New-York Tribune from New York, New York • Page 71

CITY'S PUBLIC BATHS AFFORD MANY A GOOD "SWIMMIN' HOLE" The Most Popular Municipal Baths Among Youngsters Are the Floating Buildings Anchored Off Piers, but the Per? manent Ones Are Thronged Also on Torrid Days. WHEN the warm days spring ateallng i rer the country oughts oi niai firmer mi ud ovs ai. to "tir ol' swlmmln' bole." The delight oydy water of run mnB stream la mething that they can raaember from on? er to th? far than they can remember for nrentv-i hours sum in arithmetic drilled them by the hschei little rod scboolhouae. Tha? imlng to ocramble down through the bushes i the river bank, toss one's kith, heap and plunge Into the silent. -wirling pool must be MM Of tine ta of man.

It inhabits that have never known Its breasts whose owners are all lar with theodrora thai ries from atone pavean nte. lows of reeking tenements, who have never np tita grateful at follows In the wake of the scythe. it Instlncl which leads csp da parta of New York to off their ragged scraps of clothing on the first warm day and plunge ato the fountain in front of the City Hall i it lily pond in Madison Square. Pas exclaim: "Fooi boys! why can't amel Ina be done lor them?" And they to on their sympathetic way in igno st something lias hen gone for WMo at more is being done fof th nmer, and that if the street waifs who desecrate the fountains and demoral ue th? dignity of the nearest not Lap the benefit it Is because thev find wseter to swim in latSB-l in to enjoy a plunge where free, including towels, soap sing rooms. It Is nous fact that among the most ult problems that have arisen kl connection with the operafdoa at free hath- in New Tori has acquainting the peopl? with that were has accompanied vigorous efforts lo spread abroad kaOWl that the bathhmis-s aii'l pools Isted.

Other methods of populsrlstni Ih hath- have iiad a Infloenos, per haps, nut SUMS When citizens total Ignorance of the existence of suci i.tth- were surprisingly frequent There is ota- i lass of public which is distinctly a product of im nier time. It Is the low, floating bulldlni wood anchored off the end of sum? pier and put in use only when tic water the Esst Rivai or the Hudson hav? warm enough to attract thos? who haven't the time or the money visit the city's ocean beach resorts. Th? number of these baths had to be cut down last year bccaoa several of Bites us-'l were condemned for tin- pur pose the Hoard of Health. Prior to that time eleven such altas had been i-i use Six arara condemned, it whs difficult find substitutes at which to moot- the bouses thus made idle, for the CltV is not at liberty to rent sites for the purpose, but only to utilize those which are alr'ady municipal property. Still, five sites remained and were in constant use all last summer.

These were Battery Park, where two houses anchored, one for women and one for men; and the river ends of Pike street. 5th street, West street and Ittfa stnet. each of which one house was moored. These same sites will he use again this summer, and It is hoped that others may be found for which the saiution of the Health Department may? be obtained. THE FLOATING BATH.

Prom the outside one or these Boating battis gtvea no h.nt of character or reason for existence save only the little sign over doorway, its height Is one low story. The smooth wooden sides, un? broken anywhere by a window, are paint? ed a dull, characterless brown and ST? sill-mounted hv a shingle roof Supported on a series of watertight Boats, it bobfl up own with a lazy motion in the BWell the passing rlvOT while the lank thai tc.ii from Um pit I hcv doorwa sawa to and ttc Inside the bath appears as a rectangu lai -t i in BOrroundlng a pool of nw water The bottom of this pool li simp! a slat work affair through which flow un obstructed the waters In which the lious Is moored. A railed platform runs BaTOUM all four sides of the pool, from which th bathers plunge or push each other, thcl fUfl Icing stopped short of boistemusiies: by watchful attendants. Back of th. platform are a series of dressing rooms The space Immediately over th? tank open to the sky.

To more than one waterfront loiingni the floHtliiK baths have years been gOdsetad. There are met? who spend thi rummer In Batter) Park wno would gard that prominent reaori aa dlatlnctly unworthy of their patroi ig? Boot? ing baths were to he taken aWS There was a rumor, in fact, early ii Is spring minor which had no foundation that the Health DopertSnent had deternslned not to allow the use of an--' of the wat.iftont tloating baths this s.as.'i Consternation immediately assailed one Adrian Plate, a man of seventy sum? mers and approximately the same number of winters, who wrote off haste to Health Commissioner l.edcrle peotMtltsg against any such action. In shoit, Mi I'late pleaded with the Commissioner not to att-mpt to put one over on him. He 1 admitted that there might be some pollu i Ion in the water, but thought It was a negligible i-uuntlty, since he had basa tak? ing dally plungee during the summer sea? son ai tho Battery baths for twenty yuan and had dSrlVSd almost lnciedille good therefrom. He attributed the In i leased energy he has felt of late years to his dally dip, and his un ahakak-le belief that if the baths were not opened this summer he, together with many others, would he ill by their absence.

