Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1911-09-29
FRANCE NEEDS A NEW PORT.

France is Just awakening to the necessity Of
improving her Atlantic ports Probably the earl
completion OF the Panama canal has drawn atten-
ton to the lack of adequate port facilities on the
northern and western coast of France AT anv
ratc the French government has instituted an
cNalmatlon with results far from satisfactory to
French prize Because Of her lack of deem ano
safe harbors, France is rapidly falling behind in
the competition for the commerce of the Atlantic
she cannot build bigger ships because they can
not enter her harbors berth at the docks. which
are built to accommodate vessels Of no greater
SIZE than safely navigate the harbor channels
IN consequence the passenger traffic of the At
iahtlc Is passing to the English German and
Dutch lines.
In this extremity France proposes TO abandon
llavre de Grace as her chief Atlantic port and
make Brest the center of her maritime commerce
me harbor channel of Havre is narrow and its
depth at extreme high tide is only thirtv-two feet
lhe approach is through the stormy English
manned and the anchorage very unsafe The
docks are too small to accommodate shins Of tho
same class as the great ocean liners of England
and Germany, In speed size and completenes1
OF appointment the French liners are falling bdt
hmd their competitors. French shipbuilding is
restricted by the lack of harbor facilities.
Brest Is already great naval stronghold It
IS safer and more commOdious harbor than is
llavre. BY deepening the channel and BUILDING
system of docks France can make Brest a
great nucleus for Atlantic commerce Brest has
strategic location second to no other European
port. 1t IS several hundred miles nearer the
American coast than Havre, being directly on
poSlte Fishguard, the first port of call on the
English coast BY shortening and improving the
government owned railroad to Paris. the rail
journey to the French capital can be made in
seven or eight hours, reducing the time between
New York and Paris. by steamers of the fastest
class. to five days. The choppy and turbulent
voyage through the English Channel would be
avoided by making Brest the point of arrival and
departure
Moreover Brest will give France shorter sea
route to Panama than any of the other COMPETE
tors has. 1t is nearer the Spanish and African
coast than any British port, and could not be
blockaded so easily by heavy or hostile fleets
as lavre de Grace But France will have to
spend millions to make the harbor available for
ships of the largest class and she will have to
spend still larger amount in improving the rail
facilities connecting Brest with Paris and the
other cities of Eastern and Southern France
But France must do something if she would
not let the competition of the Atlantic slip com
pletefE from her. Havre cannot be real first
class modern seaport; neither can Bordeaux or
Nantes. Expenditures of large sums seem ito be
her only recourse if she would have a command
ing hold on the Atlantic as she has in Marseilles
ON the Mediterranean. She has no natural har-
bors, and if she would compete for the sea trade
OF North and South America she must create a
harbor to accommodate it. Probably an cxpendi-
ture of $50000000 would be required to make
Brest available but it would be money well spent
1t would place France on an equality with Eng
land and give her an advantage over Germany so
far as the commerce of the Atlantic is concerned