Abstract
DR. HERBERT LEVINSTEIN, in a lecture delivered on Feb. 3 before the London section of the Society of Chemical Industry, courageously examined the position of chemical disarmament and chemical warfare in relation to the ideals and foundations of future peace and to the stern realities of the dangers of conflict. Whilst it is probably true that man is by nature a peaceable creature, and hence amenable to the settlement of domestic disputes peaceably under compulsion of law, the extension of the same principle to international disputes, however devoutly to be sought, is not so simple as may appear. The necessities of life are provided for the individual who falls in the social struggle, but not for the nation which succumbs in society organised on competitive principles, and the possibility of defensive resort to arms remains in the background of international agreements. Hence with the present organisation of society the possibility of fighting is never remote, and Dr. Levinstein's first plea was for the strengthening of the efforts of the League of Nations in making wars on a large scale less probable.
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Chemical Warfare. Nature 125, 254 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/125254a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/125254a0