The Nenana daily news., 1918-06-06
NATION HAS BIG FORCE EMPLOYED
 MAKING MASKS

meet the gas attacks of the enemy, the means of protection having been devised by the Gas Defense Service of the Medical department, which comprises about 100 officers and approximately 600 enlisted men.
 The two principal factors in gas defense are effective masks and thorough training of soldiers in the use of masks and various methods of avoiding contact with poisonous vapors.
 Experts who have been sent to this country by the Allied govern ments have pronounced the present American masks the most efficient in existence. The production of these masks is progressing at rate which insures that the requirements of the Ameriacn troops abroad will be amply supplied.
 At each cantonment in the United States gas defense school has been established and put under charge of a divisional gas officer, who works in conjunction with the chemical adviser, both trained in the theory and practice of meeting gas offens- i've. Through these schools every officer and man receives instruction as to the proper means of gas de- fense.
 The use of gas in warfare dates back to about 400 B. c. The Spar tans saturated wood with pitch and sulphur and burned it under the walls of cities which they were at- tacking. For several centuries gas had not been used in warfare and The Hague Convention definitely ruled againt it. However, on April 22, 1915, the Germans liberated great clouds of gas against Canadian troops near Ypres. Terrible destruc- tion and decentralization resulted from this first gas attack, and with in week England made plans for gas warfare against the Germans. Gas is now an everyday part of war.
 Gases In Various Forms.
 Gases may be employed in the form of clouds or in shells, bombs, and hand grenades. The first gas in the present war were in clouds. Fumes were liberated from ! steel containers which were dis i tributed in groups of three or four at intervals of 50 yards along the ! trenches opposite the line to be at tackled. Tubes provided with stop- cock attachment were connected : with the gas tanks and the end of the tube was passed over the para pet. When an attack was intended ] 3 signal was given and the stop cocks were opened, allowing the gas to escape in the form of liquid, which immediately vaporized.
 The success of "gas cloud" which : is still used, is dependent upon at conditions. Careful plan , hing is necessary. The fact that trenches are irregular, often with wide juts, renders it difficult to | iberate gas cloud effectively. The : gases used being heavier than air, when released under proper atmos- pheric conditions, are blown or ap- pear to roll along the ground, usu- ally in the form of a dense greenish yellow cloud. At best the cloud method of using gas is uncertain.
 By far the commoner method is i it's use in shells, bombs, and hand srenades. Gas thus used has dis ! tinct military advantage in that it is possible to place it where it may be needed to form a gas barrage pr smoke barrage to prevent the bringing up of endorsements or the retreat of defeated troops. Many kinds of gases are used. Some :, are merly gases which temporarily affect the eyes and are more incon- 1enient than serious. Other gases are terrible in their effects unless proper protection is available.
 Soon after the first German gas attack English and French women sent to the front hundreds of thous- ands of homemade gas masks. For