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COPYRIGHT. I9r?, V/EOTERff NEVOfWPET? 'JHION
Oy LLOYD ALLEN
4
AIDS.—America is not the only nation
in the world that Is bidding farewell
to a policy of splendid isolation these
days.
(•rent liritnin has joined the pro
cession, in a physical sen*e, according
to plans now on foot, and is about to
Join herself to the mainland of Europe
with n tunnel under the English chan
nel, connecting the British Isles with
France. Away hack in 1K0‘_! the Idea
started, before Napoleon's career was finished at
the battle of Waterloo. And now, more than PH)
years later, the plans are being gone over for the
fiftieth time, perhaps, ami all indications point to
a speedy beginning of actual work.
Costing only 5100,000,txs(), and being at most a
seven years' Job, the whole task is being ap
proached with a confidence that is typically Brit
ish. Compared to war expenses, the $100,tXX),(XH>
Is trifling. The French favor the plan.
Napoleon himself first officially suggested the
plan of connecting continental Europe with the
British Isles by means of a tunnel. According to
the story still going the rounds in Europe', Na
poleons Inspiration came from an engineer of the
name of Matldei) In the early days of the last cen
tury during the peace of Amiens.
Nov: members of the British cabinet and parlia
ment arc trying to get operations started at once
^r.d for some weeks interchanges of views have
taken place between the various interested ele
ments in England and with officials of the French
government without any official cold water having
been thrown in sufficient quantity to dampen the
ardor of the several promoters.
During the war a tunnel under the straits of
I>*vf ;■ the site approved by all promoters of tile
plan- would have been embarrassing to the Eng
lish. to say the least, military eritles state. Twice,
at least, before the Germans were finally defeated,
the whole progress of the war would have been
affected, to the disadvantage of the allies, had
th. English field marshal been compelled.to try o
protect the French entrance to a tunnel.'
During tic retreat from Mens to the Marne, in
1014. a tu ; entrance on tlu> I'con.t.
have placed the English general in the dilemma of
either retreating toward the tunnel to save It or
keeping In touch with the French in the general re
treat ttnd thereby preserving some kind of a con
tinuous front against the Germans. 1 ‘,v breaking
from the I n ich and falling back on the tunnel,
the British force would have been surrountled and
probably forced to surrender, it is figured out by
prominent nrrr> men in England.
Before tbe war there was considerable nrmv and
-navy objection in England jo the tunnel project.
And niton the war came it was found that pos
session of a tunnel in the first stages of the war
would have been a liability rather titan an asset.
Now, lmwevor, with the advancement of en
gineering knowledge old difficulties are removed.
It is planned to install in the tunnel an arrange
ment whereby one utile of the tubes can be tlooded,
without actually destroying the whole structure,
thereby preventing the possibility of invasion of a
hostile army.
Actual steps have been tn-fcon to sound official
opinion in France. Bonar Law of Great Britain
lias communicated with Prime Minister Lloyd
George in Paris, asking him to approach the
French government for its view on the subject.
It is believed by official circles in London that
the whole proposition is one for tbe French and
British governments to settle, and not a subject
for discussion at the peace conference.
An Old Proposition.
Many years ago the iirst tunnel was started from
tile English side beneath the straits of Dover. At
the present time the old tubes still extend 2,000
yards toward the French const. The newer plans,
however, will require two tubes, running side by
side, 300 feet beneath the surface of the sen. One
tube would Do used for French-hound traffic entirely
and the other tube would he used for English
hound trains.
Investigation lias shown that the water in the
straits of bover is from 100 to ISO feet deep tit the
most. The bottom of the sea is a kind of chalk
formation that lias been rendered watertight by
the infiltration of clay sediment. This chalk bed
Is about 100 feet thick, so that a tunnel 300 feet
beneath the surface of the sea, following the chalk
strata, would probably lie safe enough, the en
gineers believe.
At fairly close Intervals the two tubes would he
connected with oblique cross tunnels, which will
assist In ventilating the long tubes. By using elec
tric trains the great objection of smoke from the
usual coal-burning or oil-burning locomotives is re
moved.
On account of the formation of the chalk bed,
Kir Francis Fox believes tho two tubes should be
curved enough to keep both lines well within tin*
limits of the chalk formation.
London will be connected by rail with all the
prim nal cities of the continent, once the tunnel
Is complete*!. A fid the traveler will be able, if sug
gested plans are carried out, to leave London at
regular intervals on through trains for the far
1-ast, the near East, as well as l’etrograd. Home.
