Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-17
become the central maritime arsenal {
France.
An Extraordinary Idea

An extraordinary Idea.
1t Is a most extraordinary idea-the feet
safe inland as It were at Pittsburg. Pa.
unattackable as eagles high up on their
rocks and as ready as eagles to swoop
down on the enemy. From every point
French railways Will bring troops marines
provisions and munitions for swift dstrbiI-
ton. Around Toulouse will be grouped can
non founGTies and ammunition factories. In
Toulouse docks for ships viii be building
and the fleets Will walt there, ready TO be
thrown on the Atlantic or the Mediter-
ranean.
From Toulouse to Castelnaudry the route
is along the old bed of the Canal Of Ian
guedoc, of Clara Wards ancestor by-mar-
riage. The old canal abounds IN locks. To
mount to the lock of the ocean, where be-
gins the upper race, 1t ascends gradient
OF 200 feet by means Of seventeen locks IN
a distance of thirty-two miles. The upper
race IS three and one-half miles long, and
terminates at the lock of the Mediterra-
mean. TO descend to the Mediterranean the
work of Riquet extends over ia miles, de
scending a gradient of nearly 600 feet by
means of forty-eight locks.
The canal OF the two seas still has parti-
sans of Titanic cut TO obviate the greater
part of the locks over the Naurouze pass.
1t is true that no such rcut has ever been
made in the world. 1t would resemble one
depths the light Of day strikes never.
There great objections to this cur.
Landsldes are prOphesied. On the other
hand. it would be q heroic method and It's
partisans pretend that were there spent on
il the money. time, labor and ingenuity
which the invention and continued repair
ing of an equally Titanic lock system will
require the simpler means would prove the
better, This is, indeed, one Of the ques-
tioneS6n which the commission of the min
lister of public works has to report-the
altitude of the canal.
Were they to content themselves with
ordinary locks two hundred of them would
be required and six days would be occu-
pied il passing ship from the Atlantic
thought of. 1t is, therefore. the great
cut" or one of two prodigious novelties or
both. These are the ship elevator and the
rolling lock.
Great Ship Elevators.
The ship elevator may be dry-docll or
otherwise. If It be otherwise it viii re-
sembe in all but one single detail what
you might call a giant lock of the usual
description, In the first place. all these
lock and elevator devices must be always
twins, on the principle Of counter poised
weights. The twin giant locks have this
popularity. that they possess each a metal
lie basin full of water big enough to float a
ship. Imagine one at the top of its lock-
the otAer at the bottom. An ascending ship
is towed into 1t. \ descending ship is
towed into the upper basin. The weights
are now dlfilOSl tOUHlet-BdtditGI. %
make the upper basin descend and lift the
lower one by its superior weight in de
scending ii will only be necessary to turn
an extra quantity of water into it. The
principle is that of the old-fashioned lock.
improvement win consist in saving
time and water. AS to the dry-dock ele-
vator which requires still less water to
maneuyer it, time only can disclose It's
qualities. Apart from It's being a new by
draulic application, nothing is known of it,
perhaps purposely
The principle of the rolling dock on the
other hand. Is given in detail No matter
what be the vertical distance separating
two consecutive stretches of canal the
gradient may be overcome by means of an
inclined plane having a uniform slope of
thirty-siX millimeters per meter.
Eight lines of railway tracks. composed
of heavy steel rails one meter long sunk in
a massive cement foundation, and four
rack-and-pinion systems placed between
them constitute the track The rolling dock
is another great metallic basin fun of
water.
Several hundred sliding skates one meter
wIde by two meters long aid to support ii.
and compression pumps operated by steam