May,
1920
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
T h e gathering afforded o p p o r t u n i t y for t h e getting t o g e t h e r of various groups of members with common interests, n o t a b l y reunions of chemical alumni of some of t h e larger universities. T h e Alpha Chi Sigma chemical fraternity dinner brought o u t a n a t t e n d a n c e of 104 members on Wednesday evening preceding Colonel Fries’ address. T h e members of t h e American I n s t i t u t e of Chemical Engineers, of whom some forty were present, were hospitably entertained a t dinner b y Dr. F. W. Frerichs a t his home.
L. MCMASTER,HEADO F CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON UNI. VERSITY,S T .
LOUIS,
MO.
A n o t unusual b u t always enjoyable feature of t h e week’s program was t h e excursions of T h u r s d a y afternoon a n d F r i d a y , n o t a b l y t o t h e LaClede Gas Works, Monsanto Chemical Works, LaClede-Christy Clay P r o d u c t s P l a n t , t h e S t a n d a r d Oil Refinery, a t Wood River, Ill., a n d t h e Illinois Glass Company, a t Alton, Ill. A delightful luncheon was served a t t h e Mineral Springs Hotel, Alton, b y courtesy of t h e St. Louis Section.
ADDRESSES INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS
By W. A. Noyes Two years ago our Army in France was dependent, among other things, on what the chemists of America could do and upon the men in France who were using the materials the chemists in America could make for them; and some of us chemists have not realized perhaps as we should how far we were dependent upon the men who knew how to use those supplies in the right way in. military affairs. I know from friends who were very close to Colonel Fries in the war that the Chemical Warfare Service in France was exceedingly fortunate when he was selected as its head, and we may count ourselves fortunate here in America that he is now the head of the Chemical Warfare Service of the United States. It is our great good fortune to have with us to-night the man who was a t the center of things and who did things in France. He will speak to you.
423
CHEMICAL WARFARE
By A m o s A. Fries1 LT. COL., U. s. ARMY,CHIEF OF CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE
The old adage that “There is nothing new under the sun” is often quoted by those who would detract from the glory of a new achievement or condone the evil deeds of those who have broken the faith. The Germans did not invent poisonous gases, nor did they invent the earliest methods used in gas attacks. Neither did the Wrights invent flying, nor the basic methods used in their first flights-but to their everlasting glory they gleaned from a thousand pages the thoughts of many men in many countries, and by applying the knowledge thus acquired made flying a reality. The Germans gleaned from many lands the possibilities of poisonous gases, together with methods of using them-and to their everlasting shame broke faith with the countries then in the war, and on April 2 2 , 1915,launched the first really effective gas attack in the history of the world. But whatever we may think of that first attack, chemical warfare is to-day an established fact. No modern nation dares to give i t up, and ere long no modern nation will want to give it up unless indeed all war can be abolished. But that day, unfortunately, is too far distant for me to take up any of your time to-night talking about it. I am not going to discuss the chemistry of chemical warfare. I am simply going to tell you what chemical warfare is, tell you what i t did in the World War, tell you something of the great part played by the chemists in that war, and, lastly, tell you the future of chemical warfare as I see it. In the first place, chemical warfare is a complete science in itself. No other invention since that of gunpowder has made so profound a change in warfare as gas is making or will make in the future. To-day there are only four really distinct arms of the Service, viz., the Infantry, the Artillery, Aviation, and Chemical Warfare. All other forms of warfare are a combination, more or less complete, of these. The gases, smoke, and incendiary materials that make up chemical warfare are used to a greater or lesser extent by other arms, but wherever gas is used it compels precautionary measures that are found in no other branch of the Service. No officer, however well trained in other branches of the War Department, can handle gas until especially trained in its use. It is the most universal of weapons, and as it drifts with the very air, becomes the most difficult of all methods of warfare to avoid. No form of precaution heretofore used on land or sea is effective against it. The mask and training that go with it are totally unlike any other element of war. Thus, from the laboratory to the enemy, gas warfare is new, requiring new methods, new Amos Alfred Fries was born March 17, 1873, in Vernon County, Wisconsin, and moved as a boy t o Missouri, thence t o Oregon. After a short teaching experience he entered West Point by competitive examination, graduating seventh in his class April 26, 1898. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, and appointed First Lieutenant in 1901, Captain in 1904, Majorin 1912, Lieutenant Colonel in 1917. H e served with Captain John J. Pershing on a n expedition into t h e Mor0 country, as Chief Engineer Officer, was Director of Military Engineering a t the Engineer School, Washington Barracks, Washington, D. C., from 1911 t o 1914, and a t the outbreak of the war was in charge of the construction of roads and bridges in Yellowstone National Park. Perhaps his chief work with the Corps of Engineers was in connection with the improvement of Los Angeles Harbor. Leaving Yellowstone Park July 15, 1917, he reached Paris August 14. n d was assigned as Director of Roads, but five days later was appointed Chief of the Gas Service, A. E. F., which position he held throughout t h e war. On August 16, 1918, he was commissioned Brigadier General, U. S. Army, and placed in charge as Chief of Chemical Warfare Service, A. E. F. H e was decorated by France with the Cross of Commander, Legion of Honor, October 30, 1918, and received the Cross of the Companion of St. Michael and St. George, of England, June 9, 1919. On July 26, 1919, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. O n March 1, 1920, Brigadier General Fries (now returned t o his former rank of Lieutenant Colonel) was appointed Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service, vice Gen. W. L. Sibert, transferred.
