The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-20
ENGLAND REGRETS DELAY IN BUILDING 4 CHANNEL TUNNEL Would Have Been of Ines- timable Value to the
 Allies
OBJECTIONS HAVE
 BEEN OVERCOME
Could Not Be of Use to Enemy on Account of Facilities for Flood ing Passage From Sey-
 eral Points
By PHILLIP EVERETT

London. September l9.-fSpecial.) .)-Bit- Ierly does England now regret the ob- jections which have been laid in the way of the tunnel under the English channel It has been objected to by the over fearful, or perhaps underntellSent, per- sons in danger in time of war. But this summer 1t would have proved bull ak of strength
 The British forces could have been put on trains at their camps in any part of England and never taken oll until they were near the battlefields. It is diff cult to estimate how great an advantage this would have given the allies.
 Or if England were invaded, France could quickly send across large part of her army. One good result of the pres ent conflict will undoubtedly be the hur- rying through of the trans-ehannel tunnel project
 A foreign foe, it has been said, might seize Dover harbor and the tunnels in fog or at night. 70 meet this objec- ton, the mouth of the tunnel according to the present plans, is to be placed uii- der the control of the Dover castle and the Western Height forts and also in the line of shell fire from war vessels in tile harbor.
 Could Flood Tunnel
 The eommandants of both these forts Will be provided with facilities for food ing the tunnel and filling a mile of It's length up with water. In order that this may be done, the tunnel will dip fer a mile at each end and then rise again. To prevent both forts from opening the sluices the enemy would have to seize both forts at exactly the same instant which is absurd and impossible.
 ''1 hope you will come to the conclu- sion that no danger that we cannot with reasonable certainty guard against can arise from the construction of the chan mel tunnel said Lord Sydenham to the House of Commons Channel Tunnel com Inittce at a recent meeting.
 Lord Sydenham, who mas served on the Committee of Imperial Defense und sr three prime minister's showed how ridic- ulous are all the objections to the tuc mel from a military point of view.
 After short historical summary C. the way the scheme has been considered by Parliament, Lord Sydenham quoted sentence from the report of the com mittee of 1882. to the effect that it would be absolutely impossible to guarantee the safety of the tunnel in every imagi- f Table contingency"
 
 amid laughter and he went on to point out that such an attitude would effeI- tually prevent the carrying out of most things. But as practical people We have to go cn probabilities, seeing that abso- lute certainty is beyond the compass of human ingenuity.
 Some Danger Everywhere
 Dealing with the dangers foretold tv Lord Wolsely and others, Lord Syden- ham said the danger of the mouth of the tunnel being seized iR dime of peace was no greater than the danger Of the de- structiGn of the fleet or the lombard ment of London by airships.
 At ths same time 1t would take a pret- ty strong force to capture two tsrong forts and a generating station simui- taneously. He defied any soldier to de- wise a plan of doing this which was feasible. It wiuld mean the landing If heavy seige train, and it postuated the destruction of the nav and the com plete defeat of the army nrst.
 After describing the cans provided Tor the instantaneous flooding of the tun- nel from the two forts of the generating station, he said it could teve he used ss means of invasion except by France Or by an enemy which Lad obtained cor irol of the northern railways of that country.
 He thought the question had been very badly handled in the past the first official step should have Deen to make an Exhaustive inquiry into the whore matter. He believed that the construction of the tunnel would be to the mutual advant- age, both political. and economic of England and France.
 In the short discussion that followed, Major General Sir Ivor Herbert. M. p.