The fioat'ng npaa to the pub-1 Il wash ''ay I from I In the Imornlni until I o'clock at Than being mu batha at the Battsry, sns used "ni Inuouel) for men end the othei for vvon. They are open on Sunday? from o'clock In ihe morning until noon At the otitt i bathe, lasts only on? hi each site. are admitted I'm ThUiadaya sad Saturdays, and wom? en on and Fridays 'ti al alternating baths, men are admitted from o'clock in the morn? ing until noon, and women from 1 o'? In ths aft. rnoon until 8 o'clock In the ftilnc. There aie nlwa's male I men's daya and femsle attendant! vvonnn's Baya as well as a a officer i each batha to I ha of be? ooi and di an la earried on properl) a adate manner Amoni other ilulies the lit are required to inspect sight pontoons, four on each side, hieb support t1 two lio'ii and to r.

pol al! leaha si once the superintendent sig llghtfl are SISO properly and trotta sunset to sunrise l.a-t year the) were carried on the port and atar? aldea, bul this year it is planned to on right ami i. it akt? I SOME STATISTICS. floating hathhouse Is feet long and feet wide. In the centre there Is a large well divided into two parts, one 93 feet long, 3 4 feet and feet d'-ep for a'itiltv and one 70 fe? long, feet wide and feet deep for chll'iren. Jf anv- liHther stays In the water longer lhan twentv minutes on days when Iheie is a waiting line outside hsfl Htid concrete example of what the attend? ants are there for.

Picturesque as are the floating baths, they represent only a small part the, total service I fol tried hv I I Kul'k srbocfcsr la trying to keep ins children clssn. While there were visitors who sought tbs floating batha during 1:112 In of "tir awlmmln' hole." there ware dating the asma twelve months bathS pmVKl? ill the twelve permanent Interior buildings erected, ownod, inalntalaed and operated by a city Kovornmenl rsrtooe city. so. the ca? i ot Hie bathS was tSZOd "rily certain. ons the yoor.

I'uimg tiie month or July, there wer? il the Rlvington street building mjat baths, ami on July II the itl dance for that month lea? led Ot a cost bathers an hour for tie fourteen the hath was open in exterior appearanea any ons "i the twelve permanent Interior bathi WOUM do credit to a auk or a public llbrarv building. The facade is Invaiia llv dignified ar.d Imposing. In e.v case it is saperont thai asms architect has studied hi-- problem carefully. The result would havi Lau tall might been mora of marble and saies on the inside of the old Iloman baths, but outside they had nothing on the baths of the of New York. bathfl are locntod at No Allen stict.

Nn. Carmine street. No. Kut gers IMa.e. No tag Kivingtnn street.

No. IOS Cherry street. No. IN Baal Uth street. street and No.

347 West liai treet, No Kas-t Mth street, No. st Bath Street No Kast 76th street and NO. Hast 188th street. They are open from o'clock fan the morning until nmlngi except when they close at 1 oilock. during the hot weather, when baths are usually taxed to capacity, it has been found v.

ty to get the people to use the baths freely and fre quently. It was thought that this could be siccounted tor by the ignorance of the public regarding the baths and the hygienic value of keeping clean In cold weather is well SS warm, and by the ab Inltd attraction aside from the re water. To stimulate the use of the baths was In direct accord with the general policy of Borough President Mc Aneny-, who has been particularly eager in supporting and flirt hating any move? ment looking toward public hygiene sanitation and preventive measures BgSJBSt the spread of disease. When he took office, more than three years aco some of the baths were in great BOOd repairs This Be had tlone at once, and by Ufdng small pamphl? ts also thousands of with the location Bad facilities the baths. In two of th street West Mth Street? there were large swimming pools, and these Balled into play to popularize the use of the baths.

Many societies and swimming clubs of the city were induced to hold meets in the public pools. Large gymnasiums also were in? stalled in the bathhouses In sticht. Rutgers Place, Cherry street and 511 3treet, and were thrown open the public. All the.se measures have greatly increased the attendance at the bathe. PROVISION FOR NEW POOLS.

