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V7

.KY 1967
H. R. Parfitt, Acting Governor

Frank A. Baldwin

Panama Canal Information Officer

Official Panama Canal Publication Published quarterly at Balboa Heights, C.Z

Printed at the Printing Plant, La Boca, C.Z. Review articles may be reprinted in full or part without

further clearar ce. Credit to the Review will be appreciated.

. . Distributed free of charge to all Panama Canal Employees

Subscriptions, $1 a year; airmail $2 a year; mail and back copies (regular mail), 25 cents each

Robert D. Kerr, Press Officer Publications Editors Morgan E. Goodwin and Tomas A. Cupas

Editorial Assistants Eunice Richard, Tobi Bittel, Fannie P. Hernandez, and Jose T. Tunon

cAoout Our Ctover

THE FACE OF the man on the cover is familiar to thousands of residents of the Isthmus.

Canal Zone Gov. Robert J. Fleming, Jr., has just closed out his career as chief executive for the Panama Canal

organization after a 5-year stay, longer than that of any

predecessor. Before departing Panama to take a highly

responsible position in Florida, Governor Fleming also rang down the curtain on his outstanding military career.

Governor and Mrs. Fleming, both of whom were decorated with Panama's Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa,

will be missed by their friends and acquaintances.

3ndex

Governor Fleming's Legacy 3

Bullfighting 5

Panama Canal Pilots q

Canal History q

Battle of the Bugs iq

Ports of the World 12

Skindiving 24

Shipping Statistics i§

Shipping Trends ig

Anniversaries of)

Shipping Notes £3

Douglas Bomford of Panama City.

February 1967
It was early in Governor Fleming's term when he made this inspection trip of the Canal, which was changing in appearance at the Pacific terminal with the construction of the $20 million Thatcher Ferry Bridge, seen near its completion in the background.

Governor Leaves Job Well Done

To Take Up New Challenge

FIVE YEARS of action and accomplishment—that describes in a phrase

the administration of Canal Zone

Governor Robert J. Fleming, Jr., who

on January 19 left behind him an out- standing record as Governor of the Canal Zone. The Governor goes on to another

challenge, this one in Miami, Fla., where he will take a $30,000 a year post with Interama, the Inter- American Cultural and Commercial

Center being built in Miami. He was

appointed bv Florida Governor Claude

Kirk on January 12 and will direct construction, operations, and mainte- nance of the enterprise.

The 14th man to hold the governorship of the Canal Zone was a man who

promised first to learn—thoroughly,

quickly, and firsthand—what was going on in the organization. He kept that promise and soon things were in high

gear. His office was the only one in the

tropics where "snow-flakes" could be seen—these were the many memos that

kept people hopping to get things done,

to clean up, improve, innovate, plan,

explain, and change.

Governor Fleming was supposed to

retire from the U.S. Army as a Major

General on the 28th of February, 1966. With the lowest serial number in the

line of active Army at that time, he had

given a lifetime of service to his country. But when President Lyndon B. Johnson requested him to continue as Governor, he stayed an additional year. He was awarded the Distinguished

Service Medal, the nation's highest military award for meritorious service, during a joint honor and retirement ceremo- ny at AJbrook AFB. Maj. Gen. Fleming was presented the award by Gen. Robert W. Porter, Jr., Commander-in-Chief,

United States Southern Command.

"When you serve your country

abroad, you should know the people

and the language of the country in which you work," Governor Fleming

had said. His interest in Panama and

Panamanians was intense, and when

he left, his knowledge of the country

matched that of scholars who had

studied it for years. And he could carry on a conversation in Spanish.

The esteem in which he was held bv

Panama was demonstrated when he was decorated with Grand Cross of the Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa. Pres- ident Marco A. Robles made the award

at the Presidential Palace. At the same

ceremony the First Lady, Mrs. Petita Saa de Robles, decorated Mrs. Fleming

with the Order of Vasco Nunez de

Balboa in the Grade of Grand Officer. He wanted better understanding, and

this theme was carried out in his un- counted trips into Panama City and

towns in the Interior. He went to fairs, special events, conferences, and carnival functions. He spoke to numerous

groups and unless duty interfered, he was always available to the press. Panama Canal employees, a major

responsibilitv of the Governor, were

always close to his thoughts. He was

(See p. 4)

The Panama Canal Review
cAccomplidhment

3d J^eyacy of

(governor Fleming,

(Continued from p. 3)

insistent that they should not suffer because of political relations between

the two nations—matters over which

they have no direction. To insure continued Canal operation, the Governor said, "requires the loyal

work of dedicated people who now

operate the Canal. These people will be needed for many years to come." He particularly emphasized this to all officials involved in negotiations with

the Republic of Panama, and as a result guarantees were issued in a joint state- ment by the President of the United

States and the President of Panama on September 24, 1965. Governor Fleming spelled out his theme early. There would be changes,

he said. A wide viewpoint and an open

mind, he counseled, are important. He

discussed the duty of every American

to raise his sights and mind to meet the

future, and laid the emphasis on human

values. "They are the important ones," he said. Within 2 years of taking office, he was faced with a major crisis in the January 1964 events. He maintained

Canal operations, and when calm was

restored he spared no effort in stim- ulating cooperation in official life, social events, and community events where

progress could be made. He thanked

both Panamanian and U.S. employees

for their restraint and forbearance. Governor Fleming helped direct organization of the sea-level canal

studies. He also brought to a conclusion several programs already in progress, including the $20 million Thatcher Ferry Bridge over the Canal at Balboa, construction of Gorgas Hospital

Annex, and placing into operation new

towing locomotives and a new traffic control system. One of his last official acts was the awarding of the contract

for widening from 300 to 500 feet the

last 3 miles of Gaillard Cut. He initiated many projects and nearly every area of Canal operation was

affected. By 1966 the average ship was

spending 13.8 hours in Canal waters, compared to 15.5 in 1962. This saves shipping interests money, and they

saved much more when draft was

increased by 2 feet by removal of batters from locks, removal of unused

A good will embrace. Panama's President Marco A. Robles congratulates Governor Fleming

after decorating him with the Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa during a ceremony at the

Presidential Palace. At the right is Panama's First Lady, Sra. Petita Saa de Robles, who

decorated Mrs. Fleming.

emergency dams, and other technical improvements.

Deep draft experiments continued,

and recently the San Juan Merchant

broke a record when it moved through

the locks at 40 feet, the deepest draft on record in the Canal. Fiscal year 1962 saw 12,106 ships use the Canal; by 1966 that had risen to 13,304,

with the increased traffic handled by

fewer employees.

The Personnel Bureau was reorganized. Employment and promotion opportunities for qualified Panamanians were increased. The Learnership and

expanded Apprentice programs are proving very successful, and an office

trainee program operates for high

school and business school students

in Panama. Students from the University of Panama are gaining work experience in their professions in another

program which allows them to continue at the University. The Panamanian Student Assistant program was

launched, and has been expanded.

Civic Councils were supported by

Governor Fleming, who met with them

regularly. He also appointed a Community Relations Assistant from the

Latin American communities to serve on his staff. A social worker program was launch- (See p. 17)

February 1967
JSullring, LxaltA

cArty Valor, Qlory,

SOME CALL bullfighting a sport, others compare it with

the ballet and many consider it a compelling spectacle

which, at its best, combines stirring music, almost hypnotic grace, brilliant costumes and undeniable courage

and daring.

