Fresh Air and Good Health
The benefits of outdoor living, so far as health is concerned, has been demonstrated in San Francisco. The editor of the Pacific Nurses' Journal has been talking in Chicago about the situation in San Francisco, and takes special pains to emphasize the fact that the stricken city is not a good place for nurses just now. It was at first supposed that the exposure of so many people to the rigors of outdoor life would cause much sickness, if not epidemics of various kinds, and thus make a demand for nurses. But this has not been the case. While the winds of the peninsula are damp and raw, they are ocean breezes, and the people in the camps have enjoyed more than usual good health. Notwithstanding the many inconveniences and otherwise disagreeable features of the situation, the nurses have found their occupation limited to an unexpected degree. All of which goes to prove that fresh air is much more conducive to good health than the atmosphere in closely built houses, however "modern" and elaborately furnished. But it should not be forgotten that the sanitary regulations inaugurated in the beginning under the auspices of the regular army, and rigidly maintained as long as the army was in charge, set the prestige for the order that has greatly affected the results. Thus it has been demonstrated to thousands of people that fresh air and sanitary surroundings are leading factors in the maintenance of good health. The lesson is well worth learning. The advice that is wanted is generally unwelcome, and that which is not wanted is evidently impertinent.—Dr. Johnson.