The Alaska citizen., 1913-12-08

EHSiisH tHdlllel Is, Ike me Qlggln2 of the Panama Canal, project
 that will not down. It has come up for discussion and agitation per iod cally for nearly century. and each time it has been defeated be. cause of military considerations | Thirty years ago the tunnel came
 very near becoming an accomplish ed fact. Trial headings aggregatins I about cne-tenth the total length of the tunnel were dug. Then the work was stopped on the same oli plea that such a connection with | h. continent might De used as a means of invasion in time of war. This project is now being rromot ed again, and apparently with more likelih cd than ever that it will be ar.icd through to comr letion, ow- ing to pronounced change ot atti ude both on the part of the public and of the military authorit es Of England. Curiously enough this change of attitude is due, not to " te"f in the pefmaneney of peace. bu largely. if not entirely 10 1 the development of the aeroplanc and dirigibe balloon as formidable instruments of war, with the con- sequent destruct on of that splendid is lation,' in q physical sense at least. of which tie Bri fish have al ways been so jealous. Dozens of airmen have already made flights oyer the channel. and it is apparent that in any future war the most ser
 GUS menace would come from otn-
 Y sources than tunnel. bill now pending before the British par Iamen. Contemplates the immediate beginning of construction. The build irg of the tunrel will place London in direct railway communication with Paris and ether cities of the contin- ent and will elim nate one Of the most disagreeable features of Euro pCan travel, the much dreaded chan nel passage
 The construction of the tunnel
 Y uld be a big engineering job, but # would rot be comparable in cost or in the difficulties to be overcome with the construction of the Panama Canal and the conditions to be met are fully as well known n the case If the tunnel as they were at Panama bef7re work there began. A surprising amount of reliable in formation has been gathered in re, gard to this project The French alone made about 1000 soundings in the bed of the channel and demon chalk strata that form the promin- ent feature of beth the English and French coasts continue unbroken under the channel. Complete geolo- .ical maps and sections have been worked out. and these show that favorable conditions exist for the constructor of a tunnel.
 The natural place for the tunnel :s at the Strait of Dover. where the distance frof coast to coast is only about 20 miles and where the aver =ge depth of water is about 120 ft This narrow strip of water has al ways been enc of the important in ternational highways of the world and the traffic lines on both coasts converge to t. But i3 is also a most unsatisfactory highway on account of the swift currents and rough seas to which it is subject. The eccn- omic importance of the strait as a link be ,ween England and the con tinent will never be altered. and it
 is therefore inevitable that a tun- nel providing adequate railway trans portation will finally be built.
 The tunnel. as proposed, will run from the Shakespeare cliffs, near Dover. England, 10 Sangatte on the French coast, near Calais, and it's total length will be a little more than p miles. On each side it will enter the cliffs at short distance rom the shore and drop down on grade of l to 80 for about two m les into the impervious gray chalk under the strait. From each Of these low points the grade will rise at the rate of 1 in 1000 to a sum- nit under the middle of the s,rait the thickness of the gray chalk be- ing great enough 10 permit this ar engagement. The plan for placing a summit at the middle of the tun- nel is solely fer the purpose of drainage.
 A careful estimate places the cost of the tunnel at $S0,0OO,OOO Given the money and the permission to biuld it, the actual work of con- struction would no, be as difficult as many engineering jobs that at tract less attention. The critical feature is that of defense in time of war. Several methods have
 heen proposed for blocking the entrance to prevent invasion. Such a tunnel as that outlined above