It is not simply an armed man, with superior intelli- gence, pitted against a hapless beast, aficionados (fans)

contend; rather it is the torero (bullfighter) matched

against himself, testing just how close he will work to the

bull's horns to please the crowd.

In all probability, bullfighting is not the exclusive claim

of Spain but in the Spanish speaking countries it has

received those embellishments and support that make it the attraction it is today.

The history of bullfighting can be traced as far back as prehistoric Crete, and imperial Rome, where Julius

Caesar imported men from the Iberian peninsula. Today

the bullfight, or corrida, is found not only in Madrid, and

other major cities of Spain but also the capitals of Spanish

America. During patron saint days one

can see primitive—frequently hilariousbullfights in remote villages of Panama

and nations to the north and south. Southern France and parts of Italy

have bullfights. Portugal also is famous

for the corrida but law prohibits killing the bull in the Portuguese rings. In southern California and Texas sizable audiences have turned out to watch

bloodless bullfighting.

Six bulls are dispatched bv three

toreros during a corrida which officially begins with the colorful grand entrance

of the procession of participants. The

torero, picadores, peons and others, each

with his own appropiate uniform, is called the paseillo.

The resplendent torero, or matador,

is the most striking with short jacket,

waistcoat, knee length, skin tight trousers of silk and satin elaborately embroidered with gold and silver, dress cape

also beautifullv embroidered, coral pink

stockings, black, kneeless slippers and

black, semispherical hat, the montera. The banderilleros wear similar uniforms

but without the gold embroidery.

The procession goes across the arena

(See p. 21)

With the sword in his right hand, torero uses muleta to lead the charging bull inches past his body during the execution of a "natural."

•sr

Grimacing, Spanish torero Victoriano Valencia appears to have his eyes on the horns of his adversary during a corrida in Panama City.

The Panama Canal Review
Panama Canal

Pilots: They

Take Command

THERE'S NOTHING provincial about

a Panama Canal pilot. He is able to give steering orders in Greek, French,

Spanish, and Italian, and some can give

these instructions in 10 languages.

He meets Masters and crews of thousands of foreign-flag vessels which

transit the Panama Canal annually, and

Panama Canal pilots take in their stride compliments on their diplomacy, tact, and skill. Ten pilots were on the Panama Canal

roster in August 1914 and the Captain

of the Port, Balboa, said he believed

"it will not be practicable to put more

than three ships through daily, north- bound. And if it takes a pilot 48 hours

to complete this duty, it would require

six pilots as a minimum to perform this work."

A thousand ships a month broke

transit records the past year. Today's

pilot roster lists 138, the peak figure in

pilot force in Canal history. Transits

of vessels of sizes unheard of a decade

ago have more than doubled, and continued efficient operation in the Canal

requires constant efforts to develop better means and more effective procedures

for transiting vessels expeditiously from

deep water to deep water. Transit time in fiscal year 1966 has been cut

to about 10 hours, and the Canal now

is in operation 'round the clock. The

pilot force, besides providing enough

pilots to handle current traffic, must

allow, too, for anticipated retirements

and take care of traffic increases fore- seen in the future. The Panama Canal

is now planning to increase its staff to 156 pilots. The Panama Canal pilot shares a time-honored heritage with pilots of other maritime nations, and fills a role unparalleled in the world. The pilot's role in world shipping, and the necessity for pilot services, are recognized

and appreciated by all who know the hazards of navigating ships in confined

waters. The pilot has responsibility for insuring the safety of the vessel. The Panama Canal is the only place

in the world where, in accordance with

applicable regulations, the pilot who

If ^m •• 7 "

Going up ... or down a ship s ladder is all part of a day's work for Panama Canal pilot. 1 he Panama Canal is the only place in the world where, in accordance with applicable

regulations, the pilot who boards a vessel in Canal waters assumes full responsibility for the movement and navigation of the vessel.

boards a vessel in Panama Canal waters assumes full responsibility for the move- ment and navigation of the vessel. With the increase in size of vessels since World War II, the work of the Panama

Canal pilot has become an even more

demanding art. Panama Canal pilots have a tremendous sense of pride in their job, know

they have to perform at peak, and have

a deep interest in the Canal operation.

One of the proud possessions of the Panama Canal is a scroll dated 1943,

at a prisoner of war camp at Marlag

and Milag Nord, Germany, which states that the Master Mariners who affixed their signatures to the scroll have, "during enforced leisure in Germany, held

many discussions on the subject of the

world's greatest engineering achieve- ments and unanimously agree that the Panama Canal ... is one of the greatest." In addition, the scroll says, the Master Mariners agreed that this is the most efficient organization of its kind

and they placed on record their appreciation and gratitude to the Panama

Canal pilots for their efficiency, courtesy, and reliability in providing a safe and swift passage through this strategic

waterway.

Panama Canal pilots represent many

areas of the United States and their wives, one pilot pointed out, could make

up a small United Nations. Four of the

pilots brought Japanese wives to the Zone and many, in his or her own

way, make a significant contribution to community life. Nearly all the Panama Canal pilots are family men. One of the advantages

of holding a pilot position in the Canal

Zone is that they are able to live ashore with their families and see their children reared.

Schooling, although thousands of miles from continental United States,

is no problem. The Canal Zone has an excellent school system, from kinder- garten through Canal Zone College.

Pilots mav live in Panama City if they

wish, and there they may choose from

any number of attractive single homes

or apartments. In the Canal Zone newly

arriving employees may expect to start their residence in the older type houses,

because assignment to housing is made

on the basis of seniority of service with

the Canal organization. New employees

generally are assigned off-the-gro'und

frame houses built between 1935 and

1943. Some of these contain four apart- ments and others 12 apartments.

Most Panama Canal pilots are professional sea-going men. Some attended

academies directly after completing

high school, and then went to sea. Others went to sea, in the fo'c'sle, as

February 1967
seamen and progressed to deck officer ranks. The Canal Zone is particularly con- ducive to developing hobbies, or to carrying out a pet hobby. Usually when

a pilot takes up a hobby he excels in it. Panama Canal pilots hold trophies as champion marksmen. There are pilots

who have studied art and are engravers; pilots who are qualified as divers;

pilots who were salvage masters before

they came to work as apprentice pilots;

pilots who have distinguished themselves for community service as ham

radio operators; and pilots who have

piloted planes, and still do. Of the latter, Capt. Irving G. Hay treasures his plane pilot license as signed by Orville Wright. Captain Hay was a commercial

pilot in the pioneering days and at one

time was with an airline in Peru. Pilots

in the early Canal days even gave auto

drivers' tests. The theory then was, apparently, that if a man could operate

a ship, he certainly could drive a car. Pilots on a busman's holiday build

boats. They may be seen on the beautiful golf courses of the Isthmus, when

their work schedules permit, and they

are expert at refinishing furniture and

helping add the special touches that make their living quarters more attractive. A number of pilots are authorities

as collectors, from antique guns to coins,

and are active in fraternal and community life. For 9 years the Panama

Canal pilots sponsored two Sea Scout

ships but for lack of time, when the Panama Canal transit operation went

on a 24-hour day, turned ships and

treasury over to the Navy.

