Gift ofthe Panama Canal Museum

tmie:

Vol. 4. No. 10 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, MAY 4, 1954 5 cents WORLD ATTENTION IS DRAWN TO PANAMA CANAL

BY STUDY BEING MADE OF 1 6-YEAR-OLD CRACK

No occurrence of the past 35

years has served to spotlight so vividly the importance of

the Panama Canal to world

commerce as the many press

reports late in April of a potential danger of closing the waterway by a rock failure at Contractors Hill.

Immediate requests for additional in- formation were received by the Canal

Administration, both direct and through

various shipping agents on the Isthmus,

from the principal maritime centers of the

world. While no attempt was made to minimize the potential danger, assurances were given that the development of a

disastrous slide which would block traffic was not considered. imminent.

The existence of a crack along the crest

of Contractors Hill was first observed in 1938 at which time two monuments were

set for future measurement of the opening. Extensions of the original crack in both directions were observed last March

when additional markers were established Upon further extensions of the fissure

in March, the consulting services of two

ranking geologists in U. S. Government

service in the United States was requested

The two consultants, Edward Burwell,

Chief Geologist in the Office of the Chief

of Engineers, and Thomas F. Thompson,

Division Geologist of the Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division, San Francisco, arrived during the latter part of April to begin their investigations.

Project 13 Is Suspended

One of the first major steps taken as a precautionary measure was the suspension of all work on Project 13. This project consists of the widening of the Canal

channel just north of Gold and Contractors hills. It is one of low priority which

has been in progress since 1935. The

work requires heavy blasting in the area immediately adjacent to Contractors Hill which might aggravate the situation. The extent and the exact nature of the

corrective measures to be taken have not

yet been determined. Solution to the problem will await engineering investigations of a various nature, including core

drilling. It is planned to drill diagonally

through the hill from 'SeepagsS)

SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL features of Gaillard Cut near Contractors Hill are indicated in the

picture above. Project 13 for widening the Cut is on the west bank and immediately adjacent to Contractors Hill. Work on that project has been suspended as a precautionary measure.

Health Bureau Wins Annual Safety Award

For 54% Improvement In Accident Rate

The Governor-President Annual Safety

Trophy was presented last month to the Health Bureau on the basis of a 54 per- cent improvement in its accident fre- quency rate. This is the first presentation of the trophy which was authorized

last year. It is a permanent award to be

retained by the winning Bureau.

In presenting the Safety Trophy to

Brig. Gen. Don Longfellow, Health Director, in the presence of the Bureau's

safety assistants, Governor Seybold said that the Bureau's record had contributed

materially to the 26 percent improvement

of the entire Company-Government or- ganization.

He stressed that the award was to the Health Bureau as a whole, and pointed out that Safety Programs, like any such

effort, must have the wholehearted cooperation of all members of an organization,

from the top down. Top officials must

believe in such a program and give it their support and encouragement in order

GIVE TO THE

CANCER FUND

MAY 15 - 30

to enable the people who do the actual work to perform the best possible job, he added.Compete Against Own Records

In order to provide a fair basis of competition for Bureaus having dissimilar operations, the award is made to that Bureau having the highest percentage im- provement in its frequency rate over its own previous three-year average. This

avoids any handicap for a Bureau having more hazardous operations than another,

inasmuch as each Bureau is competing

with its own previous record. When the first safety program was ini- tiated on April 26, 1940, the Canal

organization's overall accident frequency

rate was 90. That 90 was the number of disabling injuries for each million manhours worked, and means that with the

force then working there were 90 dis- abling injuries in every four S-hour working days, or between 525 and 600 each month. At this time the comparable fre- quency rate for the U. S. national average was 15. Today, almost 14 years after the safety program was instituted here, the accident frequency rate is down to 11 and only

between 20 and 30 lost-time injuries are occurring each month. The national av- erage frequency rate for (Se: pags t)

ARMED FORCES

DAY

MAY 15
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 4, 1954

Health Bureau Wins Annual Safety Award For 54' , Improvement In Accident Rate

Official Panama Canal Company Publication

Published Monthly at BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE

Printed by Me Printing Plant Mount Hope, Canal Zone

JOHN S. Seybold, Governor-President

II. 0. Paxson, Lieutenant Governor

William G. Arey, Jr. Director of Public Relations

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor

Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Editorial Assistant

SUBSCRIPTION—SI.00 a year SINGLE COPIES—5 cents each On sale at all Panama Canal Clubhouses,

Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days after publication date.

