DANGER IS MY BUSINESS: TOKYO STEELMAN

Here to tell us more about the building of the third highest man-made structure in the world is Mr. Adventure, Colonel John D. Craig. I just completed an amazing experience here in Japan, a ride and a climb to the top of Tokyo Tower. It's an amazing structure. It's higher than the Eiffel Tower. Uh here is one of the engineers that helped build it. Let's ask him a few questions about it. Mr. Kita, I know that uh you are here in the construction capacity. Can you tell us something about the tower? Uh when was it started? June of 1957. I see. How many men worked on the tower? 750 men. 750 men. Just how high is the tower? 333 m is in feet 1,088 ft. Uh I notice there's a a platform about halfway up the tower. What's the purpose of that? It's for observation. Oh. For public. It will open to public on December 23rd. This year? >> Yes, starting December 23rd of this year. That's just before Christmas. I know I had a view of all of Tokyo from the top of that platform. It'll be a wonderful tourist attraction. Yes, I think so. Um I understand that we have permission to go to the top of the tower. Uh Mr. Matsuo of uh Nippon Television City Corporation sent word that you, Colonel Craig, and your crew has permission to go up to take a picture of this construction of Tokyo Tower. And you're the only person uh to be permitted to go up this tower and photograph. Thank you very much. >> And uh Mr. Takahashi is waiting at the gate and ready to go up. Are you ready to go up, sir? >> I'm ready to go. Let's go now. Thank you. This is Guido, a Japanese high steel worker, reporting [music] for work on what is to be the third tallest structure ever built by man. From the moment he arrives on the job, there can be no doubt of the dangers that face him. Today he's working on the Tokyo Tower. Tomorrow he may work on a skyscraper or some other towering edifice. One thing is certain, on the high steel he faces danger every day. >> [music] [music] >> Working at dizzy heights is Guido's trade. And if he has his way, his children and his children's children will follow the same hazardous occupation. The dangerous trip to the top of the tower in the tiny gondola is taken as casually as a ride on an elevator. It's the only means of getting him to his assignment, and there's no operator to warn him to watch his step. The breathtaking view of his native city is accepted as the usual backdrop [music] for his job, and he doesn't give it a second thought. He's more interested in talking things over with his fellow workers, human flies like himself. Watching them gathered here, one would never guess that they are 1,000 ft above the ground with no safety belts or other devices to protect them. Only their native know-how and a fearless nerve. They may be talking about the poor guys that have to work below. >> [music] [music] [music] >> The engineers, after checking the blueprints and the schedule for the day, risk their lives in the little gondola to supervise the construction up high near where the antenna is to be mounted. Strangely enough, no special attire is used by Guido or the others in climbing among the crossbars and rafters. Their chief concern, naturally, is their foot holds and hand holds as they move nimbly up and down and across the tower. But any false step or slip, and they know full well it may be their last. >> [music] >> On their feet they wear ordinary tabbies, except that there is a thin layer of leather on the sole for strength. This affords whatever dexterity is needed for gripping the ribbings with their feet, almost like an extra pair of hands. >> [music] [bell] [music] >> There is one thing to be said about the men in charge of building this tower. Theirs is not a push-button job. They must be on the spot and share the same dangers facing Guido and his co-workers. May be a source of comfort to them and inspiration. It is a known fact, even among laymen, that an allowance is made for certain degree of sway in any tall structure. This is readily noticed in skyscrapers by observing pictures on the wall or hanging chandeliers. Anything rigid in the path of these strong gales might be snapped in two, an explanation of why trees are sometimes uprooted. But reeds, swaying with the wind, are rarely injured. Working at these dizzy heights calls for agility and balance similar to that of a tightrope walker. It is a never-ending source of wonder to watch steel workers fling red-hot rivets around and catch them skillfully in their small containers. They seem unaware of the tremendous dangers involved. A miss or a bad throw could very easily result in a man being branded for life. And in the throws of the accident, a greater disaster might strike. A man may fall to his death. Guido knows there is no room for a miss or a bad throw as the men rivet another section of the tower in place. >> [music] >> The rivets must be red hot before they can be driven into place. A drop in temperature renders them useless. So extra care is taken to cut down on the distance each rivet travels from [music] the furnace to its ultimate destination. