Evening star., 1943-04-24
And Now Gas?

And Now Gas?
The current controversy between
the British and German governments
on the subject of poison gas raises
the possibility that fresh horror
may be added to war whose grow
ing ferocity is grimly illustrated by
Japan'S barbarous breach of the &C
cepted code of warfare by executing
airmen captured in the performance
OF their regular duties.
The controversy started few days
ago with Prime Minister Winston
Churchill's statement that reports
of Germanys intention to use poison
gas had come to his government
from several sources" Apparently
the chief source was Soviet Russia,
an official Soviet spokesman declar-
ing: eve have passed on to the
British Foreign Office information
that supplies of gas recently have
been reaching the German armies on
the Russian front" This is not the
first time that Moscow has reported
in similar vein. A year or more ago,
a like charge was made. What Mr..
Churchill emphasized on this occa-
sion was that If the Germans used
gas on the eastern front, Britain
would Immediately retaliate just as
though the gas attack had been made
upon the British Isles.
The German government, however,
vigorously denies the charges. The
Berlin radio quotes German Foreign
Office spokesmen as saying that Ger
many would stand by the pledge
given last year that she would use
poison gas only if her enemies used
it first, and Churchills declaration
is deemed provocative"
There the matter rests for the
moment. Although there is scant
doubt that the Nazi leaders of the
Third Reich would do anything
which would further their aims,
there is reason to think they may be
deferred from the use of gas by the
consequences which would ensue.
For the air situation has now be-
come such that Germany might get
very decidedly the worst of it in gas
warfare. To begin with, the vaunted
anti-aircraft defense of the Reich
has proved myth, and the Allied
air squadrons which now rain block
busters and incendiaries on German
| cities could easily add gas bombs to
their loads. Furthermore, the pre-
vailing westerly winds which blow in
from the Atlantic across Northern
Europe would spread gas more effec-
lively than would be the case in
Britain. Also, there is good evidence
for believing that the German civil
ian population has not been gen.
orally equipped with gas masks, as
the British population has been
Early in the war, the German official
attitude, as expressed to foreign cor
respondents, was that the ordinary
types of civilian gas masks were of
doubtful efficacy; so the materials
were conserved for other uses in the
belief that the British and French
would not start gas warfare unless
provoked to it by prior German &C
ton. How far this attitude has been
modified during the past year or so is
| not known. The mere fact that gas
| equipment is present on the German
| side of the Russian front is not con-
elusive proof that it is to be used de-
liberately, because all armies in the
field are assumed to have such equip
ment to guard against emergencies
| from their enemies.
A similar situation arose some
months ago in the Far Eastern war
theater, when the Chinese govern
ment informed Washington that the
Japanese were using gas in an ex-
perimental way. President Roose-
velt then issued a warning similar to
! Mr.. Churchill's that the United
States would retaliate unless gas
warfare against the Chinese were not
stopped at once. Since then, no more
complaints from Chungking on that
score have been reported.
1t is to be hoped that both ends
of the Axis will be deferred by those
admonitions, and that the world may
be spared from the inf1iction of per-
hapS the most gruesome weapon
which modern science has devised.