At the First Conference of 1899 Captain Mahan argued very
sensibly that gas shells were no worse than other projectiles and might
indeed prove more merciful and that it was illogical to prohibit a
weapon merely because of its novelty. The British delegates voted with
the Americans in opposition to the clause "the contracting parties agree
to abstain from the use of projectiles the sole object of which is the
diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases." But both Great Britain
and Germany later agreed to the provision. The use of poison gas by
Germany without warning was therefore an act of treachery and a
violation of her pledge, but the United States has consistently refused
to bind herself to any such restriction. The facts reported by General
Amos A. Fries, in command of the overseas branch of the American
Chemical Warfare Service, give ample support to the American contention
at The Hague:
Out of 1000 gas casualties there are from 30 to 40 fatalities,
while out of 1000 high explosive casualties the number of
fatalities run from 200 to 250.
Pages:
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352