The Panama Canal pilots have their own Canal Zone Pilots Association,

Local 30 of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, char- tered in 1920. The original Panama

Canal Pilots Association was organized

50 years ago in 1916. The purpose of the association is the improvement of economic status of members, and elevation of their professional standing. The

association supports all measures that have for their objective the upbuilding

of the profession, promotes advanta- geous legislation and work rules and

regulations favorable to the pilots. The Canal pilots have their own

blood bank, own legal assistance for the

association, and their consideration ex- tends even to having a portable tele- vision set at each terminal of the Isth- mus for use of the pilot or member of

his family who may be hospitalized.

The Panama Canal pilots, highly

skilled, well-trained intensely professional men, have a record of safety unsurpassed anywhere in the maritime

world. The basic reasons for this are (See p. 8)

A Panama Canal pilot at home: Capt. Theodore F. Jablonski (center) holds Kathleen, who was 2 years of age on September 18. At

left is Mrs. Jablonski and at right is Mary Lou, 5. Seated, in front, from left: Stephen Douglas, 6; Michael, 4; and Brian who was 3 on

July 22. Stephen is enrolled in the second grade at St. Mary's Parochial School and Mary Lou started classes there when school opened

in September.

The Panama Canal Review
Qualifications Are

High for PC Pilots

(Continued from p. 7) the high qualifications and excellent

caliber of men selected for pilots-intraining.

Qualifications for the job of Panama

Canal pilot always have been high.

From the day the Panama Canal was

opened in 1914, qualifications were

rigidly set. A pilot candidate was re- quired to hold a U.S. Coast Guard

master's license as "Master of any

ship, any^ tonnage, on any ocean," have

7% years' deck officer dutv prior to his 35th birthday and experience aboard

a maritime ship for 1 year as master.

In recent years the Panama Canal organization amended these qualifications.

Today a U.S. Coast Guard master's li- cense is required, but only 1 year of service on ship as chief mate and no

experience as master, although master's experience is still desirable. The minimum requirements for a Panama Canal

pilot today are that he will not have

reached his 40th birthday at the time

of employment as pilot-in-training by

the Canal organization. He must hold

a license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard as master of steam or motor

vessels, any gross tons, any ocean, and have served at least 6 months

as chief mate (or master) of ocean, steam or motor vessels of 1,000 gross

tons or over. Prior to receiving his license as pilot, he must pass prescribed

examinations. Upon successful completion of a 19-month formal training period and examinations, he is presented an unrestricted license as pilot, Panama

Canal, and promotion to the pay grade

of Pilot, Qualified, Step 1. The most

significant change is the establishment

of two limited license levels of experi- ence between pilot-in-training and pilotqualified.

A pilot-in-training is paid approximately $12,000 annually for a minimum

of 4 months.

A pilot is paid $15,617. After 3 years'

service, through periodic step increases he receives $17,915.70. Top salary is $20,980.60. For piloting in excess of 40 hours a week, they receive time and one-half

as overtime and additional compensation for work at night, on Sundavs and

holidays.

Many years of training and tradition are behind the Panama Canal pilots. In four families in the Canal Zone a son followed in his pilot father's footsteps. The Panama Canal's second

generation pilots are Capt. Sidney W.

Peterson, son of Capt. W. Z. H. Peterson; Capt. T. C. Makibbin, son of Capt. H. S. Makibbin; Capt. J. L. McDaniel,

son of Capt. A. R. McDaniel; and Capt'

John J. Connard, Jr., son of Capt. John J. Connard. In the latter family, an uncle,

Thomas Connard, also was a Panama

Canal pilot. Besides the father-son pilot combinations, the Canal roster also has identical twin pilots, Capt. Albert L. Wilder and

Capt. Arthur T. Wilder.

CAPT. R. J. WESLEY

President of the International Organization

of Masters, Mates, and Pilots, Local 30.

CAPT. IRVING C. HAY

Whose license as plane pilot was signed by Orville Wright, was a commercial pilot in the pioneer days of aviation.

S February 1967
CANAL HISTORY

50 yearJ cAao

NEW RECORDS for passage through

the Canal were set in December, 1916,

when the steamship Balboa made the

transit in a total of 6 hours and 25

minutes. The vessel entered from the

Pacific at 11:35 a.m. Sunday, December 3, and reached Cristobal at 6 p.m. On the same day the vessel Cauca made

the transit in 7 hours and 9 minutes and

the San Juan in 8 hours and 5 minutes.

The Panama Canal Record remarked,

however, that all these ships were

relatively small and were the only

vessels going northbound on that day.

The largest motorship to use the Panama Canal made the transit south- bound December 22, 1916. She was

the George Washington of the NorwayPacific Line, operated by Fred Olsen. which was under charter to the U.S. Government to carry coal from

Norfolk to Tiburon. With a length of 445 feet and a 55-foot beam, she was

the largest motorship to use the Canal

up to that time. She was carrying, on

her first trip, 9,121 tons of coal. As a result of the improved condition of the channel in the Cut, dredging on Sundavs and holidays was dis- continued beginning December 3. 1916,

according to the Panama Canal Record.

Continuous work. Sundays and holi- days included, three shifts a day, had

been carried on steadily since June 1, 1915, when trouble with the east and

west Culebra slides became imminent.

25 y[earJ c4ao

FOLLOWING THE attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Navy on December 7 and the U.S. declaration

of war, the Canal Zone went on a war

footing 25 years ago. In one of his first press conferences, Lt. Gen. Frank M

Andrews said that immediate evacuation from the Canal Zone of women,

children and non-essential males was

not being contemplated at present,

since it was felt generally that the war

situation did not warrant it. The following day there was a report

that a Japanese fleet was sailing for the Panama area and the first genuine air raid warning was sounded. This proved

to be a case of mistaken identity. Zone

and Panama blackouts were pronounc- ed a partial success. Citizens in the Canal Zone began a series of civil defense meetings to discuss air raids, blackouts, volunteer work, and air raid

shelters. The U.S. Armv issued rules

for censorship affecting letters, tele- phone calls and conversation in public

places. The Superintendent of Store- house and Oil Handling Plants issued

instructions to discontinue the sale of

tire casings and tubes for private

automobiles.

By December 13, the Governor of the Canal Zone, Glen E. Edgerton, said

that there was no good reason to fear an immediate attack on the Canal Zone. The opportunitv for a surprise attack on the Panama Ganal was gone, he said.

tO yearJ c4go

BOTH TOLLS and traffic through the Panama Canal during November 1956 were lower than for the previous

month but higher than the corresponding month a year ago. The total of 654

oceangoing ships was 45 less than the previous month and the decline was

blamed on the shipping strike which

paralvzed east coast and gulf ports

in the United States. The billionth ton of cargo rode

through the Panama Canal December

12, 1956, stowed in the holds of the

U.S. flag steamship Edward Luckenhach. The milestone was marked by

one of the most festive transits in the

history of Canal operations. During

the 9 hours and 2 minutes the ship was

in Canal waters, the "billionth ton"

vessel received official tribute, salutes, and cheers. It was one of the few occasions in the waterway's history in which

all ships in Canal waters were invited

to dress ship.

