The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-06-28

the engineer. estimates will be possible-London
will be literally next door to Paris and In direct
touch with all of Europe all the time.
This will mean two three days saved by trav-
elers going from New York to Paris-to say moth
ing of the comfort of those who will escape the
rough channel trip from England to France, when
even the sturliest sailors frequently suffer from
sea sickness.
There are many "ifs' about the whole business,
but one eff" exists that has attracted lot OF at
tenion from the public and that is, IF the tunnel
is built it will cost more than one day cost vi
war-and at most the cost of two days OF war.
One or two hundred million dollars expended on
any worthy enterprise these days is considered as
a trifling sum by even the man in the street.
The announcement of the project causes no sur
prise on this side of the Atlantic America IS
rather disposed to wonder that the tunnel was NOT
built long ago.
The truth is that when Bleriot flew from French
soil to English soil just before the war, John Bull
opened his eyes wide and they have not closed
since His mastery isolation of centuries was
gone in twinkling. Much has happened since
then The air is darkened every day with air
nayies passing to and from London to Paris. Bril-
tannia rules the waves under the new league, all
right but the waves not all and no one
knows this better than the lady with the trldent'
who is giving much of her time to the new medium
of communication. But the point is that the con-
quest of the air has given the tight little lsianu
new view Of things.
The distance between Dover and Caais-a bit
Of choppy sea most of the time on the surfaces
to be overcome by tunnel The government leader
In the British house of commons has so announced.
It will be joint governmental undertaking 10 De
started as part of reconstruction matter or
hundred millions to two nations, innOcenty De-
lieved to be bankrupt from the war, is no barrier
afinr fS. fhn Sfn0 Tnd
ment Of peace covenants. Both nations are fast
becoming bilingual The tunnel will help along the
"entente cordiae" after the war.
AS q sense of protection for both nations, the
channel tunnel will be Of avail 1t Is main
tanned that IL the bore had been in existence fve
wears ago things would have been different and a
fouryear agony would not have fallen upon the
two nations.
Fifty years ago. when the tunnel project was
declared to be perfectly feasible from an engineer
Ing point, military opposed 1t. 1t Is very anus
ing reading the debates Of those far-Oh days. Eng.
land they said, could never afford to take chances
with tunnel: the island would be no longer an
island: some dark night the enemy would seize the
two ends of the bore and 10 and behold England
would he invaded! Strategsts condemned the
plan. much to the discontinue of business.
Before the war broke, when the new discovery in
aviation changed the perspective, tunnel recon
structi0n was being urged. Now as war measure
and France and Britain are still taking precau-
lions in case the millennium is false alarm-the
tunnel is approved by army men. Commercially
there never was any question about it, France
hos sought it consistently for almost a century
France has vision
International tunnel construction Is to be the
order of the day. The nations are to be Joined
closer together The straits of GIBRALTAR to be
tunneled If plans carry, and very likely East and
west-the Occident and the Orent-will be Joined
bv tunnel under the Bosporus. And it Is well
within the bounds that this cont1nent may be
linked with another continent by Boring strait
+unnel first propounded by an cary governor OF
Colorado.