Vienna, and the Balkans.
When t)ie first channel tunnel was discussed in
formally by Napoleon with the British ambassa
dor to franco during the peace of Amiens, In
iSn-' matter was talked over in a spirit of
tfiendly co-operation. In those days a earriage
ua.\ was proposed. Two years later, in 1804, when
n different spirit prevailed between France and
England, the British champion of the tunnel idea
had visions of French soldiery marching to the in
' • si,,n "f their little island through a submarine
passageu ay.
1 iionit' de Canmnd, a generation later, revived
ine proposal. lie was a specialist in cross-chan
nel traffic ideas, and also had a scheme for con
st i net ing a stone and iron bridge across the straits
ot 1 lover. He also drew up plans for a stone-built
.'tlimus across the channel, with openings through
"hu h navigation might pass. He also suggested
tlie building of a gigantic pontoon tiridge. These
numerous schemes and their possible modifications
were discussed In Knghuid and France for years.
I*y is, i ii commenced to look as if something
"i uld indeed Ik* done to realize the dream of Na
poleon and (laiuoiide. In that year a company was
h'rnled in trance will'll obtained a concession to
shirt work. One year later, in 187f>, another com
P;,,|.v "’ns formed In England, known as (lie “t'lian
nel tunnel. Limited," which obtained permission
of the British parliament to begin work.
The French company, which was called the
I-rench Submarine railway, took many samples of
* he silt Iroin the channel bottom; made more than
i,00;i soundings; sank a shaft, and actually started
a tunnel at Sangatte, driving it a mile and a half
hem ath tin sea, recording to present-day accounts
of the operation.
I.xper;nn'iita 1 work was carried on by the Kng
<>r so. A ml then its
lish company for a year
charter i xplred In ivs).
I>y lss.? (hero were two English concerns trying
to secure sole rights in the construction of a tube.
The second concern went by the name of the
Submarine Continent::I railway, in which Sir Kd
w.-.ril Wat kin ami the Southeastern railway of ling
haul "ere interesieil. When Sir Edward’s company
tried to begin work beneath one of the cliffs of
1 lover opposition was larted by the Channel Tun
nel, Limited, group.
Stepped by Parliament.
That same year saw a decision In the Ilritish
Parliament which da.sited the hopes of both coni
i aide-;, it was decided by a joint select committee
of the lords and commons that “it was inexpmlieut
that parliamentary at: lion be given to a subma
rine communication be!ween England and France."
So the 2,200-yard long tminol that been completed
afier a reconciliation of the two companies inter
ested was closed by government order, and (he two
rival companies, combined as the Channel Tunnel,
Limited, determined to keep the idea alive for
evermore, even if they were permitted to do noth
ing else.
Today the French and English engineers do not
known definitely that a continuous stratum of firm
chalk exists beneath the entire channel from the
English to the French side.
’i. hey do know, however, that to all appearances
the stratum is continuous, because drill holes have
shown that the formation of the French side is
very much as on the English side. The chalk cliffs
at Cap C.risncs, in France, are of the identical
geological formation as the cliffs of Dover in Eng
land, and rest, as do the English cliffs, on a sub
stratum of gray chalk 2<n» feet in thickness.
It is assumed the same gray chalk is to be
found in a solid, water-resisting layer for the 22
miles that separate the two countries.
The Southeastern railway of England is now in
terested in starting the tunnel at once. An official
of the railway lias stated:
“If the Ilritish and French governments give the
word the channel tunnel can he started tomorrow.
All the plans are ready, and have been since 1907.*
When this new agitation of the tunnel idea start
mi in England a short time ago It was sit first as
sumed that thousands of demobilized soldiers
could find Jobs with the enterprise. Ilut it was
almost immediately officially stated that n com
paratively small number of men would he needed_
several hundred at the most.
In the meantime the reaction in France to the
plan was favorable. 1 he Paris newspapers re
call >d that suggestion came originally from France
in 1802; that realization of the plan would bring
immense hem tit to humanity generally, and that,
as the Echo de Paris stated it, "Henceforth (treat
P.riiain will he quicker to realize her European
mission, and her days of splendid isolation will
he gone forever,"
With trains running at five and ten minute in
tervals—which is the frequency Sir Francis K<o,
---ZZZZZ^ZUZZJ
the engineer, estimates will lie possible—London
will 1)0 literally next door to l'aris and in direct
touel) with all of Europe all the lime.
