The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-02-13
LAUNDERED AIR IN CHICAGO.
After Being Washed, Rinsed and Dried
1t Is Fit to Breathe.

After Being Washed, Rinsed and Dried
1t Is Fit to Breathe.
Air that has been thoroughly laun-
dered is good enough for breathing pur-
poses, just the same as if there were no
,Tymoke inspectors.
ri 1t is really as good as if brought from
nqe mountains or some seaside resort,
4 the opinion of about 200 hello"
tTirls employed by the telephone COM
many. The officers of the company are
'rnclined to believe the same thing,
Judging from an economic instead of
h, hygienic point of view. These opin-
pms have been formed as the result of
he adoption of an ingenious method
ventilation for the operating-room
of the main Office of the company.
This system, so far as known, is not
In operation elsewhere in this coun-
try, and its remarkable success is at
tracing much attention from architects
and manufacturers. 1t has suggested
an innovation in the construction of
the big Office buildings which may lead
to revolution in heating and ventilat-
ing systems.
In its workings the system. which
has been recently perfected by A. v
Abbott, chief engineer of the telephone
company, resembled nothing more
closely than laundry. The air
breathed by the little army of young
women on the top floor of the building
is first washed, then dried, then heated
OF cooled. as the case demands, and
finally, to carry out the comparison, il
is pressed.
The washing removes a wagon load
.s-1.sopt and dust and disease germs, the
mere sight of which is enough to arouse
wonder in the average mans mind how
he lives i'll the climate of Chicago.
The drying removes every trace Of
moisture, the heating or cooling brings
the air to just the right temperature
and the compression follows as a nat
ural consequence of the introduction
of several thousand cubic feet of all
every minute into big room almost
Theoretically sealed.
1t was to overcome conditions which
seriously impaired the efficiency of the
telephone company's service that the
present system of ventilation was de
vised. The delicate apparatus of the
huge switchboard was in a constant
state of disorder, owing to the dust anC
SCOT that entered the room. Sub
scribers were continually complaining
that their telephones were out of order
as many as 400 complaints being on file
in General Manager Hibbard's Office a
once.
The trouble was not in the telephones
butin the operating-room. In this room
40X90 feet, is a switchboard in which art
100000 little holes. each hole represent
ing four wires. When a subscriber ask!
for connection with some other sub
scriber the operator pushes a bras
plug into one of the holes, which raises
a delicate spring, known as a Jack.
The presence of speck of dust or 500
on one of these Jacks" renders a con
nection impossible, and then the sub
scriber complains.
Pure, fresh air, always of the sam,
temperature, now makes the operating
room about the most desirable place tx
work in in Chicago. Down in the base
ment of the building is big rotary fal
that sucks in the air which the ordinary
citizen is obliged to breathe. AS thu
current enters the basement through
huge tube it passes into tightly-closet
chamber, in which rainstorm is con
stantly raging.
This condition is effected by three
rows of small nozzles or atomizers
which discharge perfect cloud o
dirt from the air. The dirt passes of
into a WELL while the air is whirleC
through battery of spiral tubes.
The twisting motion, or centrifugal
force, removes the last trace of moistur
from the air, and it then passes int
another chamber, where it is heated il
the winter or cooled with ice in tn
summer. Then the current is directed
upward through a shaft that leads Il
the top floor of the building and int.
the operating-room.
Every window in the operating-roon
is tightly closed and sealed around tn
edges, while double doors make it neces
sary for one to enter the room through
what constitutes an air-locked passage
The supply is forced through vents
or registers, opening through the cell
ing from tube that runs around tn
room. 1t is compressed air, althoug
its density is so slight as to be almos
inappreciable.
Every three minutes the air is com
pletely changed, the supply being ca
culated at 10000 cubic feet minute
Chicago Times-Herald.
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