The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-05-12


a considerable part Of his yearly sal
airy.
One Dianified Way to Do H.
II has been suggested In Washington
by some of the men whe have dis
cusscd this pcnsiOning matter that
there IL jignitcd method by which
the end sought can BE- accomplished.
The president of the United States IL
the commander IN chief Of the army
aud navy Of the country. lie IN, there
fore. in n sense the ranking military
officer of the land. The suggestion Ia
that president on leaving Office shall
bc placed on the retired list Of one or
IN, other of the armed services, Just
as officers are placed thereon when
they are eligible for retirement.
n this were done the president
would receive. ms retired pay from the
government. q certain percentage OF
his puy when he was on active duty
ms commander In chief No army Of.
ficer or nuVul officer looks on retired
nay as II pension. There are those
who think that II something must be
done for our ex-presidents. this might
be- the means employed To do u. Not
long aga the daughter Of former
president Of the United States died In
q semi charitable institution.
Poison Gas a Live Topic.
one Of the most striking official
social gatherings Of recent record
in washington was the diner OF
the present and former officers OF
the chemical warfare service and their
guests. which has just been held In
Washington. II was expected that the
affair would be a small one, but inter
est In the event was 50 great mat IL
was necessary TO secure large haii
TO accommodate the officers aud their
many guests.
There Is congressional interest. OF
course. In all branches Of the armed
services Of the country. but the inter
est that has been shown In the chem
ical warfare service. the newest or the
offensive and defensive branches OF
the army. seemingly surpasses every
thing IN the interest line that has been
known before. The dinner Just held
was attended by many senators ana
representatives In congress. by hien
officers of the army and navy. and
by a score or so OF the most famous
chemists In the United States.
Brig. Gen Amos. A. Fries, who was
the chief 81 the gas service In the
American eXpeditlonary forces, Is to-
day the chief of the chemical warfare
service as II exists In time Of peace.
lie presided nj the dinner. and In the
course OF hts opening remarks ne
touched ON the developing uses Of gas
for service In the peace life Of the
nation. II Is now being used TO avert
the dangers Of bubOnlc plague through
the use of gas as an eXterminator OF
rodents Of various kinds which are
plague carriers. II Is 81 use fo' pro-
lection OF vaults and safes from bur
glars, aud It rapidly is coming into
use In the police departments Of the
country as means Of routing armed
bandits who have been run To cover.
Must Be Ready for Future Wars.
Full cognizance was taken by the
members OF congress who spoke, and
by others ~ the fact that the world
hopes that some means eventually eau
be taken To avert all war 50 that II
may never again be necessary To use
any means Of offense or defense
against an enemy In the field, but no
speaker was hopeful enough even TO
insinuate that such n hope Is TO be full
filled II also is admitted by the most
trustful Of all those who hope for
peace. that II n war does come. some
nation certainly will use gus, which
is now recognized as the most poten-
tial element for overcoming a foe that
the world knows.
The reasoning Of congress In con-
tinuing the chemical warfare service.
and ~ making II n separate branch OF
the service In order that II might work
It's way TO efficiency effectively ana
Individually. Is that even II an agree
ment shall be entered into among the
nations OF the world not To use gas,
every nation of the world must be pre-
pared To- defend itself with gas and
To use II O0cnSlNely u soihe o'h'T h"-
ton breaks the agreement-and II can
he said definitely that the lessons OF
the last war made men believe that
the nation which thinks II can win a
victory by the use Of gas. Will not
hesitate for a moment TO bring IL Into
the lines as weapon.
DIR. W. ID. Bancroft Of Cornell uni
yerslty. who did such high service
along chemical lines for the United
States government during the war, said
at the dinner that II the Germans
when they made up their minds to
break the agreement not TO use gas,
aud did use It, had realized fully Its
offensive power and had brought into
the service the kind Of gas which they
later used. they could have gone
straight to the sea after their first gas
offensive against the English at Ypres
In April. 1918.
We Have the Most Deadly Gas.