The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-06-23
The 81. Gethard RaiIway-The Lecons-
1.-Two Buttius Dewn tho Alps.


sion made up OF delegates from the North
German Confederation, the Kingdom Of Italy,
the Swiss Republic and the Grand Duchy of
Baden met at the city OF Berne, the capital
Of Switzerland, to discuss the project Of
railroad direct from Southern Germany,
through the famous st. Gothard Alpine Pass,
to Northern Italy.
A glance at an accurate map will acquaint
the reader with the peculiar advantages Of this
route, which have long made it the especial
favorite Of tourists passing on the westward
from the main expanse OF the Continent to the
Italian peninsula. The St. Gothard group Of
mountains clusters between four Of the Swiss
cantons-Uri, Valais, the Grisons and Ticino-
and binds them together In its grasp. Near
the summit over which the main road climbs,
and on whose lofty crest stands the hospitable
monastery Of st. Gothard proper, four cele-
brated rivers-the Rhine, the Rhone,
the Reuss and the Ticino--take their source
among the eternal SHOWS. This central and
commanding position did not escape the eagle
eye Of the First Napoleon, who suggested the
plans on which admirable engineering has
since constructed the celebrated st. Gothard
high road. The arguments that favored the
latter in the days Of ordinary horse power
travel hold good in this age Of steam, and
hence the proposition to make the same route
serve for railway transportation.
The animating design Of this new and noble
enterprise is to concentrate the two great
streams Of trafac-the one from the Rhenish
and North German provinces by way of
Basic, and the other from South Germany by
way of SchaRhausen-upon Lucerne, in Swift
zerland, whence they would find their way
through the grand Alpine tunnel into
Lombardy, and thus directly link together the
! commerce Of Germany, Of the Swiss
Confederation and Of Italy. 1t may be remem-
bered that the Mount Gents Tunnel route
reduces the distance from London to Brindisi,
far south in Italy, to 1,577 miles, and the time
Of transit to seventy-fve hours Brindisi is
but $50 nautical miles from Alexandria In
Egypt, and consequently the sea passage is
made 648 miles shorter than that at present
pursued from Marseilles, In France, and there
| is an actual saving in the whole distance Of
| 122 miles, the stretch from London to Alexan-
dria by the old French route being 2,55l,
and by the Italian route no more than 9, 429
miles.
| Thus 1t will be perceived that the st.
Gothard Railway is to be but another grand
link in that chain Of enlightened enterprises
which the steam engine catches up at
London and darts away with to the southern
promontories of England. Thence it
skins the channel and dashes on the
| quivering tires Of the locomotive down
| through France and Germany, until the
engine, plunging headlong into the rocky
bosom of the Alps, energies, glittering and
unhurt, on the Lombard plain and careers
ahead, rejoicing, athwart Italy, spurning the
Apennine, fouting the domes Of Milan,
Florence, Rome aud Naples, on the right hand
| and the left, and leaping at last with shout
| of modern triumph among the slumbering
ruins Of the ancient Brundusium, soon to be q
busy, lively seaport, teeming with the wealth
| of both Eastern and Western trade. Swift
| keeIs bear the bright burden over the Adriatic
| and through the Suez Canal, descend with it
the length Of the Red Sea, and thence, vexing
the waters of the Indian OcMn and the broad
Pacific, never rest until, transferring it again
at San Francisco to the iron racer, it is
whirled over the ridges of the Rocky Noun
tains and many intervening States, and, re-
embarking at New York, completes its
splendid circuit in the harbor and, at last, in
the grand centre whence it started
The ST. Gothard Railway, in this point of
view, becomes interesting far beyond the
limits Of it's own immediate region. But even
there it Is of paramount Importance, since il
apparently opens Switzerland to outside Ger
man influences for both peace and war, and
affords, IL firmly held, quick access for North
ern armies into Italy. Therefore the debate
upon it was long and agitated, but at last il
was reported favorabiy to the Federal Coun-
ell and the work was planned. Opposition
to it sprang from the wealthy canton Of
Zurich, which Is somewhat jealous Of Lucerne
and chiefly interested in the United Swiss
Railway, which runs along the Valley of the
Rhine to Chur. Moreover, the Rothschilds,
who are heavy shareholders in the United
Railway, strove earnestly to carry this new
line over the Splugen Pass, lying farther to
the eastward, and were sustained in their design
by the Italian municipalities of Bergamo and
Venice, which would be benefited more by il
than by the st. Gothard scheme. But il is
now felt that the Splugen also can have its
railroad, and the obstacles in the way of the
one we now discuss are dying ont. The North
German Parliament has voted the required
subsidies, the amount Of capital called for In
Switzerland is nearly all collected and the
Italian Chambers are taking favorable action.
Some apprehension was entertained thai
France might object to an arrangement thai
cuts her of, as 1t were, from the direct line Of
Oriental trade. But France has had no opposi
ton to offer until the very last moment, when