Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1919-05-23

rr,pcina, cities Of the continent once the tunnel
il completed And the traveller will be able. II sus
gested plans are carried out. to leave Lonuon at
regular intervals on through trains for the far
East, the near East, as well as Petrograo' no"e'
Vienna and the Balkans.
When the first channel tunnel was discussed IN
formally by Napoleon with the British amDassa
dor to France during the peace OF Amiens. IN
1902, the matter was talked over In spirit Oh
friendly cooperation In those days carriage
way was proposed. Two years later. In 1SO4 when
different spirit prevailed between France and
England, the British champion of the tunnel IDEA
had visions Of French sodiery marching to the In
vasi0n Of their little island through submarine
passageway
Thome de Gamond a generation later. revived
the proposal. He was a specialist In croSs-chan-
mel traffic ideas, and also had scheme Tor con-
structing stone and iron bridge across the straits
Of Dover He also drew up plans for a stone-buiit
isthmus across the channel. with openings through
which navigation might pass. He also suggested
the building Of a gigantic pontoon bridge. These
numerous schemes and their possible notifications
were discussed In England and France for years
BY 1874 1t commenced to look as II something
would indeed be done to realize the dream OF Ma
pOleon and Gamonde. In that year a company was
formed In France which obtained a concession to
start work. One year later. in 1875. another COM
pany was formed in England. known as the Chan
mel Tunnel Limited" which obtained permission
Of the British parliament to begin work.
The French company. which was called the
French Submarine railway, took many samples OF
the silt from the channel bottom; made more than
1000 soundings; sank shaft and actually started
q tunnel at Sangatte, driving 1t q mile and half
beneath the sea, according to presentday accounts
of the operation.
Experimental work was carried on by the Eng
fish company for a year or SO. And then its
charter expired in $780,
By 1883 there were two English concerns trying
TO secure sole rights in the construction of tube
The second concern went BY the name OF the
Submarine Continental railway, in which Sir Ed
ward Watkin and the Southeastern railway Of Eng
land were interested. When Sir Edwards company
tried to begin work beneath one Of the cliffs Of
Dover opposition was started by the Channel Tun-
mel. Limited group
Stopped by Parliament
That same year saw q decision In the British
Parliament which dashed the hopes Of both COM
NAMES. 1t was decided by joint select committee
Of the lords and commons that ut was inexpedient
that parliamentary sanction be given to a subma
rine communication between England and France
so the 22OO-yard long tunnel that been completed
after n reconciliation of the two companies inter
ested was closed by government order, and the two
rival companies combined as the Channel Tunnel
Limited, determined to keep the idea alive for
evermore. even If they were permitted to do moth
ing else.
Today the French and English engineers do no
known definitely that continuous stratum of firm
chalk exists beneath the entire channel from tn
English to the French side.
They do know, however. that to all appearance
the stratum is continuous, because drill holes hav
shown that the formation Of the French side
worry much as on the English side. The chalk cliff
at Cap Grisnes, in France, are OF the identities
geological formation as the cliffs OF Dover In EN-
land. and rest do the English cliffs. on a sui
stratum of gray chalk 200 feet in thickness.
II Is assumed the same gray chalk is to
found in a solid, waterresisting layer for the z
miles that separate the two countries
The Southeastern railway of England is now II
terested in starting the tunnel at once. An Offic
of the railway has stated:
"If the British and French governments give Il
word the channel tunnel can be started tomorrow
All the plans are ready, and have been since 1907
When this new agitation of the tunnel idea star
sd In England a short time ago IL was at first a
snmad that thousands of demObilized sodie
copld find Jobs with the enterprise. But it w
almost Immediately officially stated that col
n.rativev small number of men would be needed
several hundred at the most
Tn tho meantime the reaction in France to I
,r was favorable. The Paris newspapers
.uad that suggestion came originally from Fran
q, 1000. that realization of the plan would bri
;u,mense benefit TO humanity generally, and tn
.s tho Echo de Paris stated 1t, "Henceforth Gre
britain will be quicker to realize her Europe
,nisson. and her days Of splendid isolation "
be gone forever
with trains running Mt five and ten minute
tarvaIs-which is the frequency Sir Francis F