Young Socialists Magazine 1913 July Dec.pdf

..•Use solne artificial means of supportat first, such as water-wings,cork btlt, air-cushion, etc., as it willrive you as~urance. Choose a spotabout three (~t d~Pt where youcan find bottom readily if you beromenervous.Now procttd to lower yourselfgently to swimming position andtry to relax all muscles. Rigidityspells failure. Then perfonn thel'troke very. very slowly. Neverhurry. it is the death of progress.Begin with only a few strokes, thenrest. After you find that you canmove along. increase the numberuntil you afC able to discard yoursupport. And always rememberthat 311 positive or propelling movements~hould be vigorous. and allnegative or recO\'cry ones slow andeasy.Many good instructors now advocatethe use of the arms andhands dog-fashion. instead of usingthe breast stroke formerly recommendedfor beginners, and it hasits advantages. It is m~n's naturalstrokt. And ~a s ier to acquire thanthe artificial breast stroke. In the"dog-paddle" the anllS perform thesarne movement..: that docs the dogin ~'\'iOlming, while the legs aremoved so as to thrash up and downalternately.As the object in teaching thebreast stroke is merely to preparethe novic:c for the more moderntypes by fluin, him to handle him·5elf in the water, it makes little differenceif another is substitutedand thert: is good realOn to use thedoc-pactdle, for ni .. tenths ofthose who have learned to swim bythem!elves will tell you that theystarted on it.The dog-paddle i. 0100 the best.tewi." stone to the crawl, which.n ambitious !lwimlllen aspire toand which i. u~bly themo.t satisfactory all-roond strokeDow in existence,"'1'JDI YOlJNO BOOIALIa,):,B' XA.GAZIllWRacing men have found it thefastest for all di stances, and it isequally ad"pted for pleasure bathing.Age or sex are immaterial.anyone call master it and enjoy usingit. 11 is the old double-overamlwith a narrow alternateup :l.Ild down thrash of thelegs, instead of the scissors kickformerly used,It is generally co nc~ ed thatswimming is one o( the most enjoyablef)( sports (or the promotionof health and strength. And last,but not least. mastery of the sportenables one to thoroughly enjoy thl!pleasures of bathing. This is notpossihle f(lt those to whom sw immingis a closed book.One who can swim can dive,plunge and sport about in deepwet, it will 'soon dry; and after youhave acquired confidenCe ' it ischild's play to learn the supportingand propelling movements,Just bear constantly in mind, inlearning, that the body floats natur·ally, unassisted, and that people donor drown because they sink, butbt>eause their frenzied .s truggle~force their mouths under waterwhere they cannot breathe, andthey asphyxiate. To become convincenof this note how a good"aterman can lie motionless onthe surface, either face down as inplunging. or supine as in floating.ST. PETER AND THE CAPI­TALIST.water, secure in one's ability to A Chicago capitalist who is, or;>tmaster the treacherous element and Itast thinks he is. charital.M,exhilarated by its refreshing touch. (1 reamed one night that he was dea·lWhy. 1 wouldn't give up that feel - nnd had knocked at the pearly gatc1ing that comes from the knowledgc for admission.of one's .. trength in the water for "Who are you ?" said St. Peter.anything on earth."I am a Chicago financier.II i .. reall y vcr)" ea.:;y and simple "What do you want?"to learn to sw im. Just a little will " 1 want to get in!'power, a short pe;iod of applica- "What have you done that ention,and the thing is done. And titles you to admission?"once a swimmer, always a swim- " \Vell. 1 once saw a decrepid olt!mer; one never forgets. . woman in the street and 1 gave herFear aPod lack of confidence are two cents."the great stumbling blocks in the "Gabriel, is that on record?"path of the beginner. "Yes, St. Peter ; it'5 markedOnce'these are overcome it is all down to his credit."plain ~iling. J believe that the first "What e1se have you dooe?"thing for the would-be. swimmer to "Well, when I was going todo is to get rid of the feeling of church the other night, I met a littledread that SO many, and particu- ooy half frozen to death, and I gavelarly women, experience at the him one cent."start. This feeling should be "Gabriel, i!i that on record ?':fought, for it is senseless. It is an "Yes, St. Peter."excellent practice' to stand in shal· "\\'hat else have you don.e?"low water and get used to the sen- "\Vell, I can't ~lIect anythingsation of it splashing about the else just now."mouth and eyes by ducking the "Gabriel, what do you think we:head beneath the surface, and try· ought to do with tbis fellow ("ing to look about under water, "Oh, give him back his three~ ' t . bc afraid ot (ttting ro,!