Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1919-05-18
|00K NARRATES PART AMERICAN
INDUSTRY PLAYED IN GREAT WAR
When the Ar1nstice Was Signed America Was Pro-
ducing Almost Ten Times as Much War
Gas as Germany


,strv played in providing munitions
= the American army in the great
az Is unfolded in book being pre-
srod under the direction of Assistant
ecretary Crowell of the war depart
ont who was director of munitions
! to the close of hostilities, when he
'as specially assigned by tn, presi-
ent to direct the rehabilitation of
lateral.
Advance pages of two sections of
he book. those dealing with the
chemical warfare material, offensive
nd defensive, and with the equip
tent for the signal corps were made
|yajIable today, telling for the first
lime officially and completely not on
Of the stupendous scope of the pro-
let's but of the difficulties and de-
bys encountered and of the patriotic
Import of the war program given by
american business generally.
The chemical warfare section tells
Il the original work done by the ord
lance department toward obtaining
oxic gases and anti-gas devises for
he use of American troops. Suisse
uently this service became a separ-
tie branch of the army under the dir
ction Of Major General W. L. Sibert.
Among other secrets disclosed is
The basis of frequent statements that
1t the time of the signing of the
brmistice, the United States alone was
producing gases for military use at
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 producing more than 60 tons a
day and employing methods of pro-
duction far more modern and eff
Client than anything attained by the
enemy
Three Plants at Work.
There were three plants at work
on mustard gas, the Edgewood, Md,
arsenal which was manufacturing 80
tons a day by November II and had
turned out I'll tons up to that day;
the plant at Hastings, N. Y, which
was to have capacity of so tons a
Fday and was ready to operate on No
vember II, and the 50-ton plant of the
National Aniline and Chemical COM
Ipany, at Buffalo, N. Y, which was
~ percent complete.
The chemical name of this COM
pound is dichlorethylsurplide and it's
popular name of mustard gas comes
from its order.
Another element of the program
was the production of tear gases, not
| deadly under ordinary circumstances,
~ designed to produce blindness,
mus forcing the troops to use masks
extensively, impairing their military
enlclenly. The foundation of these
gases was bromine the main supply
u which is obtained from subterran-
san solutions found chiefly in the vi
.e,nisy OF Midland, Mich, where the
s,yvvternment financed the sinking of
= \ prime wells under direction of the
low Chemical Co., which were pre-
pa ~ TO supply $4,000 tons a year.
am, Inc other chief gases are the So
e = killers" the gases so deadly
~ ~ 70 bring death unless safeguards
a.s provided, chlorine and chlorpicrin
a,,a pnosgene. The only one of these
s% tOo commercially in the United
tha a.es ). was chlorine and even with
c ma. tne supply was utterly made
Huate to the demand.
a sd
~ = statistical table shows that 1888
t tons oi chlorine in liquid form: 1908
saa OF ehlorpicrin; 42O tons of phos-
e esne and 1870 tons of mustard oil
J JAM actually shipped overseas from
t;o nua aoy to to November, 1918. In addi-
chI a ooo,ooo 75-mm shells loaded with
r ano and 100000 loaded with
ma astafd oil went abroad the ship
, osa including 224,OOO phosphorus
nblenaaes as smoke bombs and 1880
1Tlossene bombs for Livens mortars.
bomhsc capacity for filling shells and
c cSal,os on the day of the armistice ex.
the uea 100000 month. At that time
il h plactice of shipping gases abroad
on ~ lux 70 be loaded into projectiles
' o'ner side had been abandoned
CIV Used by Sammies.
in h", NIL ), therefore shipped to Europe
Of oaa inc report states, "3, 1868 tons
was eas or its equivalent, which gas
Cd 1s largely loaded into shells and us.
thos ~ inc United States troops o,
suffer-; ~ the allies. This quantity was
two th; to load 100000 Shells
e esG thirds of them being Of the 75-mm
nm D'e :, and the other one-third 1855.
to h. me total number being though,
Der ho AZ ieast equal to the total mum
to ~ ,eing thought to be at least eoua
b. Am Total number of gas she'll free
am. american troops in action.
actnam Is While American gas was mo-
against Iired in American shell
vas nso5 the Germans, American ga.
AmarI;assed against the enemy, ant
sas as ah furnished at least as mucl
eoo - addition to this we Skinned 10
gene -1s Ma drums loaded with phos
sas al inese contained 279 tons o
tie anu s.a some Of them were fired q
.Edps~emy. A table Of casualties a
onlv Z Arsenal shows that Will
& III. men lost their lives from "a
kuIf e pant, 925 were injured. ii,
leeidepts snem, ga. IN mustard ga
III f 81 sasss Il &