The Washington herald., 1915-02-07
CHANNEL Tunnel
'PROJECT REVIVED
War Demonstrates Need for
Connecting England
with Continent.
PROTECTION NOT MENACE
Struggle Has Shown that Isolation Is
Not Britain's Safeguard,
Frenchman Argues.
By FRANKLIN p. HERRICK.

Special CabIc to The Washington Herald
Paris, Feb. 6.-Amonp the beneficefft re-
suits which may come from the great
war is the realization OF the project for
a tunnel under the English Channel, con-
Meeting the allies of France and Great
Britain. This was discussed first just be-
fore the Franco-PrussIan war. After that
conflict the British strangely feared that
the tunnel would be a military danger,
inviting invasion from the continentI
1t is now generally realized that the
tunnel. instead of a danger, would be
England's greatest bulwark. 1t could
easily be destroyed II the enemy cap
tured the French end: in fact. thou
sand men could hold it against ten mill
lion. On the other hand, II would enable
re-enforcements to be thrown quickly be-
tween France and Great Britain.
II England were invaded several French
corps could be sent through the tunnel
in one-quarter the time taken now. The
trains could be made up in any part of
France and discharge the troops and
their impediments at a point in England
near the battle front
The advantages the tunnel would have
been to Gen. FTench's expeditionary force
last August are too obvious to need enl-
phasis. If the tunnel had been in eX-
istence, Northern France, and, even Brus-
sells, might have been saved.
Albert Gauthier, a former member OF
the French Chamber of Deputies. has
just addressed the following appeal to
the English people on the subject ofsthe
tunnel:
Isolation No Protection.
You have won greateness in history
by your intrepidity and your strength.
It seems that your intellect shines forth
more clearly and your will power Is
heightened in times Of peril. We are
now together passing through one Of
those grave crises in which the destiny
of the world is decided. You English are
in the best position to comprehend the
lesson of the events that are occurring
and to take action accordingly.
Consider what power would be ours II
your boundaries were eliminated, IL our
armies could be made but one, thanks
to the facilities and rapidity Of communi-
cations by rail.
The present war has already dissi-
pated a great many prejudices and mis-
understandings. We have learned to
know and to love one another. and the
mutual feeling of high esteem which some
among us already harbored has, at the
present time, penetrated to the very
heart OF the great masses of our two
nations.
ION the other hand. the first cannon
shot fired by the enemy at the English
coast has destroyed the illusion that
England owed its safety to its isolation.
If our military forces were connected by
railway lines, our heroic soldiers could,
within few hours. render each other
support. without ever having to risk the
possibility of being shut on or delayed
by the fitful sea.
Gcrmany's Power in Roads.
You know what force and what daring
Germany can show through its ability tc
transport millions of people from one
end of it's empire to the other. 1t would
have been defeated already II it had not
possessed that network of cOmmunica-
ton lines. One cannot conceive OF any
effective military strength without full
freedom and speed in its operations. Our
own strength would become tenfold il
our armies could combine their forces,
without incurrinG any danger whatso-
ever. through a tunnel under the channel,
which would make London only four
hours distant from Paris.
You are not ignorant of the fact that
the submarine tunnel project has been
abandoned several times for reasons the
inanity of which is now apparent and
fills our spirits with dismay. II that
work had been carried through our
united strength and intangibility would
have been such that the German barba-
rians never would have dared to defy us.
1t was the Franco-German war OF 1870
that caused the suspension Of work on
the submarine tunnel. 1t is the Franco
German war of 1914 which will provi-
dentially, impel US to resume that work
and to carry II speedily to a successful
end under the eyes of the thwarted and
terror-stricken barbarians themselves.
For thereon depends our future safety.
They wanted Calais. OF course. be-
cause the conquest of that city would
have prevented the realization OF this
project, the great importance Of which
they have fully comprehended. Well. We
will just the same, open our first shafts
at Dover and Calais. before peace has
been signed, right under the enemy's
fire We must give this demonstration
OF our union. of our strength. Just be-
fore the time arrives which will see the
birth of a new Europe.
while waiting for my proposition to
take a practical form. with the aid OF
the press, the authorities and experts,
now simply ask of you English. our
friends. our allies, our brethren in arms:
What do you think Of it?'
In mentioning the work on the tunnel
before 1870, Mr.. Gauthier referred to the
project of a French engineer, ]. A
Thome de Gamond. In 1861 he showed
specifications Of a tunnel scheme at the
worlds fair in Paris. William Lowe, an
EnglIshman, had been laboring on the
same problem and they combined forces,
finally inducing the French and British
governments to appoint an international
commission.
It was reported by the commission
that the tunnel would cost SJO.oOo,0oo and
take twelve years to build. The scheme
seemed to be making satisfactory prog
rass when the blight of the war settled