This will mean two or three days saved by trav
eler's going from New York to Paris—to say noth
in" of the comfort of those who will escape the
rough channel trip from England to France, when
even the sturdiest sailors frequently suffer from
sea sickness.
There are many “ifs" about the whole business,
hut one “if” exists that has attracted a lot of at
tention from the publle, and that is, “if the tunnel
ts built it will cost no more than one day’s cost of
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 trilling 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 Blerlot flew from French
soil to English soil just before the war, John Bull
opened his eyes wide and they have not closed
since, llis masterly isolation of centuries was
gone in a twinkling. Much lias happened since
then. The air is darkened every day with air
navies passing to and from London to Paris. Bri
tannia rules the waves under the new league, all
rigid, but the “waves” are not all and no one
knows tliis better tlmn the lady with the trident,
who is giving much of tier time to the new medium
of communication. But the point is that the con
quest of the air has given the tight little island a
new view of tilings.
The distance between Dover and Calais—a bit
of choppy sea most of the time on the surface—is
to be overcome by tunnel. The government leader
in the British house of commons lias so announced.
It will he a joint governmental undertaking to be
started as part of reconstruction. A matter of a j
hundred millions to two nations, innocently he- :
lieved to lie bankrupt from the war, is no barrier, i
Tunnel construction is the steel rod In the ce
ment of pence covenants. Roth r ations are fast
becoming: bilingual. The tunnel will help along the
“entente cordiaie" after the war.
As a sense of protection for both nations, the
channel tunnel will be of avail. It is main
tained that if the bore had been in existence five
years ago things would have been different and a
four-year agony would not have fallen upon tlie
two nations.
Fifty years ago. when the tunnel project was
declared t" be perfectly feasible lrotn an engineer
ing point, military men opposed it. It is very amus
ing reading the debates of those far-off days. Eng
land, (hey said, could never afford to take chances
with a tunnel; the island would be no longer an
island ; some dark night the enemy would seize the
two ends of the bore, and lo and behold ! England
would lie invaded! Strategists condemned the
plan, much to the discomfiture of business.
llefore the war broke, when tlie new discovery in
aviation changed the perspective, tunnel recon- j
struct ion was being urged. Now as a war measure j
—and France and liritain are still taking precau
tions in case the millennium is a false alaVm—the
tunnel Is approved by army men. Commercially
there never was any question about it. France
has sought it consistently for almost a century.
France has vision.
International tunnel construction is to ho the
order of the day. The nations are to he joined
closer together. The straits of Gibraltar are to be
tunneled if plans carry, and very likely East amt
West—the Occident and the Orient—will be joined
by a tunnel under the Rosporus. And it is well
within the bounds that tills continent may be
linked with another continent by Bering strait
tunnel, first propounded by an early governor of
Colorado.
VASTNESS Or SIBERIA.
Siberia, that great lone land about which there
is now so much discussion, i<so vast that the im
agination can hardly grasp its extent. A vague
idea of its size may be gained from the statement
that it is 45 times as large as the British isles,
and contains nearly 5,000,000 square miles. In
nil this enormous territory there is a population
not exceeding that of the city of Now York. There
arc hundreds of thousands of square miles that
are entirely uninhabited. It is a land of mighty
rivers, but the value of Ihose rivers for purposes
of navigation is greatly restricted, because most
oJ* them Sow Into the Arctic ocean and through
out their lower courses are ice-bound for the
greater part of tlie year. The great steppes of
Siberia, now utmost uncultivated are destined, it
is said, to become the granary of the world. Their
■development, begun with the opening of the Trans
Kltscrims railroad, lias been Interrupted by the
VVJU-,—IVsTde’s Home Journal.
Turning in Hems.
When turning in hems on \v:rv or
sheer materials like swiss, it is often
much easier to take a warm iron and
press them down by the eye. which is
generally accurate for long distances.
This gives hotter results in many cases
than measuring, as a wiry swiss will
slip in spite of you when you attempt
to measure accurately for a deep hem
or tuck.
Hints for Amateurs.
Neatness is always a requisite of
good sewing, and besides the fact that
durability is increased, tiiere is a sat
isfaction in knowing that the inside of
a garment need not be withheld from
a critical eye. Hinding the seams is a
little tiling, Imr most effectual in the
attainment of the neatness that marks
the careful sewer.
