The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-10-03
THE ST. GOTHARD TUNNEL.
Italy aud Switzerland to be Connected by n
Tunnel undcr the Alps that will Cost
Nearly Sixty Million Dollars.

Tunnel undcr the Alps that will Cost
Nearly Sixty Million Dollars.
There are men living to-day in Switzer-
land and Italy whose life-dream has
been a tunnel under the Alps. Many
schemes have been investigated, and
many schemes have failed.
These mighty barriers of mountains
have for ages divided people that but for
them might have been of one language,
one interest, alike in laws and customs.
For five hundred years there was but a
stone path across the Helvetic Alps,
where the ST. Gothard post-road was
a'terward built; and it is but century
since the first vehicle on wheels was
dragged over the pass, at an expense OF
several hundred dollars. Till that time,
the traffic between two nations was borne
on the backs of mules and men, who
struggled, at the risk of death, along
narrow stony ways, winding around
glaciers, high mountain peaks, and
yawning CULTS; 16, 900 persons and 5000
horses climbed over these dizzy heights
annually.
There were scarcely fewer dangers to
be encountered by the bold trader even
forty or fifty years ago-sudden storms,
| ulluOSb tbcIudl SDOWS, dNulubChCc3
rocks, dangerous and unbridged torrents,
conspired to make the path of the st.
Gothard one of awful risk and dangers.
1t winds among granite pyramids ana
peaks nine to ten thousand feet in height,
and the road itself reaches an elevation
of nearly seven thousand feet. Even
now the SHOWS on the pass are so deep
Il H. 1A,&
merce and travel over the st. Gothard
cease for half the year entirely, the mails
being carried over by messengers. Such
are part only of the disadvantages aris-
ing to some sixty or seventy millions OF
people from this mighty mountain wall
between Switzerland and Italy.
The building of the Mont Gents tun-
mel through the Savoy Alps to France,
and the Brenner road to Austria, have
made it absolutely necessary for Ger
many and Switzerland to choose between
losing the commerce and travel of the
south, and building a mountain railroad,
and a series of tunnels that shall eclipse
anything of the kind in the world. The
world knows how they have chosen.
The enterprise was too enormous for
private undertaking or for private capi-
tai. In 1871, Italy, Germany and
Switzerland voted large subventions for
the building of road, to be commenced
at once, running from the Lake of Lu-
cerne, in Switzerland, to Lake Maggiore,
in Italy, a distance of 108 miles.
Twenty-one per cent, or nearly 120, 600
feet, Of all this distance was to be tun-
neled through mountains of granite.
The total length of the main tunnel
which enters the Alps at Goeschenen, in
Switzerland, and energies at Airolo, in
Italy, is 4S, 936 feet. A number of the
smaller tunnels, bringing the road up to
the proper level in the Alps, exceed
, 1000 feet. On the lake of Lucerne,
too, there will be important tunnels and
galleries cut alongside of or under the
celebrated Axenstrasse, high above the
waters of the lake.
At the time the international treaty
for this great undertaking was signed il
was believed that the work could be
done for the sum of 1000, 900 francs
A company was organized, with 81 600,
600 francs of stock, in G20 shares, anG
68, ,000 900 francs of mortgaged bonds
Gtoly presented the undertaking with
As, 900, 900 francs. Germany and Switz
, i, erland each gave 20, 900, 900 francs, The
) work, however, was not more than fairly
under way when it was discovered, tt
,, the astonishment of everybody, that al
, awful mistake had been made in estima
. ting the costs. and that, instead of 1877,
!, 600, 900 francs, 289, 900, 900 would be re
, quired to complete the work as at first
. proposed-a blunder in estimates of 102,
100000 francs.
This laundering calculation threatene,
, all sorts of bad results. The stock o
9 the company ran down to minimum
y and hundreds of families were neari,
ruined by the collapse. The bond
, shared in the crash, and even the mos
! ardent friends of the enterprise fearet
, that the money which had been E,
lavishly given was buried under tn
= mountains forever. 1t became seriou
question whether the works would no
have to be completely abandoned
9 There certainly was no choice, except +
, lose all that had been done, or to adj
many millions more to the subventions
n The times were hard, financial crise
9 we're imminent everywhere, and war wa
: raging on the continent. Everybod
o was discouraged. Some of the littl
! cantons of Switzerland, which would re
N | CelNt luo ulOSb DSHCuo HUH bhC OOlupis
9 ton of the tunnel, refused to lift
q hand or to spend another dollar.
!, In the face of ali opposition, how
. ever, the money has, at this writing
g been almost raised. The three countrie!
n parties to the treaty, have added largel
,t to their subsidies, and leading Swit
A. railways and cities have each voted sun
At proportioned to the advantages the
hope to reap. The work goes on
D. fact, has never stopped.
II The contract for this enormous wo1
ne is most interesting. 1t was granted
n. Mr.. Louis Favre, of Geneva. By i
q. terms Mr.. Favre promises to deliver IL
a. works of the tunnel, completed, by IL
h 1st of Octohe-, 1880. For each day IL
ve work may be done before that time Il
a company agrees to pay him 81, 200. c
v. the other hand, however, the contracts
ne is bound to pay handsomely for all d
in lays. For every single day in arrear
contract he forfeits 1000. If deli
continue six months, the forfeit is So, ,0
per day and should he be one year
arrear with his work, he surrenders Il
contract, and forfeits 81, 600, 900, viii,
m he and his friends for him, have depos
IT'S ed with the company as security.
,r. On January /, 1877, theheadings, OF
on sort of advanced gallery eight fe
", square pushed forward at the top of t
Il. tunnel, were halfway in. Whether t
an gigantic work can really be complete
n. within the time specified is a gra