El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-11-20
Air Now Must Be Clean
Sanitnrians says CIeanline Is as Nee
essay In Air rs In Water
or Food.

Frederic ,. Hnskin g
BIZ FREDERIC j. HASIIIN.


W searches in the realm of ven
tilation have revealed the fact that
what we need is not so much chemic-
ally pure air as it is physically clean
air; that circulation of the air is more
important than its temperature; and
that even when air is properly CIR
cuIated in a building and maintained
at a Droper temperature, it still is not
good for us unless 1t IS clean.
When we have anything that IS
tangible anything that we can take
hold of, that is dirty and we want 1t
to be clean, we wash it. That is eX-
actlv what our sanitarians would have
US do with the air we breathe We
1t is Not n New Thing.
It isn't particularly difficult thing
to do, and it is by no means new A
thousand and one years before the
first lecture on ventilation was de-
livered, man no doubt had noticed that
a shower of rain freshened up the
air That, say the advanced scien-
fists. is exactly what the shower OF
rain does. 1t freShens up the air Dy
washing out of it the dust. the bac-
terra the molds and the millions or
particles that hang suspended in the
atmosphere. All of US know how re-
freshine- is such a shower washed air.
Now the sanitarian engineers come
and say that we can have TINS klnd
OF good air all the time in our 1ac-
and other places where many people
congregate for work or pleasure. The
air can be taken into the bulldlnS by
& system of fans. through a CHAMBER
in which drops of water are falling as
II they were rain, or into which sprays
of water are kept going.
Although the experiments mat nave
scientifically demonstrated the value
OF such a system of washing air have
been made only during the year 1919,
this method of artificial air washing
is by no means new one Inc only
thing new is the measure OF cleahll-
ness that has been determined
How India's Air il Cooled.
The most familiar device designated
TO promoted bodily comfort seen IN
India. next to the "Dunkah," or cell
ing fan, is the fatty" The fatty IS
a coarse mat of cocoa tioer or some
other similar substance, which is
stretched in the sun in front OF the
open door of the dwelling house All
the other doors are sealed and the IN
terror is dark TO keep out the terrlflc
blaze OF the unmercitul Indian sun
A coolie. doomed for this life to
serve dumbly his superiors, from time
to time throws water on this cocoa
mat so that il drips down underneath
He must keep that fatty wet cOntinu-
ally. and his brother coolie sits cross
legged at his side and pulls the roDe
that swings the punkah inside the
house.
les. the occupant Of the house has
good ventilation. because the air IS
drawn in through the wet cocoa mat
and is washed free of its impurities
while inside IT is kept in constant cir
culation by the punkah. The latest
scientific achievements in ventilation
have not taught US much more than
this. They have, however. pointed the
way for US to have clean air even
though we may not have two coolies
constantly at work outside our cham
Der door.
The fatty has been adapted in India
to more modern uses. For instance
the windows of a railway coach in In
dia are fitted with four drops: One is
the ordinary glass; one the ordinary
wire screen. such as our PullmanS
have: another is a Venetian blind. and
the fourth is a fatty. Riding along
over the Indian deserts. with the ther-
mometer above 120 and the dust and
sand blowing, 1t is a great comfort to
curl up on a seat. pull down the fatty
in the window. and turn on the stoD
clock above il that liberates a trtckle
of water to keep the fatty wet. The
and clean, and without il such a rail-
way journey would be almost unbear-
able.
LOndon's Smoke Problem.
In India thew use the tatty TO keep
out dust. In London a similar device
has long been used to keep out fog
and smoke The ventilation system
of the houses Of parliament provides
air for its chambers by a system OF
intaking fans that draw the air
through a chamber filled with wet cot
ton. How much smoke and dirt is
extracted from the air is shown Dy
the fact that when this cotton is
daily, although it goes in
white as snow, 1t comes out black as
coal
The sanitary engineers say that
clean air in motion and OF the proper
temperature and humidity are neces-
sary to indoor comfort For long
time We believed that bad air was
made bad because of an excess Of
carbOnic acid. Lately. however, 1t I
has been proved that within ordinary
limits the excess Of carbonic acid in !
absolute dirt that is given off from
the bodies and the clothing Of per
sons where many are cOngregated to-
gether. that makes the air foul and
we breathe over and over /
again the same air. Although there /
may be an abundant supply in the /
room, it cannot reach US unless 1t !
Indeed, the chief virtue Of /
cold air in a sleeping room is that the |
warm air expelled from the lungs /
rises at once to the ceiling and we |
must, perforce. have fresh air at the /
next inbreathing-
Air Must he Clean.
The air we breathe must be clean. |
The sanitarianS say that cleanliness |
is the great thing to be desired in air. /
is grossly foul has been regarded as
dangerous always. But it is only with /
in the last few years that water mod ]
erately contaminated has been feared. /
We have put microscopes on the wa 1
ter and in every citv we demand a wa !
ter supply that will give US not only 1
clear water. but water free from dan /
gerOus microscopic impurities.
George G Whipple. professor of san
itary engineering at Harvard. saws:
"A clean water supply is now watch
word of the modern city. If precedent
is followed. we shall come to regard |
as undesirable much of the air that
would not by present day standards be
called Unclean, as well as air that is
grossly laden with dust and foul
gases.
Even in buildings where provision
has been made for fresh air intakes
and circulation by tanning systems.
the inlets are frequently placed close !
to the ground where dust and smoke
will come in. In a building at Har-
ward university the air inlet is placed
near a main entrance where automo- !
oiles stop and start. AS a consequence.
the OdOr of spent gasoline permeates
the whole building.
Experiments in air washing have
been made in building at Harvard, (
in several business buildings in BOs- l