The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-02-16
GAS FUMES DIS
PLACE OZONE
USED BY CHICAGO PEOPLE AS
REMEDY FOR WHOOPING
COUGH AND TUBERCULOSIS
TANKS AS SANITORIUMS.

Chicago, Feb. 16.-Is the fresh air
cure out of date?
The patrons of the Peoples Gas
Light and Coke company's free clynic
think so. They prefer the inhalation
of the sulphuric fumes emanating
from the iron oxide used by the gas
company to remove the sulphur from
the gas, and contend that as cure
for various minor pulmonary troubles
it is superior to Colorado Springs,
soothing syrup, or liquid air. More
over the company does not charge
for the treatment, and as there are
gas tanks scattered throughout the
city, the medical relief is at every
ones back door, says the Tribune.
The free gas remedy seems to have
had it's local origin among the poor
mothers of the northwest side as a
specific for whooping cough. Now
many people in more prosperous cir
cumstances have been converted.
They come in cabs and street cars
from different and more fashionable
sections of the city. Once, accord
ing to Dan, the day machinist at the
pumping plant at Clybourn avenue,
there was even an automobile.
Diplomat Takes the Cure.
Against the automobile, the lately
closed gas house sanitarium No. 1
across the street boasts of it's diplo-
mat. A real cure without g diplomat
would need a new press agent, any,
way. John Clephane, whose job,
aside from running cure, is that of
foreman at the plant, could not con-
ceal his pride when he told the Trib-
une reporter yesterday that one Of
the patrons of his sanitarium had
been no less a person than the recent
Russian consul, Baron A. A. Schlip-
pcnbach, who at present represents
his government in New York.
Most of the patrons of this plant
came for whooping cough" he said.
1.-The baron, however, told us that
he was getting good effects from our
cure for a chronic asthma with which
he was affected He did not talk
much to the other patients or stay
long at a time. He would just come
out and walk around and sniff the
air. He acted as If it gave him re-
lief
Custom Dates Far Back.
A medical man located within a
few squares of the company's plant
at Division and Halstead streets said
in the afternoon that his first knowl-
edge of the custom dates back to his
arrival in that neighborhood 80 years
ago, and that the housewives told
him they had been in the habit of
curing their babies with peat smoke
on the old sod. They gravitated to-
ward the gas house as the nearest
substitute.
Fumes Attract Crowds.
In the process of the manufacture
of gas, the volatile ether must be
purged of sulphur. Gas men call this
cleaning the gas" 1t is done with
a compound of iron filings and shaw
ings. At frequent intervals this COM
pound in largo quantities and strong
ly impregnated with the sulphuric
fumes it has extracted from the gas
is dumped in the basement of the
plant.
None of the oldest employees of the
plant can remember back far enough
to recall when it was first noticed
that this steaming dump attracted
the concentrated attention of a group
of mothers and babies. But they
early began to accept as matter
of course the daily arrival at the
plant of scores of women carrying
children.
According to officials of the gas
company, the matter was officially
brought to their attention some time
ago. They had the "clinics" looked
over by a physician who reported
that he could not see that the pa
tients were getting any appreciate
benefit from their self-elected treat
ment, but that on the other hand he
did not think it dangerous or even
harmful.