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cannot be carried out at all events in the Borough of Poplar, where as
matters stand at the present time the baths are kept open at a great
financial loss to the ratepayers.
Anyone who respects his health and desires to enjoy in comfort a
good wholesome clean bathe, let him far rather go to the Bow Baths in
the Roman Boad, or to any of the other baths in the Borough, pay a few
pence (one penny if a child and two pennies if an adult), than patronise
in Victoria Park the free and unrestricted bathing open-air lake frequented
by thousands of all sorts and conditions of human beings who must
obviously pollute the water to such an extent that here no comment is
necessary, for such a state of affairs tells its own tale, but some folk
will go into any kind of water, never considering the danger of doing so,
as long as they can obtain a swim.
Where filtration and aeration is carried out in public baths, it is
noticed the filters become covered with distinctly offensive slime (aforementioned),
occasioning much and continued cleansing of the filters; and
then again unless the bath is entirely emptied and cleansed slime still
remains at the bottom. Moreover, most swimmers have a decided
objection to bathing in filtered water which has been in use for a long
period, as they know fully well that evacuations from the body have been
absorbed by the bath water.
The addition of Electrolytic Fluid, as made in Poplar, to the bath
water has a decidedly effective action on impurities in the water, and to
have swimming baths cleansed and refilled frequently with fresh water
and Electrolytic Fluid is strongly to be recommended as a most efficient
way to deal with the lurking dangers to which attention has been drawn.*
The water being kept clear, through the addition of the fluid, the
bottom of the bath is visible, so that the attendants are enabled, by means
of a net at the end of a long pole, to remove masses of dark coloured,
flocculent matter. These masses consist of hair from the heads of the
girls and fluff from the bathing costumes, which become worked together
by the movement of the water and settle to the bottom of the bath when
the water becomes still. After girls have used a swimming bath, hairribbons
can be seen and removed. It is an advantage to be able to see to
remove the fluffy masses mentioned above, as, upon being disturbed by
the bathers, the masses disperse in the water and may enter the mouths
of swimmers and probably be swallowed.
For cleansing the dressing boxes and the side paths of the baths the
Electrolytic Fluid is certainly better than phenol preparations, for should