The times., 1899-07-09
THE IRISH TUNNEL.
A Review OF the Greatest Eagine~r-
ing Project of the Century.

Review OF the Greatest EuEtae~r
Ing Project OF the Century.
dSrcm the New York Evening Po-t.)
II anybody. twenty-five years ago, had
suggested the construction OF a tunnel
under the sea. between England and Ire
land, he would have been regarded as a
lunatIc, or. at all events. as an irrespousl-
Bile dreamer. but the world has become
so accustomed 10 the marvels OF modern
engineering that the proposition is ae-
eepted today almost as matter Of course,
and the first question asked is not. rs
the thing practicable7- but Can IL be
made prohtable?" Lord Londonderry and
! MS associates. who ventilated the whole
subject before an influential meeting of
members OF Parliament the other day. in
London. have no doubt that this ought to
be answered in the affirmative But then
they could scarcely say otherwise since
they wish the British Government to hnd
the greater part Of the needed capital,
which is estimated roughly at from
SoOOO0.O00 to S75, ,00o. .0e0
1t appears that the distance between the
| Two points, In Wigtownshire Scotland
| and County Antrim. In Ireland which have
! been selected. tentatively. for the ends OF
the projected tunnel is twenty-five miles:
that the average depth of the water under
! which 1t would run is eighty fathoms, and
| that the geological conditions are fayora-
i Bile. although no less an authority than
| Lord Rose limited at the possibility OF un-
expected difficulties in this direction. All
| doubts on this subject Of course, would
| have to be settled by preliminary surveys.
| Without such special obstacles the work
would simply be n repetition. on larger
scale, OF what has been done before and
| that, too, without such assistance as is
70 rod kxrf L..
/ electricity. The first Thames tunnel for a
long time. was regarded as one OF the won
ders OF the world. but has been duplicated
more than once in recent years. and will
1 De excelled IN almost every respect by the
| structures that will soon be in existence
| under our own North and East rivers
Deep-sea boring probably will present
some novel problems. but they are likely
| to differ from those which have been
solved already in degree rather than in
| kind, and may be expected 10 present no
/ insuperable barrier Engineers and con-
! tractors certainly will be forthcoming
| from America. If from nowhere else-as
| soon as the necessary funds have been sub
| scribed.
AS general rule. in vast enterprises
| OF this kind. it Is expected that the cost
will be borne by the prospective bene-
! fciaries- In this case the interests In
volved are not only commercial but poli-
/ tical, and. perhaps. military. as well.
| Some of the English Tory journals are
already throwing out hints that ireland
ought to contribute largely. because OF
the opportunity which the tunnel would
confer upon her OF finding a market in
England for such perishable produce as
cannot be sent by water. but do not speci-
| fy the produce. or explain how the de-
mand for it Is to be created. That :he
| Irish railroads would profit largely, in
| the long run, by the increase in tourist
travel is certain. but this would hold good
also of the English lines. which are much
more capable of raising money for invest
| ment and waiting for returns. There=is
no reason for supposing that an immediate
| and prolonged rush OF English tourists
! into Ireland would follow the abolition OF
| brief, but troublesome sea passage. That
! can be brought about only by a general
awakening OF English public interest in
! the indisputable attractions which the
/ sister island has to offer, by Improvement
! in the political relations between the two
countries, and the establishment OF mu-
tual respect and confidence
| If, as is reported, influential members OF
| the present British Government are IN
| clined to favor the scheme. and furnish
substantial financial aid toward its accom-
plishment the matter at once assumes a
/ practical aspect, although 1t is obvious
that many delicate points have TO be con-
sidered before any active steps can be
| taken. 1t is project in which a great
/ and growing body of Americans are direct
ly concerned. Perhaps. indeed. the most
/ important feature in it is the fact that il
4 would shorten very considerably the trans
1 Atlantic passage. The west coast of Ire
| land is the nearest to the American Conti-
nent and with the proposed tunnel in op-
Grafton it would be possible for passengers
| from this side of the Atlantic 10 land in
Galway, and travel by rail. without change
OF cars, to London, and many other points
in Great Britain direct There would not
only be a great saving OF time. but
marked diminution of the terrors which
the turbulent ocean has for all bad sailors
IL Is even conceivable that, with the thir-
| ty-fve or forty-knot boats OF the future,
the voyage might be made in three days
To effect this, change of route would be
necessary on the part OF the principal
| steamship lines but the csrrying trade. of
course would accommodate itself to cir
cumstances. The chief sufferers would be
Southampton and Liverpool. which would
lose the bulk of the irst-ciass passenger
traffic The freight and emigrant business
would remain, probably, in the o,d chan
nels.
1t is rather surprising to learn that Lord
Wolseley is in favor of the Irish tunnel,
although unalterably opposed to one under
the British Channel on the ground that 1t
would be impossible TO secure 1t absolutely
| against possible seizure by hostile in
vader How such a seizure could be ef-
fected. except by surprise or treachery,
both Of which would be extremely difficult.
has always been puzzle to the lay mind,
$ but il this danger is actual in the one case.
one would think that it would have to be
taken into consideration in the other
However this may be. 1t is tOlerably safe
to prophesy that after the Irish tunnel has
: been built it will not be long before there
c will be another under the English Channel
to France even if it should be deemed
essential to keep an army corps posted at
, either end of il.
Playing Poker by Wire.
From the Chicago Chronicle.)
Few outside the brotherhood OF the key arr
aware that operators often play poker over tn
wire. 1t is. nevertheless, fact, and the diver
IL. = f.srI