THE BATHS A SUGGESTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 11245, 12 January 1912, Page 5

THE BATHS A SUGGESTION.

[TO IHE BDITOB.j

Sir. — Out of sympathy for the people of Masterton, I have lately been thinking a little over the Public Swimming Baths problem.

I commenced to attend irregularly myself when they were first opened, but it beat me easily. Of course, a few cold-water, or perhaps coldblooded, 'Tanks will say 1 am soft and all the rv<t of it—well, even if 1 am. I have the safsifaction of having a very large number on my side who think the same way. I notice the same verdict all round. They grailually give it best. lam a fairly strong biped myself, but, as I said before, I found that tempting looking bath too much altogether; iv fact, it was, to me, absolutely injurious, and doubtless many more have experienced the same thing. At all events, whatever the trouble, is, our baths will shortly becuine a white elephant as far as practical use goes.

Now, I have a scheme that may be worthless, while it may largely solve the problem-a practical test is the only way of proving the matter conclusively. With regard to the Hosking bath, I expect 1 am right in supposing that it is just as fiendishly, cruelly cold as the Borough bath. There is a large, water-cooled gas engine, belonging to one of the Councillors, close by, beating and wasting large quantities of water daily. Why not run a 2in lead from the engine to the bathV The warm water could enter the bath at eno end, while the cold was allowed to flow out at the other, in such quantity as to preclude the necessity of renewing the water except at long intervals. If this were not .sufficient, a

water beating apparatus could be fixed to the exhaust pipe for a small cost, thereby ensuring oceans of warm water for all time, at no cost whatever beyond original outlay.

I venture to say that if the temperature of those baths could be raised only 10 degrees, the attendance would be at once doubled, and the attendance would also continue fairly regular throughout tlie year. Awaiting further investigation by those persons more closely connected with the matter, I am, etc., N.E.J.