Norwich bulletin., 1916-01-08
OPERATION AND MAiNTENANcE ..
 OF THE PANAMA CANAL
Detailed Account Given in Annual Re-
 port of Gen. GoethaIs. -'


 Washington, Jan. IA detailed ac- count of the operation and ,main- tenance. of the Panama canal during the first ten months and a half after it's opening to commerce in August, 1914. is given given in the annual re-. port of Governor Goethals Of the Canal zone. made public tonight. Final con- struction work just prior to the canals opening also is described in the re- port, which embraces the fiscal year ending June 30 last, prior to the earth slide which blocked, the channel.
 Between August 15, 1914, and June 30. 1915, 530 vessels, representing a net Panama Canal tonnage of 1884, FPS and cargo tonnage of 2,125,7S5 were passed through from Atlantic to Pa cif1c, and 55S vessels. representing Panama canal tonnage. of 1858, ,907 and cargo tonnage of 2,844057. from Pa cific to Atlantic, making a total of H. OS8 vessels with a net canal tonnage; of 3S43,0S5 az a cargo tonnage of A. 969,1S2. During the perior three mi- nor slides interrupted traffic, the chan nel being closed from October IA to 20 and. October 31 to November 4, 1914 and March to 10, 1915.
 Construction of the canal proper ex- cepr for dredging excavation and con struction of the breakwater at Co., lon, virtually was completed prior to this fiscal year. In the Culebra Cut renamed the Gaillard Cut, there were removed, iE the process of construction during the year, 1,960,607 cubic yards at an average cost of approximately 42 1-I cents a yard. In maintaining the channel-including removal of earth deposited by slides-there were taken from Gaillard cut 4,710 566 cubic yards at a cost of 34 2-3 cents a yard and from the channel at the Atlantic entrance 1,233, 301 cubic yards at cost of 10 1-6 cents a ward
 Cucaracha slide. the report says was very active from July to October, 1914, quiet during the dry season, and active again with the beginning of the rainy reason in April On the west side at Culebra the slide showed little &C., tivity through the greater part of the year, but in June, 1915 the general movement of the bank was noticeable and it Wa sestinated that 5000 900 cubic yards of material were in motion on June 30. 1915, on the west side It is estimated that about 4,000, ,000 cubic yards will have to be removed from the east side.
 Of the sss4, ,sss 14s appropriated by states that $14. .6S9,S73 has been spent on Notifications; S750, 900 F to cover three annual payments to the Republic of Panama: s6,440, 900 for the operation of the civil government of the canal zone for the fiscal year 1916 $42S9159
 
 the canal to the end of the. fiscal year 1915, while stock on hand aggregates $2,225,000, leaving $365,99e116 appro- priated for the actual construction of the canal and it's adjuncts.
 Two million dollars of this was in- vested in colliers. and $6,563, ,067 was re- turned to the trtasury department up to the close of the fiscal year 1915 as miscellaneous receipts, leaving S357. .436.048 as the net amount ex- pended for the canal including the amount available for work still in progress. A dry dock, two coaling stations and terminal piers, not includ- ed in these figures, are yet to be con- structed. IF ! Health conditions in the canal zone, the report says were very goodt during the year. The total death rate from disease was reduced from 14.46 in 1914 to HIT in 1915. Victims of. malaria. the principal cause of disability. were reduced twenty per cent. in number and the death rate 32 per cent, in the year. The admission rate to hospitals from typhoid was reduced more than 76 per cent, from dysentery, fifty per cent, the deatl; rate from pneumonia was reduced more than 39 per cent,
 Labor conditions were excellent. More than 5000 men were given trans portation home because they could not be used.