Two 60-cvcle generating units, the

first major powerplant units to be completed under the Panama Canal power

conversion project, were placed in regular operation at the Gatun Hydroelectric Station early in October 1956. A third and fourth were to follow in 3 months. The completion of these

first generating units under three separate contracts, in addition to work

by the Panama Canal forces, was another milestone in the extensive power

conversion program then in progress.

One IJear cAao

WEATHER WAS being discussed as usual 1 vear ago in the Canal Zone. For the first time in 13 months of un- precedented drv weather, the Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch

issued a warning on November 12, that spillway operations at Gatun and Madden Lakes might become necessary at any time. Heavy rains during the first part of November brought the elevations of Gatun and Madden Lake to a point where it might become necessary

to open the spillway gates. As late as October 22, 1965, the

level of the two lakes was a matter of concern to Panama Canal engineers.

Gatun Lake hovered around the 84.50

foot mark, approximately 2 feet below its level at the same time the vear before and nearly 3 feet below

maximum. Madden Lake stood at 232 feet, or more than 11 feet below

the previous year and 20 feet below

maximum.

It may look old fashi"ned now, but in 1936 it was the latest thing in home economics.

It went by the title of "Foods Laboratory" and the girls pictured here were students at Balboa High School, learning the domestic arts that they are practicing today as mothers,

cr maybe even as grandmothers.

The Panama Canal Review
Mosquito Hunters Stalk

Disease on the Wing

"HUNTERS" ARMED with weapons

resembling a Buck Rogers ray gun

recently began making twilight trips to a rural Canal Zone area where game is abundant and there's no bag limit. The "hunters" are associated with

what is called the Club 22-14, taken from the serial number of the railroad

utility pole marking the area, about

22 miles south of Colon near Darien.

Actually, they are not sportsmen

but serious-minded scientists collecting

specimens of mosquitoes, both the

disease vectors and the less harmful

but annoying pest varieties.

James P. MacLaren, chief of the

Sanitation Division, organizes the trips

to orient new personnel, military associates and interested individuals. They

arrive at the chosen site about dusk

carrying vacuum suction guns that

collect mosquitoes as efficiently as a vacuum cleaner picks lint from a carpet. Some use the old mouth-held mosquito aspirators, glass tubes with rubber

pipes for snapping up the mosquitoes.

A screen protects the collector from in- haling the mosquitoes into his mouth.

MacLaren explains that these trips allow him and his companions to observe and evaluate the jungle surroundings, especially the mosquito situation by studying the density and species of mosquitoes present. "At 6:30 there are no mosquitoes," MacLaren says. "But

in 5 or 10 minutes they seem to rise out

of the jungle" in great quantities.

"Any individual who remains in a mosquito-free townsite inside the Canal

Zone can't really know the mosquito

situation or be able to combat them

unless he goes outside, into the jungle,"

MacLaren contends. Club "members" wear heavy clothing

and use insect repellent to protect themselves against bites. Because of these precautions, MacLaren discounts the danger of contracting malaria as a result of these field trips. Mosquitoes are collected by the Sanitation Division also by means of light

traps and horse traps set in townsite

locations throughout the Canal Zone. The insects are attracted to the traps

by the light or by a live horse, but once

inside thev can't find their way out. Information derived from the various

collections is correlated with the time

of the year, temperature, humidity,

rainfall and other factors. This data is plotted on mosquito indice graphs so that corrective action, such as stepped

up spraying or issuing alerts, may be

taken promptly.

The most striking pattern illustrated by these graphs is that a greater mosquito density is noted during the rainy

season, May to December, when more

watery breeding grounds are available. For example, the Northern Sanitation Area, using light traps four nights

weekly reported catching a record high

of 23,601 mosquitoes in April 1963. Normally a weekly catch is about 100. This record was set at a time when the

Canal Zone, particularly the Atlantic

side, was invaded by Aedes taenior- hynchus, a pest insect sometimes refer- red to as the 25-mile mosquito because

of its flight range. Most mosquitoes are not nearly as mobile and usually travel

less than a mile. The Canal Zone's vast mosquito

eradication program was originated by

Dr. William C. Gorgas whose first hand

experience with yellow fever and malaria in Cuba prepared him for his term

of duty during Canal construction days.

The ravages of these two diseases had

cost thousands of lives to the French in their unsuccessful attempt to build the Canal and later to the Americans. Until Gorgas had absolute authority to launch

his all-out war against mosquitoes, the death rate continued to mount.

Melvin Boreham, Division of Sanitation medical entomologist, picks off mosquitoes with his gun, from the arm of Claude Allen, Division of Sanitation Inspector, during Club 22-14

meeting.

10 February 1967
The results of his tremendous campaign to wipe out the insects and their breeding places stand as testimony to

his skill and determination. In 1906

there were 821 cases of malaria per

1,000 employees; in 1913, thanks to Gorgas, there were only 76 per 1,000.

The scope of the Sanitation Division program is broad and the cost is high

($450,000 in 1966), almost 90 percent

of which goes for personnel. The Canal

Zone's remarkably low level of mosquito

and general insect population despite the ideal natural conditions has earned

recognition from afar.

Citv managers and other officials of

local governments in the United States frequently request the Division of Sanitation to send informational help to

solve their mosquito problems. The

concise, factual replies do not include

broad information covering what must

be done continuously here to inhibit the growth of the insect population.

Drainage ditches must be maintained,

swamps sprayed with larvicide, DDT

and keresone, harboring places cleared

of underbrush, insecticidal fogging and

insecticidal residual applications carried

out. Blood smears are taken regularly

from all land licensees in the Canal

Zone. Countless other tasks must be

repeated.

If these were neglected or curtailed, the menace of yellow fever and malaria

would again sweep the Canal Zone. Without the appropriate maintenance

measures, in and around Canal Zone

townsites, the jungle populations would move in. These populations would include

disease vectors and such pests as mosquitoes, cockroaches, bats, snakes and

other unwanted creatures from the nearby tropical environment.

Medical entomologist Melvin Boreham of the Division of Sanitation demonstrates the highly

efficient mosquito gun used to collect specimens. Developed in California by Richard C. Husbands and Jim Holten of the Bureau of Vector Control, California Department of Public

Health, the gun is a portable vacuum device that sucks the insects into a detachable tube. Using this method, the scientist can pick mosquitoes off himself as he would pieces of lint from his clothing.

MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT

Two simplified versions of mosquito indices charted by the Sanitation Division. The graph on the left covering the Northern Sanitation Area on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus shows a sharp rise in the total mosquito count in April 1963 when there was a record high influx ot Aedes taeniorhvnchus, a pest insect nicknamed the 25-mile mosquito because of its flight range. The graph to the right shows the Southern

Sanitation Area, on the Pacific side, during the same year. The high in the Southern District was in June when the weekly count rose to 1,000 compared with the Northern District's April high of 23,601. The more comprehensive charts of the Sanitation Division include such

items as humidity, temperature and disease vectors as well as total mosquito count.

The Panama Canal Review 11
Tokyo's Port

Undergoing

Facelifting

WITH A burgeoning national merchant

fleet that is already one of the world's

largest, it follows that Japan must

provide vast, up-to-date port facilities to accommodate the vessels and their accompanving needs. Tokyo, having a population of 10

million and a multitude of growing

industries, is the country's leading pro- ducing and consuming center. And as an "import excess" port handles more

than 25 million tons of cargo each year, the larger part of which is consumer

goods.

