New-York tribune., 1919-05-11

| ~~~SAOA OCCH WSAACu Vuts All DRCdhlnH
Of the first German gas attack upon
Canadian troops at Ypres, the report
says chlorine was used, and while pro-
lection of the troops from it later be-
came an easy matter, ait was only lack
OF faith in their new weapons that pre-
vented the Germans from winning the
war with it then and there.
Had they brought into the fighting
sufficient supply of this chlorine" the
gassed their way to Paris in short or
der. AS it was, they brought to the
line an almost neglible supply and they
themselves were insufficiently protect
| ed to 60 through their own gas and
follow up the attack. By the time
they were able to renew gas warfare
the French and British had equipped
sufficient to protect men against
chlorine"
Development Was Rapid
of gas masks from the original gauze
pads soaked in chemicals to the "box
respirator" which came into general
use. The Americans and British en-
ployed double protection mask, the
face piece being gas .ight, but, to in
sure against leaks, mouth piece and
nose clip being supplied also. insuring
protection even in torn mask: The
first order was for 100000 of these
masks for the American forces.
Subsequently, to provide greater
comfort for the men, it was decided
| abroad that single protection mask
would be sufficient. the risk of leaky
masks being regarded as preferable to
the discomfort of Che double protec-
tion type. When this decision was re-
ceived, however, on this side, it was
Il Ir1 %~ f<>r o,,t
with new types Of masks which would
give both comfort and security. This
was carried forward to point where
squad Of 150 men in the field testing
section almost lived in their gas masks,
working, playing baseball, digging
trenches, fighting sham battles day
and night, in which actual gas gren
AIDES were employed, and exposing
themselves to the heaviest concentra-
tions of the deadly gases under all
conditions.
"The work of this section" the re-
port says, "even went so far in the case
of the later designs as to include test
where six men worked, played and slept
in the masks for an entire week, only
taking them off for thirty minutes at
each meal time, and each day entering
high concentration of the most deadly
gases without injury to the wearers"
Even horses dau MASKS
The chief ingredient of the protec-
tion against gases is carbon, which
absorbs the gas instantaneously.
ply of carbon that could be found and
the known world was raked by Ameri-
can representatives to secure what was
needed In addition enormous quanti- |
ties of fruit pits and other nut shells
were secured and the national cam
paign to increase the supply Of these
ingredients met with great success.
The slogan, "Eat more cocoanut," the |
report states, increased the consump-
cent in very brief period and in
October, 1918, the government was OBJ
tanning from all sources about 150 |
tons per day of cocoanut shells. The
fruit canneries of the Pacific Coast |
supplied 100 tons day in apricot,
peach and cherry pits and walnut shells |
and the campaign led by the American
Red Cross to induce the public to con-
tribute fruit pits and nut shells was
in full swing when the armistice was
signed. 1t is estimated that 4,OO0 tons
of material was collected by this means.
Among the masks designed and pro-
duced we're 377, 1881 horse masks, which |
were easier of manufacture, as horse |
breathes always through his nose and
is not as liable to gas poisoning as
man. Other defensive equipment pro-
duced in large amounts included dug |
out blankets to seal the doors of un-
derground shelters from gas, and oiled |
clothing, underclothing and gloves to
protect from mustard oil. There were
shipped also 45,906 special signal horns
to give warning of gas, and more than |
$4,000 fans to blow the vapor out of |
trenches and dugouts.
Gases Used by Ancients
The report briefly reviews the his
tory Of this insidious weapon for war
ring purposes. 1t says:
The first recorded use Of suffo-
eating gasses was about 43l B. c.,
sulphur fumes having been used in
beseiging the cities of Platea and Bel
ium in the war between the Athen-
ians and the Spartans. So, as popu-
iarly known now, this scientific war
making weapon is no new thing. 1t
is only new in it's added or asimi-
lated ramifcations, and in its improved |
state and deadly perfection.
"In 1856 the English Admiral Lord
Dundonald, having observed the dead
ly character of the fumes of sulphur
in Cicily, proposed to reduce Sebas-
topol by sulphur fumes and proceeded
to work out the details of the plan.
ne EHgllSn government QlSapprOVed |
the proposition, however, on the ground
that no honorable combatant could
use the means required to produce
them
THAT the probable use of poison
gases was still in the minds of mill
tary men is evidenced by the fact
that at The Hague conference in 1899
several of the more prominent nations
of Europe and Asia pledged themselves
not to use any projectiles whose only
object was to give out suffocating or
poisonous gases. Many of the powers
did not sign this declaration later
Germany signed and ratified it on
September A, 1900, but he United States
never signed it. Further, this declara-
ton was not to be binding in case
of war in which a non-signatory
was or became belligerent.
'NThe second Hague conference in
1907 adopted rules for land. warfare,
and among them was one which read
as follows: 1T is expressly forbidden
to employ poisons or poisonous wea-
pons
"The use Of toxic gases dates back
in the Great War to April %, 1915,
on which day the Germans employed
chlorine, a common and we'll known
gas, In an attack against the British
and French lines on the Ypres sa-
lient."
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