Callinicus: A Defence of Chemical Warfare

Answers

• Q27CONTROL

  Should a useful invention be restricted if its harmful consequences cannot be reliably controlled?

  No. restricting the invention does more harm than using it. Argues gas weapons such as tear gas are more humane than shells and bayonets, and that the Hague ban on gas projectiles was well meant but misguided.

  Chemical warfare had been so far foreseen by statesmen that in 1907 the signatories of the Hague Conference agreed to renounce the use of projectiles the sole object of which was the diffusion of asphyxiating or harmful gases. They were thus debarred from using lachrymatory gas, the most humane weapon ever invented ; but permitted to discharge gas from cylinders on the ground, an exceedingly cruel practice. This regulation was well meant, but the path to August, 1914, was paved with good intentions. In 1914 none of the great powers had made any preparation for poison-gas warfare, and it was not till April 22nd, 1915, more than eight months after the beginning of the war, that the Germans began its use.

  OCR corrected

  Internet Archive text; Hague and 'most humane weapon' passages read.