Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1919-10-22
Health Officer Suggests
Reasonable Ventilation
For All
is NOT CoNsIDERATE
1t is not Necessary to Turn Living
Rooms Into Miniature Wind Swept
Prarie.

In an recent interview, Health Of
ficer, DR.. L. E. Foulks, in discussing
the value of public health educational
propaganda, said:
1T is very unfortunate that many
people have a tendency to go to ex-
tremes: in; trying to follow out some
simple rule of health. This. is very
aptly illustrated by the actions of
what we may wen call the 'fresh-air
|fiend.' 1t may sound a little harsh
to CALI these people fien5ds, but some
of their work is SO deadly and they
insist upon carrying out their fool
ish ideas without the least considera-
tion for the comfort, health or rights
of others, that their actions at times
can only be looked upon as fiendish.
When we advise person as to the
Importance of fresh air, we simply
mean in the first place he should go
out fin the open as much as possible
and thereby obtain not only pure air
under natural and normal conditions,
but the sunlight and exercise also,
that naturally go with it.
In the second place, we mean that
lin his place of business and in his
home, he should see that proper and
reasonable ventilation is secured. You
will note that II say reasonable"
ventilation in order to differentiate
it from the foolish and unreasonable.
Now right here is where our "fresh-
,air-fiend" starts in with his fool
stunts. The word reasonable, is not
i'm his vocabulary. He has no idea what
1T means, and he would not thank you
4 if you told him, either.
He gets this fresh air desire firm
ly fixed in his not too ample mind,
and he is fully satisfied that it is
the one and only panacea%for all hu-
man Ills, from corns toiconsumotion.
He becomes firmly convinced that if
he can only keep himself filled UP to
| the muzzIe with fresh air, he is di-
|sease-proof, germ-proof and doubtless
fool-proof! -And what is more, he is
going to have fresh air at any cost
that,is at any cost TO Others, for you
must remember that our typical
fresh -air-fiend has absolutely no con
lsideration for any person but himself!
Now that is just where the rub
come in. He will enter a,>room where
yotss are quietly, peacefully and com
fortably resting, and after shifting
about like Bulgarian cheese hound
for few moments, will say: my,
nv. WHY. you need some fresh air in
here Then he will go to the win
dow and raise the sash as far as it
will go, letting in draft of damp,
Chilly air on your unprotected per
son. You soon begin to sneeze. D1t
lie don't notice that and says: "Thera
don't YOU call that fine? Nothing like
plenty of fresh air!!" And then you
grit your teeth and say: e! -"
etc.
All laws and rules are founded OH
common sense, hence the fool actions
of such. cranks as above described, are
always calculated to do much harm
by turning an otherwise plain, simple
and valuable rule of health, into an
actual menace as we'll as an absurdlty{
In order to get sufficient ventila-
ton, it is not at al necessary to
turn our living rooms into miniature
wind-swept prairie. A room swept
by chilly draft tof air is a hundred
times more dangerous to health
than a poorly ventilated one.
/ might explain right here that
many of our old ideas about venti'
lation have been sadly upset by re-
cent very exhaustive scientific tests
conducted by the New York State