CLEAN CHICAGOANS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 135, 14 July 1914, Page 5

CLEAN CHICAGOANS.

NOTABLE PUBLIC BATHING FACILITIES. Chicago people—llo matter what maybe said of the city—should be the cleanest people in the world, writes Henry M. Hyde in the "Tribune." It is really a difficult matter for a resident of Chicago to get more than half a mile away from a place where he can get free of charge a shower, a plunge, or a swim, with soap, towel, and bathing suit furnished at public expense. As Chicago was the first city in the world to provide free bathing facilities for its people, so it remains to-day far in the lead in the'number of public bath houses, swimming pools, and bathing beaches. There are more than a hundred places wiihin the city limits where any resident may take the first step towards Godliness at the expense of his fellow citizens. There are at least 1000 shower baths at the public disposal, to say nothing of about as" many more in the public school build-; ings.

It is suggested as a subject for investigation by Chicago people going abroad this summer that they endeavour to ascertain in which—if any—of. the capitals of Europe there are as many shower baths, public or private, as their home city offers free of charge for the use of all its people. t In addition to the showers there are twenty-two free public swimming pools and ten public bathing beaches scattered along the shores of Lake Michigan. The bath-house which is now being built at the Clarendon Beaeh, on the north "Bide, will cost 150,000 dollars, and will provide accommodation for 8000 people at the same time. Even the gentlemen who are what the society column call "house guests" of the city are required to take a shower bath every few days at the municipal lodging house. And, in the new lodging house, to be built this year, for which the city health department has a preliminary appropriation of 100,000 dollars, it is planned to put in so many showers that each guest may be urged to take a daily bath. The daily shower is expected by some people to be more effective than a stone pile in dissuading '' Dusty Rhodes'' and his colleagues from spending their next winter in Chicago. As is always the case in the tangled mazed of local governments in Chicago, the control of the various bath-houses, pools, and beaches is divided among a number of different governmental authorities. THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. The Health, Department, which already manages 17 public bath-houses and which has appropriations for two more, sites for which are not yet selected, is just completing what will be its eighteenth bathhouse on Thirty-fifth Street and Marshfiekl Avenue. The new house, which will be known as the Graeme Stewart bath, represents the latest ideas in architecture and equipment. It will contain forty showers, each enclosed and with a small dressingroom attached. It will house also an infant welfare station and a free clinic for babies. There will also be a roof garden, where a free day nursery for the neighbourhood will be conducted. At the Graeme Stewart bath alone it will be possible to give showers to more than 1500 people a day. Altogether the Health Department will have nearly 400 shower baths in operation during the summer. On the south side the park commission operates 375 slower baths in eleven different parks which are open for use the year round. The extent to which they are patronised may be judged by the fact that 1,800,000 individual cakes of soap and towels were called for during 1913. It has also eleven swimming pools in commission arid will offer a chance to swim in Lake Michigan at four bathing beaches. PLENTY OF SHOWERS. On the great west side, where a constantly increasing percentage of the population lives, are located nine of the Health Department houses. The park board offers showers at ten different locations and also has nine swimming pools and, for the benefit of the kids, seven shallow wading pools. Naturally there are no bathing beaches quite so far from the lake.

The north park board adds sixty-six showers to the list, scattered about in ton different parks. It supports also two swimming pool? and a couple of bathing beaches. Last of all comes the small park commission, which is building the big municipal beach and bathhouse east of Clarendon Avenue, on the north side. At that point the city owns nearly 800 feet of lake frontage and the new house vail provide for over 8000 bathers at once, as well as comfortable accommodation for many thousands of spectators.

The small park board will build this season several large swimming pools adjoining the various pumping stations of the city water department. For this purpose 60,000 dollars has been appropriated. . It also maintains a temporary beach at the foot of Ohio Street. In the effort to instil ideals of cleanliness in the school children of the city, the Board of Education has installed more than 800 shower baths in the various school buildings. Swimming pools have been built for the use of the pupils of seven of the schools. Young or old, the people of Chicago have small excuse for not keeping clean. If the city cannot yet claim the title or Spotless Town it is certainly not the fault of the public bathing facilities.