Show AN ALPINE AVENUE A few days ago a g the news nelys came by telegraph that the first tru tram in passed successfully through the st gotthard tunnel the information coming amidst all till the rush and bustle of political turmoil bulling and bearing operations election elc excite A ite ments and other news of the day lay passed almost unheeded this is no longer an age of sur surprises prism surprises indeed there arc are day by day but nobody will get surprised E everything is taken coolly and unconcernedly if a man were to realize jules vernes romantic dream and have himself carried to the moon in in a huge missile it would fail to elicit more than a momentary ripple on the imperturbable equanimity of the callous public thus a decade ago it was thought impossible to pierce a solid granite g canite mountain feet above the een I to a length of almost ten miles today it is done trains run through the tile excavation and nobody nobody wonders nobody even stops to think of it and still it is the grandest engineering achievement of f the century it is to germany on and land what the canal of suez is to england on water the tile st gotthard mountain la is so to speak the nucleus of the alpine system its apex is the great water divide of central europe down its precipitous slopes rush tug torrents r that afterwards form the principal rivers of central europe its pass lias has for centuries been the highway between germany on oil the north and italy on the south armies have trodden its rugged road ro ad and commerce lias has sent iti it resources over it but at last tho the irrepressible enterprise ter prise of the nineteenth century revolted at the tedious transportation impeded as it was for three or four winter months each year by the rigors of the am season amon on thus it came that in 1869 a treaty was concluded c between italy and switzerland to establish railroad connection across the hugo chain of the alps in 1871 germany entered the alliance as it was her inter interest cst to have direct communication with the tile south independent alike of I france rance or of austria with either of which she had bad lately been involved in considerable sid erable unpleasantness tho the object of the triple treaty was to connect the valley of the rhine rhin C w ith tho the mediterranean and run in midway between the territory of france on the west and austria on east so that neither of these powers should share with germany the advantages the approaches were to run entirely through swiss sot soil far ar re removed moved from the eastern and western frontiers to lake maggiore thence to lake lugano and there connect with the italian lines and the port of genoa italy germany and switzerland were to contribute together francs in the proportion of 45 20 and 20 A construction company was formed soon after with alfred escher a leading swiss financier as president and lucerne as headquarters qua arters on august ath 1872 a contract was concluded with the celebrated geneva engineer louis favre to build the road within eight years under innumerable difficulties at enormous expenses and with much loss of precious lives the vast enterprise was pushed ahead favre who wai was on the spot of the operations almost incessantly inces day and night not see the completion of the work which secured him a rank rauk of honor lionor among the chief engineers of the world he succumbed to exham stion and f fatigue ere the warm breezes from tile sunny south were wafted wafred through the perforation to the cooler nort northern heni valleys but while his body was in the grave j his soul was marching on and th the e gigantic t ic work lias has at last been gigan brought rought to a successful ter termination minati another link in the chain of chiv civilization is forged which will bind nation to nation more firmly which will assist materially in bringing man nearer to roin man amal gating th them em into one brotherhood FRED FI the receiver appointed for the newark mechanics bank which met with some disagreeable difficulties last week if is a son of ex senator arc F re ling huysen of new jersey ono one of the tu E electoral lec toral commission this seems quite barm harmless less but when it is known that the president of the busted bank concern is a leading republican politician in the state of new jersey and a good friend of the old man things begin to assume a different aspect but as comparisons pari sons might be odorous according to mrs partington it may be best to drop the mantle of christian charity over the nice little family filmily arrangement alj V |