Connecticut western news., 1903-07-30
ALL RAIL LINE TO PARIS
4 Tunnel Under Boring Strait
 Is Planned.
ocEFEEEsoE HELD IN NEW YORK

0oHFEEEHoE HELD IN NEW YORK Congressman Lewis Discusses the Gl-
 oantIe Undertaking of World Rail-
 way Route-Russia Anxious to Have
 Bt Neutral In Time of War.
 New York, July 29.--Count Loicq de Lobel of the French Geographical so- ciety is in New York for a conferences with the representatives of the Ameri- can interests in the proposed Trans alaska Siberian railroad, which, ac- corling to the plans adopted, will con- meet the railroad systems of the east ern and western hemispheres and give an all rail route from this city to Paris by way of tunnel under Boring strait. ia Ex-Congressman ]. Hamilton Lewis 3of the state of Washington, general Nouneel for the American capitalists who have joined with Russian and capitalists to build the road, aE John !. Healey, discoverer of the KIohdfke and one of the wealthiest men of Alaska, who is largely intere1t ed In tho project, both personally and 'as the Representative of other rich men Of the west, are here too.
 They rwill meet the count, who is looking after the foreigners interests and those of the Russian government, and discuss the difficulties that stand h tho way of the carrying out of the plans. These are said to be chiefly those having to do with the determina-, ton of the respective rights of the Russian and United States govern ments In the event of war.
 M da LObel has been In Ottawa con ferring with Dominioa government oflrs eials with respect t6 @eftAin mattGFA having to do with that tnd of the en. terprise.
 Russian ofI1cials are willing to for ward the enterprise by making cOn- c11sions, provided it is arranged that tho tunnel shall be neutral. Evi-s dently 1t h the fear of the Russians that the United States might use the road to the adyantaSNc of England uon1d that country and Russia go to var
 Inauuurated Two Years Ago.
 ''The project was inagurated nearly two years ago. said Mr. Lewis at the Hoffman House, while Count de Lo- bel was in this country as the repre sentative of the French Geographical society. When in Alaska upon his ex- plOratiOns he seems to have reported the feasibility of this road to the Rus stan authorities. pointing out the con- nectiOn with the Transsiberian rail- road, which would give an all rail line from New York into Siberia by way of St. Petersburg into the French cap ital.
 Since then the matter has been un- der discussion and consideration by en- gineers of the French and Russian gov ernments. NJ. de Lobel returned to Paris a year ago, making his full re- pOrts, and later he obtained audiences with the Russian government which brought abont certain concessions nee essary for the Russian end of the enter prise.
 "In the meantime the Russiah and French capitalists associated them selves with American capitalists with a view of constructing the American end of the line. While this was in progress 1t became necessary to calcu- late the exact cost of the tunneling of Boring strait Then came the report, which was more interesting than would at first appear.
 "IpStead of difficulties, as at first would be assumed, the engineers of the Russian and French governments pointed out that the straits were dur ing nine months of the year solid ice, and the tunneling would be the same as going under rock formation, and that in the three months when they were navigable the waters over a large part of the proposed line did not ex- tend more than fifteen feet. Manifest ly there would be no more danger of tunneling under the Boring strait than under the Seine or the Hudson river"
 MT. Lewis says that it is the belief of the engineers that the tunnel can be built and the road constructed at cost not exceeding $2O,OOO,O00. The strait is about thirty-six miles wide from Cape Prince of Wales. on this side, to Cape Nuniamo or East cape, in Siberia About midway are the Diomede islands three small islands, the largest about the size of Madison square. It would be possible to bore both ways from tbat island, and the water, uniformly shal' low, is nowhere more than 250 feet deep.
 It is probable that some one of the railroads now building in Alaska. will be acquired by the Transalaska-Sibe rian company to connect the United States with the Alaskan terminal