THE SANITATION OF AIR 



THE SANITATION OF AIR 



BY KONRAD MEIER 



NEW YORK CITY 



HYGIENE, as a science, traces the causes of disease to which man- 

 kind is exposed in every phase of life. Its practical value lies 

 in the preventing of these causes, through the sanitation of our sur- 

 roundings and the rational care of body and mind. The gradual im- 

 provement of public health and the incident saving of vital energies as 

 the result of true hygienic living would easily make this field of 

 knowledge rank among the most potent factors in the development of 

 races. Unfortunately, its greater possibilities are not yet being 

 realized, for want of application, which is, as yet, too much confined 

 to the professions directly concerned with matters of health. The prin- 

 ciples of hygiene must be brought home to the people at large, must 

 grow into and form the habits of our daily life. They should, in fact, 

 be applied in every craft and trade, led by the professions, as, for 

 instance, by architects and engineers, upon whom depends largely the 

 healthfulness of our homes, of a multitude of public utilities, and of 

 the commonwealth as a whole. In architecture and engineering, the 

 problems bearing on health should be approached in a spirit inde- 

 pendent of mercenary considerations. They ought to be solved strictly 

 on their merits, with a fair perspective towards hygienic quality in all 

 questions of serviceability, ornamental features and structural needs. 

 Such quality is often necessary to the full realization of the aim, and 

 essential to true artistic value as well as to material success. We 

 can not ignore the laws and lessons of nature in building up the city 

 of enduring beauty. 



In crowded industrial and commercial centers, the excessive vitia- 

 tion of the atmosphere has grown to be an important factor bearing 

 on public health. While a systematic supply of pure air to buildings 

 has long been recognized as a necessity, the state of the outer air has 

 not yet received the attention it deserves, and is too often accepted as 

 a matter beyond control. Nevertheless, an inquiry into the sources 

 of its pollution will readily show that much of it might be prevented. 

 That it ought to be prevented is becoming more apparent as its bear- 

 ing on prevailing diseases is definitely being established. The move- 

 ment for better ventilation would also gain through a closer study of 

 the causes of impure air. Abundant literature exists on standards of 

 purity, on temperature and humidity, also on the amount of air to be 



