Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 111, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 May 1919 — France Building Long Canal. [ARTICLE]

France Building Long Canal.

Notwithstanding the war, the largest tunnel in the world is well under course of construction in France, its object being to give Marseilles connection with Paris and the interior of the country in general by rail and water. The canal will provide ample waterway Tor. barkes. The entire project involves the building of a new harbor and the cutting of a ship canal, actually tunneled through solid rock for five long miles, joining the old harbor and the Mediterranean to the River Rhone. The Rhone's upper stretches are placid, and already- are used extensively for barge navigation, but near Marseilles the stream is far too turbulent for commerce. A range of hills had prevented the construction of a canal in days gone by. Now, with France energized by the war and with the necessity for the canal emphasized thereby, the tunnel is being cut and the canal will soon be opened. The work was begun in 191112, and has been continued through the war. By this canal and links already available, barges can be sent from the Mediterranean to the English channel.