Fresh appropriations weie obtained for th constriK-tton of four additional pools, and two of these aie now under way, at the Rutgers Place bath and one ai the Ulvlngton street house. These pools range from to feet long and from 21 to 3.1 feet wide. Free Instruction in swim? ming is given at the pools, and special instruction Is also given by represent? atives of the I'nited States Volunteer Saving Corps and the Women's National Life Saving League, who are constantly in attendance. addition to this, the sum of lias been recently expended for a new sit? in West street, near Ninth avenue, for tiie building of a new- modern bath, to cost approximately it will con? tain 15S rooms, a large pool, gymnasium, a roof ganlen and a laundry. Everything about the bath is free, area to the soap and towels, which for a time the visitors were required to furnish for themselves, in order to avoid contagion and prevent the reckless waste of soap and theft of towels, which formerly ex isfd Under the present improved man? agement a more efficient system of laundering, towels and soap will be free this season.

The sonn and daughters of the tene? ments may never know the, unparalleled delights ot that same "ol' swimmin' hole," but if they can regard an iron railing In the light of a hickory limb and view a concrete coping with the same emotion that they would expend on a sandy, tree covered bank they may experience the same deep Joy as did Tom Sawyer when he rsaswed the neckband of shirt with black thread where Aunt Polly had sewed it with white. "The cinnaminson Scimitar" saya: "Man is a mixture. When be? comes too obi to take advice, he begins to give It." GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY ARE IN VAN OF BATTLE CRUISER RACE eininued from second pua? for disquietude If the Kongo were turned loose Bgafnaf us with hostile in tent. v. that could met on a terina, because of her high and th? superior inning power of S8f Kr.

at 14-inch rifles. Kvet' et tide ovar prsaent with the island empine, lbs ap? pearance of Japanese la Pa? i at any will add, theo SSBSBfly, ai least, to our problems there. The r'd. plain. our own authorities lpl the navy are not unaware of the ne "wslties of "id for the last ssByasj of the etavrg ksvs to make a suitable I'fuviMdn it this HOW ord-r of lighting OUR LEGISLATORS' VIEWPOINT.

Our national Isglslslnra beared, uPon ih a hybrid, some of an experiment, and but a poor for the heavy battleship which of naval This lOglslatiTS attitude, would if the battle were not the. ahip aho oertalnly la Bhe i. mcognlied SpacssJ type tot nttaoi -i srhli no ether single craft perform In other words, she Ig of the battle line which can only by a vessel of her Bven tbotigh thlfl may add to co-t attack and defence, wo must i Km as the march of me pr-ogreoa has brought it to us. is e.ssetitlally the out of eaglneertng rather than achievement of the naval architect. the builders Of the modern marine turbine must be given ciedlt for they have omnHaked kasasan interest In the battle-cruls 'r that will probably not comfort to the British Ad and naval men aro DOt history In the rivalry be JJJkSB thoa? two saa powers will repeat "self.

Ituasia's persistent efforts to rOeVOh of Asia have for unreal In British India in the BFs ike Baaata the Km ik. aimed with larg? of quick-firing irseprina The ob of ahlpi was to prey upon the tranaporte carrytnfl la and India, while Russia should tgOU her forces from the north over into that coveted British pnssessi Knclar.d's answer Was the cruisers Pc and Terrible, arid there the halted for the time being Are the Russian battis rrulssrs. th designed as a foil to this particular on of in the Japanese Beet, or ttiey Intended to meet the I'ritlsh ment? Again, as it has been suggest are the Russians and the Japanese wot ling together BtCietty with Knglaml's Ir iai? Kmpire as an One tin is navy that possesses I will place at a rilsadvanta a rival force not similarly provided. reasons for this have been SUt. Aside from the present military psdloncy of the battltt-crulser, the aVOi tlon of this potent factor in naval arm ments is prophetically suggested, and 01 may reasonably ask, "Does it he aid the t.attlenhip of the future? Is It I go along some of Its peculiar lines an to develop into the prime unit of navi strength? In a sense.

Is the to combine in one and to supplant at tli time the Dn-adnought and the toi pedo boat destroyer?" it has heea said that the bailla nulas is a half-brother to the armored greater hull orotectlon, but it will remembered that tho armored gem-tally carries guns of less calibre thai those of the battleship, while the battle is quite the peer in this of the Dreadnought. According to oui own experts, our M-lnch gun I a weapon of greater precision than th? LMnch ilfle. and Just bear this fact lr mind. THE BIG GUN. Th? British It I lank gun may rea-oii abty lead to a still bigger weapon, and if tin- Gernaaas are aeteally veioping a Inch rifle, why, then, should not guua of tiiis great site be plu? ed upon the battle cruisers of the near future? True, the battle-cruise- upon any given displace? ment cannot have as many of these wiapons on boaru as the Dread? nought, but she can mount her fewer number advantageously st? that the bulk of them can brought to bear when at? tacking an enemy from own best line of approach, if the superior accuracy with the larger gun.

