' ... ''
f FIRST GAS ATTACK
u I m ?
i BY EDGAR 1). OILMAN,
r I Chief Gm Officer, Camp Greene.
About the middle of April, 1915,
rumors became current In the British
K&-, lines that the Germans were going no
fev nse a poison gas as a war weapon,
pi. Some prisoner or deserter seems ts
Pv have been responsible for the story,
k It was not considered seriously. No
\ one believed it or paid any attention
- \ to it. All nations had agreed not to
: - use such a .weapon, a signed treaty
existed to this effect. Then In the;
[v early hours of the morning oft April {
22, 1915, a date that win long N^-JSP
F- thd memory of man, the Gertiam*
s launched the first gas attack, and^in\
other horror was added to the war
i which they had already made so horj;
]. rlble. From that date on the study
of the tactical problems of Whr have
had to be .reconsidered. The drills of
' the soldier have slowly been changed.
and even the equipment carried by
as--'". Ihq soldier has been mate rial ly.affect??
by this, the most used and the
jjv- most terrible-of war's weapons.
The "point of attack chosen by-thf1
Germans for the first use of gas was
in the Ypres salient, at the junction
of the French (Turcos) and British
j?-? (Canadian) lines. Imajgine if you will
the feeUngs Qf these men as in the
..gray of the early morning they saw
k. arising from the ground, rolling *o?'
wafd. them in heavy waves this
r strange greenish-yellow monster. First
wonder, then fear, then terror asrthe
first breath was drawn containing the
deadly poison. ^Absolutely unprepared
' ror Hucn a rorm 01 aiuic& uiu auuu ?.
*-, troops were completely felled by the [
wave of gas. Heavier than air .the
gas clung to the ground, rolling over
?'and over in big clouds propelled by
the wind. It found ita way down and
completely filled eveiy trench, dugou'
and shell hole. Thousands of the
French colored troops and of the CaV
nadian troops were killed,, many immediately,
but most of them slowly
^ and horribly. . The cloud swept on
and through the line leaving death
and bareness behind it and for that
j# one time in the war the allied line
ESS waa broken.
With thousands of the allied soldiers
killed and helpless, with vir?
tualty a clear field before them,"1 and
an open way to-Calais hnd the Hohenzollern
dream of control of the chan*
nel porta, the German army was stopped
by a handful of men. Those who
had saved themselves by their
ence of mind in burying thett faces in
Kc the earth, by" covering their nostril.*
and mouths with wet handkerchief >
?? '/' ?r socks, together with a few who
? came into the breach from the flanks
of the attack stoutly opposed tho
whole German army and halted them.
It. will always be a wonder point
In history?this failure of-the German
high command to follow up the adS
vantage obtained by them at this time.
,: Had they underestimated the effect
?f'\? of the gas? Were the local comman
dors lacking in tne autnoruy ur n?o i
Initiative to pUsM the advantage they
L. should have observed? It will always!
be a surmise as to how long the Ger- j
mans had planned this attack. The
fact j/6mains that it lacked finesse and j
ti'Cv evidence of the finer sense of tactical j
KtT".-judgment. It will always be held up'
agaihst the Germans, jiot only that I
they failed to uphold a treaty of civ- I
ilized nations but also that they failed
tUJf at this crucial point in military stra- J
|g? tcgy^
No account of this first gas attack, j
however brief, would be adequate or!
)&* complete without a word of praise to j
the Canadian troops who me( a new1
and terrifying death without a falter. I
? who Jumped into the opening, a hand- J
ful against an army, and succeeueci in j
Ejv.- holding the broken line until it could {
ibe reinforced. It remains for some j
F. . poet of Imagination to perpetuate the;
Eg!*' work of these jnen, each and every)
i ' one a modern Horatius.
Personnel Office Busy.
One of the busiest places in Camp !
J Greene . is in the personnel officefS-f.
where Lieut. T. I. Carroll and his I
|? force Is supposed to know everything f
fe'-v - and the exact location of it A feature j
i; that makes the work go fine in the ;
? office is the jovial spirit that fills the j
FH*-. bunch although working every mln-I
?... ' ute seems to put life into their work 1
enough to make it interesting. Keep-j
lng up data aboo't men and doing noth- I
!* ing but statistical work is no I
-"111 thlo rtno '
F pleasant juu, v?t **? * ?? .
office there with the goods. If they !
r j can't find ouKwhat you want they will j
?? ' try to create an emergency or do any- j
k thing to accommodate the inquirer. '
and it would be interesting too to list!
? . the questions that are asked in a day
?,* '. .about men connected ,wlth the camp. J
It is no curiosity office, but the next
g-V- time you have business with the same j
t Just see if you don't agree with the j
writer about their willingness to de-}
BT : liver the goods. .
. Fire Truck and I lose Company No. S23 !
$' Sergeant Frank J. ?ooper. Arc de.- i
i partment clerk, has lately been com- i
missioned second lieutenant.
Sefe , The new Are marshal. First I-deu- j
^ tenant L. J. Evans, was a member of ,
grille Chicago Are department for 15 .
