Pueblo chieftain., 1921-12-31
CHEMICALS IN warfare

than 200 mon actually died on the field
OF battle as a result OF gas attacks.
since concentration OF gas Sufficient
TO kill within IL hours was seldom OBJ
taincd. Assuming that 200 died on the
battlefield from chemical attacks.
General Fries pointed out. the total
deaths Nom gas would be 1.tti, less
per cent OF the 9o.753 gas cases.
OF tho 1S7.5s5 injured by bullets and
high explosives. 4s,4t9 died. or more
than "a per cent. 1t Is evident from
these figures that the man injured by
gas alone had more than IL times as
good chance OF recovery AS the man
injured by high explosives shells or
bullets.
Other comparisons arc quite rs
striking. Tho official records show
that So men were totally blinded In tho
war. a were partially blinded. In both
eyes, and ga were blinded in one eye.
These include eyes destroyed. or thosc
in which tho sight was lost. or tho
gassed patients. { wcrc blinded in both
eyes. and IS In one eye. total OF -.
These % were 3-S5 per cent OF au
thos.s suffering blindness In one or both
eyes. In other words, bullets and high
explosives were responsible for -
times many blinded as WAS cheml-
cal warfare
CHEMICAL WARFARE A PEACE
INSURANCE
In defending chemical warfare"
says General Fries. we are not plead
Ing for war. we are pleading for peace.
To tho practical man tho only way
peace can be brought about In the
world-we mean permanent peace
TO make war so powerful and SO quick
and so certain against the armed for
ccs OF the enemy that war will become
intolcrablc.
No Chemical Warfare officer has
ever defended frightfulness in war
the General continued. The whole ser
vice Is strongly against tho use OF ga
as well as bombs or artillery she'll
against cities or other groups OF ur.
armed men. women and children. Tho
believe. however. that there should be-
no limitation on the uso OF th'EH
weapons against the armed forces Of
an enemy. whether on land or fe7.
Each side, knowing that gas is to hr
used, Will provide itself with mssks
and gas-proof clothing and Will suflgF
less deaths and permanent dIsabiliticT
by far than II the same number OF men
were injured by other methods. Mod
crn war has aimed aa putting men OUT
of action as far as possible without
killing or permanently iujuring them
Tho records OF tho war show conclu-
sively that gas Is beyond question the
best war material ever Invented Tor
that purpose
CHEMICAL PLANTS ADMIT OF IN
DUSTRGAL USE
Many OF the war gases have great
pcace-time uses. Most OF those whieh
have not such uses are made by tho
samo classes of machinery. and By tho
same methods. as our medicines, our
perfumes, our Photographic chcmieals'
our dyes and even our phonoErapN
records. In some instances there lN
needed only one shift in process l"
make valuable chemical eomPoun
into a powerful gas. An example ot
this Is the change iQ tho manulaN'uio
of indigo to mustard gas
1t follows therefore, that preparation
for chemical warfare is highly eco
nomiCal. requiring no large outlay "l
funds during pcacctimcs. puflns tu'
war, chemicals cost about H'o"Vo,V'
while for other war materials hthH''
by tho Ordinance Department ap"uL
So. 900. 900. 900 was spent. Yet 1t is known
now that at the conclusion OF the ~ ~
gle. the Germans dreaded chemical az.
tacks and attacks from the air iloIN
than anything else.
i Is evident. according to GcheI''
Fries. that a nation with a larE" &c
velopment of commercial airpiah'''
and II thoroly developed chemical M
dustrN, could wage a tremendously
powerful war without a single ,huhv'
or machine gun According Co D.
General, gases will put out of comml7
sion from three to ten times aS many
enemy soldiers as bullets and high cH-
explosives, but the deaths would onn
be about one-tcnth as great as from
old-style fighting.
IF an army unprcparod with ga
should rscct an army thoroly prCpaf'u
to use gas. utter disaster would hclhN
the nation unprcpared." General trl'.
said. The unproparcd army could no,
face tho prepared army for a day. 7n"
with airplnucs pursuing, could not f
cape, There would he only one thinS-
annihilatlon or surrender"