The Poisonous; Gases

Northern Advocate, 30 January 1939, Page 4

The Poisonous; Gases

There are TO chapters up to page 254, and five appendices carrying on to page 293, which is followed by a useful index. Appendix one deals with “Poisonous Gases and Spokes.” It is technical, but with a little knowledge of chemistry it is within the scope of the average and vastly informing. The whole book stirs one out of ruts

and sets one thinking upon a broad scientific highway. The good sen*e, all through, and the spirit of tolerant goodwill makes it engaging reading. Let this quotation illustrate: He thinks many will say in effect: “The whole thing is so beastly that we will have nothing to do with it If we are going to have to burrow underground, life won’t be worth living. Another war will mean the end of civilisation. Let’s all die together if necessary. But don’t let us surrender ;to

the War Spirit by taking any part in Air Raid Precautions.” To this he replies: “I respect this point cf view. I believe that air-raids are both morally wrong and aesthetically disgusting. Nevertheless, I think this line of action is wrong. It is never completely sincere.- You don’t like the idea of going underground. But whenever you burn a coal or coke fire or use gas or electricity you are helping to ensure that the best part of a million coal miners should go underground every day. “Another war would not necessarily or even probably mean the end of civilisation, even it meant the end of London, Paris i or Berlin. And we should not all die together. Probably less than one in twenty would die in most places.” Not to create protection is to give the partisans of the short war or kncck-dut blow theory in the fascist countries a plausible case. “They will, persuade themselves and perhaps the Dictators whom they serve that Britain can be defeated within a month.” The same people certainly calculatedon a short war in Spain, and probably in China. They were wrong. But the fact that they were wrong did not prevent them from attacking Spain and China, Hence an adequate system of bomb-proof shelters will guarantee the world against a war started on this theory.