Evening star., 1905-08-17
CH A N N Ell TU N N Ell
THE UNDER-SFA ROUTE BETWEEN
ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
Time and Events Have Nullified Old
Objections to the Subter-
ranean Way.

FltZmllrlCp Will ask lHt StIIttdis " tiiS
board Of trade If any communications have
recently taken place In regard to the chan
mel tunnel between the British and French
governments. and If 1t is proposed to con-
,nue the prohibition which has prevented
the progress of the work on this side. The
question will be put al opportune mo-
ment. Never were the relations of Great
Britain and France more cordial than they
are at the present time At Brest few
days ago M Colignon, prefect of Finisterre,
when greeting Admiral May in the name
of the French government on board the
King Edward VII. said. in eloquent
speech: The friendship of the two great
peoples who have the longest and most
glorious history and who are devoted to the
same ideal of peace and civiizat ation, will be
the greatest and happiest event OF the CEN
tury which is beginning" The development
OF this friendship is a great factor making
Tor the maintenance of peace. 1t can best
be cultivated by facilitating the inter
course between the peoples OF the two
countries Considering the distance that
separates us. 1t is quite extraordinary how
little We see of our next-door neghbors.
The number of tourists from France who
annually visit shores Is ridiculously
small. The horrors of the double journey
across the channel are mainly accountable
for this The risk of NAL de mer is what
Geters the thousands who consider a visit
TO England too dearly bought at the price
of double dose of sea-sickness
Old Objections Silenced.
M. Cambon. in a speech on May 6, said
that he hoped the construction Of a channel
tunnel would be the outcome and develop
ment of the growing friendship of the two
peoples. At the time when the construc-
tion of this project was last under serious
consideration 1t was proved that SO far from
there being any serious engineering difficult
ties, the stratum of chalk which ran from
one shore to the other was ideal for tunnel
ing through. and the improvements In tun-
nelIng work since then - during the past
quarter of a century-have made the propo-
sition still easier.
II mainly on military grounds that
the scheme was at that time rejected.
Since then. however. the means at our dis
posal for safeguarding ourselves have been
so improved and perfected that most of the
objections put forward In 1882 may either
be considered to exist no longer. or to have
been modified to such extent as to merit
careful reconsideration. Additional fortifi-
cations and a greatly increased garrison at
Dover We're then the chief safeguard relied
upon for the protection of the English end
of the tunnel The greater part of the evil
denCe given against the scheme dealt with
the danger of having these fortifcations
surprised ana captured by an invading force
at time of profound peace without any
declaration of war. and although the chance
of carrying out such exploit under the
combination of circumstances which would
be necessary for its successful accomplish
ment was admitted to be small, yet 1t was
agreed by the select committee that 1t was
risk that the country should not run. AL
though the means for flooding or destroying
the tunnel were then considered, they Oc-
cupied only secondary place. and 1t Is in
this direction that l consider that the condi-
tons have been altered.
Military Considerations.
The means at the disposal of our engi-
neers for both blowing up and flooding the
tunnel now such that they would be
quite Independent of the capture of the
Dover end. and the strength of the forti-
fications there would be a matter Of al
together secondary Importance. If the
whole of Dover were In the hands of the
enemy the tunnel could be destroyed and
the thirty miles of its extent flooded with
equal facility from London. or from Edin-
burgh for that matter. 1t Is childish and
ridiculous to hold, with the high and power
full explosives which we now possess and
the knowledge of how to use them. that We
would not be able to destroy the tunnel
in half a dozen places If we desired to do
So In fact 1t could be made such a vert-
able death trap that it IS doubtful If the
troops of any army in the world, unless,
perhaps. the Japanese, could be got to
enter 1t,
As regards the obstruction of the tunnel
apart from its complete destruction, Col.
Majendie C.B., R-A.. in his evidence before
the select COfnlnlltee III 1893, SAUL mere
are any number of ways of obstructing 1t:
there Is no difficulty about that. If you
have warning and you want simply to close
the tunnel. or temporarily to disable the
tunnel, or to deny II to enemy, there
could be no difficulty in multiplying means
which would be perfectly effective. The
modes suggested for the temporary closing
of the tunnel were various. from those Of a
merely temporary nature rising to the
higher class of those which were called
temporary demolitions," which would rem
der the tunnel useless and deny II to an
enemy for a much longer period. or to the
methods for destroying the tunnel utterly.
when Col Majendie says "a hole might be
made which would effectively destroy
the tunnel that II would be almost as chea D
or as easy to make one as to repair
the old one
As the means at our disposabf for the OBJ
struCtion or destruction of the tunnel have
been improved since that evidence was
given, twenty-five years ago. il Is reason
able TO suppose that they will be still fur
Their perfected during the ten years that
must elapse before it can be completed.
A Propitious Moment.
1t certainly appears that there Is a fair
case now for reconsidering the whole prop
osit.on. The nero mooting of this question
lii England would be to hold out the hand
of friendship in a way deeply significant of
the Senuineness OF our feeling. There would
be something more permanent in 1t than
the efervescent sparkle of champagne In
the glasses raised to cordial toasts. The
glneerng skill of the two nations Is GER
tainly equal to the task of closing the open
door between the neighbors II ever the time
should come when that will be necessary
To those who study the high politics of
the world and seek for the maintenance Of
peace as the statesman's highest aim l ap-
peal. and ask Is there anything that stands
out more luminously clear than the essen
tial Importance OF France and England be-
coming fast and genuine friends. Through
France we may come to a final understand
ing with Russia. BY our alliance with ia
pan our word cannot be gainsa!d IL we say
there shall be peace in the Pacific. A
similar understanding with France and
might we not Jointly declare that Europe
must have peace? Is not everything pro-
pitious at this moment for opening the
neighborly door and giving the friendly
Geighbors the opportunity of knowing and
understanding and appreciating each other
better? Has not the time come for the two
great democracies of Europe-the one not
the less a democracy because Edward the
Peacemaker is Its kfng-to grasp hands be-
meath the sea?
How an Idaho Tunnel Was Cooled.