The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-26

through similar materiaA The drill is
 three inches in diameter, slowly rota-
 ting, but kept up to it's work by hy-
 draulc pressure of fifteen hundred
 pounds to the drill, or of ten tons on
 the cutting points of the drill, and as
 all the waste water is discharged along
 the axis of the tool, right up to the cutting edge, the temperature of the
 steel is kept cool, and the debris is
 washed out of the hole. The ventila-
 tion is excellent; the air is supplied to
 the men right at the end of the galler-
 ies in great volumes, over fifty-eight thousand cubic feet of air a minute be-
 ing supplied Owing to the height of
 the mountain and the great euperin-
 cumbent mass over the tunnel, the tenn
 perature of the rock Is as high as eigh-
 ty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, and special
 arrangements are made by the employ
 ment of spray and of ice for cooling the air. The total quantity of water flow 1 ing from the tunnel, inclusive of both
 north and south entrances is rather
 under five thousand gallons minute
 and is carried in efficient side drains
 cut in the rock
 | luc SIealeSt care IS lakon TOT the ! welfare of the men: they change shifts every eight hours, and are brought out in trainloads They are not allowed to
 encounter the cold Alpine air when emerging from the tunnel in their wet clothes, but are landed in covered
 building or station in which there are
 cubicles for changing their clothes. f1t- ted with hot and cold douehe bathe.
 They take off their mining clothes,
 which are at once hung up in heated
 rooms to dry, ready for their next
 days work. Adjacent Is a restaurant
 at which they can get all their meals,
 of excellent quality and at very low price, Breakfast, dinner and supper pence day, and beds are provided in rooms with three others, furnished with electric light, for a further charge of twopence a night. Everything is kept in an excellent state of order and | cleanliness, and the organization throughout. Is quite without precedent. l
 A strike took place recently owing to | the advent of two or three agitators, l but the men themselves were not aware | of the reasons for striking, and they | returned to work without having | gained any concessions. The co-opera- tive system is in force, and the men have a direct interest in their work. If | they succeed in doing more than a cer- tain rate of progress, they participate in the results. Were the trades union leaders in this country wise enough to allow the men to share profits with the 1a,, +a,,y recovering the position in the manufac- turing world which England seems like ly to lose.
 The contractors for this great work are Messrs. Brandt, Brandau & Co.,, and are ably represented by Colonel ' Locher. This gentleman was anxious that Sunday should be observed and work suspended but the Italian work men, who are desirous of earning as much wages as possible to remit home, objected. It appears that as long as these men are in Italy they obey their priests, but as soon as they enter Swift zerland they declare they have no re- ligion," and insist on working seven days week. This Is the only blot on the undertaking for, inlthe opinion of tunnel experts, no loss of time, but rather gain, is secured by allowing men horses and machinery to rest for the one day in seven. As it is work goes on necessarily from one years end to another with the exception of four or | i've days, which are particular feasts, or are days on which the special gov ernment engineers appointed for veri 'ying the axis of the tunnel require ces- ;ation of work for getting their lines nto the tunnel from their telescopes md theodolites The loss of life has { been very small, owing to the precau- ions taken, and excellent hospitals I lave been provided for cases of acci- $ lent or illness, which also, happily, [ Ire but few in number.
 It Is expected that the traffic will be- ( ,in to run In 1904, and the total cost z when both tunnels are completed will l ,e about sixty pounds per lineal yard t if single line tunnel, a remarkably low I Igure when the difficulties and the magnitude of the undertaking are con- | Times. il