The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-01-05
THAT HIGH FRENCH TOWER.

The EdeN Abandoned 'Becnuse Workmen
Would Not Go So Far Up.
10 feature of the place for the great
exposition Of 1889 was so much talked Of
as the gigantic tower, i 900 feet high, or
twice the height of the pyramids of
Egypt, designed by NJ! Eiffel, engineer Of
the department of arts and manufactures.
Since the tower of Babel nothing of the
same character has been attempted, and
it was thought that scientific progress
would permit the descendants of those
whom God dispersed because of their inn
piety to carry out similar design. The
idea was to make an iron base, composed
Of four pyramids, each pyramid fifty feet
a side. These pyramids were to be
separated from eachlother by space of
200 feet, and for stability to be anchored
in solid masonry. At a distance of $50
feet above the ground these pyramids
rwere to be,united by a gallery fifty feet
wide; 6he gaherA covered with glass;
was to bS. re5erve&A for the restaurantay
soirees, etc.
The nextE story was to have room
covered with glass, and this room was to
be 100 feet SQUARE. The whole was to be
surnountsd by glass dome, surrounded
by q terrace, and from this terrace the
EXPOSITION w0s, to be lighted with cleo
trIcity. 1t is time NOW to state that this
tower was the itlea oflLockroy, ex-min-
ister Of commerce and director of the
exposition. He searched for the exposi-
tion's greatest attraction and found a
tower. The four colossal pyramids may
be seen at the Chahps lie Mars, but we
fear that all who visit Paris in 1899 for
the purpose of viewing the triumph of
metallurgical art will be sadly disap-
pointed, for the tower will never be fin
ished. Money is not lacking, for the en-
thusiastic French would subscribe any
amount to possess the highest tower i'll
the world, but the difficulty lies in the
errors of calculation. For 250 feet, until
the first platform, there will be no OBJ
stacle, but the tower will then only rival
Notre Dame,
Should it reach the second platform its
appearance would be most fantastic, but
worllmen cannot he found willing to go
beyond a certain point, There has been
plan for the importation Of negroes and
Cinnamon, but !hey might not be more
lives. 1t was decided to inform the
tinAid negroes OF ChNllnen that a scaffold-
ing would protect them from all danger,
but these plotters forgot that these poor
negroes and Celestials would be obliged
to construct the scaifolding themselves.
During the Franco Plalssian war French
flag was planted Oh the spire of the Metz
cathedral. The flag remained until it
fell rag by rag, because not a German
soIdiar was willing TO risk his life by
hauling it down. Besides. every tower
vlbrates even in % moderate wind, and
because Of the vibration at the great
height proposed, worhmen would find it
impossible TO riyet ole piece of iron to
another.
What will he done yOu ask. Nothing,
only the tower will not be finished, and
we who Hoped to reach the dome in an
elevator constructed like Swiss railway,
and lrcm this dome view the country for
100 riles around; we. who thought to
see tOmpeigue and Rheims, Fontaine-
bleuu and Charities, with the little vii
la ges, lost in the woods, and the rivers
'Sand-ring through the valleys--we must
content ourselves with sight of Charen-
ton and Neuilly Anteuil and Nincennes.
Instead Of going seven times as high as
tle Column Vendome and standing 600
feet higher than the top Of Mount Valer-
ieh, we shall probably find ourselves
looking up to the Irocadero tower of the
Arc de Triomphe. Paris Cor. Chicago
Times.