alt:
"A cutting from an edition of The Vertlartnic Courier:
"THE SORDID STENCH OF ‘FRESH’ AIR MUST BE THRUST OUT FROM OUR HOSPITALS"
There is a cartoon of a railroad baron and a nurse with the caption "this nightingale sings a foul tune".
Body text of article:
In this age of rampant reform, it seems even the wisdom of the ages is under attack—chiefly by the likes of Miss Florence Nightingale, who would have us believe that the sick are best treated with fresh air. What an amusing notion! Miss Nightingale, in her crusade for cleanliness, has forgotten that it is miasma—not some dainty breeze—that has nurtured mankind for centuries.The vapors that rise from our hospital wards, mingling with the natural humors of the earth, are not harmful, as modern theorists would have us think. On the contrary, they are essential to healing. These potent airs work in harmony with the body’s own exhalations, creating an environment ripe for convalescence. Our ancestors, unbothered by this mania for sterile"
