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Canal M ore lmportant
Than Ever
The direct and immediate impor–
tance of the Canal to the United
States - and the world as a whole -
is seldom realized. The 50-mile-long
waterway, with its magnificent sys–
tem of locks and daros, is largely ig–
nored or taken for granted today by
the American public - the very
people whose forefathers labored
for over a decade to successfully
complete the greatest engineering
feat in all of history to that day.
The simple fact, however, is that
the Panama Canal, though nearing
the end of its sixth decade of near–
tlawless operation, is more impor–
tant to the United States today than
perhaps at any time in its history.
The only possible exception may
have been the war years of 1941-45,
when nearly 14,000 American and
allied combat, troop and merchant
ships took advantage of the canal
shortcut between the war theaters in
Europe and Asia.
It
is not an understatement that
tbe United States economy - al–
ready in deep trouble in world mon–
etary matters - would be dealt a
severe, crippling blow if traffic
through the waterway were ever
stopped. Nearly 70 percent of the
ships transiting the Canal at any
time are headed to or coming from
ports in the United States. More–
over, the effect of such a blockage
on world commerce as a whole
would far exceed the impact which
resulted from the closure of the Suez
Canal in 1967.
An official Panama Canal Com–
pany document reports: "Viewed
thus from a logistical standpoint,
the Panama Canal today is of
greater importance tban ever before
in the welfare and defense of the
free world, whose strength, which
stems from economic wetl-being,
rests in no small degree on the Pan–
ama Canal as an avenue of trans–
portation in peace and in war."
22
The motto of the Canal Zone
Government - "The land· divided,
the world united" - could not better
tell the story of the Panama Canal.
Not Obsolete
Since its opening to commercial
traffic on August 15, 1914, half a
million ships of all nations have
passed through its waters. Remark–
ably, shipping tolls have never been
raised. The average vessel pays
about $6,185 in toUs but saves more
than $50,000 each voyage by elimi–
nating over 7,000 miles and saving
20 days in sailing time between its
terminal ports.
It
has been claimed by sorne that
the present lock-fresbwater-lake ca–
nal is obsolete and must be replaced
by a new (and very expensive) sea–
leve! canal.
But this assertion is simply not
true. The present canal's massive
locks - each chamber is 1,000 feet
long and 110 feet wide - are still
more than sufficient to handle all
but perhaps two percent of the
world's ocean-going vessels.
The newer, bulk supertankers, of
course, cannot squeeze through the
locks. But they are specifically de–
signed to avoid transiting Panama
or any other canal, thereby avoiding
toil costs, which, for their size, are
considerable.
The only way the Canal could
possibly become out-of-date is
through demands being placed
upon
it
by expanding world com–
merce. Transits each day now aver–
age 39, about 12 below what is
considered the waterway's normal
peak capacity.
Plans long on the drawing board
could increase the canal's capacity
to handle any expected tonnage in–
crease well into the future. But such
plans, which call for an additional
system of larger locks, are stymied,
pending the outcome of the U. S.–
Panama dispute.
Lifeline of Nations
It is a mistake to think that only
the United Sta tes has great stakes in
the continued unimpeded operation
of the Panama Canal. The waterway
forros a veritable econornic lifeline
for many nations which have long
benefited from U. S. operation of
the Canal, based upon the prin–
cipies of "entire equality" and "just
and equitable tolls" for all.
It is true that about two thirds of
the total tonnage passing through
the Panama Canal originates in or is
destined for U. S. ports. But this sta–
tistic does not reflect the whole
story. Because the United States
represents such a huge market ,
trade through the Canal means life
or death to the economies of severa!
of America's trading partners. For
example, approximately one third
of the total ocean-going trade of Ja–
pan - much of it to or from the
States - passes through the Canal.
The situation
regar~ing
the west
coast nations of South America is
even more revealing. Roughly 80
percent of the total imports and ex–
ports of tbree nations - Ecuador,
Chile and Peru - passes through
the waterway.
A report by the Center for Strate–
gic Studies in Washington summa–
rizes:
"lt
is a mis take too often
made to regard the United States as
the sole very important beneficiary
of present Canal operations. If the
relative percentages of total foreign
trade as related to Canal use are
compared, it will become apparent
that the Canal is relatively of
greater importance to certain South
American countries than it is to the
United States."
These states are now in a quan–
dary. They are caught between pro–
viding emotional support for "Latín
brother" Panama's drive for Canal
control - and the practica! aware–
ness of what could happen to their
economies should the tiny republic,
with its long history of political in–
stability, obtain exclusive control of
it. (Since 1930, Panama has under–
gone six unconstitutional changes of
governrnent.)
PlAIN TRUTH May 1973