The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-29

ed in one eye. These include ewes
destroyed, or those in which fbs
sight was lost OF the gassed bs-
tients, four were blinded in han
eyes, and 20 in one eve, a total ~
20. These 20 we're 1855 Der cer.
of all those suffering blindness n
one or both eyes. In other words
bullets and high explosives wa-o
responsible for % times as man
blinded as was chemical warfare.
4 Peace Insurance,
In defending chemical warfare
! says General Fries, Two are m,
Heading for war; We are pleading
| for peace. To the practical man
the only way peace can be brourbt
about in the wOrld-we mean pSr-
manent peace-is to make war 90
powerful and so quick and so Ger
tain against the armed forces NJ
the enemy that war will become in
tolerable.
NO chemical warfare officer has
ever defended frightfulness in war -
the general continued. The vhofo
service is strongly against the uss
of gas as vel las bombs or artiIerv
shells az Inst cities or Other
groups of unarmed men. women
and children. They believe. bog-.
ever, that there should be no li.nf-
tatton on the use of these weaBons
against the armed forces of a,
enemy, whether on land or sec
Each side, knowing that gas is tn
be used, will provide itself win
masks and gas-proof clothing anil
VIII suffer less deaths and perra-
nent disabilities by far than if tba
same number of men were injurai
by other methods. Modern VA
has aimed at putting men out of
action as far as possible with0pt
killing or permanently injurin,
them. The records Of the war shny-
conclusively that gas is beyond
question the best war material ever
invented for that purpose"
Admit Industrial Use.
Many of the war gases have
great peace-time uses. Most of
those which have not such uses ara
made by the same classes of ma.
chinery, and by the same methods
as our medicines, our perfumes
cur Photographic chemicals opr
dyes and even our phOnograph rec
ords. In some instances there :
needed only one shift in a process
to make a valuable chemical com
pound into powerful gas. An
example of this is the change in
the manufacture Of indigo to mus
lard gas.
1t follows therefore, that prepare
ion for chemical warfare is high
y economical, requiring no large {
outlay of funds during peace-times
During the war, chemicals cost
about $150,000,000, while for other
var materials handled by the ord
lance department about 5000. OO0-
100 w2s spent. Yet it is known
low that at the conclusion of the
struggle, the Germans dreaded
'hemIcaI attacks and attacks from
he air more than anything else.
1t IS evident, according to Cen
raj Fries, that a nation with
arge development of commercial
-irplanes, and 4 thoroughly ds-
eloped chemical industry. could
wage tremendously powerful war
Without a single cannon or MA
hine gun. According to the gen
raj, gases will put out OF commits
ion from three to ten times as
many enemy soldiers as bullets and
Ugh explosives, but the deaths
would only be about one-tenth as
,reat as from old-styIe fighting.
If an army unpTepared with gas
hould meet an enemy thoroughly
TO use gas, utter disaster
would hefall the nation un7re-
AIRED" General Fries said The
army could not face the
army for day. and with
irpianes pursuing, could not es-
ape. There would be only one \
hing humiliation CT surrender" =