The Spiritual Value of Fresh Air in Meeting Houses

THE

SPIRITUAL VALUE OF FRESH AIR IN MEETING HOUSES. BY MILTON BENNION, M. A., PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. Man has three primary sources of bodily nutrition: the food he eats, the water he drinks, and the air he breathes. Civilized man generally takes some care that his food and drink shall not be filthy. But the process of breathing is so automatic and in- cessant that he usually pays no attention to it and its conditions, as though these had no bearing upon his health and well-being. It is now generally recognized that carelessness on the part of any community concerning the sources of its food and water supplies may cause serious illness, such as typhoid fever and other infec- tious diseases. Most people, however, pay but little attention to the air they breathe, and local health authorities have, so far, failed to exercise supervisory power in reference to the air sup- ply in public buildings. Let us review briefly the nature of the breathing process. Air is composed chiefly of nitrogen, oxygen, carbondioxide, and watery vapor. The nitrogen merely dilutes the oxygen, while the latter has to be added to the blood constantly. A flame may be extin- guished immediately by throwing something over it that will shut off its supply of oxygen. The life processes are likewise depend- ent upon this same element, which is obtained normally through breathing. Were our oxygen supply entirely cut off, we would in- stinctively struggle for life. But when it becomes polluted, until it is no more fit to breathe than the water from a stagnant pool,

THE SPIRITUAL VALUE OF FRESH AIR. 209 is fit to drink, we frequently continue to breathe it without pro- test. Air that has been breathed contains an excess of carbondiox- ide. While this gas in itself is not directly poisonous, its presence in excess, when caused through breathing, is a fair indication of the presence also of minute particles of effete organic matter from the lungs. This, when breathed over and over again, becomes very dangerous to health, and ultimately to life itself. Air is most likely to become polluted where many people assemble in a closed room. In cold weather, the old fashioned meeting house, or school house, is a very good place for the production of bad air. Even some of our costly modern structures, while provided with domes, arches, and columns, have no trace of any provision for ventilation. They are built, it would seem, to please the eye only, which cannot see the invisible foulness of the air. How is this evil to be overcome? If a new public building is being erected, the trouble is easily forestalled by providing for a supply of fresh air warmed by passing over coils of steam pipes, and also by providing suitable outlets for the impure air. In build- ings where there is no means of bringing in warm air, as a rule, people have to choose between foul air and a cold draught. I shall not say which of the two one should choose. Colds and other sicknesses, and possibly death, on the one hand; and the poison- ing of the body and the stupifying of the mind on the other, is not a pleasing alternative. This condition is also unfavorable to spiritual growth. I do not say this to frighten people away from church. The same trouble may occur in the school room, the the- atre, or the ball room. The remedy lies, not in staying away from public places, but rather in providing against the evil. A ther- mometer, should be hung on the wall, and the temperature should be kept between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit while the room is occupied. Immediately after any kind of meeting, the doors and windows should be thrown wide open for a little while to clear out all the foul air before the room is again used. If it is at noon, the room can be closed again in time to be warmed for a 2 o'clock meeting. The same plan may be followed between afternoon and evening sessions. But someone may object that this is a great

210 IMPROVEMENT ERA. waste of heat. Yes, but from this point of view it is wasteful to throw away decayed food. Various devices may be employed to bring in some fresh air while meetings are in session. A transom hinged at the bottom and opened slightly will admit a current of air directed towards the ceiling. This will be diffused and somewhat warmed be- fore it reaches the congregation. Like results may be obtained by raising the lower window sash and inserting under it a three inch board turned edgewise. This will permit a current of air to pass upward between the two sashes. Care should be taken that the window shade is not so drawn as to interfere with the upward direction of the air. If all of the windows are arranged thus, the air of the room will be much improved. Where there is a great difference in temperature between the outer and inner air, there will be a rapid current through any small opening. But no method can be regarded as ideal where the air is not warmed before it enters the room. In buildings heated with stoves, it is possible, without great expense, to run an air flue from the outer wall of the building immediately under the floor to the stove. The air can be allowed to pass upward between the stove and a metal screen. The room should then be tight at the top, and exit should be provided for impure air near the floor, by run- ning a tube up the inner wall and through the roof. Something like an open fire place with a high chimney would serve this pur- pose. A more efficient reform would be to discard the stoves and put in a modern furnace with suitable air flues for both incoming and outgoing currents. No one should think that because a room is heated with steam there is no need of reform. Such a system has the merit of furnishing steady heat, but, unless combined with a ventilating system, it is not so good as the open fire-place. Practically, all gatherings in meetinghouses aim at spiritual, moral, and social improvement. To those who hold sacred the entire man, including the bodily life, it should be a religious duty to provide most favorable conditions for both bodily and spiritual health. The two are so interdependent that one cannot be pro- moted in the highest degree without attending to the other. It is true that physical evil may sometimes be a means of spiritual