Omaha daily bee., 1918-07-13

Mustard gas, the deadiest instrument of
warfare yet devised, is not gas, but an am
Der fluid of faint, sweetish, not unpleasant
odor. 1t is no more volatile than turpen-
tine. II kills by inhalation and mains or
blinds by contact. In ore recent attack,
lasting 48 hours, it was estimated that the
Germans used 1000 tons Of it.
Now that it has become common knowl-
edge that gas was largely responsible for as
tonishlng enemy successes in the last tour
offensives it is possible to give these random
facts from the story of mustard" and to dis
cuss in some detail its properties, manufac-
ture and history 1t is not story of ger
man chemists more adroit than the allies in
this branch of the lethal arts; for American
chemists reported its deadiness and its avail
ability, both to this government and to the
British, before the enemy began throwing II
across mo Mans Land" And, although
the United States is admittedly behind in its
gas program, it may be said, for whatever
aid and comfort it affords Berlin that the
kind of mustard gas being manufactured here
is one-fourth more toxic than the kind being
used by the Germans.
When an official British communique last
April contained line that Armentieres was
full of gas" and that neither side could enter
there, few realized the tragic import of the
news What it meant was that Armentieres
was full of mustard gas. The cutters ran
with the reddish-brown liquid. Phosgene
and other poisons evaporate so readily that
they do not make any spot untenable for
more than few hours, bat mustard" fingers
from two to four days, depending on weather
conditions. Sever,.l months earlier, at Cam
brai, the Importance of the weapon had be-
come manifest. British infantry held Bour-
Ion wood. Again aid again German troops
were hurled against that redoubtabe force.
Ten times they attacked, and each time were
driven back. Then came the official an
nouncement of the British retirement. But
enemy infantry had won ro decision. Mus
tard gas was the victor.
1t was about this time that the "Tommies'
named the stuff. No mustard enters into its
composition, but drop OF it on soldier s
sleeve penetrates, and, after the lapse OF
hours, blisters like mustard. 1t is a deep
burn and causes great swelling. But mus
tard gas is so innocent in appearance and so
inofensive to the nostrls that the soldiers
were not on their guard against it. The
chief sufferers were the artillerymen, who
threw aside their masks after working for a
time amid it. The masks were of little avail
anyhow, for the kind then in use did not last
10 minutes in an atmosphere drenched with
the drug.
Such was the new weapon forged by kais-
ercraft
Questions have become general as to the
nature of mustard gas and as to the ability
of the United States to produce it in quanti-
ties. In an effort to answer them an inter-
view was sought with DR.. Benjamin T
Brooks chief chemist of the Commercial Re-
search company at Flushing, which has taken
an active part in this phase of war prepara-
tion. 1t was he who, IS months ago, urged
the use of mustard gas against the Germans
ut is peculiar quality of mustard gas
that no chemist would suspect from its struc-
ture that ii is toxic said DR.. Brooks. THE
formula looks harmless enough. We made
some of it last October. AS has already
been told in newspaper dispatch, the bur
eau OF mines formally reported to the ord.
nance department tl.at tie methods of man.
ufacture were satisfactory. Afterward the
bureau made two more reports urging that
it be used.
Then the ordnance department had to
decide about putting it into shells and figure