New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-26
ASKS $53O,OOO,OOO
FOR BREST HARBOR
M. Claude Casimir-Perler
Would Make 1t Most Inn
portant Port of Europe.
tBy Gable to The Tribune.)

| Paris Dec. 20.-The vast ulluel tohih5
for utilizing the geographical and phys
zeal advantages of Brest. and trans
! forming the deepest. broadest and best
port Of western Europe into the great
Old World centre for maritime COM
merce with North. South and Central
America. and. by means of the Panama
Canal, with the Pacific Coast of Amer
| lea and Asia. is set forth in detail TO-
day by NJ. Claude Casimir-Perler' III
two exhaustive volumes. published TINS
week. bristling with facts. figures,
economic statistics, maps, plans ana
charts and showing that. in theory at
| least, the author has identified himsell
with the most ambitious commercial
and maritime project put forward py
Frenchman since Ferdinand de Les
seps conceived the plans for the 9uez
and Panama canals.
Brest is, with the exception OF LISBON
nearer to Colon than any other port III
Europe, being only 4,412 miles distant
from the Panama Canal 2,oo4 from
New York and 4,s73 miles from Rio de
Janeiro. II is not affected by the tidal
difficulties encountered off Havre and
the ports of the English Channel and t
! is larger than any other port or Europe
Its deptb Of water is twelve metres,
alongside the quays and at the shall
lowest J., It of its channel, and THIS
could with comparatively slight cost be
| deepened to fifteen metres.
Brest owing to its practically I'M
limited space and facilities for cargo
boats, would become also the cheapest
port in Europe, there being no neces-
sity for mourning docking expenses for
shifting cargoes. Brest is only OZi
kilometres 1889 niles from Paris, and
with Improvements on the French rail-
road lines would become the terminal
! Of a trunk line to Paris. and would
also be connected by means Of three
other trunk lines, not touching Paris,
with Calais. Belgium. Germany, Swift
zerland and Italy.
Brest can also be readily made the
| feeding point for the French inland
canals. NJ. Claude Casimir-PGrier's
scheme also includes the establishment
| of a great central railroad station IN
Paris, probably near the Palais Royal
which would place the other main
| lines terminating in Paris in commu-
nication for passengers and freight.
| Such are the main features OF the
plan for making Brest the meeting
! point of Atlantic liners and European
railroads and canals. After an eX-
haustive study of all details the total
cost Of the scheme is estimated at
$50 600 900. NJ. Claude Casimir-
| Perier is not at all deferred by the ex-
( pense. and points out that during the
last eighty years France has paid
more than FIVE times this sum on the
Improvement Of it's ports alone. and
| to-day has not a single one that can
accommodate the 50,O00-ton liners
now deemed ir llspensable for trans
atlantic traffic.
The scheme so far is merely a the
| ory-or perhaps a dream-but II Is
based on solid facts and engineering
data. Needless TO say, IT meets with
the opposition Of the great vested in
terests of the Transatlantic Company
at Havre, but NJ. Casimir-Perier Is
confident that the French line interests
would in the end be more than covered
by the overwhelming natural adj
vantages of Brest. Anyhow, even the
opponents of the project admit that 1t
is a magnificent idea.