SINGLE COPIESBYMAIL—10 cents each BACK COPIES—10 cents each On sale when available, from the Vauit

Clerk, Third Floor, Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

Postal money orders should be made payable to the Treasurer, Panama Canal Company, and mailed to Editor, The Panama

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z.

SAFETY ASSISTANTS from the trophy-winning Health Bureau and the Chief of the Safety Branch

watch the presentation of the award to Brig. Gen. Don Longfellow by Governor Seybold last month.

Behind Governor Seybold and General Longfellow are left to right: Dr. Henrv W. Harper III, Gayle

O. Kellar, Chief, Safety Branch; J. R. Thomson, George P. Huddock, J. P. Smith, Jr., Chief of Sanitation, and Health Bureau Safety Representatives Fred L. Workman, Gardner Hayes, James A. Braid,

Clifford V. Russell. Mack F. Bailey, Ray Forbes, and A. E. Schuler.

Continuedfrom pagel) ail injury is 8. Disabling injuries, in safety language,

are those which prevent an employee from

returning to work the next day. They

range in severity from temporary total

disabilities —when a man is confined to quarters or hospitalized—to fatalities. Minor injuries, in which an employee is not disabled, are not included in the statistics. As the Panama Canal Safety Program

is based on the premise that supervisory

personnel is largely responsible for injury

frequency, the improvement in the Canal's safety record, safety people believe,

is largely due to increased interest and

effort on the part of such supervisors.

Supervisors are responsible for conditions under which their employees work, and

employees are obligated to follow the

safety rules which have been laid down

for them.

A force of 23,500 men and women was

working in the Canal (.S&page?

Safety Statistic For The Past Month

HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

MARCH

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Civil Affairs 1 Community Services 1 Health 1 Engineering and Construction

Marine

Supply

Transportation and Terminals

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

MARCH

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Aids to Navigation 3 Motor Transportation 2 Sanitation 2

Service Center 2

Electrical Grounds Maintenance

Hospitalization and Clinics Railroad

Storehouses

Commissary

Dredging

Industrial

Locks

Maintenance

Navigation

Terminals

MARCH 1954

Civil Affairs Bureau

Engineering and Construction Bureau

C. Z. Govl.-Pan. Can. Co ( Last 3-Year Aver.)

Marine Bureau

Supply Bureau

C. Z. Govl.-Pan. Can. Co. I This Monthi

Health Bureau

Transportation and Terminals Bureau

Community Services Bureau

Number of Disabling Injuries .__ __35

Disabling Injuries per 1,000,000 Man-Hours Worked

( Frequency Rate)

Man-Hours Worked 2.408.070

LEGEND

Amount Better Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Last 3-Year Average

J Amount Worse Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Last 3-Year Average

Accumulative Frequency Rate This Year
May 4, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

\i

HUNDREDS OF present-day Canal Zonians and scores of the oldtimers who helped to build the Panama Canal gathered on March 31 to attend

the dedication of a memorial to Col. George W. Goethals. The wide steps of the Administration Building and the

hillside's grassy terraces supplemented the more formal seating arrangements. TRIBUTE PAID

CANAL BUILDER

THE AFTERNOON WAS SUNNY

and hot. The crotons and the Golden

Shower trees waved a bit in the dry- season wind. It was just the sort of day

as many on which Col. George W. Goethals had "toured the line," giving a word of encouragement here, a bit of appreciation there. And from both coasts oldtimers had come to pay him honor. There were

Canal veterans from California, others from New York. One of his sons, Dr. Thomas R. Goethals, was here from Boston. Maurice H. Thatcher, the only

living member of the Isthmian Canal

Commission, had come from Washington. Panama's President, a Senator, and an

Assistant Secretary of the Army were on

the speakers' stand.

Praise for the man of the hour came

from high places. Like this: Dear Governor Seybold:

I am delighted to learn of the

memorial to Major General George

W. Goethals, and I very much regret

that I cannot be present in the Canal

Zone to attend the dedication cere- monies on March thirty-first.