If it is difficult to adjust hinding,
tin- edges of seams can be pinked—a <
method in favor with tailors. There
is no 1 raying of the edges, and the
bulky line is obviated.
Hems of heavy material can be suc
cessfully and neatly finished if the
raw edge of just one turn be stitched
flown underneath a ptiable tape of the
same color. Two rows of stitching
ire necessary, but the scheme is worth
i trial.
If a bias strip lie used for binding
irniholos or seams, it can be adjusted
■asiiy and evenly if it be creased in
lie center before it is placed on the
;dge of the seam.
When cutting very sheer chiffons,
artistes or soft materials, it is well to
Iraw a thread as a guide line.
It is better to shrink washable ma
m-inis before making them into gar
m nts. A little salt in the water will
ret the color, and it is only necessary
o wring out and bang by the selvedge
>n the line.
What Not to Do.
Do not sew trimmings or buttons on
iglit beneath. Use very fine thread
>r sewing silk for basting velvet, and
:o press the seams open them, very
dightly dampen and run the seam
(cross the narrow end of a warm Iron
handing on the broad end. Do not
tllow the weight of an iron on *t.
Velveteen Jackets for Sport Skirts
There is a new order of appnrel
brought alunit by the combination of
sport styles ami the new weaves in
fiber silks and in genuine silk. It is
a glorified kind of sport apparel and
it suits the up-to-date girl of today—
“down to the ground." The skirts of
these handsome sport outfits are made
of these splendid novelties in
silks and the coat or jacket to
lie worn with one of them must
manage some way not to suffer by
'comparison. Coats, made of the same
material as the skirts, just about di
vide honors with suits In which coats
are made of fabrics that are different
from those used in the skirts. Quite
u number of tlie new silk and silk
fiber materials are conveniently class
ed as “sport fabrics," along with other
materials that manage some way to
achieve the same character.
Velveteen jackets are shown to lie
worn with skirts made of sport fab
Shawls in the Spotlight.
Shawls may be tin* fashion of next
season ; at any rate, two very fetching
shawls that have made their bow be
hind the footlights recently have
seemed to put an idea into feminine
heads anent shawls. After all, why
has the shawl been ostracized for so :
long? In the days of our grandmoth
ers an expensive camel's hair or l*ais
ley shawl was the high mark of ele
gance and prosperity. Now, nobody
wears a shawl on the street but hat
less immigrant women, lb-hind the
footlights, however well that is an
other story and perhaps the story is
"oiug to point a moral, and the moral
will be: Shawls as fashionable wraps !
To Adorn Hats.
Small garden vegetables, fruits and
berries, effectively made up in excel
lent imitations, both as to size and eol
oring. are used to trim some very
smart hats tills season, and the use of
-uieh garden (lowers as hollyhocks and
nasturtiums gives a pleasing relief
from the rather timeworn violet und
— -o hat.
| rlcs. In the picture above one of
♦ hose velveteen jackets finds itself in
the company of u handsome skirt of
heavy silk in which a figured pattern
is accomplished by variety In the
weave. The pattern is bold but the
color is wldte and this combination
spells style and refinement in the fab
ric.
The jacket is made with revers,
plain sleeves and braid bindings. Pearl
buttons make the best finishing touch
in the world for it and a plain blouse
of white wash silk believes in effacing
itself where there is so much else to
attract attention. For there is a sport
hat that measures up to the skirt aud
jacket in this outfit and footwear that
holds its own in tins smart and ele
gant interpretation of t lie sport cos
tume.
Practical Table-Runner.
With the return t<> simplicity in
home decoration, which is making it
self felt so decidedly on every hand,
comes an appreciation of the modest
cotton and jute filter table runners and
scarfs, woven in exotic patterns of In
dian or Mexican design. These strips
are usually found in dull combinations
of reds, browns, and greens, with an
occasional glint of yellow or orange,
to give the required relieving note to
the whole composition. Whether or
not they are planned purposely for
Ibis end, it is certain that they blend
harmoniously in almost any living
room, library or dining room.
Plcatings for Neck.
One of the most gratifying details
about the present clot lies is the rouud
neck. And this for the reason that
the round neck calls for the use of
ideating that can be bought by the
► yard and put into the neck of the
frock by way otuefurbishing it. It
is a simple matffr and this pleating
arranged about a. round neck is gen
erally becoming.