The Ordway new era., 1911-09-15
The Sanitary School Room

An adult man or woman whose pow
ers OF resistance or vital power Is
great, may live, for a time at least,
10 dusty rooms or poorly ventilated
rooms without being made sick by
these unhygienic condi tions, but even
the strongest will In time succumb.
Not so with children; their proper
growth and development require that
at all times they must have an abun.
dance Of Gods pure out door air to
breathe, free from dust and disease
germs and other harmful impurities.
Except during dust storm. the out.
side air is the purest and best. Dis
ease germs such rs cause tuberculosis,
diphtherIa, scarlet fever and pneumo-
mia, cannot live very long out Of doors.
The sunlight and oxygen Of the air
and other natural misunderstanding
agents soon kill them. Very seldom
does anyone get an infectious disease
from breathing In outside air.
But In the house it Is very different.
A tuberculous germ that is coughed up
In the street will die and be harmless
within "a hours. while II coughed up
on a rug or carpet within doors it will
live and be dangerous year from
that time, when the rug Is swept and
the dust and germs are inhaled. unless
the rug has In the meantime been thor
oughly cleaned and disinfected or
aired. These disease germs always
adhere to small particles OF dust. They
cannot live In the air unless attached
to some solid substance. For this rea.
son inside dust is dangerous.
In school rooms and other public
rooms there are usually some disease
germs attached to the dust, and this
dust not only irritates the air pas
sages, but carries the fatal germ right
along ready to be implanted in this
susceptible lining membrane OF your
bronchial tubes and lungs. There Is
almost always someone in every school
that ia giving of disease germs. We
believe that at least one.half of all
cases Of diphtheria are in their school
rooms at least part Of the first day of
their illness. Now, II these school
rooms are not kept clean this dust Is
constantly raised in the air by means
of the feet and skirts Of pupils and
teachers. The floors OF the room may
be poor, with big open cracks and
splintered boards. II so, it will be i'm
possible for the janitor to keep It clean
aud free from dust and germs. Or the
janitor may depend upon a broom and
feather ,duster as the best means for
his work, but in no case does he get
it out Of the room. The best means
to keep a school room free from dust
and germs Is to have good floors with
a smooth, hard surface, then take out
the accumulated dust every day with
a vacuum cleaner, with felt surfaces
on "tool" OF the machine for use on
wood floors. Portable machines may
be used and taken from room to room,
or, better still, stationary vacuum
cleaning plant with connections in
every room may be a part of the
school building, the same as heating
and ventilating plans now are. The
next best plan is for the janitor ia
use, instead Of broom, soft brush
with some oily, anti dust powder to
be pushed along ahead Of his brush to
collect the. dust and prevent it rising
In the room. Then, instead Of a feath.
er duster, a soft, cloth containing a
certain amount of waxine or parafrne
Oil, just enough to cause the dust to
adhere to it instead Of being scattered