During my own service in the

Canal Zone, I came to appreciate

the magnitude of the Panama Canal

as an engineering triumph and the

importance of its operations to inter- SENATOR ALEXANDER WILEY, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, was the main national traffic. It is indeed fortu- speaker. President Jose Antonio Remon of Panama is seated at the left; Maurice H. Thatcher, last sur- nate that the nation was able to call riving member of the Isthmian Canal Commission, is at the right,
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 4, 1954

THE SPEAKERS STAND wa; erected between the memorial and the base of the Building steps. Left to right are: Richard H. Whitehead, of the Goethals Memorial Commission; Dr. Thomas R. Goethals; Senator Alexander Wiley; Lt. Gen. Horace L. McBride, saluting; President Remon; Governor Seybold; George H.

Roderick, Assistant Secretary of the Army; the Rt. Rev. R. H. Gooden; Maurice H. Thatcher; the Rev. Alexander H. Shaw, and the Rev. J. F. Konen, C. M.

upon a leader of General Goethal's

stature to supervise our construction

forces and to set the pattern for the

Canal's successful operation. It is most fitting that we should perpet- uate his memory by a memorial at the scene of his extraordinarily distinguished services.

My congratulations go to all those

who served with General Goethals

and to those who now serve in the

operation of an engineering masterpiece which by itself stands as a memorial to the genius and industry

of many dedicated Americans.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

After the speakers had finished, the

Colonel's son pulled a cord, and tricolored bunting which had shielded the monument, fell away. The monument said "Goethals," but every oldtimer in the audience knew that meant "The Colonel." The formal dedication of the memorial

at the head of the Prado on March 31 was the highlight of the three-day pro- gram but other activities had kept the oldtimers and their families busy.

DR. THOMAS R. GOETHALS took the microphone on the ferry Presidente Porras to greet some

200 of his father's co-workers during the trip from Gamboa to Balboa.

TRIM IN bright red trousers and white shirts, the Balboa High School Band waited at Pier 18 to

greet oldtimers when the Presidente Porras docked. MARY PICKFORD swapped stories at the

Tivoli Guest House with some of the oldtimers.
May 4, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Altogether, about SO oldtimers had come from the States to attend the dedication ceremonies. Those arriving by

ship had been briefed before they landed and were personally welcomed by Governor Seybold on the pier. Badges and

details of the program were given to them

and to others at a specially arranged Oldtimers Information Center at the Adminintration Building.

On March 30, over 200 of the oldtimers boarded the ferryboat Presidente Porras

at Gamboa to make at least part of the

transit of the Canal which some of them

had never seen filled with water. Sons of oldtimers manned the towing locomotives

which pulled the Porras through the

locks. The Balboa High School Band

played "Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here"

as the ferry berthed at Pier 18. That night the oldtimers built the Canal all over again at a reception at the

Tivoli Guest House, watched squaredancers, listened to songs of the old days and to a special "Panama Canal

Waltz," composed in their honor by

Charles Bath, of Margarita, who had

helped sanitate the Canal Zone. The next day they watched an exhibi- tion Little League baseball game played

by grandsons and great-grandsons of Canal builders and attended a special

movie premiere at the Balboa Theater. Some of the oldtimers had an added

thrill when Mary Pickford, once America's

Sweetheart, visited them at the Tivoli. The last event on the formal program was a picnic on April 1 at Morgans' Gardens at Miraflores, given for the visitors by local retired employees.

When it was all over, the oldtimers were tired, but not too tired. They still had enough energy to wear down a good

many people half their age. One Zonian

watched his apparently tireless parent

and said: "I know now how they managed to build the Canal. The Governor

ought to fire the whole bunch of us and

hire them back again!"

GRAVES OF the oldtimers were nut neglected. On the Pacific side, J. H. de Grummond, left, rep- resenting the Sons and Daughters of the Oldtimers, and Rabbi Nathan Witkin held a brief, non-denominational service. Boy Scouts provided an honor guard.

GRANDSONS AND GREAT-GRANDSONS of oldtimers played a Little League exhibition game

for the const 'uction-day workers. A big sign said: "Welcome Grand Mom and Grand Pop."

CLOSING EVENT of the three-day celebration was a picnic given at Morgans' Gardens at Miraflores by the local retired oldtimers for the visitors from off the Isthmus. There was plenty of everything and the oldtimers proved that they had lost none of their prowess as stout trenchermen.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 4, 1954

STATISTICS ON CANAL TRAFFIC

For the purpose of comparison between pre-war and post-war traffic through the Panama Canal, statistics for the fiscal year 1938 are used in this section, as being more nearly normal for peace time than those for 1939.

bovernment Shipping

Through Canal Shows

Sharp Drop Recently

The number of ocean-going United

States Government vessels in transit through the Canal continued to decline during the past quarter with the total of 125 being one of the lowest numbers

in several years for a three-month period.

