Evening star., 1920-11-28
by A. e, sILvEIRA.

ciated by man.. WniIe eno
chemicals in their various forms mas
been known and practiced for cen
turies, it was only in this last war
that chemical warfare was 50 greatiy
developed and efficiently used. as 10
cause it to become a separate branch
of the United States Army.
It was on April %. 1915. that the
French and British soldiers. standing
guard in a section Of the Ypres salient,
first beheld q cloud OF greenish gas
waited toward them by tho gently
blowing wind. To the roar OF the can
non, the bursting shells and the hasn
Of steel had been eadea ess.nr ta,n mo1v anv
Of the known methods Of warfare
a terror which stole noiselessly over
the ground, settling into trenches ana
duKouts, lingering in the woods or
valleys on cool nights. only to be re-
vived by the heat OF the next Gays
sun!
The gas was found to be chlorine
and constituted the hrst gas attack
of the war. bringing with 1t death
and suffering for the opposing forces.
But the use Of gas was as new to
the Germans as It was to D. sneir op-
selves be gassed. they did not attack
until fully twenty-four hours after
ward. Their lack Of knowledge both
as to the proper manipulation OF the
gas and as to the direction OF the
prevailing winds of northern France
war to a sudden close. Had they
properly planned and executed gas
attack on a greater front. the war
might have ended quite differently.
However. Germany had permanent
l~, 1t ant u a
fare, and reluctant as France and Eng
land were to adopt It.. they were
forced to either employ similar tactics
or suffer the consequences. From
that day to the end of the war the
use of poisonous gases became an
Two years after the first gas attack
the United States came into the war.
For the first few months our govern
ment wac as slow to begin the use OF
toxic gases as had been the French
and the English governments. BY Oc-
decided that poison gas should De
manufactured in proportion to the
other military operations.
To this end, therefore, should be
. found an ideal location. Such a place
was found in the peaceful fields and
woodlands OF Gunpowder. adjacent to
the Aberdeen proving grounds, some
twenty-five miles out of Baltimore.
and which from its location was first
called the Gunpowder reservation.
This was an ideal site, first. because
Of its isolation. yet closeness to large
cities: second. its water and railroad
facilities. and third. because It was
| relatively close both to Washington.
from which it was directed. and to
the ports Of embarkation.
At the time that the decision was
made toproduce toxic gases. this coun-
try wat sptally unprepared. lacking not
only ga1 masks for the protection OF the
troops. but also the equipment neces-
| sary for the utilization Of gases on
tn ee offensive This state Of unpre-
paredness necessitated immediate
action. but being too great a problem
for any one section Of the War De-
partment. the work was apportioned
among several sections. To the trench
warfare section was assigned the task
Of producing the toxic gases and the
filing Of the shells.
Though the original intention was
to obtain toxic gases from established
chemical firms. It was found that few
manufacturers were willing to pro-
duce gases Of so high q toxic charac-
| ter on a large scale. There was but
one thing to be done. and that was
| for the government to erect its own
plants. thus avoiding the dangers and
| the difficulties both OF the manufac-
ture and the transportation OF toxic
gases. AS before mentioned. tract
| OF some 3400 acres had been obtained.
and as soon as a railroad spur had
been built to connect the grounds to
| the main trunk lines the actual con-
structfon began. This was on Novem-
ber Is, 1917. The work Of construct
| ing the plant progressed rather slow
1y at first, for It was found that there
| were no existing models for some Of
| the machinery needed. consequently
necessitating the creation OF new ma
| chfnery.
Up to the time Of the entry OF the
United States into the war number
Of gases had been used on the battle
fields, two of which had tendency to
the contending armies. The first Of
these was mustard gas and the otner
phosgene. Another gas which was also
used to a great extent was chtorpicrin.
To attempt extended resca rch for gases
which would be more effective meant
needless delay. although little informa-
tion relative to the gases the then a,a, IN use se
was decided to concentrate on the de-
velopment OF commercial processes for
the manufacture Of phosgene and chlor-
picrin. Phosgene had been used COM
mercially in the preparation OF dyes;
while chlorpicrin had no commerciai
use.
Phosgene was discovered In the early
days of chemistry and derived Its name
from the fact that 1t was supposedly
formed by the action OF i,gnt upon q
mixture of carbon monoxide and cnior-
Inc. Although It was not known Just
what ueht had to do with the chemi-
cal action, the presumption was that
light generated it. and SO the name pnos-
rene was applied, the first part OF which
is derived from the Greek word Tor
light. u..,o ~ th,s
ops was made outside Of the dyestun
plants, and, though It was known TO
have disa rreeable odor and to irrftate
the eyes, it was not thought to be par
ticulariy poisonous. .. A.
ordinsrv temperatures It weighs three
times aa much as air. one cubic foot
weishinr about a quarter OF pound.
At slIrhtly elevated temperatures II ar
tacks almost every known matHrai,
forming hydrochioric ,c ncac' or - comnre.s. msIr
sna nhoseene is easily liquified. and this
| ,in,,,S evaporatas immediately upon pc
inc Iiherated from the exploded shell.
into which It IL filled by machinery
similar to that USED ny 20 not.Mns ~. s1aS cIm,
Nv a refrigerating process. Since phos-
Ss 1srs is a heavy gas. which hangs close
- e" the ground. It 10 valuable In war,
20 To- e"o ~ nenetrates the trenches and
dH.r, dnrouts' M It 10 a very volatile gas and
sxS as1ea 81 s Il ana Ssns a sa
~ .n.s,a'w s toxic. It's effects are immediate.
srems.y Mustard T gas was nrst prepared ID ,s,s BY
| caar chemist, Victor Meyer. IN 1886.
Contrary to its name It. is .,,os., not 1;n';s gss
but coloress or slightly yellow ,GSlS siIaSt
. AhS ..asembung mustard or garlic from
odor y. sarswe, It's name 1t is q per-