To meet the challenge of the future, the Port of Tokyo is in the midst of an immense, 10-year construction plan that began in 1961 and will cost approximately a third of a billion dollars. Financed chiefly from bond issues, the Revised Port of Tokyo has two major

objectives:

to create 22,400,000 square meters

of land reclaimed from the sea in order

to construct an international port pro- vided with facilities capable of functions three times those of the present

ones; and to realize a "redevelopment"

of the city in order to eliminate a traffic jam and various other obstacles arising

from the city. The Port of Tokyo will handle up to 47.5 million tons of cargo annually after the ambitious plan is completed.

Overall responsibility of the Port of Tokyo is that of the Tokyo Metropolitan

Government but the Bureau of Port and Harbor is the organization that administers these affairs through its 1,100-member staff serving 5 divisions, 2 branches and 22 separate sections. Some of the functions of the administrators of the port are: designation of berths; provision of tugboats and water

supply; cleaning the port area; administration and management of mooring

facilities, cranes, public sheds, stevedoring offices and stevedoring equipment

installations and of welfare facilities. The port is located at the farthest end of Tokyo Bay in about the central part of the Japanese archipelago at the

eastern tip of the Pacific belt zone.

A view of just one part of the Port of Tokyo. Note procession of ships at top of photograph.

The steamer lane runs for more than

3.75 miles with a waterway 665 feet wide and 32 feet deep, extending into the port from the Tokyo light boat sta- tioned some 12 nautical miles off the

Port of Yokohama. Shore facilities consist of 6 wharves equipped to accom- modate two 20,000-GT class passenger

ships and 10,000 DWT-class ships with

modern stevedoring facilities, port sheds,

port railway freight lines, roads, timber

basins and shipyards. Towing, water

supply, piloting, ship passage and communication services are carried on by

the Port of Tokyo.

Five minutes by car from the Ginza, Tokyo's leading shopping center,

is Harumi Wharf, a foreign trade wharf capable of handling two 20,000-

GT class cargo-passenger ships, eight

10,000-DWT class ships and one 2,000-

DWT class vessel.

The wharf is divided into public

sundries and exclusive purpose special

goods. The sundry goods berth boasts

eight 5-ton traveling cranes, sheds and

warehouses while the exclusive purpose

berth is used for unloading wheat,

marine products and cement. Behind

the berths are modern factories where

wheat is made into flour and processed

marine products are frozen and stored. The Toyosu Wharf, diagonally opposite the Harumi Wharf, handles the landing of coal, iron-steel products,

heavy oil, liquefied gas and similar materials. Here there are modern steve- doring facilities, including four bridge

type cranes for landing coal, four other cranes exclusively for landing iron and

steel and special cranes and movable

conveyors for the gas and power plants.

The nucleous of domestic trade in sundry goods is formed by Takeshiba,

12 February 1967
Hinode and Shibaura, the first wharves

built in the Port of Tokyo. Takeshiba

Wharf is used also as a berth for steamers plying between Tokyo, Oshima,

Mivake and Hachijo Island. These

wharves can accommodate 15 3.000- 6,000 ton ships simultaneously for stevedoring operations.

More than 40 percent of Japan's

imports of timber and lumber-from

the Philippines, North Borneo, the United States and other countriespasses through the Port of Tokyo and

is the fourth largest of all goods handled

here. At the Shinagawa Wharf a foreign trade pier is being built following the

construction of a domestic trade quay. The plans call for 3 berths of 6,000 tons

of domestic trade goods and 6 berths

for 15,000 tons of foreign trade goods.

Japan's oldest shipyard, also at the

Port of Tokyo, has a capacity for repairing more than a million GT of ships

and for building 130,000 GT of ships

a year. Japan leads the world both in the

registrv and building of the new

giant ships-those of 100,000-DWT and

above. One of these is the Tokyo Maru,

a huge tanker of 150,000-DWT which

is so highly automated that she needs

a crew of only 29 men. Another new

giant to slide down the ways recently was the Idemitsu Maru, an even larger tanker of 205,000 deadweight tons.

The wheat wharf where stevedoring operations are being carried out. Wheat is sucked up

by pipe and sent into the silo at the extreme left.

The Central Wholesale Market and the shipyard where work is being carried out on the construction of a ship.

The Panama Canal Review 13
CANAL ZONE residents are joining the international migration to the dreamy, dazzling world of underwater.

Skin diving, the passport to exploring

the deep, has come a long way from

the days when the only equipment consisted of poorly fitting goggles. Aided

by fins, face mask and snorkel or air tank, the diver can safely explore the ocean in search of fish to spear, shells

to collect or just to sightsee in one of man's beautiful last frontiers. Documentary films and books, particularly those by French underwater

expert

J. Y. Cousteau, and newlyacquired technical knowledge have

touched off an explosion of underwater

interest. Periodicals dealing exclusively

with skindiving are read widely and

vast new industries are busy developing better paraphernalia for a growing

market.

In the United States alone, there are an estimated 8 million skin divers. South and Central America, Asia, Africa

and Europe all have their great flocks of faithful. Here in Panama, with its two inviting

coastlines, skindiving has logically

"caught on." In the Canal Zone, where

many residents are for the first time

Balboa YMCA

Offers Key to

Silent World

living in the tropics, all water sports are immensely popular.

Innumerable accidents, some of them

fatal, marred the earlv emergence of skindiving as a sport. Imprudent beginners cast caution aside and reached out

for every exhilaration the sport could

offer, regardless of the risk. A mounting accident toll pointed

up the need for a responsible group to take over teaching SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus)

diving and free diving, which involves use of fins and face mask with, or without, a snorkel attachment for breathing

while the swimmer is just inches under

the surface.

In 1956, the YMCA was selected as the group to teach the sport and all the

safety precautions. The "Y," with its pools and lake dotted camps, teaches hundreds of persons a year to enjoy

diving with the utmost pleasure but

with a minimum of hazards. YMCA

SCUBA certificates are issued to those who attend classes and complete

courses set up by the organization. Because skindiving is popular year round here, both teenagers and adults can earn SCUBA certificates at Balboa,

unlike the usual practice of restricting

this to the adults while admitting the young set only to free diving classes. Instruction at the Balboa YMCA is giving by Abelardo "Chico" de la Lastra, a nationally qualified instructor and

himself an alumnus of the "Y." The

25-hour course costs $30 and includes

provision of all needed equipment, a

trip to open water at the conclusion of the course and cost of certification. This program is a sport diving course and does not include salvage work,

underwater welding and similar commercial type activities. The novice

diver is taught diving physiology, chemistry of oxygen and how to avoid oxygen

**" "*" *" 8*SBtaiS= &SZS&ZZttttZtzttS.'- ——- -

14 February 1967
and carbon dioxide poisoning and

nitrogen narcosis. The latter, also known as "rapture of the deep," is highly dangerous because

it gives the diver a drunken, lightheaded

feeling that may prompt him to discard

his face mask and be on the brink of drowning without knowing or, in his condition, even caring.

