The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-18
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INF OR NJ A TON
Blu REAU
FREDERIC ]. HASKIN, Director.
Washington, D. C.
AMERICAN GAS ORGANIZATION


Washington, D. c., July 15.-Of all
the secret activities of the war de-
partment. none is quite so secret as
that which deals with poisonous gases.
Question an official of the war depart
rnent on any other important subject
about the difficulty of keeping ones
uniform clean, or on the disadvantages
of puttees in summer, or on the pro-
posed elimination of pie from the army
| ration-and he will talk volubly and
eloquently as long as you will listen
But at the mention of the word gas
his voice Immediately goes into a cata-
leptic state. He becomes discreet, in
eredibly ignorant: even suspicious He
| knows, you will be told significantly,
absolutely nothing about the use of gas
as a weapon of war.
Nevertheless, you may be quite sure
that he does; for no branch of military
science is studied more closely than
poisonous gas. For every new gas that
the Germans invent the allies have
been able to prepare an effective pro-
lection and vice versa. But the side
which is the first to invent poisonous
gas that, will penetrate the enemy's
respirator will have an overwhelming
advantage.
Curiously enough, the United States
bureau of mines was the first Ameri-
can institution to realize this, and it is
to its endeavors that we owe our pres
on gas. When the war first broke out.
the bureau of mines quietly made its
preparations, out of its own appropria-
tons, for the development of an
American gas division. DR.. Manning,
director of the bureau, got in touch
} with chemists all over the country
and secured the pledge of their sup
port. The American university, situat-
ed in the suburbs of Washington, came
forward with the offer of its buildings
and equipment gratis to the govern
nent, with the provision that any i'm
provements installed by the bureau of
mines should be retained by the uni
versity when the war was over. This
offer was promptly accepted, and the
American gas division began.
| Now 100 American chemists are at
work in this government laboratory at
the American university guarded by
a police force of twenty-five men.
They represent the greatest chemical
ability of the nation-men like w. D.
Bancroft. professor of chemistry at
: the University of Cornell: A. B. Lyon,
director of Havemeyer laboratory.
, New York university: w. K. Lewis,
chemical engineer of the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology; c. A.
eHulett, professor of physical chem
istry at Princeton: Yanden Henderson.
professor of physiology in the medical
school at Yale; and DR.. Ira Remsen,
) president emeritus of Johns Hopkins
university. These are only a few of
the many names on the list CT this
government laboratory, which is now
the greate-t o. its kind in the world.
All of them have left positions of "a
! sponsibility to serve the government.
OF their work little may be said with
the exception of the fact that they
work in constant danger, each man
with his gas mask on his desk. Even
the girl who operates the telephone
switchboard in the front hall has her
gas mask within reach of her right
? hand. The laboratory also has it's own
special fire brigade, but as a further
precaution there are many fire drills
when every employee must seize and
, adjust his gas mask and march with
orderly speed outside the building.
So quickly did the bureau of mines
' carry on its preparations that few peo-
} pie knew anything about them. with
the exception of several mayors of
, large cities. These latter were honored
with the knowledge because the
bureau of mines required a service of
E them. 1t wanted the dogs collected in
= the municipal pounds. These dogs
| were to die anyway, and it was de-
I cided that it was much better for
them to die a heroic, martyred death
r for their country than to die igno-
miniously and obscurely in the city
pound. So the dogs were sent to the
= American university, consumed a great
deal Of expensive food, and finally
died like patriots in order that expert
ments in various forms of chemical
G gas might be carried on.
J. For some time the war department
t was too occupied with a hundred diff
ferent disturbing problems, such as
mobilization. ships. aeroplanes, train
Y ing camps, to take up the matter OF
e poisonous gas. When it finally got
around to it, it was agreeab1y sur
| prised to find a gas division already
modified and waiting for it. A few
4 months later, the bureau Of mines
v transferred it's laboratory to the wal
: | department.
This laboratory is now perhaps the
s most heavily guarded stronghold OF
It the army. It is lined with a system
;, Of electric and mechanical alarms as
:. intricate as those that line the vaults
i Of the United States treasury. Only
o persons with the most nuimpeachable
r references may enter 1t. The reason
for all this secrecy is that the ele-
ment of surprise is essential to the
l success Of gas warfare. Everything
/ depends upon suddenly attacking the
4 enemy with new kind of gas agains
which he has no protection.
: That is why the first gas attack o.
1t the Germans, launched unexpected!
q at Ypres during the first year of tn,
war, still holds the record for ga.
:, casualties. A few days before the at
IL tack, a German prisoner brought int
= the British camp revealed the infor
nation that the German army hat
planted gas cylinders in its trenches
a with the intention of flooding the
l. enemy with gas, but inasmuch as ga
Ia warfare was strictly forbidden in tn,
| Hague treaties, no one believed him
Then the attack came; the British
al and Canadians were caught unpro
Ie tected on the field, and died like 81
many ch1oroformed flies. The Ger
mans claimed ten thousand killed
- and taken prisoners.
L, Fortunately, however. a specimen o
n the German gas cylinder was captures
, in the confusion and the secret of TIL
u attack uncovered. The Germans ha,
l. used chlorine. British chemists wer
h Immediately put to work, and a print
tive form of gas mask was invented
! consisting of pad of cotton woo
9r | yra nDed in muslin and in So