Explanation: A brilliant fellow by the name of John Doughty suggested getting a start on the atrocity carousel by starting mass chemical warfare about 50 years early. This is by no means a concerning idea, and Mr. Doughty was doubtlessly a wholly sane and stable individual. Luckily, the suggestion was not adopted.

Funny enough, the Lieber Code adopted by the Union during the Civil War, dealing with the rules of warfare, DOES actual prohibit the use of poison, so this idea would have been illegal even at the time.