A slight decline was shown in the number of transits by large commercial vessels in the last quarter as compared with

the preceding three months. There were

1,911 transits by large ocean-going ships

last quarter, as compared with 1,979 in the preceding quarter.

The pronounced drop in Government

shipping through the Canal since the end

of the Korean conflict is evidenced by

125 transits in the past quarter, in comparison with the 255 total in the third quarter of the past fiscal year, a decline

of more than 50 percent. Commercial

traffic of the past quarter showed a slight decline from the comparable period in the preceding fiscal year. Heavy shipments of commodities be- tween Europe and South America brought

the highest gain in number of transits by

commercial ships over this trade route of any of the main routes through the Canal

during the past three months. Far East Trade Drops

The biggest drop in number of transits over any trade route in the third quarter

of this fiscal year as compared with the

third quarter of the fiscal year 1953 was

shown on the route between the east coast

of the United States and the Far East, There were only 288 transits on this route in the past quarter, as compared

with 319 for a comparable period of the previous fiscal year. This significant decline was attributed

to a drop in the tonnage of coal and coke

shipment to Japan during the past three months. These shipments amounted to 616,000 long tons during the past quarter, as compared with over 1,000,000 tons

in the third quarter of 1953 fiscal year. The sharp decline of coal and coke ship- ments were noted for the first time in January. During the first six months of

this fiscal year these shipments were

averaging nearly 300,000 tons a month.

Shipments From Pacific Increase The amount of commodity shipments

from the Pacific to Atlantic destinations during the past quarter was higher than

in the comparable period of 1953, the fig- ures being 5,337,000 and 4,510,000 tons, respectively. Commodity shipments in the opposite direction were less this year, with 4,257,000 tons moved in the past

quarter from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as compared with 4,669,000 in the third quarter of 1953 fiscal year. Increased shipments of various ores, lumber, and nitrate accounted for most

of the gains in the Pacific-to-Atlantic movements. The big drop in coal and

coke shipments to the Pacific was partially offset by increased shipments of the manufactures of iron and (See page sy

CANAL TRANSITS—COMMERCIAL AND U. S. GOVERNMENT

Third Quarter, Fiscal Year

1954 1953 1938

Atlantic

to

Pacific

917

Pacific to Atlantic Total Total Total

Commercial Vessels: 994 1,911 1,926 1,386

107 126 233 305 219

1,024 1,120 2,144 2,231 1,605

**U. S. Government Vessels: 70 55 125 255

*Small 26 28 54 114

Total commercial and U. S. Government

_

1.120 1,203 2,323 2,600

"Vessels under 300 net tons or 500 displacement tons.

"""Vessels on which tolls are credited. Prior to July 1, 1951, Government-operated

ships transited free. TRAFFIC MOVEMENT OVER MAIN TRADE ROUTES

The following table shows the number of transits of large, commercial vessels (300

net tons or over) segregated into eight main trade routes:

Third Q larter, Fi; cal Year

1954 1953 1938

151 153 264

481 472 145

East Coast of U. S. and Central America. . 127 147 30

288 319 142

41 71 39

177 179 271

Europe and South America 147 106 134

96 103 65

403 376 296

Total traffic .. - - - 1.911 1.926 1.386 Canal commercial traffic by nationality of vessels

