Charlevoix county herald., 1919-06-27

lean Industry Played IN rToNio'"S
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 book
being prepared under the direction OF
Assistant Secretary Crowell of the war
department, who was director OF NUM-
lions I'D 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 siA tons of mustard gas per
day, while the United States was pro-
ducing more than 60 tons 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, Md, ar
senal, which was manufacturing 30 tons
day by November IL and had turned
out I'll tons up to that day; the plant
at Hastings, N. Y, which was to have
capacity of 90 tons a day and was
ready to operate on November II, and
the 50-ton plant at the National Ami
line and Chemical company at Buffalo,
Y, which was so per cent complete.
The chemical name of this compound
is dlchlorethylsulphide and it's popular
name of mustard gas comes from its
odOr.
Production of Tear Gases.
Another element of the program was
the production of tear gases, not dead
ly 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 $4,000 tons year.
The other chief gases are the So
called killers" the gases so deadly as
TO bring death unless safeguards are
provided, chlorine and chlorpicrin and
phOsgene. The only one of these pro-
duced commercially in the United
States was chlorine, and even with
that the supply was utterly inadequate
to the demand.
A statistical table shows that 1,4S8
tons Of chlorine in liquid form, 1908
tons of chlorpicrin, 420 tons of phos-
gene, and 100 tons of mustard oil were
actually shipped overseas from Jan
uary to November, 1918. In addition
100000 75-millimeter shells loaded with
chlorpicrin and 10000 loaded with
mustard oil went abroad, the ship
ments including $4,000 phosphorus
grenades as smoke bombs, and 1900
phosgene bombs for Livens mOrtars
The capacity for filling shells and
bombs on the day of the armlstice ex-
ceeded 100000 a month. At that time
the practice of shipping gases abroad
In bulk To be loaded into projectlles
on the other side had been abandoned
"We therefore shipped to Europe in
bulk" the report states, 1892 tons of
gas or Its equivalent. This was largely
loaded into shells and used by the
United States troops or those of the
Allies. This quantity was sufficient to
load 100000 shells, two-thirds of
them being of the 75-mm. calibre and
the other one-third 155-mm., the total
number being thought TO be at least
equal to the total number of gas shell
fired by American troops in action
Thus, while American gas was not
actually fired In American shell against
the Germans. American gas was used
against the enemy and America fur
nished at least as much gas as she
fred.