The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-07-28
By DAVID RAMSEY

Gas Attacks Against Workers
TO an increasing extent the police
1 and National Guard are resorting
to gas attacks TO break up picket
lines and workers demonstrations.
Tear, vomiting and knockout gases
that cause intense irritation Of the
eyes, and severe nausea and yomit-
ing, are US d unfortunately
against men, women and children
as the preliminary move to mopping
up with clubs, bayonets and bullets.
Tear gas was developed by army
chemists during the war. 1t is COM
monty called On which stands for
what chemists call chloracetaphe-
none. ON is solid substance which
turns into light blush, almost in
visible gas when heated. In bombs it
is mixed with a small amount of
smokeless powder that burns when
the fuse is drawn out. The heat
that is generated turns the solid
into vapor which pours from
openings in the bomb with intensely
irritating effects on the eyes. Theo-
retically the bomb should not ex-
plode since the generated heat
should hardly be enough to ignite
paper. Actually the bombs are often
so poorly made that when thrown,
they explode into bits, severely
wounding and burning everyone
within reach. Tear gas causes in
tense smarting and a profusion of
tears that leaves the victim tenn
porarily blinded.
ON has its handicaps (for the
cops. A strong breeze will blow
it away, or turn it back upon the
attacker. And in many cases, the
workers have stood their ground de-
spite tear gas. Consequently, for a
tough" situation, the cops use DIM
known to chemists as dipheny-
lamine-chlorarsine. Workers who
get a dose suffer from severe irri-
tation of the lungs, nose and throat.
A strong dose leads to violent
nausea, vomiting, headaches, and
feeling Of suffocation, often likened
to the feeling of having several men
standing on ones chest.
Combine ON and DIN, and the
product is Knockout gas" AS an
added pleasure" this combines the
ill-effects Of both gases.
The police and especially the Ma
tional Guard, are turning to the use
Of smoke grenades, also. A dense
smoke screen is laid down which
completely blinds the picket line
and makes the workers easy victims
as they stagger out in small groups.
DECENT developments in the
IL structure of gas bombs have in
creased the danger to workers. Some
types go off when they contact any
solid object. Others are supposed
to burst without flying into frag-
raents. There is new type OF gas
bomb designed to prevent strikers
from picking it up and hurting it,
back at the cops. In this bomb, the
handle gets red hot, making the
possibility Of dud small, while the
workers face severe burns as well as
eye and body injuries, II they at
tempt to pick it up.
Those workers VINO suffer from
severe doses of tear gas should be
removed from the gassed area. 1t is
very important that they do not rub
their eyes, especially with their own
hands or clothing. These are prob
ably contaminated with the gas and
rubbing would only increase the
irritation. If it is possible, they
should face a breeze and let the
wind blow the gas from their eyes.
The eyes should then be washed
with saturated solution of boric
acid, and the parts of the body that
have been exposed to the gas should
be washed with soap and water.
Workers suffering from vomiting
gas attacks should be removed from
the gassed area. Those parts Of the
body that have been exposed should
be washed with soap and water. In
cases of vomiting and its accom-
panying headache, the workers
should drink milk Of magnesia
freely All serious cases, of course,
should receive quick treatment by
physician.
Communist activity in the few
factories that produce these gas
bombs is of immediate Importance.
Workers In the transport industries
should also be aroused so that they
will refuse to transport gas bombs