The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1917-10-18
The Rad Air Diseases,

But there are times when people
on account of discomfort shut up their
homes and refuse to employ this nat
ural method of ventilation; and be-
cause this is true, they breathe i'm
pure air; and during all the cold wea-
Their months we have steadily in
creasing death rate from the bad-air
diseases, namely, bronchitis, pneu-
monia and consumption. Especially
is this true in Chicago where so large
a percentage Of the population is liv-
ing in steam-heated tunnels, called by
courtesy, flats or apartments.
In fact, so marked has been the in
crease Of the death rate from pneu-
monia and the bad-air diseases in Chi
cago, curing the past ten years, that
we have named pneumonia as the
"New Captain of Men and DEATH"
and we have come to regard the
steam-heated fiat, with it's dry and
over-heated atmosphere, serious
menace to public health. 1t was the
discovery of the indoor conditions un-
der which SO many people in Chicago
were living, that prompted the De-
partment of Health to start the cam
paign for fresh air, which it is still
waging with all the forces it can COM
mand.
We have also found by careful
study of the mortality figures of Chi
cago for the past fifty years, that
there has been a steadily diminishing
death rate from all the preventa BILE
diseases, except the bad air diseases.
This means that the diseases amen
able to sanitary administrations, yell
low fever, cholera, small pox, typhoid
fever and diphtheria, have been large
ly brought under control, and the
death rates therefrom materially re-
duced; and that while we have been
paying great deal of attention to
sanitation and spending vast sums of
money for better water supply, better
sewage disposal, better food inspec-
ton, ETC., we have been neglecting the
important matter of our air sup
ply.
The Importance of Humidity.
And now | come to a matter Of vital
Importance in connection with the
heating of our homes, and that is the
lack of humidity. Government ex-
perts tell US that the indoor air of Am
erican homes is "A per cent drier than
it should be; which means that it is
a. per cent drier than the dryest CHI
mate on earth; and it is in the steam
heated flats or apartments that the
most excessive dryness Of the air, which
is so dangerous to health, is found.
! In the old days Of the coal range in
the kitchen. with a vessel of water
generally simmering over the fire, or
with the warm-air furnace in the base
ment with it's vapor pan carefully
| looked after the indoor air of many of
| our homes was by no means as dry
and dirty as it is in the average steam
heated fiat today.
The Use of the Hygrometer.
Most people attach a great deal of
Importance to the thermometer,
| where, as a matter Of fact, it is only
| interesting. The important instru-
ment to have in the home, shop or
store, is the hygrometer, for with it
the amount Of humidity in the air can
easily be determined.
The proper heating and ventilating
of our homes are separate and interde-
pendent problems, and should be con-
| sidered by architects and builders
alike. The proper humidifcation of
artificially warmed air should be
working part of the heating system
that warns the air, and so far as
practicable, should be automatic in it's
working, and require minimum am
cunt Of attention.
Both the process of ventilation and
humidification are Of vital Importance
to those who make and sell heating
plants. For on the proper ventilation
Of the dwelling house, we'll say, de-
pend in a large degree, both the effic-
lent and economical operation, or, as
stated moment ago, as nearly so as
| is practically possible What makes
this so is that there are matters peo-
pie are prone to neglect. A dozen or
twenty people will sit in a room con-
tentedly breathing the same air over
and over again without thought as
to it's dangerous, even deadly, char
acter.