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Show Switzerland, the Land of Scenic Splendors No. 2. VIEW ON ST. GOTTHARD RAILWAY "Learn One Thing Every Day" Copyright, 1913. by The Associated Newspaper School, Inc 1 The St Gotthard Railway, constructed con-structed in 1S72-S2 at a cost of $54,-200,000, $54,-200,000, j8 one of the greatest achievements of modern science. Besides Be-sides the great tunnel at the top of the line, there are seventy-nine oth ers of shorter length. Seven of theBe are spiral tunnels which pierce the sides of the valley, making the ascent more gradual. In 1869 ?nd 1S71 Germany. Italy, and Switserland signed an agreement for the construction of a railway with a tunnel through the St. Gotthard This groat tunnel itself cost over $11,-ooo.nno $11,-ooo.nno to build. It is nine and a quarter miles long This makes it about three miles shorter than the Simplon tunnel, the longest in the world. At its center the the SL Gotthard Gott-hard tunnel is 3.7SC feet aboe sea level, from which It descends on both sides. It is twenty-eight feet broad and twenty-one feet high. It takes an oxprees train about twentv minutes to pass through the tunnel! The air In the tunnel is fresh and free from smoke. During the construction of the St. Gotthard tunnel, which look nearly ton years there were 600 deaths among the workmen. Included among, these were the engineer and contractor contrac-tor This heaw loss of life mrmm itna to Insufficient ventilation, the high temperature, the exposure of tho nu n to the Alpine climate after emerging from the tunnel, and the poor char acter of the food The St Gotthard is a mountain group one hundred and sixty square miles In area, wlih .1 number of different peaks, extensive glaciers, and about thirty small lakes It Is famous for its rich Alpine riora Many rare minerals min-erals nre also found there All ap proaches to the St Gotthard are guarded by modern fortifications. The pass of St Gotthard is the ' . principal route .from southern Europe Eu-rope to n -rthern Italy. At its highest high-est point it Is G.935 feet above the sea. It takes its name for some un-j un-j known reason from St Gotthard. bishop bish-op of Hlldeahelm, who died in 1038. ! At the beginning of the nineteenth century the St. Gotthard was probably prob-ably the most frequented Alpine pass; but it was gradually deserted for others. oth-ers. The road oer the pass, constructed con-structed between 1S20 and 1832 by the . antons of ITi and Ticlno is one of the best and most comcnient. of the Alpine carriageways and is free i from snow during four or five months ot the enr; but since the completion of the railway It is not much used. Xeertheless. it Is still Interesting to walk or drive ocr the pass, as the grandeur of the sccnerv is remarkable. remark-able. The St. Gotthard hospice on the summit of the pass Is first mentioned in l In 177". some of it- l-mldings were destroyed by an avalanche, and in 1799-80 everything was destroyed by the French soldiers. If Was rebuilt in 1834; but In March. 19n.". was again destroyed, this ticm- b fire. There is now a new hospice with a meteorological meteor-ological Blallon. . 1 Erery day a different Tinman interest inter-est storv will appear In the Standard ' You can get a beautiful intaglio re production of tho above p'cture, with five others, equally attractive, 7x9 12 inches In size, with this week's "Mentor." "Men-tor." In "The Mentor" a well known authority covers the subject of the pictures and stories of the waek Readers Read-ers of the Standard and the Mentor will know arL literature, history, science, sci-ence, and travel, and own oxquisltq pictures On sale at Spargo's Bookstore Book-store j i a |