as In the case Of our U-in? and our l'-iiich this may be true for still bigger weapons iv tut peaalbte that battle iiuIsoib are coining which shall bave fewer guns than to-day. but that those shall be of more formidable dimensions? Where does such a speculation lead us? Why. nuits logically to a very extraordinary order of lighting ship. Fancy a battle-cruiser with four rilles, and these gutis splendidly protected behind heavy armor equal to the attack of weapons at a of IXIM yards? Assume that mechanical improve? ments will make it possible for the guns to bs loaded and Brad three times a minuit-, and that Other facilities shall provide in. by which these niom-tt-r a on pans can ha kept continuously bear? ing upon the target, then the stupendous powers of offence of such a will be clearly agpatafst.

There Is nothing so rantastic about this Imaginary craft after all, because ago the Italians had 11-inch gana aboard thstr battleships, in tbOSB days the fleet of Italy ems tbS most formidable afloat. Those lach guns gave way be aaaaller weapons or superior quali? ties in other particulars, sad mechalatosl developments have since been surely 'working hack to the return of these big gmm, with up-to-date capabilities un? dreamed of when the Italian battle craft were supreme. Further, the coming battle-ctui-er may be far hitter protested against the attack heavy armor piercing projectiles than her prototype of to-day, and the naval BTCklteet and the maker of defOtsStVO B8M I ay I ring about a radical change in the form of the Ship and the distribution of Inr shot resisting plating. It is ch-urly evident that aeronautical progress will In? crease the dangers of assault from the sky, and provision is already making to lessen tins new UK mue to the fighting ship. It is futile to speculate upon the magnitude of the coming powers as? sault from aloft, but It Is certain that they will grow in might as well as in precision of tire.

Therefore, to combine the aeooaeary tiafenca against the gunfire of other big ships and the attack from the sky we shall likely see produced with outer decks or hacks curved und covered with heavy, hardened Bteel plaUng sqaal to turning harmlessly aside projectiles tint those falling upon the armor at favorable nagiSS of narrow limits for aueoessfol assault lids auggesta a eery different looking battleship, or battle-t miser, as the 0SO0 may from thOBS vvith which W( arc now familiar. foroaa of scientific ad vani-e and engin? prOgraSS are going mould this craft of the future dSSBltS what may seem the latlonal hounds und Unes of to-day. Hut what of speed of the, future battling Titan or the sea? A heavy ship capable of making twenty knots an hour was a novelty a score of years ago, and the finest of our battleships now do less than twsnty-two, as a tule, hut we have seen what the has achieved In tin? way of astonishing betterment in this respect. We are positively assured that the Tiger, now building for the Brit? ish navy, will in all likelihood be able to attain and to hold for many hours at a timo a Baa speed of quite thirty-three knots an hour. Then what are improve? ments In both turbines and oil-burning 1 is going to bring iti their train? Isn't the forty-knot battis sriltBST within mc.isurali? teach" The mere idea of BSMlk a la enough to make ones nerves thrill: the picture Is full of fasci? nating possibilities and dreadful portent.

The fastest of our ocean-going torpedo boat destroyers of to-day will be but laggards beside the prime lighting ship of the morrow. The forty-knot lighting ship of a displacement of. say, tons, it' not more, will be able to go racing along no matter how the wind blows or the seas roll. Possibly the gyroscope will make her steady In any seaway, and nothing short of collision or grounding will halt her. With the nearly hull down, thanks to Improvement-? in sight? ing and range-tlndlng Instruments, her whole battery can be brought into ac? tion and with astonishing precision Falvo after salvo will be hurled at the faraway target! We have to-day a pretty good Index of what Is In store.

THE THUNDERER. Not long ago the British Dreadnought Thunderer, with Sir Percy Scott's firing director, opened fire upon the regulation target a range of lO.iJUO yards. The first llrings were In salvos of live guns from the battery of rifles. Afterward the Thunderer opened up with three complete broadsides of ten guns and the target was soon so shat? tered that it was scarcely visible a mile away. Upon examination, the umpires found that of the total fifty rounds tired there were no fewer than forty-one direct hits! That was.

indeed, a marvellous performance, and a big advance upon anything previously done in the royal fleet even at much shorter distances. Surely we are very much concerned in this evolution of the battle-cruiser, and it Is evident that we cannot well afford to lag behind other powers rh providing our fleet with ships of this type. What foreign navies are learning through the bclhling of these vessels they are not freely giving to the world; and we can be prepared only by undertaking construction ourselves and In this way acquiring practical familiarity of In? estimable value. Despite Its critics, the battle-cruiser has come to atay and to develop, and the navy without vessels of this sort will be at a disadvantage when measuring forces with a fleet so strengthened. But to the layman, the Is of absorbing interest because of what It representa tn the way of the wonderful march of nava architecture and engineering what It seems to suggest of the probable future.

