The Elbert County tribune., 1919-07-04
Public Now Permitted to Know
Details Of the Tests
Conducted.
ANIMAL LIVES SACRIFICED
Conditions Were Reproduced As
Nearly Like Those of the Battle
field as Possibie-Greatest
Secrecy Maintained.

New York.-Tucked away in n bar
Lakehurst, was located one of the
most interesting army camps in the
country. for there tests were made in
actual large scale field trials of new
gases which looked promising for
warfare in laboratory tests. or course
the greatest possible secrecy guarded
Gil proceedings there, the personnel,
both enlisted and commissioned, hav-
Ing been selected with great care, SO
that nothing would leak out. Now
that the camp is disbanded, scarcely
trace of 1t remaining, Lieutenant
Colonel w. S. Bacon. chief of the
proving division, tells of the work of
the camp in the Journal of Industrial
and Engineering Chemistry.
While the camp lasted all the
things done with gas on the combat
fields of Europe were tried out there
The camp had trenches, dugouts. con-
crete bomb-proof retreats, so that gas
effects might be accurately noted and
results applied to overseas work.
There were hospitals for the gassed,
goats, dogs, guinea pigs and monkeys
that were subjected to military ex-
posure. and the sort of care that hui
mans received abroad was given to
those animal sufferers. They were
saved when possible, and when not
possible the camp authorities knew
they had gas which would be fatal
also to enemy soldiers. The camp
eoltnd NJ oil IN 90
chemical, electrical. medical, engi-
neering and military skill of high or
der, and 1t became one of the most
valuable agencies In the war.
Proper Bursting Charge.
ITO make clear the trials and tests
necessary" Lieutenant Colonel Bacon
writes, before substance was final
ly recommended let us take as an ex-
ample substance y. which has been
found in the research laboratory to
be promising. both as to toxicity and
ease of manufacture. Enough of this
substance was made to fill several
hundred shells of various calibres.
The first step toward making a recon-
mendation was to determine proper
bursting charge for the substance.
after the bursting charge had
been determined large numbers of
the shell were repeatedly fired on
level ground. etc, in the same num-
bers MS used in actual warfare.
animals were placed in these
areas and samples of the gas taken.
After a number of such experiments.
very accurate and constant results
were obtained. upon which, IL the SUBJ
stance proved satisfactory. data could
be given to the artillery as regards
how many shells of this particular
gas should be used. with corrections
for size of area, wind veloclties, tenn
peratgres. ground conditions. etc.
Trials were continually held to deter
mine how many high explosive shell
could be fired with gas shell on the
same area without affecting the con-
centrations.
"The use of the high explosive
shell in combination with gas shell
was highly important In order to
disguise the gas bombardment. The
burst of gas shell fired alone cnn be
distinguished by the small detona-
tion."
Lines Of Trenches.
Two complete lines of trenches und
several impact grounds were used for
the work, and shells were fired for
as great distance as 5000 yards. Not
only were the most minute accounts
kept of all conditions at the point of
firing. but n sampling contrivance was
arranged by which at all times and
places the intensity and effect of gas
charged air could be recorded. Photo
graphs were also taken of every ex-
plosion az an aid in determining the