for the salvation of society. It is by means of applied science that the
earth can be made habitable and a decent human life made possible.
Creative evolution is at last becoming conscious.




II

NITROGEN

PRESERVER AND DESTROYER OF LIFE


In the eyes of the chemist the Great War was essentially a series of
explosive reactions resulting in the liberation of nitrogen. Nothing
like it has been seen in any previous wars. The first battles were
fought with cellulose, mostly in the form of clubs. The next were fought
with silica, mostly in the form of flint arrowheads and spear-points.
Then came the metals, bronze to begin with and later iron. The
nitrogenous era in warfare began when Friar Roger Bacon or Friar
Schwartz--whichever it was--ground together in his mortar saltpeter,
charcoal and sulfur. The Chinese, to be sure, had invented gunpowder
long before, but they--poor innocents--did not know of anything worse to
do with it than to make it into fire-crackers. With the introduction of
"villainous saltpeter" war ceased to be the vocation of the nobleman and
since the nobleman had no other vocation he began to become extinct. A
bullet fired from a mile away is no respecter of persons. It is just as
likely to kill a knight as a peasant, and a brave man as a coward. You
cannot fence with a cannon ball nor overawe it with a plumed hat. The