Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 191, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1918 — MUSTARD GAS WORST [ARTICLE]

MUSTARD GAS WORST

Most Horrible Invention Huns Use in War. It Brings Tears and Causes Pa’nful Skin Diseases Among Soldiers. Washington.—The most dangerous kind of poison gas used by the Germans is “mustard gas,” or dichlorodiethysulphide. Mustard gas has a distinctive but not altogether unpleasant smell, more like garlic than mustard. It is heavy fend oily as a liquid. It boils at 217 degrees centigrade, and thus has properties whereby it can be distributed in the form of a spray on the Impact of a shell. Mustard gas Is a powerful producer of tears. After several hours the eyes begin to swell and blister, causing intense psin The nose discharges freely.

and severe coughing and vomiting ensue. Direct contact with the spray causes blistering of the skin, and the vapor penetrates through the clothing. Gas masks, of course, do not protect against this. The symptoms are similar to pneumonia high fever, heavy breathing and often stupor. The damage done by mustard gas Is a slow and insidious development The breaking down of the affected tissues is slow, the height being reached from five to ten days after the burn is received. The painlessness Is also a marked characteristic. Healing is slow. Mustard gas besides being used in direct attack, is also used for “neutralization.” For instance, where supplies and ammunition are being brought up, a few mustard gas shells will result in dangerous confusion and delay. A part erf the infantry is “neutralized” hyhwvlng food and ammunition cut

down. If the shell hurts as well a# neutralizes, so much the better. The American mask to fight mustard gas is of the box respirator type. The hood is of rubber. Breathing is through the mouth, pincers shutting off the nostrils. The gas-charged air enters through the bottom of the canisters, where by means of neutralizing chemicals, it is purified. From the top of the canister the air is drawn into the lungs. There is a one-way shutter valve tn the hood through which the air comes out This mask is designed to last ten hours. For artillerymen the war department has made an oil suit which encloses the soldier bodily.