August 31, 1959
EUROPE 1959: New York (Time-Life): In the Alps, where France meets Italy, engineers from both countries are busy opening a tunnel in the bowels of snow-covered Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe. The tunnel, to be built at an estimated cost of around $16 million, is part of a highway that will reduce the distance between Paris and Milan by 195 miles. It is indeed seen as a highway of the future. But it is also something more than that – it is a symbol of the awareness of common goals and economic unity that are the psychological reflection of the great prosperity being seen recently in Europe. On the surface, Europe is experiencing an atmosphere of contrasts and divisions: The British are criticizing West-German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who fears a weakening of the unity of the Alliance, and France’s General Charles De Gaulle is complaining about NATO vessels. There are signs of potential trade wars between, on the one hand, the six members of the Common Market (Germany, Italy, France and Benelux) and, on the other, Britain, the Scandinavian states, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland.
