Today -100: May 7, 1915: We must fight gases with gases

The Daily Chronicle (London) says the Cabinet is considering responding to German use of poison gas. “[W]e must fight gases with gases.” But it will still be the Germans’ fault, because they introduced it, so “an account must be duly exacted at the end of the war,” even if Britain does exactly the same thing, because if there’s one thing this war has taught us, it’s that “But they started it” is a valid excuse for war crimes.

The Chronicle also prints a letter from an officer describing the effects of poison gas on the human body in lovingly gory detail, if you’re into that sort of thing

Prime Minister Asquith describes the Gallipoli campaign as “highly satisfactory.” To whom, he does not say.

Normally the Lusitania news would show up here tomorrow, 100 years after it appeared in the papers, but I’ll make an exception and run a Lusitania-only post today at 4 a.m. PST.

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