File 1355/1917 Pt 5 'Arms Traffic Convention.' [‎18v] (30/721)

I 000 substances have proved fruitless”, and Professor Paterno, although he believes that
chemical preparation for warfare in general is indispensable , concludes, as regards the ques
tion of asphyxiating gases, “that we must neither hope nor that the progress of chemistry
wiH lead to anv greater success in the discovery of these gases than in discovering explosives."
Effects of Gas on Animals.
The effects on animals are essentially the same as those on human beings and the difk
rences which have been observed in the sensitiveness of the former are relatively slight.W
Effects of Gas on Vegetation.
It would not appear that vegetation is affected by gas. In the experimental
fields or in their immediate neighbourhood, the vegetation does not show serious effects
from repeated exposure to toxic gases In the dense forest of the Argonne, which was satu
rated with gas in the latter stages of the war, the vegetation in the following spring showed
no effects whatever.
Effects on other Sources of Wealth.
The following observations are taken from Professor ZanettTs report, as he is alone
in having considered the effects of gas on a country’s sources of wealth.
“The effects’’, he says, “would be indirect and would be due either to the paralysing
action on the human element, as, for example, the shutting-down of factories through
the gassing of the surroundings, so as to render them unapproachable to workmen, or to
the action of incendiary material, as, for example, the setting on fire of a grain elevator
by dropping incendiary aeroplane bombs. It is felt, however, that in both cases the ques
tion becomes no longer one of purely chemical action and that, although the introduction
of certain new incendiary materials has improved this particular branch, the problem
has not been essentially changed by the introduction of chemical warfare, as grain ele
vators can be set on fire with high-explosive bombs and factories rendered useless bv
shelling them or bombing them from the air. It is to be remarked, however, that the
dropping of a few aeroplane bombs filled with a high-power lachrymatory gas would as
effectively shut down a factory An East India Company trading post. , say, a steel mill, for as long as a month without causing
any considerable destruction of life or property such as wouUkv-ensue by long-range
shelling or bombing with high explosives.
“In the case of mine pits and galleries, a thorough drenching with a persistent gas,
such as mustard gas, or even a simple lachrymatory gas, such as chlorasetophenone,
would render them unapproachable, except for those duly protected, perhaps for months.
The conditions of a mine pit would be ideal for making the gas retain its properties much
longer than in the open air, but even under those conditions the gas would eventually
be acted on by moisture, even though slowly, and in the course of time would completely
disappear. Properly protected disinfecting squads would help along the cleaning of
the mine which could resume operations in a far shorter period than would be the case if
the galleries and pits had been blown in with high explosives."
To sum up, “no agent is at present known which would produce a chemical destruction
of sources of wealth except through its action on the human element connected with the exploi
tation’’.
Protection against the Chemical Weapon.
The effects described above are those which would take place if means of protection
were not employed. Fortunately, however, the development of the means of protection
against noxious substances has kept pace with the extension of the use of such substances
m war. rotection has been obtained by the use of insulating and filtering apparatus,
le insulating contrivance consists of a more or less simplified form of diver’s apparatus
msulat es the wearer from the external atmosphere and supplies him with the oxygen
\\ nc i le nee s. n tieory it is a satisfactory solution and one which applies equally to
noxious agens and all degrees of concentration. These contrivances, however, inconve-
mence ie com a an ^ o such an extent that they have been discarded for filtering appara-
l - er r rK f 10 r V? wh !^ h breathed of noxious products by interposing a sui-
Ibsorbent noron^h 1 f ^ ° 1 rifices 1 . of the respiratory channel. These filters are either
taken from men ihn L^ f f tenng a PP ara .tus have proved remarkably effective. Masks
were found not to ho “o h Pcj 5011111 ?, when subjected to laboratory examination,
been put on too late taken P lace ln consequence of the mask having
been put on too late, improperly adjusted or removed too soon.
However, as Professor Angeli points out :
are thus without^rnfm^ 1 exceeds a certain limit, even masks become useless ; the men
regarded T^sCLT^not e^eTth’” ^ plaC£S " hich