The Washington times., 1935-07-20
ARTICLE SIX

LONDON, July 20 QN.SO-
Europe has worked for seventeen
years on secret weapons and today
several nations of this continent
are believed to have concealed
instruments of death greater per-
haps than any hitherto known.
Only the next war will reveal
them.
International exchange of new
weapons was the rule before the
war, when private ornaments
manufacturers sold to all corners.
The Maxim, original machine gun,
greatest new weapon between gun.
powder and the airplane, was of.
fered to all.
Four years of war so deepened
national hatreds that interna-
tional secrecy has become the rule.
10000 Spies Busy
Evidence of that is the existence
of spy and counter-spy organiZa'
lions in Europe on scale unpar-
alleled. Richard w. Rowan esti-
mates there are 10000 spies oper-
ating in Europe today. A rough
estimate made for the League of
Nations put the number of arrests
for espionage from the end of the
war to today at over 10000, COM
pared with 1900 spies arrested in
Europe during the entire so years
preceding the great war.
Ono more it is the three dicta-
torship countries-Russia, Italy
and Germany-which lead in
counter-espionage. According to
the estimate cited, there were 49,
478 arrests for spying in Russia
in the period given, 6,544 in Ger
many, 1928 in Italy. while Poland
and France had about 1900 each.
In Russia it is the Narkomvnu-
del, the ministry of internal af-
fairs, lately called the GPU, once
called the Gestapo, the secret
state police.
In Italy is the OVRA.
In France it is the Surete. In
England it is the military intel
Igence.
Every European nation admits
it has a counter espionage. None
admits it has spies. All have
spies, for two purposes: To obtain
the war plans, particularly the
plan Of initial attack of prospec-
tive enemies, and to learn their
new weapons.
The Poison Era
New poiSonS are among the
most important of these weapons.
We have definitely entered the
era Of poison warfare.
One form will be poisoned bull
lets. Research has been done on
the extremely virulent animal
poisonS, as snake venom. There
is considerable apprehension that
q chemical reproduction or mod
ification of this venom may be
applied to machine-gun bullets.
Mortality of machine-gun wounds
in the past war was below Is per
cent mortality of the poison bull
let machine-gun it is estimated
would reach between so and 100
per cent, and each scratch wound
could mean death.
It is the opinion Of Major Victor
Lefebure that the chemical bullet
will be the chief 4Joison weapon
between armies, while poison gas
will be reserved largely for the
civilian population.
How Gases Act
OF the Is poison gases used in
the last war. Europe's experts
favor the arsenic smokes and mus
tard gas. The arsenic smokes
cause pain IF the most terrific
character in the head and chest,
accompanied by the most appal'
ling mental distress and misery"
"SOme of the soldiers poi
Soned by these substances" we
are told, chad to be prevented
from committing suicide: others
temporarily went raving mad
and tried to burrOw into the
ground to escape from imagi.
nary pursuerS.'
The arsenic smokes, 1t Is as
serted, would penetrate any Of
the respirators used in the late
war and at the time of the
ArmiStice it was the plan Of the
Allies to deluge the Germans with
colossal quantities.
Mustard gas causes huge,
3iercely painful blisterS wherever
O drop has touched the body. It
knocked out 100000 in the British
Army alone of whom, however,
only 1000 died.
A civilian population is defense"
less against it.
Lewisite, combining the proper.
ties of these two gases, makes the
wounds that mustard gas does,
but poisons them with arsenic
and thus is calculated to cause
high fatalities.
Mass poisoning is a feature Of
the next war when mo legal COM
sideration will stand and the use
Of every available weapon Of VIC
1ence will be unrestricted"