Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-12-03
Us. WAR GAS FACTORY !.
BUSY ON DEADLY FUMES.
Poison Works Near Baltimore
Greatest in World; Ready
to End the War.

Washington, Dec. 3.-Anticipating
debates In the conference on tne use
~ poison gas. l visited ves.e'u"s
Americas poison gas works a. Iuee
wood. half AN hour beyond pa''',no'e'
probably the greatest poison worAs 4"
the world.
Edvewood In hardly even a village
except for the works. All Oh wh'cn
were erected during the war; ihere
a. an enclosure Of 10000 acres Tor the
factory on n promontory In Chesa-
peak. Bay having its own DOCKS ior
lighters. The works We're brought 10
,ho highest perfection just before the
arm,stice and could then produce 200
ION. Of poison gas daily. work
ia now going on at greatly reduced
u,sssuro hut the plant Is maintained
4, eomp,cte readiness, with per-
mersnt stan, machines In WORKING
order and the results continually IN
arcr,ed and tested separately.
stnns for oirensc and defense are
continually working against each
other. every advance in poison peihs
mot. of possible, by l..c' 'ctive meth
,ds such as new devices In masks TO
rreyent death by suffocation or I'M
preenahle overalls 10 prevent death
hy burning.
On the French front our masks
,,,,ia he nut ON In six seconds. Here
the masks can be put on In three U!
one single movement without .ies'
notable device In glass sossies mas
been invented. the glass oeine cen
Htructcd SO that IL can never sphh.er
oven II Il should break. 'Much I'M
provement has been made also IN the
breathing tube and cylinder.
rh.,e are two hermetically sealed
chambers into which the men Voiuh-
te,r to enter without extra payment
,o test the power of the gases. ihey
are watched through WINDOW uh,i
thoy signal upon feeling the erect IN
faintness or sickness.
ch,or,ns made from common table
salt is the base for all poison gas eA-
cont perhaps Lcwisite. Salt is os-
sol,,ca IN enormous watts ike IRON
,o,,aries. Many kinds of gas are
,,on,factured. The best for suitoca-
80, - called phosgene. Mustard gas
hu,,. the flesh off as well and pehe-
,r,,cs the clothing, as was Demon
strated during the war.
,s,,orooh,srin produces intense vom-
itlng, disabling until the enemy ar
riycs to kill. lachrymatorS eao
causes foods Of tears and i's eiieo's
are melodramatic. as iouho upon
approaching the factory. Ihe sfnei'
10 rather sweet. but the erect wears
on n the sufferer survives the pay
one, attack for which the gas Is pre-
paratory.
r.evislte Is a burning gas like mus
tnrd gas, but It's effect ic iar hlore
nowcrful. IL spreads slowly. uhl'ke
phosrene, which on that account Is
,,o,e favored for ordinary bombing
from the air. But Lewisite could De
.nraNca upon cities. as Win nose
,ron, aircraft with devastating effect.
burning clothes, skin and flesh OF
All soldiers and citizens indiferently.
farce aircraft. each carrying sew
,ral hon,bs or spraying machines.
could easily destroy great cities IL
unopposed and gradually reduce the
whole human population rendering
birth control unnecessary.
Mos, interesting was the museum
on the premises illustrating the
growth OF various destructive chem
teal processes and attempts TO coun-
,,r.ct them. The whole factory
nrove. what ingenuity has been ex-
nend.d for slaughter anc the horror
INA, would doubtless be involved IN
another war.
An attempts 20 check the employ
nent of improved Instruments OF de-
,truction have hitherto been vain, as
nrovcd al The Hague and in our pro-
test against the use Of poison gas ir
the late war. Perhaps this object car
n. furthorcd by increasing the terror
for the stay-at-homes. elderly mel
ana women. who would no longer giv'
their sons only but themselves also.
l am now informed that Lewisit'
was invented by man named New
lands az the Catholic University her
and pcrfectcd by Prof. Lee Lewis o
Northwestern University. II is com
po-od OF acctylene with solution o
arsenic trichloride. II is believed capa
AL. of penetrating any mask ant
masses through the flesh or down tn
lungs, burning the victim inside an
outside. IL il regarded as the mail
origin OF security in case OF futur
war. /, was produced at the rate o
len ton. daily at the time OF tn
armistice,