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Guido and his co-workers are so much at home at dizzy heights that they would never dream making the long trip down for the lunch break. As they dig into their lunch consisting of fish and rice furnished [music] by the company, they cause much amusement among the ground crews below, who find it difficult to understand why these high steel men won't come down and join them for the midday meal. >> [music] [music] >> The only thing that keeps them from toppling into space is a thin layer of chicken wire that serves as a makeshift platform. This flimsy chicken wire was never intended to hold their weight. It's a catch-all to trap falling bolts and tools that might accidentally be dropped from above. Accidents do occur on any construction [music] job, especially on such a great undertaking as this tower. >> [music] >> The [music] word relayed to the chief construction engineer informed him of the accident. >> [music] >> A mad taxi ride through the streets of Tokyo is a risk in itself, but the engineer was in a hurry to reach the scene of the accident. One would think the driver received his training at the wheel of a fire truck or an ambulance. Not many years ago, such a ride would be unthinkable with rickshaws and bicycles cluttering the streets and alleys, to say nothing of the masses of pedestrians. But today, the streets of Tokyo are as modern as our own, with hardly a trace of the confusion of former days. The Japanese are not given to wild [music] demonstrations or undue outward emotion, as is observed by the lack of interest this car stirs up as it races through the streets, endangering the lives of innocent bystanders on [music] its way to the tower, where the gondola swings suspended with its injured workmen. >> [music] [music] >> We'll see how they make out. Quick, positive thinking on the part of Tokyo [music] Tower's chief construction engineer has saved more than one of his loyal workers from disaster. There is only one action [music] possible now. He directs his men to release the cables holding the gondola in place, [music] enabling it to swing close to the side of the tower. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The two workers need help and are given first aid. Accident or no accident, the work must go on to meet a deadline. >> [music] [music] >> In addition to the natural dangers of making their way along narrow ledges at this height, there is the danger of the elements, the constant strong wind that whips about, threatening to blow them from their narrow perches. They show little concern for their own safety in a high wind. The wind speed is constantly checked, and the workers must compensate for the distortion of this factor. They are more concerned with what it does to their handiwork, fouling up the cables or forcing the counter-balance out of line, necessitating their constant re-aligning them. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> In addition to the gale-like winds that are constantly on hand to slow down the work and menace [music] their lives, Kido and his men face the danger caused by fog. Not that it impairs their visibility, more treacherous than that, it brings with it a dampness that covers the girders with moisture, making them so slippery that every step is filled with danger. >> [music] [music] >> The stage is set for the final step of the operation, the installation of the five-channel television antenna on the very top of the tower. Minute calculations are called for in this undertaking, with Kido and his crew standing by. They'd risk their lives to carry out the engineer's directions. >> [music] >> Notice how nimbly they step from girder to girder, in utter disregard of danger, lending a hand wherever needed, until the counter-balance assures a correctly aligned base for the [music] towering antenna. This is indeed a crucial moment in the construction of Tokyo Tower, which reaches higher than the world-famous Eiffel Tower in Paris. The men leave nothing to chance as they move rapidly up the sides of the tower, checking the progress of the more than 200-ton load that is slowly being raised to the top. One of the miracles in this hazardous operation is that so few objects are dropped accidentally from the heights. This iron bar, for example, is capable of killing a man outright if it landed on his head instead of in the safety net. But they're all instantly alert when the cry goes out that something has dropped, and it's up to each man to duck for cover. >> [music] >> Raising the antenna to the top of the tower [music] is a task of great magnitude, calling for skill and daredevil activity on the part of these steel workers. Swaying in the wind, this massive piece of equipment poses many problems for Kweedo and his crew as they grapple with it, guiding it carefully on its way up, inch by inch. In extreme cases where the job requires, a safety belt is employed, especially when both hands are needed and the footing is precarious. Bolting the antenna in place means that the high construction work is completed. Now that the antenna [music] is securely fixed, Kweedo and his crew must remove the ponderous counter balance. Lowering it to the ground is most risky, straining the [music] cables and machinery to the last pound of their capacity. These men seem to be completely unaware of their dangerous occupation, not because of any mythical faith in the stars, but because [music] they are a hearty race. Down through the ages they have waged a constant war with danger, particularly the havocs caused by eruptions of nature, volcanoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, [music] and frequent typhoons that ravage their land. How long this tower will last in the face of these periodic upheavals is a question the engineers considered. To these fearless workers, the reward for their labor is a conviction [music] that it will last forever. Kweedo and his coworkers have pride in this steel structure. They clamber over it in a way that only a high steel man would risk. >> [music] >> It pleases them to be part of its growth, and when the whistle blows, anything goes in getting down off the tower. Tokyo can now boast of a tower to match the skyscrapers of other lands. Tokyo Tower reaches its steel finger 1,092 ft into the sky. Far across the Pacific, in the heart [music] of Tokyo, Japan, I feel Kweedo can say with simple sincerity, "Danger is my business." We wish to thank Dr. Matsua and the Nippon Television City Corporation for their cooperation in permitting us to photograph on Tokyo Tower. They took a dangerous risk in allowing us up there, and I know they're very happy that we're safely on the ground. So are we. And I hope you'll join me again when I bring you another unusual high adventure on Danger Is My Business. >> [music] [music] [music]