Within two weeks after this conference, there occurred an incident which illustrates the very great danger in taking the views of any one man unless certain that he is in a position to be posted on all sides of the question under discussion. A high British official was asked what he had heard in regard to the new mustard gas, and what and how it was considered. He said with emphasis that the British had no further fear of it since they had learned what it was and how to take care of themselves and that it had ceased to be any longer a problem with them. Fries, knowing what he did, was convinced that this did not represent the attitude of the British authorities who knew what the gas was doing, and the statement was not allowed to influence the American Gas Service in the least. This was a very fortunate thing as events later proved. It should also be added that a quite similar report was made by a French officer in regard to mustard gas some time in the month of October. The French officer had more reason for his attitude than the British officer as up to that time mustard gas had not been largely used against the French. However, both cases simply emphasize the danger of accepting the views of any man who has seen but one angle of a problem so complicated as gas in war. TRAINING =Training in Gas Defense.= In the latter part of October seventeen young engineer officers, who had just arrived in France, were assigned to the Gas Service and were promptly sent to British Gas Schools for training in mask inspection, salvage and repair and in training men to wear masks and take other necessary precautions against gas in the field. It was also necessary at this time to establish gas training in the First Division, and Captain Boothby was assigned to that work. [Illustration: FIG. 9.—Destroying Mustard Gas on the Battle Field.] It is important to note that the Gas Service had to begin operations immediately upon its organization although it had almost no facilities of any kind to work with. At one and the same time it was necessary to decide upon the kinds of masks to be used and then to obtain them; to decide upon methods of training troops in gas defense and start at once to do it; to decide upon gases to be used and manufactured in the United States and then obtain and send the necessary data and finally to decide what weapons gas troops were to use and to purchase those weapons, since none of them existed in the United States. Worse still no one in the United States was taking any interest in them.