Don't let us forget that our domeaOO coast covers a matter of Zl.000 miles, snd that we must not only protect that, but likewise our outlying possessions. To do this effectually we. probably more thsn any other sea power, need ships of the highest speed and the greatest offensive capabilities, and the battle-cruiser might logicallv have been initially of our crea? tion. However that may be. our physb'al requirements speak for themselves, their titling protection can be only If we give due regard to the prepa? ration of our potential enemies for th? hour of strife.

Color Music Continued from fifth page. that whatever the future of Color Maate may be on the plane of aesthetic produc ttor. and appreciation, It cannot fall to be of the greatest Importance and produc? tiveness for future researches In the do? main of the psychology of color. Professor Rlmlngton himself says that the possibility of Color Music haa beef alluded to by various writers, taking in the sixteenth century a form somewhat more definite in the mind of a Jesuit. Lewis Bertrand Castle.

Mr. says that Louis Prang's color researches have thrown light upon the subject of Color Music, and Walter Bogert. a musician and a member of the Mat Dowell Club, commented on the curious alliance of terms that are common music and painting. "The musician speaks of the 'chromatio scale' and the artist of the 'tone' of his picture." Mr. Bogert.

"There muat be some psy? chological connection in this use of terms. Moreover. I have pupils who actually see a hue of color when hearing certain musical sounds, and it Is well known that people behold various colors from hearing orchestral instruments. Brass Instruments have a tendency to produce red or scarlet, while the stringed instru? ments bring green or blue before the It would be intensely Interesting to learn if the air vibrations of musical sounds are changed to the vibrations of visible color when Increased to the asms rapidity." QUIPS AND IESTS FROM HERE AND THERE DAMNING WITH FAINT PRAISE. Otto H.

Kahn, who has guided the Metropolitan Optra Company to such great success, told musical story at a dinner In New York. "We give the BSOpta what they he said, "provided, of course, that don't want unworthy things And they don't. "Those who fail in opera give BBS many things that the people are luke? warm like Strauss "Strauss Is a great, a very great, com? poser; but the people opinion him was very well Interpreted by Blanc. Do you like 'l-'lektra Blsnc once asked a friend. a bis friend replied.

'Shake on tried Blanc heartily. 'Neither do A PRETTY COMPLIMENT. of giving ban? quets for men only, ami then allowing the banqueters' hungry and thirsty look down on the feast from a bal i-ony? this custom may not he vr-y gal- lant, but it afforded Mori? on his i'-cent visit to (lea Volk. SB opportunity for a pretty compliment. Lord Morley, at these ban-1 looked up at the balcjny, glittering with lovely ladles, and exclaimed: "Ah, now I understand the ineantng of th? Biblical madest man a little low.r than the NOTHING IN MONEY.

The late Major, author of "When Knighthood Was In Flower," was a sincere if not a very subtle writer, and he had no patience with the literary trickst? Mr Major, at a dinner in Shelhyvllle, once condemned the literary trickster with the epigram: "You can fool some of the people all of th? when you consider what kind of people they are, does It really seem worth while?" THEIR ONLY CLAIM. Discussing a rather Bohemian set In 'hlcago, (Horga Ade said at the Chicago Athletic Club: "These poor girls needn't think them? selves literary just they use a pencil to darken their ey. STOWS with." THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Plmeon New York's well known humorli-t and raconteur, said whimsically (lie other day. of the death of ,1.

Pbrpont Morgan; "We learn from Mr. Morgan's life that wealth does not bring We know already that poverty doesn't bring It, either. What on earth then Is a man to -1 i AN OVER-ROUGH GARDENER. Charles Telller, Inventor of storage. Is a Frenchman of eighty-five years, having been discovered in a state of poverty, Mr.

Telller was decorated Hnd pensioned by the l-'n-nch government. In the course of an interview with a New York correspondent, Mr. Telller talked with grim about poverty. "The advantages of poverty are over? rated." he said. "The rich declare that poverty brings out a man's good points.

Well, so it the roots." FLOODS AND OPTIMISM. OrvtUs Wright, discussing the floods in I lay ton, took an optimistfc view. "Optimism or pessimism- It's all In the viewpoint." he "A pessimist Is over the thortiB on th? roses. An rsJOtOSS over the the thorns.".