-three men in the company j
^have recently subscribed $2,600 forthe
.fourth JLiberty loan.
rite up your company news
(P TRWH/ A
.....
|R5w
The quarantine has brought about j
increased activity on the part of the j
. . ... . a J >L. OUA. I .
jewisn wenare Doara ana ine vwu- i
-lotte branch has been especially generoas
in looking:, out for the wants 1
of the boys; baskets of fine fruits j
hav? reached the Welfare building almost
every othqr day and these have
been a great treat, not only to Jew- ,
l8h boys, but to all who have/ been |
fortunate enough to, be around' when <
the "eats" arrived. |
. 1
The camp worker. Mr. Silverman, i
has devoted a great deal of his time j
and efforts to looking afjer the wants j
jof the "flu" victims in the different i
hospitals, and has done much to earn 1
the gratitude of those unable to help i
themselves.
Bast Saturday, the 12th. Mr. Nabow |
and Miss Silverstein, of the Charlotte 1
branch, brought a, big can of coffee. I
cakes and cigarettes, .and ,gave the I
boys a little party. was a great j
success for they all lined up for I
thirds, and no wonder. 1
Saturday evening, 19th, the same i
neonlp entertained th(^ bovS acain. ?
with a chocolate party, given under
the auspices of the Charlotte branch
of the J. W., B> j
. Mr. Rabinowlta. formerly head <
worker ofrthe Jewish-welfare board i
in'Camp (Xreenc, has been transferr- j
ed to Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va. Ho J
Is In charge of the welfare work <
there! , V J
T^iere was much regret at his de- i
i
nni
NSOI?; TS
ballcx
iND #AMP
parture and he left a host of friend?
In Camp Greene. We wish him all
success at his new post and feel he
will have ample opportunity to enlarge
upon the good work he started
In Camp Greene.
All aboard for the big musical rerue
and minstrel show to be given
by the big 3: the Y. M. C. A., K. of
D.. and Jewish welfare board. More
Information about this can be had
from the secretaries of any of the
welfare buildings. Talent of all kinds
?nd of a good quality is wanted, and
ill those that want to help make this
show.a big success, and provide the
boys in the hospital with "goodies"
tre asked to 'send their name in.
Abe Mennin, who used to be a very
familiar figure in the J. W. B. building,
and1 who1 was the bandmaster of
the fourth recruit camp .band, has
been transferred to Minneola. L. I., '
is bandmaster. We all wish him the
best of luck, and hope that he will {
have an opportunity of playing the \
Star Spangled Banner in Berlin. '
within a very, short time.
Thp Jewish welfare board has au-i
Lhorized its local representative, Mr. |
Silverman, to purchase packages of
?andy and cigarettes to be distributed
imon? the negro soldiers of the 810th
Pioneer Infantry who arc soon to
leave far tovcr those. This is only one
Df the many proofs of the non-sectarianism
of the welfare agencies in
the camps of. this country. One of
' IN THE LONG R
IE eyes of the army were first sc
re French Revolutionary forces,
an, won the battle of Flciirus, 179was
a Montgolfier balloon, the ty
icrs dsvclcpcd.frorn Cavallo's cru
with hydrogen-filled pig bladders.
oodrich follows the flag into the si
ne hundred end twenty-five years
an, the battles of the air find not o
> and Montgolfier balloons in the tb
300DR
msme. ti
>r war, exalting the long-known si
Silvertown Cord Tires, has adopi
'Wrapped, cable-cord tite for aifplai
ILVERTOWN CORDS or Bl
ADS alike are SERVICE VALUI
oodrich skill* and honesty put S
- ^* ?J 'l 'off C
IU Siari, HI1U VJVWl (VU * vai X.
ins of miles of road testing,
re.
RiftCB VALUE TIRES never fail y<
I B. F. GOODRICH RUBBE
the most beautify1 thing* that this. . -A ia
fc^ir has brought .out is this wonder-'
ful work of the Welfare agencies, and
the unselfish co-operation that exists
between the representatives in the - .**.
different camps, and naval stations
throughout the country. Jj Wm El
"Boys if you want anything go to HI H/
Jack!" those are the words of the IhI I
men that visit the Jewish welfare* jfll flJV ?|H
building, and "Jack" Silverman usual- Htij Hfi J
!y gets it for them. Mr. Silverman [W
must be admired for his wonderful UHJ [N
conception and ability for the performance
of his duties as a welfare
worker. Although hardly leas than
two months In this camp you will find
that he has everything from A to Z fil? C4k||
on the tip of his tongue, and does
his work like a veteran. Nothing is
too much for him in order to make- Iff
the boys comfortable and pleased, and Ml/ fVsiE
the men. readily appreciate his good | r U
efforts and are at all times willing to | jj J ^
may ask them.
NOTKS AROl'ND CAMP. ff] [On
Second Lieut. Amos A. Putnam nr^ E=5tH
rived in Camp Creene last week from' iLJI fi ||
Camp Devens, Masai, and is connect- W % GI B
ed with the utility company. IT ill jjjpH 8WB
If dealer can't supply yon don't take sub- I
etitnte. Order direct from us. Folder on Mlrjt PcW
Taylor-made Compasses on re<juest. K i Tj i |g
JaylorlnstrumentCompanies I II ill
^ Rochester, N. Y^""* W j| I | |W
& IS TO
j|jj
t in the sky when %
using the first war |j
pe the Montgolficr gogjj 9SWWM
de experimentsin |s??|
after the first yar t; WSffir
nly Goodrich Diri- ? {3 jFJiT
lick of it, but also? 9
ICrl g s
SStJf W '
ipremacy of Good- |gij 1 M
:ed the Silvertown ||^j Ja
LACK SAFETY |4 H>
J TIRES. ij JlgTiJ
1ERVICE VALUE in fpg ''fr'ffMaB
ars, by ITIIKll II mSH
firm it Ss^te.^js I r
jjj III