The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-04
SYMPTOM TUNNEL.
Third Outlet Through the Alps Be-
gun and to be Finished in 1903.

nlrd Outlet Through the Alps BE-
gun and to he Finished in 1903.
New York Sun.
About 900 men are now engaged In ex-
cavating the Slmplon tunnel, which is to
give France and Switzerland direct COM
munication by rail with Milan, the great
est distributing point in Italian trade.
The work is being pushed day and night,
and there is every prospect that 1t viii
be completed in the four and half years
remaining to the Jura Assumption Railroad
company under its contract The rail-
road company has every incentive to car
ry out the work, if possible, in less than
contract time, for it will receive an extra
$1,000 for every day it saves, while the
same amount will be deducted from the
price TO be paid for the tunnel for every
day Of delay beyond the stipulated time.
The work will differ from that of the
Mount Cents and St. Gothard tunnels. as
there Will be two tunnels, one for each
line of track the tunnels being fifty
eight feet apart and connected every 260
feet by CrOSS-cuttingS; the present work,
however, cOntemplates the completion of
only one tunnel and a gallery through
the other, the gallery being used to re-
turn cars loaded with material into the
tunnel, while the debris of excavation IS
removed through the tunnel itself
Excavation is in progress both at the
Swiss and Italian ends, and the work
completed in the first six months
mounted TO 4,04S feet, about two-thirds
of which was on the Swiss side. The sta
tistics for the second half year, ending
this month, will show an important in
crease in the rate of progress The tun-
mel, twelve and half miles long, will be
fourth longer than St. Gothard and
nearly half longer than Mount Cents,
but with the improved methods of tunnel
ing and the better machinery now in
use, the cost and the time consumed will
not be commensurate with its greater
length.
The work on the Italian side has ad-
vanced more slowly than in Switzerland
because large mass of gneiss has been
encountered which, even with an enor-
nous amount of blasting, is a great OBJ
stacle in the way. On the Swiss side,
however, the excavation thus far is in
cay slate and is comparatively easy.
The work on that side also has the ad-
vantage of the use Of liquid air for blast
Ing purposes, which has proved to be L
great success in its direct effect while
at the same time it does away with an
unpleasant feature of ordinary blasting
IN tunnels, j. e., filling the air With nitro
gen gas. The Italian government has not
yet given permission for the use of liquid
air as an explosive, and dynamite is
therefore still used at the south end Of
the works.
The temperature Of the excavations Is
already high and is increased by the ex-
plosives. A great deal of water also
ooZes from the walls. The gallery is be-
ing used both for drainage purposes and
TO force currents of air into the tunnel.
In the central portion the tunnel will be
about 10000 feet below the mountain
peaks directly overhead, and the mean
heat there is expected TO be about 1O4
degrees Fahrenheit, much too high 4
temperature for comfortable working.
In addition to the forced air circulation
II IS intended, in this part of the works,
10 use water sprays, which, it is thought,
VIII reduce the heat to 90 degrees Fahren-
heit.
France greatly desires the completion
OF the tunnel, and Switzerland will de-
rive large advantages for it will connect
the whole Of Western and Central Switz
erland with Italy. Switzerland without
a port or. q mile OIL. seacOast occuDies a
high place among commercial nations
because Of its splendid communications
with all the countries around it and with
their seaports from which its products
are sent to all parts of the world. The
new tunnel will place Switzerland in di-
rect relations with Milan, the third Iarg-
est city OF Italy, and will be its best
route to Genoa, which is now rfvaIfng
Marseilles IN the volume of its interna
Lonal shipping business. When the first
tunnel is in operation side tracks will rer-
NIT the passage of trains, and the sec
ono tunnel will not be completed until
the increasing business requires it.