A trained diver free from acute sinus,

respiratory, ear or heart problems and

who complies with established safety standards is unlikely to encounter difficulties he can't handle. New students must get physical check-ups before

enrolling in the course. "They also have to know how to swim ... not like an expert but well enough to be able to handle themselves

in deep water without SCUBA equipment," Chico points out. Much of the SCUBA training is devoted to learning the characteristics

of underwater pressure. Some physicians recommend a depth limit of 30

feet for beginning skin divers, 100 feet

for SCUBA divers after adequate train- ing and a maximum of 130 feet for expert SCUBA divers. The duration of submersion and the speed of ascent as

well as depth are factors that must be

taken into consideration. Pressure increases by one atmosphere every 33 feet

of descent. Buddy breathing-two persons using

only one air tank-hand signals, recovery work, search patterns and consider- able theory are covered in this safetyemphasized course. Use of various types

of spear guns, masks and other equipment is explained. Chico says he also teaches his charges "what to avoid

when diving; fire coral, for example,

can give you a painful sting if you

should brush against it."

Mobile marine life-sharks, barracuda

and moray eels-is of a great, perhaps

undue, concern to novice divers. In his book, "Basic SCUBA," Fred M. Roberts

savs: "All potentially dangerous marine

life should be kept under surveillance when vou find vourself with them. Look

for trouble and you may find it."' Many

experienced SCUBA divers contend that most marine life is not dangerous unless provoked.

The course entails considerable swimming to acquaint the student with proper kick techniques using fins. De la Lastra throws in self-devised drills to develop well qualified SCUBA divers.

For example, to instill confidence in themselves, he sends them to the bot- tom of the training pool and has them

(See p. 16)

Underwater photographer Tony Mann, chief of the Panama Canal's Civil Engineering Branch,

looks at the birdie while another SCUBA diver snaps his picture.

Mrs. Anna Mann reaches down for a brain coral to add to her extensive collection.

The Panama Canal Review 15
Club Outings Part

Of Local Diving Fun

(Continued from p. 15)

take off their fins, air tank, face mask

and air hose. Thev surface for a gulp

of air and return to the bottom to don

the equipment underwater.

In a "black water diving" exercise,

he gives them face masks with black

painted, opaque glass to discourage div- ing in murky waters which can create dangers not present when visibility

is good.

Some students are slower than others adapting to breathing underwater. The

regulator, the heart of any SCUBA outfit, provides air onlv on demand, when

the user inhales through the rubber

mouthpiece. An occasional beginner must pinch his nose to force himself to breathe through the mouth until he

becomes acclimated to the svstem. Upon successful completion of the

course, the newly-qualified SCUBA

diver can join the Balboa Diving Club

which is registered with the National

Council of YMCA's, Skin Diver Magazine and Universal-International Skin

Divers Association. Members of the club carry on more

advanced phases of open water diving

from the Sea Scout ship Argonaut, a 56-footer that club members use for about three trips a month, two for local diving excursions within 25 miles of Balboa. Once a month they go further out to such places as the Las Perlas

Islands for overnight trips, returning

with baskets of fish and lobster. The past April, the Balboa Diving

Club and the Club de Pesca Submarina

of Panama City co-sponsored a spear

fishing tournament that attracted a large

turnout. Participants landed some out- standing gamesters but the competitors were limited to free diving. Another

tournev is scheduled for this year. The basic equipment for the SCUBA

diver including face mask, regulator,

air tank, fins and knife can be purchased

for about $115. Wet suits, more elab- orate gear and such accessories as underDown and under. A diver goes below with

his face mask, air tank strapped to his back and fins on his feet. It looks like he left his spear gun behind . . . but maybe this time he just wanted to explore.

water cameras can run into several hundreds of dollars for the diver with

the funds and inclination.

Between dives, spearfishermen ready their gear for the next A satisfied SCUBA diver emerges from the water after spearing

plunge below. himself a fair sized catch.

16 February 1967
He Opened

Canal to

Visitors

(Continued from p. 4)

ed and old age assistance increased. There were 4,000 non-U.S. citizens who left Canal service before there were laws to give them retirement

benefits. In 1962, CARE food allot- ments were started for this group. The Governor set up a recreation council and appointed a special services

officer to manage new boat ramps

and picnic areas, and he brought

Summit Gardens into its own as a Canal

Zone attraction. Out of concern for workers' health, the Industrial Health Program was

started under the Division of Preventive Medicine and Quarantine. It works through inspections, tests, conferences, and meetings with employees. The Governor also established the Division of Mental Health under the

Health Bureau, bringing together for maximum use the services and resources

of both Gorgas and Corozal Hospitals.

Under Governor Fleming, the Police Force was expanded, gained in mobility, and improved communications.

Panamanian policemen were hired

under a new program and there are many now on the force. Fire protection increased, too, as more companies were formed and nearly all the old equipment replaced.

To meet the increase in school

enrollment, new teachers were hired

and a school plant expansion program

carried out to provide more classrooms. "When I got here the Canal discour- aged visitors," Governor Fleming had

said. His imprint is strong here—he

initiated the Guide Service and the

pavilions for visitors at Miraflores and

Gatun, and he introduced the popular

cruise boats Las Cruces and Reina Manuelito. Mancha and Gato, the burritos

that small fry love to ride, were

given to the children of the Isthmus by

the Governor and former Ambassador

Joseph Farland. When the Panama Canal observed

its 50th Anniversary in 1964, Governor

Fleming hosted a luncheon for former

governors, Panama and Canal Zone

officials. He canceled the first stamps

of a special issue commemorating the event and presented to dignitaries

copies of the 50th Anniversary book

published to coincide with the occasion. A silver 50th Anniversary medalMrs. Fleming accepts a bouquet of roses from a member of the Canal Zone Girl Scouts

of which she was Honorary President. The Canal Zone's First Lady took an active part in various projects and gave her patronage to several others during her 5 years here.

lion was struck to mark the historic date. Oldtimers were invited, and honored with the dedication of a plaque

imbedded in a rock monument unveiled

in front of the Administration Building.

Governor Fleming cast the mold for the present Information Office organization. He guided establishment of the weekly Sptiltvay, and news output was

accelerated. Public relations functions were expanded and to aid visitors there

are even points of interest signs posted

throughout the Canal Zone, another of

his ideas. During his 5-year administration, the

payroll jumped from $60 to $83 million. Labor cost increases pushed up the bill for housing maintenance but much of

this was absorbed, causing only moderate rent increases. Food prices, close

to everyone's thoughts, were put on a base that ties Canal Zone prices to those charged in New Orleans supermarkets.

Under this arrangement, the housewife was assured of some price stability. And over the years, Governor

Fleming welcomed hundreds of officials, diplomats, journalists, and VIPs

from a hundred countries. He participated in numerous ceremonies, gave

coundess talks and speeches, and

traveled to and from the States many

times. Still, he kept pace with a heavy

schedule of official functions. Governor Fleming has been both

inquisitive and well informed. He look- ed problems in the eye and was most

pleased when, he was getting them

solved, because most of all, he was a man who got results, a man of action.

The Panama Canal Review 17
CANAL COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC BY NATIONALITY OF VESSELS
No price has been quoted for the Panamax, according to the Fairplay

Shipping Journal. But bulk carriers of about the same deadweight tonnage

have been ordered in Japan in the past year at about $6 million. No ship officially of the Panamax

class has used the Panama Canal so

far but a number of vessels this size and larger have passed through the waterway in the past few years. The

largest was the Japanese-built Melodic,

which made her first transit in November 1966. Her length of 845.8 feet and

beam of 105.85 feet made her one of the largest customers, although the old German passenger vessel Bremen, with

a length of 936.8 feet, still holds the record for the longest ship to transit the Canal.

