Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1917 — Where the Army Blanket Fails [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Where the Army Blanket Fails

By DR. SAMUEL DIXON, Commissioner of Health of Pennylvania. United States army blankets are not _ economical for private or permanent

hospital use. For the reader to fully appreciate this criticism he must disabuse his mind of a common fallacy that the purpose of blankets and clothing is to give heat off to the body. Blankets and clothing only retain the heat of

the body by preventing it from being taken off by the general atmosphere. Therefore, you want blankets soft and pliable so that they will fall of their own weight and fit snugly to the body, so as to prevent the air from circulat- . ing -between the blanket .and- -the body,.. The army blanket is woven so closely and becomes so rigid when thrown over the body that it fails to fall in dose, but stands out and permit's an air space between Itself and the body. This interferes-with its heat-retaining qualities the extent that after practical application in our large hospitals in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania we find In the cold high mountain regions we can get along with three softer woven blankets instead of having to use five army blankets. With this discovery and practical application we not only save much money in maintaining our hospitals, but we give our patients more comfort. The blankets are warmer and at the same time arejighter in weight. The army blanket was made originally so that it would be strong and could be used in active campaigns, where it had' to be carried on the soldiers’ backs, or on saddles of horses, or in the supply wagon. Owing to the fact that they were made of all wool, had long lives, and were made in a substantial way, they soon found their way into general use, particularly into hospital use, and more especially Into hospitals where the open-air treatment was necessary.