The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-07
THOUSAND KINDS
OF POISONOUS GAS

the production Of even more deadly
forms of mass poison.
The British government has
actually used chemical warfare
since the world war, for although
it never declared war on Russia,
it used poison gas against the
Soviet Republic during the inter-
Sention, in which new poison
gas known as IN" was tried.
The chemical warfare experiment
tai stations at Portion and Sutton
Oak, of the chemical warfare school,
remained in being, and large
chemical warfare committee was set
up. Year by year large sums were
spent on preparations for chemical
warfare.
The universities were asked to
undertake research into the de-
yelopment to its utmost extent of
chemical warfare for offensive
and defensive purposes, under an
cath of secrecy"
The British government signed
the Versailles treaty prohibiting
chemical warfare, and then fixed
The estimates for Portion (the larg-
est of their chemical warfare ex-
perimental stations) for 1920-21 at
e54, 900.
Macdonald, Too.
|
After the signing of the Wash
ington treaty the estimates forPor-
ton for 1929 were increased to
e87, 900. After yet third interna-
tional treaty prohibiting chemical
warfare had been signed at Geneva,
the estimates for Portion were still
further increased to not less than
$4,000 for 1886. The labor
government in 1924 increased the
estimate for Portion to e115,000 for
| 1924-25.
Out of the competition between
the capitalists controlling the chem
ical industries have been forged vari-
Gus groups struggling at present for
the world market, and destined in
future to serve as vast arsenals, Gre
ating munitions for the next world
war. The chief groups are the Eu-
ropean Chemical Trust, in which the
German Trust is the leading mem
Der; Imperial Chemical Industries,
and the American Trust (recently
reported to have combined with the
Germany.
In addition government depart
ments for scientific research are
maintained. The British example is
the department of scientific and in
dustrial research.
During the war, at the sugges-
ton of Arthur Henderson Brit
ish IabOrite). the d. S. l. r. soon
became closely linked to the fight
ing services, and the links were
not broken after the war.
The D. S. l. R. is playing a very
important role in the preparations
for the next war.
One result of this research is
that although only about thirty
poison gases were used success
fully in the world war, League
of Nations committee assures us
that there are now over 1000
gases known.
| Just as the industries which pro-
duce the basic materials of high ex-
plosives (acetone, sulphate of am
monia, glycerine, etc. are being de-
veloped on an enormous scale, far
exceeding normal peace-time re-
quirements, so the industries which
will provide the war supplies of gas
ere receiving very special attention
from the governments.
| Dyestuff factories in particular
can produce both explosives and
poison gases, and these most i'm
portant potential arsenals have
heen expanded to such an extent
that the worlds dyestuff plant is
only working to one-third of it's
CAPACITY. Despite this, new fac
tories are being built.
Tons of Deadly Poison.
Armies, fleets and aircrafts will
all be equipped for big-scale gas
warfare. Gas shells from guns, gas
bombs from airplanes, and the even
dcadlier device of laying great
clouds Of poison gas somewhat as
cn,nla rcreans war laid in the last
war.
Ali these weapons will be used,
and used relentlessly, not only
against combatant forces, but
against the civilian population of
every city which is within gun range
CT airplsne radius of the enemy.
Nor will it only be a question of
brief or localized "gas attacks"
"Cortinui'v end e.tenr'on' are the
Imottoes Of the new school Of gas