The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-12-17
A z SCHEME,


Feasibility of . Plan for . Tunnel Under
the Straits Of Dover.
In the days of the great Napoleon, .
Frenchman by the name of Matthew
brought forward a scheme for tunnel
ing the Straits of Dover. He proposed
two galleries, over the other. The
lower was to be used for drainage; the
upper was to be a roadway through
which horses could gallop in an hour.
In 1884 another Frenchman, Thome
de Gamond, proposed to lay an. iron
tube on the channel bed and to organ
ize traffic as by a high road. Later he
abandoned the tube and adopted ths-
plan of a tunnel and railway. In 1857
he visited England and laid his plans
before English engineers, capitalists
and statesmen. He met with great
favor on all hands, the only prominent
opponent he met with being Lord Pal
merston, then Prime Minister. His OPP
position was shown in connection with
a remark peculiarly trying to the Prince
Consort. Gamond had an interview
with Prince Albert at which Palmers-
ton was present. The Prince was
greatly pleased with the project and
gave it his enthusiastic approval. Lord
Palmerston gravely shook his head and
said: "You would think qEite differ
emily if you had been born in this
island" This ungracious remark was
a great surprise to the Frenchman, who
yelled his disappointment under a re-
greet that any one should call in ques-
fs1rn tho prsnn -a1 H~4-o @-n1fy -
England. The Prince himself turned
off the remark as only an innocent sally
peculiar to pam" At that time the
Queen cordially favored the construc-
ton of a tunnel, though her indorse-
ment was of little value.
From the time of Gamond the tunnel
scheme became popular: In France 1t
has found n opposition from either
engineers or statesmen. In England its
fortune has been checkered. Sir Edward
Watkin, the President of the London
& Southeastern Railway Ito Dover and
Folkestone), early became the English
champion, and he is to-day the leader
and chief advocate of the submarine
tunnel. The first step was to demon
strate its entire practicabifity to the
satisfaction of eminent engineers. This
has very thoroughly been DONE. The
material of the channel bed has been
examined by borings, and everything
has been found exceedingly favorable.
The best location for the tunnel is q
little south of the narrowest point Of
the straits, where the distance from
shore to shore is about twenty miles.
The approaches would be about five
miles long at each end.
The next step was to show how the
tunnel could be drained and ventilated
when in full use. This has also been
shown to be quite practicable in a va
riety of ways. Next, as to the alum
dant uses of the tunnel for Transports
ton of passengers and goods, capitalists
seem to have been fully satisfied, and
there is plenty of money in London
available for building the tunnel the
moment Parliamentary consent is OBJ
tanned. The capacity of a double-track
tunnel with possibly a small side tun.
mel for drainage and ventilation) has
been shown to be TWO million people
and four hundred thousand toni
of merchandise per year. Some
estimates are much higher thar
these. Now the number of passengers
crossing the channel Counting those
twice who recross) is only about 250,.
600 per annun, hence, if the number OF
passengers should increase eight-fold,
the tunnel would accommodate them
all if they were evenly distributed
through the year. At any rate, it il
abundantly clear that the present pas.
senger traffic and all light, perishable
articles would readily be carried
through a single tunnel.
In 1875 a tunnel company obtained
an Act of Parliament empowering ex-
perimental operations; but that com.
pany has done nothing.
In 1874 a French company obtained
a concession from the French Govern.
ment, and the English Government.
through Lord Derby, consented to the
tunnel scheme, as follows:
"Of the utility of the work in ques'
ton, if successfully carried out. there
appears no room for any doubt, and
her Majesty's government would there.
fore offer no opposition to it, provided
they are not asked for any gift, loan or
guarantee in connection herewith"
The French company has made thou.
sands of borings and constructed some
shore-works, but has pushed out no
tunnel.
In 1881 the Southeastern Railway oh.
tanned authority to make borings and
experimental works, and began oper.
atoms at once. Three shafts were
sunk, n neal the waters edge at the
east end of Shakespeare tunnel on the
road from Folkestone to Dover. From
the bottom of this shaft a small tunnel
was started under the water. The Dor.
ing machine was tested and modified
until it took permanent shape as 9
most efficient instrument, and the ex.
detrimental tunnel was carried rap.
idly forward.
The reports of progress were most
encouraging, when suddenly there
arose a ''panic," a disease to which
the people of England seem to be peri.
odically subject, a mortal dread of the
French. Some three hundred years
before the historian Camden had
spoken of the English Channel as
providential arrangement by which
Britain and Gaul; and now the builders
of railroads, not content with burrow.
ing under English hills and shaking the
~OuuudtlOuS u Guc Olu HALLS,
proposed to bore their way under the
divinely appointed .'moat" of theil
proud island, and convert Great Britain
into a peninsula of France.
doubt if any military engineer in
America. or Germany could be found
who would say that it would be posi-.
BILE for France, in the event of a wal
with England, to make any use what
eve of the tunnel in securing a foot
hold for her army on English soil.
By special invitation of Sir Edward
Watkin, l visited the experimental tun-
mel last May. A small party was made
up in Lsndon, and workmen were on
hand to take us down the shaft and out
to the heading, about a mile and a
quarter under the sea. This expert
mental tunnel is only seven feet in di-
ameter, cut from the chalk by a verit-
able boring machine, which is driven
by compressed air. The entire surface
g IL A-