The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-09-23
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Money is ready, and plans are laid
for tunnel that will make all tunnels
dug hitherto seem rather insignificant,
and that incidentally will bring the
United States and Europe several
hours nearer. 1t is believed that it will:
begin a new era for Ireland and will
advance Belfast many steps in the.
scale of importance. It is proposed to,
perform all OF these wonders by drill
ling a $60,000, 900 hole thirty-f1ve miles
through the rock under the northern
part OF the Irish sea, through which
passengers could be, Whisked by train,
and could thus travel from London to
Galway or Queenstown without chang
ing cars. All that the plan waits for
now is guarantee from the British
government of 3 per- cent on the CAPT
tai invested from the time that the
tunnel is In working order. A big
meeting was held the other day in
committee room of the house of COM.
mons, presided over by the Marquis of
Londonderry, former lord lieutenant Of
Ireland, in which the enterprise was
doomed vigorously by Lord Rosebery
and the Earl of Spencer and many 9TH
er important personages. A deputation
was sent to the first lord of the treas
ury to talk persuasively to him about
the per cent part of the business, and
the government is considering the
question. If the government guaran-
tees the interest the preliminary work
| will begin at once, and it is expected
that the tunnel will be completed in
about ten years from the time the first
sod is turned. When the time comes
| to turn that sod the man to do it really
| ought to be Lord Londonderry, whose
powerful influence has been exerted for
1t ever since it appeared that the plan
| was practicable. To him, therefore,
| I applied for information on the sub
ject, although lords of high degree are
not much given to granting interviews
in England. ,.... .......-
Lord Londonderry greataz.@toWn
| house in artistocratic Park lane in
London is as grim and forbidding out
| side as it is spacious and luxurious
within. The marquis was in his libra
ry, seated at a fiat-topped desk, which
! one must suppose to be the grandfa tn
er of all desks, for it was big enough
to make three or four ordinary writ
| ing tables. Young couples have start
ed housekeeping before now in house
whose floor surface appeared no great
er than the top of that desk. It was
| covered with newspapers and maps in
| which the marquis was evidently much
interested.
II believe" he said, "that the pro-
posed tunnel would bring great
change to Ireland, and although, of
course, it is an undertaking that would
have appalled, the engineer of a gener-
alton ago, I am told that there is no
mechanical difficulty today that stands
in the way Of it. The total length of
the tunnel under the sea would be
twenty-five miles and the approaches
on either side would be about five
miles each, making thirty-fve miles in
all. OF course that is about three
times as long as any tunnel yet built.
The Simplon is about thirteen miles,
isn't it? And the st. Gothard tunnel
IS something like nine miles long. But
1t is astonishing what progress the en-
gineers have made, and it is likely that
in the course Of ten years it would take
to build the tunnel still further pro-