During the calendar year 1966,

58 transits were made by ships with

beams measuring 104 feet or more, compared with 15 for the previous year. There were 131 transits by ships with

beams measuring from 100 to 103.9

feet, an increase of 16 over the previous

year. All transits by ships in 1966 with

beams of more than 80 feet totaled

1,130, compared with only 958 in 1965.

Despite the increase in traffic from

33.6 to 35.1 ships per day and the steady increase in the size of ships,

official figures show that the time spent

by vessels in Canal waters during calen- dar year 1966 was reduced to 13.8

hours, from the 15.6 hours of 1965.

The Panama Canal reported recently

that the transit average is expected to increase by another ship a day or to 36

during the present calendar year, while

time spent in Canal Zone waters will be reduced to about 13 hours. Large

ship transits can be expected to continue increasing at the same rate since there are many more 104- and 106-foot beam ships coming off the ways this year and the number of transits in this category may well reach two a week.

Meanwhile, another broad-beam type

of cargo vessel being designed for the U.S. gulf ports and European trade- one which will be able to use the Panama Canal—is being planned by

Lykes Brothers Steamship Co. Inc. of New Orleans.

It is a giant oceangoing barge carrier, 875 feet long and with a beam of 106

feet. This type of vessel could revolutionize commercial freighter transportation and at the same time provide the United States with an adaptable cargo

carrier for instant military use.

PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES SHIPPED THROUGH THE CANAL

(All cargo figures in long tons) Pacific to Atlantic

Commodity

Ores, various Lumber

Petroleum and products (excludes asphalt). _ Molasses Sugar

Canned food products

Nitrate of soda

Coffee Bananas

Metals, various Food products in refrigeration (except fresh

fruit) Pulpwood

Chemicals, unclassified Iron and steel manufactures

Fishmeal AH others

Second quarter, fiscal year—

1967

Total

1,422,663

792,459

208,968

203,347

463,471

217,819

120,673

90,694

300,527

311,987

232,633

151,303

81,860

856,162

290,632

1,695,922

7,441,120

1966

1,896,804

1,169,405

432,585

91,737

573,956

226,980

182,822

99,213

326,770

292,927

230,002

127,661

64,950

781,087

111,535

2,311,693

8,920,127

5-Yr. Avg. 1961-65

1,827,470

917,257

533,748

47,702

541,267

263,845

157,654

103,149

291,123

291,740

198,438

119,233

44,617

257,627

N.A.

1,944,968

7,539,838

Atlantic to Pacific

Commodity

Petroleum and products (excludes asphalt) Coal and coke

Phosphates

Soybeans

Iron and steel manufactures Corn

Ores, various Metal (scrap) Paper and paper products

Chemicals, unclassified Wheat

Sugar

Sulphur

Machinery

Automobiles and accessories

All others

Total

Second quarter, fiscal year1967
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

DIVISION

Talbert S. Spence

Bindery and Finish Worker

Sydney D. Lovell

Lithographic Pressman, 22 x 29 and

larger

MARINE BUREAU

Adolphus M. Ricketts Teletypist

Edward V. Robinson

Shipwright-Maintenance

Akon E. Jones Chief Engineer—Towboat

TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

JREAU^

Walter G.

Chief Jjdrjalflaril-Fue, Ramon

I.eafcerTTTe'Re'Eaid

Anita A. Burke

Clerk Luciano C. D. Sablo Clerk ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Walter A. Amantine

Oiler-Floating Plant Reginald Lovell Carpenter

Percival G. Piggott

Maintenanceman

HEALTH BUREAU

Judith Dalmage

Physical Therapy Assistant

ANNIVERSARIES

(On the basis of total Federal Service)

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Floyd R. Johnson Management Analysis Officer OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Dudley Farrell E. A. M. Operator

PERSONNEL BUREAU

Gordon M. Frick Deputy Personnel Director (Operations)

MARINE BUREAU

Basanio Darkin

Painter Huntley F. Mignott

Signalman

Howard L. Clarke, Jr. General Foreman Rigger

Cardinal A. Powlett Helper Lock Operatoi

Joseph A. Sargeant

Seaman, Launch

Fitz R. Spooner Motor Launch Captain

George Hinds

Helper Lock Operator

Granville Hunte

Carpenter—Marine

George J. Krcdell Lock Operator—Machinist

Pascual Perez Helper Lock Operator

TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Ezekiel Barker

Stevedore Leopold V. Dutton

Stevedore Herbert C. McKesey

Truck Driver Samuel A. Palmer

Cuard

Raymond M. Schneider

Electrician Ezekiah Bradiel Stevedore

Jose M. Hernandez

Truck Driver Raymond D. Parker Accounting Clerk Kenneth E. Sealey School Bus Driver Sidney G. Smith

Shipment Clerk Abelino Diaz

Railroad Trackman

Sydney O. Smith

Helper General SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY

SERVICE BUREAU

Sydney O. Cook

Waiter

Alfred L. Grimes

aintenance Equipment

Manager

Sugar cane, a product that gives the economy of the Republic of Panama a lift, is getting a

lift into a grinder in one of the many areas where the product is processed. It is turned into sugar for tables over the Republic and in the United States, and it is also made into rum.

ENGTNEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Bernard J. Brown

Supervisory Civil Engineer

Franklin H. Donickle

Electronics Mechanic

Ralph J. Flemming

Carpenter

Thomas B. Idol Dispatcher—Floating Equipment

Mortimer H. Jordan

Supervisory Procurement Clerk-Typing

Scott J. McKay

Chief Engineer—Towboat

Isidro Nogueira

Electrical Equipment Repairman

Clarence E. Holder

Painter Whitfield E. Riley Clerk Pedro Estrada Maintenanceman—Distribution Systems

Jasper H. Failey Seaman

Frank A. Mcintosh

Carpenter Rex M. Sealey Procurement Clerk

Masai! Speid Oiler— Floating Plant Alfred Tulle

Electroplater

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Sidney Hayes

Police Private A. H. Boxswill Detention Guard

Thomas Morrell Detention Guard

David C. Rose

Postmaster—First Class Office Paul D. Richmond

DetectiveHEALTH BUREAU

Paul W. Morgan

Supervisory Medical Radiology

Technician—Diagnosis Wilbert O. Gittens Leader Exterminator Harold W. Griffin File Supervisor

20 February 1967
Splendor Ignites Corrida

(Continued from p. 5)

to the box of the municipal president

to whom thev pav their respects. He

serves as a representative of the mayor

and because he acts as a judge or referee usually is a person well versed in bullfighting. The participants then take

their respective positions and prepare

for the start of action. A loud roar from the crowd can be

heard as the first bull, with ribbons of

his farm colors pinned to his back, bolts through the door into the arena. The

spectators assav his size and ferocity.

The bullfight is on. The moment he

enters the ring, the torero's assistants cape the bull with one hand so the matador can observe charging

style, tendencies to hook in any one

direction and other immensely important characteristics.

