Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-17
FEDERAL WORKERS
HEALTH AID TESTED
Experiment Being Conducted
to Insure Proper Amount
of Moisture in Air.

Uncle Sam now is investigating a
proposal for insuring the proper amount
of moisture in the atmosphere in the
various Government buildings in Wash
ington, in the hope that thousands of
dollars in the Government fuel bill will
be saved and the health Of the workers
benefited
Under the direction of Lieut. Col. u.
S. Grant. Sd. director of public buildings
and parks: Maj. S. M. Corbett, profess
sor of military science and tactics at
George Washington University and
inspector of the Office of public buildings
and public parks, is supervising the ex-
periments now going forward at the
Interior Department, with two humi-
differs in action.
If the experiments measure up to eX-
pectations, Maj. Corbett foreseeS these
beneficial results: An appreciate saw
ing in fuel. reaching about 81 per cent
less than the present cost, with a re-
sultant economy of thousands of dol
lars of Government money; great health
benefits to the Government workers,
through feeling better at work, and a
marked lessening in the amount of time
lost through sickness; the supplying of
the proper degree of moisture in the air
and a saving in installation cost of
heating apparatus Of some IA per cent,
when temperature of between 10 and
so degrees Farenheit is maintained.
Fuel Costs Pointed Out.
Government buildings in Washington,
as most buildings, are overheated and
the air in them is SO dried that the
workers have a tendency to be victims
of ailments of the nose and throat. Mai.
Corbett explained yesterday. If the
Government is able to maintain tenn
perature of 10 degrees Farenheit, in
stead of the much higher temperatures
that now prevail, the heating operation
cost would be something like 81 per
cent less. he pointed out This repre-
Sents an enormous saving in fuel costs.
With proper humidification--the tech
nical term for putting into the atn1os-
phere the proper amount of moisture
to replace that consumed by the heat
Maj. Corbett says that Government
workers at their daily tasks in the VIM
ter months will be much more comfort
able than in higher temperature with
dry air. If proper humidificaton can
be obtained, Maj. Corbett' asserted, the
rooms in which Government workers
toll will have an atmosphere compar-
NSAS w RASoooAA1 0PAAAS dAlA i al QdJS
Ideal Temperature 6s to 10.
The ideal temperature for room,
with proper humidification, is between
So and 70 degrees, Maj. Corbett said.
The medical inspector practices what
he breaches, for he has humididers in
stalled in his home in Arlington, Va.
Yet another benefit is sensed by
Mai. Corbett from the proper use of
humidif1ers. He points out that there
will be an immeasurable saving to the
Government in the preservation of
materials such as furniture, books, rugs
and valuable papers. which, under the
present system of heating. have a tend
ency to deteriorate. The dry air will
take the moisture out of the furniture
and any other equipment that it can,
Maj. Corbett asserts.
In view of the fact that the Federal
Government now is engaged in con-
struction program that will mean per-
manent buildings that will stand for
possibly half a century and more to
come, Maj. Corbett thinks that If the
present experiments will bring forth
tangible results that will assist the
Treasury Department authorities and
the private contractors in installing
equipment that will conserve health
and reduce heating costs. then they are
we'll worth the effort being put forward
Maj. Corbett makes it clear that these