The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1881-02-24

To the Editor Of The Inter Ocean
CHICAGO, Jan. H-It is 4 wei known fact
that the ground contains air in circulation; and,
| although do not see it in storms and whirl
Winds it is nevertheless moving and obeying
the laws which govern il above the earth. Like
that which fills our lungs, il is always in motion.
/ The density of the soil determines the quantity
| of ground air. Gravel, which is thought best
| for the foundation of houses, contains most,
| while sand and clay contain a less proportion.
This air is affected by the substances which filter
through the soil. Three or four years ago, there
| appeared in the Popular Science Monthly an
| tieie from DIR. Max Won Pettenkotier, Professor
| Of Hygiene in the University of Munich, IN re-
| regard to this subject. In it he says that house
standing on piles has its foot in the water; that
| (by the removal of atmospheric pressure) the
| water is drawn up by the walls till beyond the
| water mark, and that this ground water has
| good deal to do with the house. by this siinIle
/ he shows that house is affected by the kind OF
| earth upon which il is built. There is more or
| less water contained in all kinds of earth, and
when it is frozen it abstracts, in part the circu
lation of ground air. This same authority says
| that persons have been poisoned and killed by
gas which had TO travel twenty feet under the
street, and then through the foundation, cellars,
| vaults and flooring of the ground floor rooms.
These accidents occur in winter, the frozen
/ ground preventing the straight upward ascent
| of gas. The houses act as ehimneys, and by
their warmth invite the ground air, gas or dead
| ly yapOr which is seeking to escape. The most
deadly of these cannot be detected by our senses;
| hence the immediate and absolute need of knowl-
edge on this subject, and the Importance of hav-
ing the right kind of foundation for houses; also
| the imperative need of having them properly
| drained and ventilated. The drain or sewerage
pipes should be made of iron, which makes it
| impossible for the sewage to filter through the
joints, as is the ease with earthen pipes The
iron pipes much longer between the joints,
| are screwed together, and last as long without
/ repairs) as any house will last. If they cost a
little in the beginning, they are, in the end,
| cheaper than the earihen Unes, which settle un-
evenly in the earth, or by their porous nature,
after the glazing is removed, admit the sewage
| through them, TINS saturating the earth aud
| generating the poison which, hydra-headed,
creeps silently into our sleeping rooms. In this
/ way the dearest and most helpless receive their
| fatal potion. Those who remain indoors have
less power of resistance than if able TO spend
hours each day in the open air. Is it not high
| time to let tradition CO. and educate ourselves
| in regard to those vital subiectsf God gave
| reason for purpose. Country houses have
protection against this danger, except such
| hygiene teaches Those whose dnty it has been
| to instruct in these things have not measured
their responsibility. 1t is but recently that our
colleges have appointed chairs for the teaching
ofhygiene. If doctors paid for keeping
/ the people well, and the salary to stop when
| they get sick, there would be revolution in
| sanitary matters ut once.
| Mrs. Z. G. Cook, NJ. ID.