This is all included in the first of three parts, tercios. In this first part—Tercio de Varas—the torero per- forms the initial passes, usually the

basic veronicas which are the most popular moves. Swinging his cape slowly awav from the bull while he keeps his feet in one position, the matador calls to him and bv graceful hand movements, he draws the bull into the

position he wants.

Entrance into the ring next is made

bv the picadores, wearing broad-rimmed, low crowned beige hats, simple

jackets and waistcoats. Also, they have

hip to ankle armor of steel on the right side and knee length on the left leg. Their mounts are padded heavilv on

the right side to protect them from

charges bv the bull. Using long piked

poles the picadores fend off the attack- ing toro which mav upend the horse and

unseat the rider. By placing the pikes

into the bull's back, thev weaken the neck and shoulder muscles and put the

bull into position for the matador.

The three matadores vie in the

"quites" or passes, taking turns according to seniority to draw the bull away

from the horses. These quites give the matador an opportunity to display his

ability with the capote, the large red work cape. This color is used because

it adds to the splendor of the occasion.

All cattle are color blind. The second tercio is the Tercio de

Banderilla, when banderilleros, assist- ants on foot, plant three pairs of colorfully decorated and barbed staves—

banderillas—into the bull's shoulders near the neck. The purpose is to correct defects of the charge or to observe the

bull's charging style. Placing the banderillas requires both

dexterity and courage. The banderilleros attract the bull's attention with

gestures and shouts from about 20 yards awav. As the animal charges, the banderillero sprints toward him but slightly to one side, planting the staves and

deftlv spinning clear of the horns. Next, the piercing sound of the cornet

signals the final tercio, the Tercio de

Muerte, the most important part of the program and the time when the matador

proves himself. First, though, he ap- (See p. 22)

This is the start of the "Tercio de Varas" during a corrida in la Plaza La Macarena in Panama City. Using his work cape, a torero approaches

the bull while a picador, mounted on his padded horse, approaches from the left of the photo.

The Panama Canal Review 21
(Continued from p. 21)

pears before the president's box with montera held aloft in his right hand

and muleta and sword in the left, ask- ing for permission to dedicate the bull

to a friend, sweetheart or dignitary in the audience.

He performs several close passes with

the red muleta, a heart-shaped cloth folded lengthwise over a staff: the "derechazo," done with the muleta ex- tended bv the sword; the "natural," the matador thrusting the muleta with the

left hand and holding the sword in the

right. Some of the passes are graceful

and dangerous while others are for show

only and used sparingly to liven up

what may be a lackluster corrida. When the "hour of truth" arrives, the

torero tries to make it swift. Urging the muleta forward with the left hand,

causing the bull to lower his head, the matador plunges the sword between the shoulder blades.

If he has done well, the matador is given wild applause and showered with

flowers as he circles the arena. He may

be awarded an ear for a good performance, two ears for an outstanding one and if he has been magnificient, he may

be presented with the ultimate prize,

both ears and the tail, and sometimes

even a leg for his trophy room. What happens to the bull's carcass?

It's usuallv given away to the poor or

sold. Bulls never are used for a second

corrida. Their memories are keen and

should one be used for a later corrida he would not respond to the cloth but

would go directly to the man. A disappointed crowd will berate the matador without mercv. Cushions, fruit, bottles and other litter mav rain down

on him, particularly in cities where

aficionados are notoriously intolerant of a mediocre or poor showing. Every matador, including the great Manolete and

Belmonte, must accept this burden of the trade.

But this is a minor irritant compared

with the danger of the horns which

virtually everv matador feels during his career. Belmonte, for example, was

gored more than 50 times during his long span in the bullring.

Top flight matadores can retire young

with vast sums of monev to raise fight- ing bulls or to enter another business. But frequently they are drawn back into the ling, to recapture the spotlight or

tor other nebulous reasons.

\^s

Cesar Cir6n, the famous Venezuelan matador, executes a "pase de pecho" in la Plaza La Mat-arena.

""AT1AS

, SUAVE -DELIC108A

Gir6n lifts his cape as the bull charges past during the third and final portion of a bullfight

in Panama City.

22 February 1967
SHIPPING

New Express Service

A NEW express service between the

U.S. east coast ports to the Far

East via the Panama Canal was

started last November by the American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, one

of the largest steamship companies

in the United States. These vessels,

in addition to the line's regular

round-the-world cargo ships, pass through the Canal eastbound on an

average of once each month. They

are the line's most modern, highspeed freighters and offer deep

tanks, refrigerated space and heavy

lift facilities. Scheduled transit time

from the last east coast port to the

first Japanese port is 3 weeks.

The Export Ambassador, which

inaugurated the passenger service,

sailed from New York November

27, and will be in monthly service

with her sistership Export Adventurer. Both are modern, completely

air-conditioned vessels built in 1960. Thev provide superior accommodations for 12 passengers in outside

single and double cabins with pri- vate baths. C. B. Fenton, local agent for American Export Isbrandtsen, says

that the ports of call on the east coast in addition to New York in- clude Baltimore, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Charleston, Savannah, and

Boston. In the Far East the principal ports are Yokohama, Kobe,

Pusan, Inchon, Manila, Hong Kong,

and Keelung. Ships return from the

Far East via the Panama Canal

direct to U.S. east coast ports.

Record Locomotive

Shipment

EIGHTEEN 70-TON diesel electric locomotives en route from Newark

to Pusan, Korea, made up one of the

unusual cargoes carried through the

Panama Canal during recent months.

The engines, produced at the

Schenectady, N.Y., plant of Alco

PANAMA CANAL TRAFFIC

STATISTICS FOR SECOND QUARTER

FISCAL YEAR 1967 TRANSITS (Oceangoing Vessels) 1967 1966

Commercial 2,977 2,973

U.S. Government 209 139

Free 21 28

Total 3,207 3,140

TOLLS"

Commercial — $18,278,318 $17,572,569

U.S. Commercial 1,300,912 843,480

Total. ___ $19,579,230 $18,416,049

CARGO"

Commercial 20,258,955 20,602,539

U.S. Government 1,612,369 813,383 Free 166,894 113,182

Total 22,038,218 21,529,104

° Includes tolls on all vessels, oceangoing and

small. 00 Cargo figures are in long tons.

Products, Inc., were deck cargo

aboard the Central Gulf Lines cargo

vessel Green Harbor. Officials of

the Alco Company said they thought

the 18 locomotives composed the

largest such shipment ever exported

aboard a single U.S. flag vessel. Valued at approximately $2.5

million, the engines were protected

during their journey against salt water corrosion by a sprayed-on cocoon of vinyl material. According

to the Shipping Digest article, they

are the first of 49 locomotives to be

supplied by Alco to the Korean

National Bailroad under a $6.5

million contract financed by AID.

Johnson Line Split

Service

THE SWEDISH flag Johnson Line,

which has been in service between

Europe and the west coast of the

United States and South America

for nearly as long as the Panama

Canal has been open to the traffic, recently split its Pacific Coast-European service into two operations.

One became a North Pacific service

between the Pacific coast and Europe

and the other a West Indies, Central America service from the west

coast of Central America and the

West Indies to Europe, with some

stops at northern South American

ports. The Central American service

will include calls at such Central

American west coast ports as Puntares, San Juan del Sur, La Union,

Acajutla, and Champerico. It ex- tends no further north than Mexico

and is designed to provide faster service to Europe.

1 100





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