The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-04-10
CANAL ACROSS FRANCE.
TO CONNECT THE ATLANTIC AND
THEsMEplTERRANEAN
Gigantic Engineering Feat Will Re-
quire Eight Years to Build.
French Hope for Trade.

The French are going to revenge
themselves on Panama at home. BY
n gigantic engineering work entirely
with their own borders they are
getting ready to lift up their ship
ping to the first rank, double the
force of their navy and cause the
Mediterranean to cease to be IAN
English lake"-by multiplying Glib
raltar, says the Plttsburg Gazette.
In a way they propose to copy
Englands natural advantage by
transforming part of France with
Spain) into an Island, more than
doubling their sea coast and creating
ocean ports for languishing inland
cities.
This Is to be accomplished by con-
structing a vast ship canal across the
lower end of France from the Allan
tic to the Mediterranean. BY its
means the French fleet will be capa-
BILE of operating, one day on the At
lantic, and then two days later show
itself In Mediterranean ports, with
out subJecting itself to the guns of
Gibraltar.
One of the queerest things about 1t
is that the canal exists already for
canalboats and small coasters. To
enlarge 1t for warships and mer-
chantment Is no mere dream. Since
1878 "the Canal of the Two Seas
has been fully planned by engineers.
Three Parliamentary commissions
have made estimates upon It; and
now M. Gauthier, Minister of Public
Works, has sent his own commission
to make final studies of the scheme.
The present estimates foresee
100000 workmen, guided by thirty
chief engineers and 200 overseers,
with digging and tunneling machines
driven by $4,000 horse power.
One Of the chief surprises is the
nal being great patriotic work, as
well as commercial revolutionizer,
the first thought has been the secur-
tty and convenience of warships In
its Atlantic entrance. Bordeaux is
too high up in the mouth of the Ga
rome. They have therefore chosen
the extraordinary natural basin of
Arcachion, really nearer, as the crow
flies, to Bordeaux itself, and the ca
nal will strike the Garonne just be-
yond that ancient port.
The route is straight from Area
chon to Agen, on the Garonne, Sc
miles Of easy cutting, without a sin
gle lock.
The waters of the Garonne are to
be reinforced from many torrent of
the Pyrenees, which will save Tou-
louise and other towns from the pc
riodic inundations that now trouble
them. Between Agen and Toulouse
the Garonne, strongly banked and
become at last the safe drain Of
these mountain torrents, will take
the fleets of war and commerce to
Toulouse, which will become the CEN
trail maritime arsenal of France
French commerce waits upon the
canal for its restoration. While the
French coasting trade is reduced to
100000 tons a year, that Of Great
Britain is over 120, 100000 tons.
The French deep-sea carrying Is less
than that of Italy or Norway. Ger
man boats touch at Cherbourg to
take American freight, and English
lines to the Orient calmly make Mar
seilles their Western stopping place.
Over 80 per cent. of French exports
are carried In foreign bottoms, max
ing a gift Of $80,000.000 annually to
the English, Germans and Italians.
When this canal Is built England
herself will either have to pay toll to
the French or lose lot of her own
trade, and so on for the commercial
peoples to-day passing their stuff
through the Straits of Gibraltar.
From Malta to Ushant, for example,
there will be an economy of more
than 500 miles by the canal; from
Genoa to Ushant, an economy of
1850 miles. Bordeaux and Nantes,
on the Atlantic, will become almost
Mediterranean ports. From Bor-
deaux to Malta by Gibraltar Is now
2,30S miles. BY the canal it will be
only 1000 miles.
In case of war, II Is promised that
the Canal of the two Seas will be able
to transfer the French feet from the
Atlantic to the Mediterranean In two
uHyc uhu u NAH ciohSO 6ifO
passage to her allies fleets at pleas
ure; and the European combination
that shall possess this extraordinary
deep sea short cut will become the
mistress of the Mediterranean, ig-
noring Gibraltar.
Who are the possible allies, en-
couraged by the new promise of pow
sr? They are Spain and Italy. The
German Emperor knows It and is
frightened-hence his temptation to
fail on the French. The Latin
union promises to be the first fruit
Of the Canal of the Two Seas.
Japanese Hero Worship.