Third Quarter, Fiscal Year

Nationality

1954 1953 1938 Number of transits

Tons

of cargo

Number of transits

Tons

of cargo

Number of transits

'Tons

of cargo

5 317

2.1

. 4 47

10 67

16

2.373

1.972.475 124,768

33,328

50.942

60,333

223,288

21,880

2 388

169

31

2 5146

2 38

63

27

108

10,300 2.030.420 93,995

72,594

28,780

19,040

236,725

23,124

15,177 175.915 79,160

231,365

151,064

British 348

3

1.626,625

10,012

56 101.735

1 26

86

19

10

4,021 3294

38

77

2

1 44

95

159,832

191,936

309,084

98,151

16,702

138,303

312,330

00.407 Honduran 3.839

Irish 7,971 272,858

594,606

6

3890

2 42

12 34

4 210

114

28

1,781 182,047

599,371

1,000 265,965

9,205

14.835 114.389

1.988 780.221 740,105

1,997 45.419

12

77

1

31,76' 495,136

57 341,155

Nfetherland Micaraguan

Norwegian

Panamanian

29

6

207

170

75

167,420

7.780 950,365 958.360

6.998 27,552

77 170.017

17444

3

2

2

848,325

56,087 4.008

Philippine

4.375

7 65

4 480

21.220 227.746

11 39

59,869

197,871

8,927 3,054,963 22,215

28 187,101 30.400 1 United States __ 2,691,897 525

14 413 2,195,344

Yugoslav — 1 21,268 2 7,300

Total 1,911 9,593,597 1,926 9,278,827 1 . ?80 6,362,777
May 4, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

March 15 through April 15

Employees who were promoted or transferred between March 15 and April 15 are

listed below. Regradings and within-grade

promotions are not listed. CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Janet L. Graham, from Substitute Teacher to Elementary School Teacher, Schools Division. Lester L. Largent, from Police Sergeant

to Police Lieutenant, Police Division. Hiram Overall, from Policeman to Police Sergeant, Police Division. COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

Jack C. Randall, from Manager, Cris- tobal Housing Office, to Assistant Chief, Housing Division, and Manager, Balboa Housing Office, Housing Division. Wendell G. Cotton, from Administrative Assistant, Housing Division, to Assist- ant Manager, Cristobal Housing Office. Jackson J. Pearce, from Housing Maintenance Inspector to Manager, Gamboa

Housing Office. P. Byrne Hutchings, from Manager,

Gamboa Housing Office, to Administrative

Assistant, Housing Division. Harry C. Egolf, from Assistant Manager,

to Manager, Cristobal Housing Office.

OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER

Edward G. Coyle, from Accountant, Cost Accounts Branch, to Systems Accountant, Accounting Systems Staff. Catherine Joustra, Clerk Typist, from

Agents Accounts Branch to General Accounts Branch. R. Trendon Vestal, from Supervising Business Accountant, Agents Accounts

Branch, to Systems Accountant, Accounting Systems Staff. Thomas H. Scott, from Accountant, Agents Accounts Branch, to Systems Accountant, Accounting Systems Staff. Helen N. Minor, from Accountant to Time, Leave, and Payroll Clerk, Payroll Branch. Hugh W. Cassibry, from Time, Leave, and Payroll Clerk, to Accountant, Payroll Branch. Norbert H. McCauley, from Budget Ex- aminer to Budget Analyst, Budget Branch. Ralph R. Grassau, from Accountant,

Plant Inventory and Appraisal Staff, to Budget Analyst', Budget Staff.

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Mrs. Jessie G. Harris, Clerk-Typist, from Housing Division to Engineering Division. Mrs. Beatrice J. O'Toole, from Cash

Accounting Clerk (Teller),. Commissary Division, to Accounting Clerk, Electrical Division. Mrs. Carmen Casey, from Cash Accounting Clerk (Teller), Commissary Division, to Cash Accounting Clerk, Electrical Division. OFFICE OF GOVERNOR-PRESIDENT

Hugh A. Norris, from Organization and

Methods Examiner, to Economist. Execuutive Planning Staff. HEALTH BUREAU

Mrs. Winona A. Smith, from Histo- pathology Technician to Medical Technician, Board of Health Laboratory.

MARINE BUREAU

Slaughter H. Sharpensteen, from Foreman, Pipeline Suction Dredge, Dredging Division, to Towing Locomotive Operator, Pacific Locks. Julian O. Russell, from Small Tug Operator, Dredging Division, to Towing Loco- motive Operator, Pacific Locks. Ollin P. Strickland, from Planing Mill Hand to Planing Mill Hand Leader, Industrial Division. William Kosan, Machinist, from Maintenance Division to Industrial Division. Luther G. Bradshaw, Evan G. Evans,

Jr., from Pobationary Pilot to Qualified

Pilot, Navigation Division.

Robert M. Blakeley, from Machinist to Machinist Leadingman, Industrial Division. SUPPLY BUREAU

Clement J. Genis, from Assistant Commissary Manager. Commissary Division, to Safety Inspector, Office of Supply Director.

TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Charles S. Staples, from Auto Repair

Machinist to Supervisor, Tire Reclaiming

Plant, Motor Transportation Division. Lynn T. Hornaday, from Property and

Supply Clerk to Freight Tragfnc Clerk, Terminals Division. John W. O'Connell, from Chief I rain Dispatcher to Supervisory Railroad Transportation Specialist, Railroad Division. Errett R. Albritton, from Train Dis- patcher to Chief Train Dispatcher, Railroad

Division.

Health Bureau Wins Annual Safely Award

[Continued from page 2) organization when

the Safety Program was established 14 years ago. The original safety staff was

a safety engineer and an assistant. Within two years, the total force had

swelled to over 38,000 and the personnel

of the Safety Section, then under the

Special Engineering Division, was in- creased to a total of six. In July, 1943, the safety force was cut

to four. The accident rate, which had

declined, began to rise again and during

the early part of 1945 Canal officials de- cided to enlarge and emphasize the

safety program.

As a result of this decision, a Safety

Board was appointed. It was headed by

the Military Assistant to the Governor and composed of representatives from all departments. This was in January, 1945, and was the beginning of a decentralized

safety program. The duties of this Board were to review

accident statistics each month and adopt

measures toward correcting unsafe conditions and unsafe practices, as well as

to formulate and promulgate safety poli- cies designed to reduce injuries and

accidents. At the time the Safety Board was

formed, the Canal assigned 13 employees

full-time and 17 others part-time on

safety work. The Canal force was then

well over 28,000.

Safety Policy Reviewed

In 1950, when a reorganization and re- alignment of Canal functions was started, the organization's safety policy was also reviewed. The Safety Board was reor- ganized and G. 0. Kellar, Chief of the

Safety Branch, was made its chairman.

The Board was made up of representatives of all Bureau Directors. The safety organization was again re- vised in February, 1953. At this time

membership on the Board was changed

to full-time safety personnel, either safety

engineers or inspectors, as representatives

of all Bureau Directors except the Comptroller, Health, and Personnel Directors who are represented by part>time safety

assistants. At the present time, the Company-Government has four safety engineers, eight safety inspectors, and a varying number of assistants who devote

part of their time to safety work.

Principal commodities shipped through the Canal

(All figures in thousands of long tons)

ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC

Commodity

Mineral oils Coal and coke Manufactures of iron and steel- Phosphates

Soy beans Sugar

Rice Sulphur

Cement

Paper and paper products Metal scrap Raw cotton Machinery

Automobiles and accessories

Fertilizer All others

Total -

Third Quarter, Fiscal year

1954

1.124,711 616,091

415,321

241,807

150,781 126,603

106,879

90,253

81,836

77,544

73,063

72,243 66,450

54,322 52.759 905,872

4,256,535

1953

1,218,820

1,082,798 387,190

155,959

154.77') 196.184

78,779 89,180

110,124

83,450

2,008 46,7n4

75,191 71,549

27,953 887,863

4,668.591

1938

236,664

27,867 302.008 67,518 493

32,587 5,146

44,830

26,719 90,274

134,275

56,323

25.179

76,102

6,003 857,666

2,049,654 PACIFIC TO ATLANTIC

Commoditv

Ores, various Lumber

Wheat

Nitrate Canned food products

Sugar Bananas

Refrigerated food products (ex- cept fresh fruit) Mineral oils Metals various

Coffee Raw Cotton Wood pulp

Copra

Wool

All others

Total

Third Quarter, Fiscal Year

1954

1,216,999 993,184

551,687

414,058

296,845

288,007

200,128

178,700

128,798

117,511 83,444

76,397 71,046

69,820

68,782

581,656

5,337,062

1953

4,610,236

1938

900,399 542.936

794.929 632,901

531,872 267,904

310,530 530,861

299,857 220,124

200,592 299,404

216,656 20.076

193,963 106,820

92.182 498,282

197,489 165.473 82,474 53,179

51,261 37,801 26,059 64.156

51,798 51,976

74,917 37,915

585,258 783,315

4,313,123
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 4, 1954

CANAL DRAWS WORLD ATTENTION BY REPORTS OF FISSURE ON HILL TOP

THIS ROCK FISSURE runs along the top of Contractors Hill. The two white markers at the top

center are monuments established to determine any pissible movement of the rock.

