The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-03-06
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. DirectOr.
washington, D. @.
DEADLY CHEMICALS MADE USE
Full AND HARMLESS

Washington, d. c.. March 1.-The
Conference for the Limitation of>Ar-
maments. recently concluded here.
agreed upon a treaty ending the use
of the gas in warfare and upon chem
zeal warfare generally Until the SEN
ate ratifies this treaty it will not be
binding upon the United States, of
course, and there is strong opposition
to ratification from those who con-
tend that troops and ships could be
rendered ineffective easily and with
far fewer deaths and permanent in
juries thru the use of chemicals than
l with older WEAPONS of war.
r At this time, tho. the chemical war
! fare service is turning its attention to
peace time uses of the combinations
of chemicals worked out during the
war.
Before the war Germany had prae-
chemical lines. So far as the United
! States is concerned, it's new chemical
industry, while growing tremendous
/ " is classed as an infant industry.
an industrial war between the Ger
man chemical houses and American
manufacturers is in progress now.
This fact has helped to stimulate the
army to finding peace uses for war
gases.
Phosgene gao, described as the most
: effective weapon of this sort devised
during the war, is now being used in
I the manufacture of perfume. 1t is
DelnB converted into a delicate. pene-
trating and lasting violet perfume
which is expected to gain considerable
popularity.
In the work of converting chernf-
Gals to the uses Of peace and indus
/ try, the chemical Warfare service is
cooperating with the treasury de-
partment, the department of the in
| terror. the department of agriculture
and the department of commerce, as
we'll as the bureau of standards. One
or more cooperative projects with
each of these governmental agencies
has been undertaken.
Ship FumIgation Experiments.
With the treasury department there
has been taken up the question of
1umigating ships, with the idea of
making this fumigation more efficient
and at the same time safer. At pres
ent, hydrocyanic acid gas is used for
this purpose. The great trouble with
II is that after fumigation it is diff
cult to determine that this highly
poisonous gas has been removed from
all parts of the ship. 1t is not readily
detected by odor or otherwise Deaths
now and then occur from someone en-
tering a compartment from which all
of the fumigating gas has not been
removed
Then occurred the idea of combin-
ing tear gas with the poisonous hydro
cyanic acid gas. Cooperative expert
ments are being conducted with this
end in view. Difficulties have arisen, |
as is usually the case in this. expert |
mental-work, but these difficulties are
being iroped out rapidly, and there is
promise that the public health service |
OF the treasury department soon will !
have at its command a ship fumiga- |
ton method much safer to human life |
than that which has been used
Phosgene. gas to kill rats is being !
experimental with, too In one ex-
pertinent undertaken with the public |
health service this gas was used |
40 r,-hf h. Go
Juan, Porto Rico The experiment |
was pronounced officially as "of /
value" as the determination of rats /
in seaports is one of the principal |
means of guarding the country against /
the entry of plague.
In the. experiments undertaken with |
the department of the interior, the use
of the gas mask for industrial pur-
poses is being developed. Close CO.
operation exists between the bureau OF
mines and the chemical warfare serv-
ice. Many ideas of great value in the
use of the gas mask in industry have
been developed, notably the discovery
of "hopcalite," which when put in the
canister of gas mask. changes the
deadly carbon monoxide gas encoun-
tered in mines and about blast fur
naces into harmless carbon dioxide.
Making Ice Plants Safe.
The use of ammonia in hotels, res
taurants, ice plants and the like for
purposes has become x-
tensiye. Ammonia gas is used in in
dustry under high pressure, and when
a leak occurred it was formerly i'm
possible for anyone to enter the room
and shut off the valves. The chemical
service discovered that silica
gel. used in the canister OF gas
mask, was adequate protection against
ammonia gas. This has proven a great
boon to industry, and made an am
monia leak an easily controlled ana
minor event.
The research work of this service
has developed tremendously the
knowledge about the production and
uses of high grade charcoal. Rela-
lively little had been known about
IT, one of the uses Of this high grade
is in obtaining gasoline from {
natural gas. Experiments are now
under way with the idea of producing s
charcoal direct from coal, something
Of immense Industrial importance !
which has never yet been done. Z
In cooperation with the department 5
Of agriculture. chemical experiments
are being conducted for the develop 7
nent of new means of destroying ami {
NAL and bird pests in this country. I
Tentative projects have been outlined 7
for killing gOphers, ground squirrels, \
and other pests which do +
millions of dollars of damage to crops 4
every year. Chlorine gas. first used !
by the Germans at Ypres-has been I
found efficacious in discriminating !
sophers. '
cooperative projects are under way '
70 determine what chemical agents
are useful for DISCRIMINATING insect
pests and to hit upon the best means a
'or employing them. Several IF the /
most important war gases have given b
great promise of usefulness in this
direction. Partial success has been V
in finding chemical means Z
IF fighting the cotton boil weevil. Ex- {
leriments with gas bombs to control i
'orest fires in their initial stages were I
ried, and the information gained has Z
been of benefit to the forest serviee. Il
Fighting Potato Bugs. +
One use to which chemicals are be- I
ng nut is in the eradication of the