The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-07-07
AMERICA TOOK
LEAD IN WAR
GAS PRODUCTION
Output at Time Of Armistice Ten
Times Germany's.
ExcELLED IN GAS MASKS

@ShO-@@-~
Protection Twenty Times That of Foe
-OfficIal Book Tells Of Part Amer
lean Industry Played In Providing
Munitions for the American Army
Germans Could Have Won Way to
Paris by Pushing Gas Surprise.
An official narrative of the part
American industry played In providing
munitions for the American army In
the great war Is unfolded In a book
being prepared under the direction of
Assistant Secretary Crowell of the war
department, who was director of muni-
lions up TO the close of hostilities,
when he was specially assigned by the
president to direct the rehabilitation
of material.
Advance pages of two sections of the
book, those dealing with the chemical
warfare material, offensive and de-
fensive, and with the equipment for
the signal corps, were made available,
telling for the first time officially and
completely not only Of the ~stupendous
scope of the projects, but of the diff
ficulties and delays encountered and
OF the patriotic support of the war
program given by American business
generally.
The chemical warfare section tells
OF the original work done by the ord
nance department toward obtaining
toxic gases and anti-gas devices for the
use of American troops. subsequently
this service became a separate branch
Of the army, under the direction of
Maj. Gen. w. L. Sibert.
Among other secrets disclosed is the
basis Of frequent statements that at
the time OF the signing of the armistice
the United States alone was producing
gases for military use at a rate ten
times In excess of the best production
Germany could obtain. The Germans
produced, with all their facilities,
about six tons of mustard gas per
day, while the United States was pro-
ducing more than 60 tons a day and
employing methods of production far
more modern and efficient than any
thing attained by the enemy.
There were three plants at work on
mustard gas. the Edgewood. Nd, ar
senal, which was manufacturing 30 tons
q day by November III and had turned
out I'll tons up to that day; the plant
at Hastings, N. ", which was to have
q capacity of 90 tons a day and was
ready to operate on November IL. and
the 50-ton plant at the National AMI
line and Chemical company at Buffalo,
N Y, which was so per cent complete.
The chemical name of this compound
Is dichlorethylsulphide and its popular
name of mustard a comes from Its
odOr.
Production OF Tear Gases.
Another element of the program was
the production Of tear gases, not dead
" under ordinary circumstances, but
designed to produce blindness. thus
forcing the troops to use masks ex.
tensively, impairing their military
efficiency. The foundation of these
gases was bromine, the main supply OF
which is obtained from subterranean
solutions found chiefly In the vicinity
Of Midland, Mich, where the govern
ment financed the sinking of seventeen
brine wells under direction of the Dow
Chemical company, which were pre-
pared to supply 100000 tons a year.
The other chief gases are the so
called "killers,' the gases SO deadly a
to bring death unless safeguards ar
provided, chlorine and chlorpicrin ant
p~hosgene. The only n of these pro
duced commercially I'm the Unite'
States was chlorine, and even wit
that the supply was utterly ~inadequat
to the demand.
"A statistical table shows that LAS
tons Of chlorine in liquid form. 100
IONS Of chlorpicrin. 420 tons Of phos
gene, and 100 tons of mustard oil wer
actually shipped overseas from jar
uary to November. 1918. In additio
100000 75-millimeter shells loaded wit
chlorpicrin and 10000 loaded wit
mustard oil went abroad. the shil
ments Including 224.000 phosphoru
grenades as smoke bombs, and 1890
ph0sgene bombs for Livens mortar
The capacity for filling shells an
bombs on the day of TIE armistice e.
ceeded 4,6O0,oOO a month. At that tim
the practice Of shipping gases abroa
In bulk to be loaded into projectilt
on the other side had been abandone'
1--WE therefore shipped to Europe
bulk" the report states, 1862 tons {
gas or Its equivalent. This was largel
loaded into shells and used by tn
United States troops or those Of til
Allies. This quantity was sufficient
load 100000 shells, two-thirds I
them being of the 75-mm. calibre an
the other one-third 155~mm, the tot
number being thought to be at lea
equal to the total number of gas she
Aired by American troops In actio
Thus. while American gas was n
actually fired In American shell again
the Germans, American gas was us,
against the enemy and America fl
nished at least a. much gas as 81