The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-12-27

was charge : -: Tie coHuuct
of the Ell. ,isH lnasmuch
as theimain outline, tn plan con-
ceived and brought j. the verge of
fulillment by the Roma engineers
have been followed in the modern
works. it may be we'll to mark the
physical conditions Of the problem.
The Fucine lake was a vast reser-
yoir, replenished by the rainfall and
a number of mountain streams, but
without any natural outlet. Evacua-
ton, therefore, by dredging and deep
enlng an existing channel was plainly
out Of the question. Some three miles
however. to the northwest runs the
river Liri, at an attitude much lower
than that of the basin. 1t is true that
the high mountains Of Salviano rearS
its bulk between the river and the
lake, but this obstacle the engineers
Of Claudius proposed to surmount
by piercing the hill at Il depth
of some three hundred yards.
Accordingly, the head Of the sluice
on the northwest rim of the clStern
was fixed at point twenty-five yards
above the bottom of the Llrl. while
the mouth being opened about thlr-
teen yards above the river bed. there
resulted a total incline Of nine yards
in course of three and a half miles.
Thirty thousand workmen are SAID to
have been employed for eleven years
in the undertaking, and the tunnel
was actually constructed. but so I'M
perfectly that an attempt ITO draw off
the waters of the reservoir entalled Il
catastrophe which went near to ruin
the imperial favorite. Itwould seem
that Narcissus had nothing to learn
from public servants of our day. for
he was accused Of embeZZling gigantic
sums through collision with the con-
tractors. 1t appears. however, that
at later period. under the Emperor
Halrian. the sluice was SO far turned
to account as to considerably lower
the level Of the lake.
Neglected in the middle ages, the
Roman works lost even this measure
of efficiency, the waters OF the basin
recovered their ancient area, and the
periodical foundations wrought wide
spread destruction. 1t was one OF
these calamities. the terrible flood of
1916. which reused the Neapolltan
Government to attempt the repair OF
the old culvert. But the task was on
erous and the outlay stinted. and the
Sluice was scarcely opened when the
freshet of 1851 burst the locks and
blocked up a large section ofthe chan
mel under an avalanche OF earth and
stones. When. therefore Il company
was organized with view OF draining
the basin, it soon appeared that the
scheme presented difficulties far
exceeding their expectations or their
resources. Accordingly, the Prince
Torlonia. who had subscribed for
one-half of the stock, now purchased
the remainder. and, obtaining for
NAL concession of all land to be recov-
cred. undertook the work ut his own
expense.
The French engineers who were
charged with the man
agement Of the operations, did not
cOnline themselves to Il reconstruction
of the old tunnel. their object being
not to circumscribe the lake within
the bounds maintained in Hadrlan
time. but to convert the entire Fu-
cine basin into dry arabic land. In
the main the excavations followed
the line sof the former conduit; but
the walls were Strengthened and great
Nv enlarged. the inclination of the floor
and the passage deepened
throughout its course. being. for in
stance. on the lake side at least ten
feet lower than the head of the Roman
sluice. On the whole itsmay be said
that the chief advantage derived from
the ancient works lay in the numerous
air wells and ventilation galleries
hewn in the rock hundreds of feet
below the surface of the mountain.
Against this should be set an almost
insuperable obstacle, due to the pres
ence Of the old tunnel. namely, Il vast
reservoir formed in the
upper section by caving In OF the
walls. ascrihed to the freshet of 1851.
Incredible patience and vigilance
were requisite in boring beneath this
incumbent mass of waters, and the
success with which the contents of
his underground cistern were gradu-
ally emptied constitutes notable
feature of the enterprise.
After many and grave vlcissitudes.
and after two partial excavations eff
fected by tapping the lake at points
above the true head of the sluice,
the labor Of twenty years drew to Il
close. On the pod of January. 1870.
the main tunnel was opened, and by
the end of June. 1878, the bottom of
the basin was uncovered. and the Flu
cine lake had disappeared.
by all means it is found practicable
to control the elements. and render
permanent and perfect this conquest
over nature. The economical fruits
of the enterprise can he stated in a
few words. To the establishment of
public security should be added the
direct enrichment of the population.
An upper belt of the redeemable ter
ritory presenting a total surface of
seven thousand acres has been aban
doned to the owners of land adjacent
to the former shore. The amount of
arabic soil acquired by Prince Torlonia
and now for the first time incorpora-
ted with the productive area of Italy.
is not less than thirty-five thousand
acres, or. deducting the quantity in