~ hajr:., ccnts, and tell him to go elsewhere,"TJIB YOUNG 80ClALlBTS' ..... O.&.ZIlllIOR, WOULD I WERE A BOY AGAIN IjjOh, would I were a boy again,'When lifc seemed formed ofsunny ycats,And all the heart then knew ofpain\Vas wept away in transientteats 1"-:\lark Lemon,How peculiar is mankind : Theboy tugs at the chains of disciplineaud restraint and wishes hewere a man. But when heu ·aches man's estate he usuallylooks back longingly to his boyhooddays.The poet, :\Iark Lemoll, hasvoiced hi s thoughts of most menin the lines quoted above, "Oh.would I were a boy again!"Wishing impossible t h i n g sdoesn't bring them to pass; nevertheless,as 1 think of the broadgreen fields, the long bright sunnydays, the inviting brooks andbeaches, and the lot in which Iused to play baseball, I confcss Icannot help wishing I were a boyagain, There are other reasonswhich I shall explain later . •However, the~e is another sideto this question of childhood andits freedom from care, The poetpictures the bright happy days ofI youth, when all the days weredays of play. and "all the heartkn~w of pain was wept away intransient tears." This joyousperiod of life does belong to somechildren-the children of the well·to-do. But the poet forgot tomention.-or perhaps he did Dotthink of them-the child.... ofBy William 1. Sackheilllcreasing hardships, worries. andresponsibilities. They have butto observe their parents and theirmi ser), to sec the futility of wishingfor manhood or womanhood.-" or do thcse parents look backwith ally great measure of happi ­nc!'s to thc days when they wercchildren. These men, women anochildren of the working classha"e vcry little to look forwardto as children, and less to lookback to as men and women.Their lives seem destined to be~ pcnt in mi sery, squalor and unremittingtoil.The children of the worker!'.instead of playing baseball int'mpty city lot :-; or on green countryfields . are bending over hugewt'3\'ing looms in stifling fa ctories:or inhaling germ-laden airin dark sweatshops; or prickingtheir fingers trying to help theirparents finish the home work sothat the landlord will not placetheir household goods out 0 11 thesidewalk; or performing thelllany other unpleasant dutieslittle chi ldren are suffered to doby the Capitalist system so thatthe masters may send their littlechildren to private schools, toEurope and to furnish them withcom(ort and luxuries.But the world is awakening.The great Socialist movement isforcing society to realize the injusticeand the immense waste ofhuman vitality under Capitalism.The Socialists aie educating themasses to be ready to take overthe means of production, themines, the mills, the factories andthe railroads. When the workersown and manage the industrieswhich they have built up, theywill thm be able to send theirchiJctren to school instead of torfactorit':-, and to afford lhe young­!Her'" all the rest, recreation,Sport ... and '"xuries that are nowthe inlwritance of the wtalthyslli rkt·r ....The ':-;orialist movement hasvariou ... means of agitating fortil t' Co·operative Commonwealth.It ila" it ... press, its political party,its ('COllomi(' activities, its Iiteraturt'.it:' ~ trt"ft meeting!, its lec.tllrt· .. ;\Ill! it~ sc hools and youngpeopk·... ~oci('t ie s. The latterhan' 110\ y~~t been sufficiently developedto the point of efficiency,but \, ~ afC making progress everyday. Thilt i:; w l ~y I wish-althoughi1 i:, foolish to sigh for theimpo:< ... ihle-tilat I were a boyagam.Ii I "er{' a hoy lo-day 1 wouldget Hltt) the young S