Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-05-10
WILL THE CHEMISTS DEFEAT
PLANS FOR A WORLD PEACE?
Religious Organizations Seeking oisar'
mament Can Teach the People to
stop. Look. Llsten-and learn


Stop, Look, listen--and Learn
INTERNATIONAL disarmament has been
too long delayed. Two years ago It
might have been accomplished Now 1t must
be regarded as little more than hope diff
cult of realization because of the new
political and economic complexities devel-
opcd out Of the armistice and the terms Of
peace.
No one nation. no matter how much of
the spirit of idealsm and faith may be in
it. can afford to take ''thC independent lead,
of which Mr.. Bryan is forever talking. with
out some risk of the sort of experience that
would fall naturally to n rich and COM
placcnt and bediamondcd spectator at bur
glars ball. Mr.. Bryan may always be
credited with good intentions. But he has
an irritating habit of thinking Of war as il
was fought at Lexington and Bunker Hill.
To him disarmament seems a simple busi-
ness. You hang UP your muskct. make
plow of your sword fold your arms and look
proudly upon a world made contrite by your
example.
War will never again be waged with
swords. 1t may never again be fought with
big guns There are men in the naval service
who doubt whether the world will ever again
see or hear of clash between squadrons Of
dreadnoughts. The simple fact is that guns
are becoming old fashioned. Before we are
much older the 1G-inCh rifles of the newer
war vessels may be n useless as the ball
muskets of the Revolutionary period.
Chemical warfare is what beligerent nations
are thinking of and preparing for, and it il
an awful thing TO contemplate and an
extremely difficult thing to guard against
and prevent.
For this reason. and because no scheme
yet proposed provides for anything like in
ternational control in the field of military
chemistry. and because poison making
plants are multiplying at a great rate in
some parts OF Europe and Asia, the sudden
appeal OF federated church organizations for
nn international conference for disarma-
mcnt will be welcomed by any one who has
taken the trouble to observe the more recent
work of military experts
When General Tasker II. Bliss wrote the
letter which caused ProtcStantS. Catholics
and Jews to join forces for an appeal from
100000 churches he was thinking as an
expert in terms of the future and not as nm
amateur like Mr.. Bryan thinks, in terms of
the past. The biggest gun made will kill
and destroy in an extremely narrow area.
One great gas shell of the newer type,
ton over miles of territory and leave no
vestige of life anywhere in the region at
tackled.
It ought to be understood by every one
who assumes to Talk of disarmament that
there is no known limit to the potentiaiitv Of
chemicals IN warfare. And II ought to be
remembered. too, that even while statesmen
are taking OF peace the chemical industry is
being swiftly revived and reorganiZed in
Europe. and that it is assuming forms un-
known before 1914. 1t ought TO be COM
parativelv easy to restrict conventional
armament through international agreements.
The restriction of activity and secret devel-
opments in the field of general chemistry
would be difficult for the simple reason that
the modern plants are built oStensibly to do
the work of peace But the factory that
turns out dyes or fertilizers today can turn
out deadly gas and war poisons tomorrow.
In other words war of the future might
easily become at once cheaper and infinitely
more horrible than any war ever has been in
the past.
There has Of .nte been great activity in
the chemical manufacturing areas of the
Ruhr valley. The japanese, according to
some reports are as busy rs the Germans in
this field. II would be foolish to suppose
that Other Governments are not aware Of
all this and that they are not providing
means for a supply of th" newest and most
terrible sort Of ammunition. The most
tragic lining about this new complication is
that the people who want to live peacefully
under tho Governments known as Powers
know little or nothing about the new peris
that crowd the immediate future.
General Bliss knows of course, tnat at
the present crisis in international affairs a
call for a disarmament conference would be
untimcv Leaders of the great movement
that he has started are doubtless aware OF
this So tac call from the pulpits OF the
country will not be issued until June :,
Even then il may not be possible tor the
Government Of the United States TO recog.
ntzo i in practical way. That Will not
cren+,v matter The question can be- raised
again and again For. even il q dlsarmN-
ment conference Of nations could not find 4
way 10 reduce armaments Immediately, il
could and would do something quite as i'm
portani II would reveal 10 people ever
where ,h" enduring peril Of scientific war
fare and il would at least be able TO prove
70 the world at large that wars of nnnhi.a
ton will still be possible, even after IN" IGs
batt,rship is dockCd foreCCr and the Inst big
gun ru~'od away. Nothing but genera
omen discussion Of the whole question car
uronp.Iy and fully inform the plain people
eyorvwhcrc Of two things that they ought Il
know
That something like international contFo
ot base chemicals and their manufacture
,s- Of necessity be one Of the first step
/
toward disarmament.
That such control may be made Doss!bl,
oDd fair only through a concert Of all nR
tons established for the common good OF tht
world
cONSCRlPTED WORKERS