The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-11
BY MEMO
TX. POISON GASES AND PLAGUE GERMS


(Continued)
IN THE first gas attack during the World War
CYpres, 1870 $4,000 kilos of gas were launched
on a front of kilometres The result of this first
attempt was $4,000 wounded by gas and 5000 dead
In the World War, 81 different poison gases were
used; today there are thousand. On october 10,
1885, one could read the following notice in the
press: 1.-THE French Professors Rert and Vorrer
have succeeded in discovering poison gas against
which there is no remedy. The preparation of this
gas is especially easy. The War Ministry is strongly
interested"
In April 1884 the press announced that 20 work.
ers of Imperial Chemical Industries had been over
come by poison gas This concern is alleged to
have succeeded in the preparation of the "deadles
poison in the world" One can note therefore, that
every day is bringing new progress in the sphere
of gas warfare And yet the achievements" already
arrived at are already great.
There is an infinite series or poison gases, from
the irritant gases, which compel the taking off of
the gas mask up to the lung damaging gases, in
Guiding chlorine phosgene and chloropicrin One
draught of phosgene and death occurs after two
hours. One exposure to choropicrin vapor and
binding is certain. Inhale cyanic acid and the
central system is at put out of action,
the respiration centre destroyed and life cut short
But five times more poisonous than phosgene is
mustard gas, which burns the whole living body.
Inhale only 03 milligrams of levisite, the death
dew and an unima ginably torturing death is
tain Laughing gas, in combination with other
gases, causes death with commissions Of laughter
or madness.
But civilized bourgeois culture has still further
surprises for the people 1t is true that in the
last world poison gases were not yet employed
against the civil population, although they we're
employed at the front On the other hand, bac-
THEOLOGICAL war should bring with it something en-
tirely new War with plague germs and cholera
germs? THAT is a Communist provocation," we
can hear it being said Let us then allow the
bearers of bourgeois culture to speak for themselves
First of ALL listen to what Professor Banse, one
of the scientific lights of the Third Empire has to
say:
Although biology still lags strongly behind
chemistry, it may however be presumed that the
necessities of the next war will win it's position
for it. The following come into account: infection
of water supply by typhus germs introduction of
typhus by heas well as of plague by rats In
particular aeroplanes by landing in enemy territory
and letting loose the germ carriers could achieve
especially favourable results"
Banse in no way stands alone Long before him.
Mr. Churchill had written in the PaI-MaIl Maya
zine that the laboratories of than one country
have already been occupied with the question of
how artfcially cultivated agents of disease could
be deliberately let loose on human beings and
animals in enemy country; mildew, in order to
destroy the harvest; anthrax, in order TO ruin
horses and cattle plague in order to annihilate
not only whole armies but also the inhabitants Of
wide regions-such are the means, the application
of which military science is preparing with ruthless
progress.
Yes indeed, with ruthless progress there is
being cultivated today in secret laboratories the
carriers of anthrax, typhus, cholera plague small
pox, tuberculosis, etc.
The French Professor Andre Mayer sobery
notes: All that be said is that the possibility
of unleashing epidemic is not to be rejected
priori-quite on the contrary" And Gertrude
Woker the well-known woman investigator of
poison gases, came to the conclusion: THAT new
war will make of psychological means of de-
struction is, in any to be supposed after the
experiences of the World War"
There indeed be doubt that the coming
poison gas war will be accompanied by bacteria
logical war. Was it not intended. during the last