, reveals the surprising
fact that not more than one in SO could take
care Of himself If the boat capsized. This same
authority believes that at least IS per cent OF
all young men ana Boys ulOIS thiau - yOoAS
of age do not know how to swim.
Loss OF wind accounts for the drowning OF
many persons, even Of good swimmers
warning Is to be sounded against swimming IN
deep water III the person has not passed D TEST
Of endurance which in some countries requires
80 minutes Of continuous swimming. Many
persons, because Of their evident pleasure in
getting away from city's heat to the compare
tive GOODNESS of the shore and lake, remain IN
the water too long, so that they suffer from
chillS and cramps.
Persons suffering from cramps in the water
become seized with an almost insane fear. and
start thrashing the water, whereas it should be
remembered that the use of neither arms nor
legs Is necessary to float fact not often
realized Is that the human body weighs but
slightly more than the volume of water dis
placed by it, and If a person in distress in the
water would only remain calm and collected,
his head will stay above water.
Fear is the greatest obstacle which must be
overcome by the non-swimmer and the be-
ginner Because children seldom have any
fear, unless instilled in them by their elders,
it is generally easy for them to learn to swim,
even at the younger ages. At one playground
pool, in the course of Summer, nearly 4OO
children between the ages of four and Is were
taught how to take care OF themselves in the
water. 1t is said that infants of the South
Sea Islands crawl into the water and learn to
swim like a dog.
1t goes without saying that many lives would
be saved If the Schaefer prone-pressure method
of artificial respiration more generally
understood by swimmers. Many persons who
have been submerged for brief periods are not
actually dead when removed from water, al
Though the apparent indications of life, such
breathing and pulse are absent
definite statement cannot be made with
regard to the length of time the body may be
deprived of air by submersion before death
actually occurs, but it is likely that in the case
of healthy person the vital organs might be
restored by proper treatment after a submersion
of from IL to IS minutes. Such a period has