40O

HODGES

HI CONTRACTORS

HI LIPEDRO MISUEL AGGLOMERATE.

400

THIS DRAWING GRAPHICALLY illustrates geologists' description of Contractors Hill and

others in that vicinity as being gigantic inverted cones of Pedro Miguel agglomerate. The hard rock

is surrounded by a sea of weaker rock known as the Cucuracha Formation. The exact depth of the hard

rock cone which is Contractors Hill is not known, but borings have been made to a depth of several hundred feet in past subsurface explorations.

(Continued from page 1) the land side crossing the fissure at a considerable depth below the surface. It will be possible by an examination of these cores to

plot the extent and direction of the rock

fracture. Soon after an inspection of the area was made early this year, cross-trenching was

begun to remove the earth overlay on the rock and determine if there are any additional fissures or extension of those al- ready known. This work was accelerated

late in April. Plumbing of the crack at

its widest opening was also done and this showed that the fissure extended to a depth of several hundred feet at one point.

Geology Of Contractors Hill According to geologists, Contractors

Hill is composed of a rock formation now

officially named the Pedro Miguel Formation, which is a mass of crudely bedded

agglomerate. An agglomerate is a rock composed of coarse fragments resulting

from explosive volcanic activity. Contractors Hill, like several others in that

area, is sunk in a surrounding mass of weaker rock, known as the Cucuracha

Formation, which caused so much trouble by slides during the Canal construction and since. The geological nature of Contractors

Hill was mapped and studied during the Canal construction period by the late Dr. Donald F. MacDonald, who was again

employed as geologist for the Canal during the Third Locks work.

Extensive additional studies of the ge- ology of that area were made during the Third Locks work and again during the

Isthmian Canal Studies of 1947, both by

Dr. MacDonald and by Mr. Thompson

who returned for a visit late last month

as consulting geologist.

Shaped Like Ice Cream Cone

According to their reports, Contractors and Gold hills are composed of Pedro Miguel agglomerates and are shaped much

like ice cream cones which have their points cut off several hundred feet below

ground level. One face of the extruding

cone, known as Contractors Hill, was

completely exposed when Gaillard Cut

was excavated. Although Mr. Thompson believes that

the fissure may have started during the construction period by heavy blasting, he does not think that the excavation itself induced the crack. He expressed the

belief that the cracking, once started, may

have been accellerated by the removal of the bed of Cucuracha rock surrounding

the hills which had provided some stabil- izing support for them and especially any

fractures of the nature observed. A failure of the slope on the Canal face

of Contractors Hill would be unique in the history of slides of the Panama Canal. Previous failures during and after the construction period were caused by foun- dation failures or were "mud-flow" type

of slides caused by excessive pressures

built up adjacent to deep excavations. Because of the geological formation of Contractors and Gold hills, it was never

considered that this type of slope failure, or rock fracture, was likely to result from

excavation. Accordingly, reports on both

the Third Locks project and the Isthmian

Canal studies of 1947 stated that practically vertical slopes through Pedro Miguel

agglomerate would be s „fe and stable.

Government Shipping Shows Sharp Drop

(Continued from page 6) steel, phosphates, rice, and scrap metal from the

Atlantic to Pacific ports. Commercial transits for the first nine months of this fiscal year were higher

than the total in the first nine months

of the previous fiscal year. There were

5,781 transits by ocean-going commercial

ships during the first nine months of this

fiscal year, as compared with 5,522 in the comparable period of the preceding year. MONTHLY COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC AND TOLLS

Vessels of 300 tons net or over By fiscal years

Month

Transits

Tolls

(In thousands of dollars)

1954 1953 1938 1954 1953 1938

July 638 529 457 $2,817 $2,343 $2,030

640 533 505 2,778 2,288 2,195

612 615 444 2,591 2,636 1,936

654 673 461 2,755 2,910 1,981

636 620 435 2,668 2,611 1,893

690 626 439 2,963 2,679 1,845

626 632 444 2,726 2,689 1,838

592 616 436 2,491 2,597 1,787

March 693 678 506 2,934 2,884 2,016

April . 628 487 2,733 1,961

Maj 650 465 2,861 1,887

610 445 2,686 1,801

Totals for first 9 months

of fiscal vear 5.781 5,522 4,127 $24,723 $23,637 $17,521

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