Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-05-24
CHS SERVICE N0M
PROVES ITS WORTH
UNDER GENERAL FRIES 1T is
DOING BENEFIcENT PEACE
WORK FOR HUMANITY
REPLY TO ITS OPPONENTS
Prevention and Cure of Various Dis
eases and Eradication of Insect
Pests by Use of "Poison Gases"
Have Been Demonstrated.
BY EDWARD B. CLARK

EGNvfARL> - Mann
Washington chemical warfare
service of the United States army
known ordinarily as the gas service,
continues to bear the shocks of con-
slant attacks from the organizations
made up Of what are called peace-at-
any-price folk. Brig. Gen. Amos A.
Fries is the chief of this service and
he has been withstanding staunchly
and somewhat stoIidly the assaults on
his service ever since the close of
the war.
Just before he left Washington on
his inspection trip of the Notifications
of the United States, Secretary of
War Weeks issued statement to the
effect that army officers would be al
lowed to set forth their views public
~ on preparedness matters and on
other matters believed to be vital to
the good of their profession and to the
good Of the country. 1t is pretty we'll
known, however, that the secretary
wanted to avoid acrimonious contro-
versy as much as possible, and so it
It understood that General Fries was
told to temper his temperament lit
tie bit, and not to throw too many
mustard gas shells into the ranks of
his opponents.
Seemingly it has been a little anus
ing to the officials of the War depart
ment and others to read what the out
and out friends of absolute disarma-
ment have to say about the chief Of
the gas service, and then to read his
answer in the form of announcements
that investigation and experiment by
his service prove that gas, anathema-
tized by the complete disarmament adj
vocates, will cure influenza, remove
the cause of typhus, save the cotton
from the boil weevil, other crops from
other insects and the fruit trees of
the land from the pests that war on
the bark and on the buds.
Fries Wants Gas to Help Humanity.
The War department holds that the
chemical warfare service is doing
benefcent work today. OF course the
chief Of the service knows 1t is his
duty to make studies of gas for other
than beneficent purposes, for it is per-
fectly conceivable from his point of
view, and from the general point Of
view, that some day some enemy of
the United States may break its word
and use gas in warfare, and that to-
day as a self protection matter the
United States must be prepared to de-
fend itself and to retort in kind.
The chief of the chemical warfare
service is known as a most efficient
and somewhat peppery officer. Per-
haps the extremists among his unpre-
paredness enemies would say that he
is mustardy. The writer of this served
for a time with the chemical warfare
chief in France, and he knows some
thing intimately therefore about his
methods and the aims of his service
life. Amos A. Fries wants gas to
serve the interests of humanity and
be Is striving so to make it serve.
1t is known therefore that. while ex-
periments and Investigations are be
ing conducted along lines which lead
to benefcence. they are also moving
along lines directed to the preparing
of this country to meet an emergency
in case some oath-breaking enemy of
the future should place gas in use on
the battlefield.
Service Now Gains Friends.
1t is also known in washington that
shortly after the war under the pres
sure of continuing assaults by the no.
army and no-navy folk, and particular
ly by the no-gas folk, some of the rank
ing officers of the military arm be-
lieved that the chemical warfare serv-
ice should be abolished. and it is I'M
derstood they so recommended. 1t
was saved only after strong effort.