The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-18

death and suffering caused than the
instruments ofwar to which we are
accustomed. is the discovery-I
think il can be properly called
discovery-that chemical warfare
is really a by-product of peaceful
industry.
serves Man in Peace.
The two great developments OF
the world war were the air fleet
and applied chemistry. and both OF
them in times of peace serve man
kind. A commercial air Meet. such
as we certainly shall see. operat-
ing above US, can, il is believed.
be readily adapted to war purposes:
while as for chemical warfare. all
that is needed is TO turn your or
Eanic chemical factories, busy with
the making of beneficent and use
full articles, to manufacturing poi
sons.
Where did Germany get her gas?
She had no great gas Krupp deyot-
ed simply to its making. When the
German war staff determined to
break The Hague convention, II
called together the directors OF the
immense dye combine. the Interes-
sen Gemeinshaft. which had had a
practical monopoly for years OF
furnishing dyes not only to Ger
many. but to England, France, the
United States. and ordered them to
turn their equipment to making in
quantity all the deadly substances
they knew and to set their chem
lists at devising new ones.
The chlorine gas which caused
such disaster to the allies at Ypres
In 1915 is used for all sorts of
bleaching processes. Millions of
gallons OF water are purified daily
by 1t. Combined with lime it makes
the chloride of lime with which
every housewife is familiar. Chlo-
rine is used freely in every labo-
ratory. All that the German chem
ical plants had to do was to turn
out in quantity a thing which they
were accustomed TO manufacturing
for years.
Indigo Grows warIike.
The mustard gas. which so star
| tied the allied armies when it was
\ first used, was obtained by arrest
ing at a certain stage one Of the
processes by which indigo is made.
| That is. you start out to make in
digo, and just before you reach it
/ you stop, take a short side step,
and there is mustard gas! Indigo
plants when necessary become war
plants.
Most of these powerful new
deadly chemicals Of which We hear
such terrifying stories have been
| discovered while searching for
/ dyes, for medicines. for one or an
other OF a multitude Of the useful
articles with which chemistry
| blesses the world
These pOisons are by-products of
peaceful science. They are bound
to be found out, as laboratory re-
/ search goes on. You cannot de-
velop new medicines as chemistry
Is all the time aiming to do. YOU
cannot increase the number and
value OF dyes, of perfumes, of the
solutions required in photography,
without on your way running the
risk Of discovering something more
terrible than ever yet has been
found. There is no necessity of
manufacturing any one of these
deadly things in peace times in or
der to have the advantage of them
in war. All that is necessary is a
stan OF trained chemists the for
Z
the factory so as to produce in
/ Quantities. and of course ADEQUATE
/ detenses developed, for il must he
remembered that II you have found
4 out deadly poison the chemists of
other nations may also have found
IL and prepared themselves to use
/ il.
Are Convertible weapon,
! IN all of this tbara &c
/ very important for those who IooE
! upon permanent world peace as
possible. 1t is one OF those slow
| reaIlzations coming on US out of
the experience of the great war.
iOur submarine, your warship
your great guns have no peaceful
/ use; they are calculated only to
| XIII; they require an enormous in
Vestment, which Is a dead loss to a
| country in times OF peace. More
| over, their very existence fosters
the war spirit. The air fleet and
| chemical weapons serve the end. OF
| peace, they aid and bless men. and
almost over night, II necessary
can be converted to war purposes
And here Is another and Significant
! fact. Nobody can make money ont
OF poisonous gases. Your high e1-
plosives can be made profitable All
that you can do with mustard gas
or any OF its colleagues when
peace comes Is TO dump them into
the sea-powder. shot and she'll can
be alvaged-there is money In
them-and where money Is there is
always temptation.
1t may not be entirely fancIfuI To
suggest that the time will come
when we shall have so developed
the air fleet and chemical defense
that we can safely wipe out our
present vast and cumbersome war
machinery. II we could do this what
would we have? Defense of the
most practical kind-defense hay-
ing no look OF war about ia de-
Tense which would lift the greater
part OF the burden OF war expense
which weighs so heavily now upon
the masses chemical warfare Is
cheap)-a defense that would keep
men busy at useful benefcent work
and turn them to destructive eff
forts only when compelled to pro-
tect their country.
Suppose that II should come
about that the war of the future
was left to the chemist and the ayI-
ator-that ships and guns did be-
come obsolete, as Is being freely
prophesied today-might 1t not be
that finally our common sense
would revolt against seeing two
great beuefcent factors of our daily
life which were building I'D wealth
and comfort and health for us,
turned suddenly to destroying
property and lives in order To set
tie misunderstandInus ana ouarr.l.