7° W. long., on the margin of the now submerged Continental Platform. The waters of the Seine probably flowed into this stream somewhat north of Cherbourg, and it also had for tributaries the streams entering the Solent. After receiving their accessions it passed along what is marked on the chart as "The Hurd Deep," a clearly marked channel 70 miles long, the depth of 186 feet at the upper end increasing to 336 feet toward the middle of its course, and then lessening to 162 feet at the end. Here the submerged channel has been kept clear by the strong tidal current, but above and beyond this point it has been silted up; the original entrance to the ocean was between lofty walls of rock.* On the French Atlantic Coast the Adour may be selected as a typical stream. Having its source in the Upper Pyrenees, it enters the ocean at the foot of these mountains, Bas Pyrenees, near Bayonne. A characteristic feature of the submerged channel of this stream is that it is continuous from the present mouth of the river to the point of former entrance into the ocean 100 miles out from the shore line of to-day. At a distance of five or six miles from the shore the channel already has a depth of 1,050 feet (700 feet below the surface of the platform); after being joined about fifteen miles out by another channel, the bed sinks rapidly and the banks, rising to a height of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet, become so precipitous that it assumes the form of a deep canyon; when it finally reaches the original shore line, it has a depth of 7,200 feet.† In Africa the Congo shows similar phenomena. This mighty river enters the ocean in latitude 6° S.; at this point, at Banana Creek, it is 49 fathoms (294 feet) deep; but on tracing out the submerged channel, at a distance of five miles from the shore, the soundings reveal a depth of from 1,368 to 1,452 feet, the width being here about two miles and the sides steep and precipitous. Still farther out, 50 miles from shore, the channel has widened to ten miles and a depth of 4,878 feet has been attained, the maximum depth of 7,200 feet being reached at a distance of 57 miles; the total length of this submerged channel to the point of its original entrance into the ocean is 122 miles.I * Ibid., p. 7. Ibid., pp. 8, 9. Ibid., p. 13. Some years since, when several gentlemen were interested in producing arguments for the preservation of the Palisades, we realized that for strategic purposes the Palisades from Bayonne northward ought to be of great value to the Government. Then, as now, there is not a single soldier stationed there. If an enemy should land on the Jersey coast, march up along the rear of the Palisades and seize these heights, the entire city would be at their command. We realized at that time, upon investigation, that on the whole island of New York there was not a single soldier of the United States bearing arms to protect the city of two and a half million inhabitants. This matter is again brought to mind when we read of the quibbling in regard to the height of the subway tunnels. We have here the greatest city on the American continent. In case of war it might be of supreme importance to connect the northern part of Manhattan Island with Long Island, and to make this practicable there should be a proper standardsize track under the city. Should not facilities be provided by which, in case of necessity, a train load of soldiers could be run to the upper part of Manhattan Island, or to Long Island, over these tracks, or train loads of munitions of war, or supplies for the army or for the inhabitants of the city? And with tunnels an army could safely cross from shore to shore without an enemy being aware of their presence. From this viewpoint alone it seems that for strategic purposes it is most important that one or more, if not all the subway lines should be made of adequate size, and should have a standard-guage track, such as the railroads of the United States use, as otherwise the same trouble that made itself felt before the standardization of the railroads would arise. We know that all the railroads interchange freight cars, and that these can be shipped from one part of the United States to another; but can any good reason be adduced to explain why passenger cars are not similarly shipped? How many realize the time it takes to go from Yonkers to Newark, or from Yonkers to Garden City? Why this great length of time? Simply because what we might term a financial boundary line runs between these points. Is there any reasonable excuse for not having an interchange of cars, when this could be accomplished by building not more than from ten to twenty miles of underground road in New York City, and by a little more co-operation between the great systems that terminate here? It is difficult to find any good and sufficient reason for laying any other than a standard-gauge track, no matter for what purpose, except under very rare conditions. The fact that Russia had only a single-track, narrow-gauge road through Siberia had as much to do with her defeat by Japan as any other cause. A double-track, standard-gauge road was originally advocated, but certain of the high officials objected, stating that the road was built only for sentimental considerations. When merchants in cities like Chicago can send from ten to twenty carloads of dry goods directly into their cellars, as do, for instance, Marshall Field & Company, or when a concern such as the Simmons Hardware Company can receive 150 carloads of nails for reshipment without repacking, this is a pretty good sign that Chicago is far in advance of New York City in aiding the development of wholesale business. The cost of hauling freight from a dock to a store often exceeds the cost of hauling for several hundreds of miles by rail. Why should we not exchange freight cars from through lines to municipal roads, just as they are now exchanged between the different railroads? There is no doubt that the present subway system runs its cars. in the smallest possible tubes, in order to carry the greatest number of passengers at the least possible expense. To this economy in the cost of transportation there would be no objection, if it did not work injury to the passengers; but when, as frequently happens, there are from 125 to 150 human beings in a single car, and that car has practically no air space above it, what is the meaning of the inactivity of the State Board of Health, or the City Board of Health, and of our various medical societies? Why is nothing done to prevent this? Let us have a high subway with plenty of trains, and let us have tracks permitting an interchange of cars, for the greater advantage of the people of this community. The ease with which tunnels are driven even in rock under the river is shown in the new gas tunnel which was opened July 17, 1913, from 132d Street, Bronx, south to Astoria. It is 5,176 feet long, 21 feet high, 1912 feet wide and 150 feet below the river 4,622.04 feet without a shaft opening. The total cost was $5,000,000. The author and others have stated that a bridge across the Hudson River, at the end of One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Street, could not be built at a reasonable cost, because a sufficiently good foundation for the piers could not be obtained at that site. This statement has remained unchallenged, and is probably generally believed. It is therefore only proper to state that a group of engineers who claim that they are qualified to express an authoritative opinion, by long experience in the design and construction of deep and heavy bridge pier work, believe that the statement that piers could not be properly sunk, is incorrect. The engineers of The Foundation Company state that piers for the longest projected spans at the 179th Street site can be so constructed and so sunk to a depth of about two hundred feet below the river bed that they will be absolutely stable and secure. As at no place in the Hudson River has a true bed been reached, and as it may be as much as 1,000 feet below, there is a geological as well as an engineering problem to solve here. They state further that the piers for the shorter spans can be founded with like security with less difficulty still; and that the two larger piers will cost not to exceed one and one-quarter million dollars each, while the smaller piers will not exceed in cost one-half of a million dollars each. The projected larger piers would be the largest and deepest ever built, but they claim that their wide experience with deeply founded piers for important bridges across large rivers amply justifies the opinion that modifications and amplifications of known methods are all that is necessary to secure for the proposed bridge an absloutely solid and rigid superstructure. The above statement is made by the company with the full knowledge of the soft materials encountered in the borings, and with a full appreciation of the difficulties involved. In conclusion it gives me great pleasure to avail myself of this opportunity to thank Hon. McDougall Hawkes, of the New York Interstate Bridge Commission, who has afforded me every privilege and all the information it was in his power to extend. |