The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-05-25
"LENISITE' IS
new DEADLY
POISON GAS
PRODUCT IN POSSESSION or THE
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR -
MOST TERRIBLE SUPER POISON
KNOWN TO SCIENCE.

Washington, May 24-At the educa-
tional exposition. illustrating the war
time and reconstruction activities of
the department of the Interior, now
being held there is being shown un-
der guard a sample of the most ter
rible super-poison gas known. the dis
covery OF Prof w. Lee Lewis, while
in the employ OF the bureau of mines
at its American University labora-
tories
This gas, formerly called Lewis
ite,p later known as sMethyl" be-
cause the latter name meant nothing
t courteous persons. was being man
ufactured by the war department at
the rate OF ten tons a day when the
arrnistiee was signed.
The gas is being variously describ
ed as ''the climax of the country
achievements in the 1ethal arts and
as "the most terrible instrument OF
Granddaughter ever conceived" The
department itself declares that it IS
the most deadly of all war gases,
much more deadly than mustard gas,
which heretofore was known by chem
lists as "the king of poison gases"
1t is said that ten airplant loads OF
s.AdetllyP' would have been sufficient
to destroy all life in Berlin, If such
extreme measures had been necessary.
and that a single days output would
have been sufficient to snuff out the
| four million human lives on the Is
land of Manhattan.
This gas was not only discovered
| by Prof Lewis, but was also devei-
oped by him to point where it was
ready for production at the American
University while those laboratories
were still under the control OF the
bureau of mines. one of the organfza-
lions of the department of the In
fterior When this work was first
taken up by the bureau in behalf of
/ the military authorities, Prof Lewis
! was called from his civilian duties as
professor of chemistry at Northwest
ern University. Evanston, ILL.,, and at
( the request of the bureau was commits
Isfoned as captain in the ordnance
department and assigned to the gas
warfare service of the bureau OF
mines. While acting in this capacity
prof Lewis discovered and developed
| the gas, and eighteen days after the
gas work of the bureau of mines
was transferred to the jurisdiction of
the war department an eleven acre
plant for its manufacture was started
jnear Cleveland, Ohio, where the work
was conducted under the strictest mil
itary secrecy. This plant, which was
dubbed by the workmen the mouse
trap because, in order to prevent the
| leakage of information, it was under
stood that the men who entered would
| nto leave until the war was over, was
| in operation within a tremendously
short time, and plans were made by
the war department to have 5000 tons
| of this most diabolitical gas at the
American front by March 1. 1919.
| When the armistice came the plant
was we'll ahead of its production
schedule, but the opportunity had not
come for the use of the gas at the bat
tie 'front.' Thus the Germans did not
have a chance to obtain first-hand
experience with this most frightful
of all poison gases. of which it IS
| said that a single drop on the hand
will penetrate to the blood and sooi1
reach the heart, when it kills the vic
tim in great agony. 1t is declared
that among the 500 men at the plant
there was not one fatality, this inn
munity being largely due to the pro-
lviding of all employees with gas masks,
protective clothing and extreme pre-
cautions in operation