Gift ofthe Panama Canal Museum^

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Vol. 7, No. 5 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, DECEMBER 7, 1956 5 cents

BOTH SIDES OF ISTHMUS WILL CELEBRATE PASSAGE

OF BILLIONTH TON OF CARGO THROUGH PANAMA CANAL

Happy Holidays

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Commissary And Service Center Divisions

To Be Merged Into One Unit On January 1

The Commissary and Service Center

Divisions will be merged into one unit on January 1 as the first step in a long- range program to realign the functions of these divisions to meet conditions under

the drastic reduction in their activities as a result of the 1955 Treaty.

The first step will be primarily administrative. It is planned by next July,

however, to have the headquarters of the new division—to be designated as the Commissary and Service Center Division —established on the Pacific side. This

will follow a consolidation of field supervisory personnel and their work, which

will be made by the first of March.

R. L. Sullivan, now General Manager

of the Commissary Division, will be named to act as General Manager of the new organization, and Philip S. Thornton

will be appointed Supervisor-in-Charge of several functions of the present Service Center Division of which he is now General Manager. These will include the res- taurants, theaters, bowling alleys, and

motion picture service, and the Hotel

Washington and Tivoli Guest House. No other personnel assignments have

yet been announced but the plan provides

for the appointment of a single administrative supervisor for all commissary and

service center functions in each town. For example, a single manager or supervisor will be appointed for the Balboa

Commissary and Balboa Service Center

although the physical plant of the two

units will continue as they now are. The

same arrangement is planned for all other communities, except that in some of the smaller towns some consolidation of plant

and facilities may be possible.

It is presently planned to establish the headquarters of the Commissary and

Service Center Division in Building 28, the three-story masonry building in the

Industrial Division area in Balboa which

is now headquarters of the Storehouse

Division.

It is also planned to move the ware- housing activity for the Housewares unit

of the Commissary Division from Mount

Hope to Balboa. The transfer will be

similar to that of the wholesale shoe unit, accomplished last month. It is expected

that the present Balboa Housewares Annex can accommodate the (See pag: 12)

Gatun Locks, ships in transit, and Panama Canal floating

equipment will all take on a

holiday appearance one day

soon, probably next week, in

celebration of the shipment of

the billionth ton of cargo

through the Panama Canal.

Arrangements for the day's program, which will end with a reception at the

Tivoli Guest House that night, have all been completed except for the necessary

ingredients of the exact day and the specific ship which will carry the billionth ton. While the special ceremony to honor

the ship carrying the ton of cargo—which

will highlight the benefits to world commerce provided by the Panama Canal

will be held at Gatun Locks on the morning of its arrival, the vessel itself will be bedecked at the beginning of its trip and

the masters of all vessels in transit that day will be requested to dress ship for

their trip. In addition, a noisy salute will be paid by every piece of floating equipment of the Canal as the honored ship

passes. Presentation Of Scroll The program at Gatun Locks will consist of the presentation of a special scroll by Gov. W. E. Potter to the master of the vessel. Replicas of this scroll will be

presented to all ships which move through

the Canal that day. Music for the cere- mony at Gatun Locks will be provided by

the Cristobal High School Band. Present

plans are to arrange the transit of the ship

for the formal ceremony to take place at the Locks at 10 o'clock in the morning.

A special stand in which the presentation will be made has been erected on the

east wall of Gatun Locks. In event of a heavy rain, the presentation ceremony

will be transferred to the Gatun Theater

and the "billionth-ton ship" will tie up

at the Locks until it is completed.

A cordial invitation has been extended

to the general public of the Isthmus to attend and witness the historic event. Printed programs will be distributed at the Lock gates and a special detail of Canal Zone Police will be on hand to

assist in handling traffic. Specially-printed invitations have been

mailed out to several hundred firms and

individuals having a direct interest in the operation of the Panama Canal; these will become valuable souvenirs for their holders. These invitations are also good for the reception to be given by Governor

and Mrs. Potter that night at the Tivoli. Special invitations have been sent to the President of Panama and Mrs. Ernesto

de la Guardia, Jr., and (&e page is)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1956

Changes Galore Are Scheduled For The End Of December

Before the next issue of The Panama

Canal Review is published, more employees will have been affected by more

changes than have ever been made before,

at one time, in the history of the organization. The most far-reaching of these will be

the withdrawal of general Canal Zone

purchase and importation privileges from

non-U. S.-citizen employees residing outside the Canal Zone. Another, of lesser

effect, will be the restriction of general

postal service to Canal Zone residents, U. S. Government agencies, and their U. S.-citizen employees, Armed Forces

personnel on active duty, and organizations or business concerns in the Zone. The Treaty commitment requested by

the Republic of Panama restricting pur- chase and importation privileges will have

far-reaching effects both on the Canal

organization and its activities. It will cut deeply into the Canal force with some

900 losing their jobs at the end of this year or soon afterward. Seven Commissary and Service Center units will be

closed, and the number of customers in others will be greatly curtailed, resulting

in a general realignment of the functions

of these two units. The number and

amount of gasoline sales will be drastically reduced and there will be two or

three thousand fewer of the familiar "Z"

plates on cars. The Canal Zone Government has been

informed by the Panama Government

that the employees residing in Panama

who are entitled to gasoline purchase

privileges in the Canal Zone after Jan- uary 1 will be issued "Z" plates for their

cars as in the past. These are used as one of the means of identification when

gasoline sales are made. The purchaser

must also in every case present his valid

identification-privilege card. New I. P. Cards

Among the many changes to be made

at the first of the year, one which will be

less noticeable but which will affect most

employees, will be made in the identification-privilege card system now used. Under conditions imposed by the 1955

Treaty, the identification-privilege cards

will be issued primarily on the basis of

citizenship and place of residence since these are the two controlling factors in determining eligibility of employees for purchase and importation privileges.

While cards issued to U. S.-citizen employees and other employees who live in the Canal Zone will remain essentially the same, completely new cards will be

required for the large group of non-U. S.-

citizen employees residing outside the Zone. Cards for U. S. citizens will continue to be issued on an annual basis and

those for non-U. S. citizens residing in the Canal Zone and eligible for purchase privileges will be issued monthly for limited amounts, as at present. Two Types Of Cards

Two new types of cards will be issued

to non-U. S.-citizen employees living outside the Canal Zone. One of these will be

for the personal use of the employee indi- cating he or she is entitled only to hospital and related health service privileges

and to make limited purchases of certain small items in Service Centers near the

site of the employee's job. Such limited

privileges are specifically (See page is)

Governor, Bureau Chiefs Scan

Budget Standings Each Month

POINTER IN HAND, Philip L. Steers, Jr., Comptroller, shows by charts just how the CompanyGovernment is doing, in workload and expenditures, compared to budget estimates. The photograph was taken during one of the "Keeping Tab on the Pennies" meetings attended by the Governor and Bureau Directors each month.

"How's your money holding out? Have

you overspent for the quarter so that you

might run short toward the end of the year? Have you underspent, and why?

Have you spread your workload out so

that you aren't going to have to rush

later to get your year's job done?"

These and a score more similar questions are gone into each month, at what

have come to be known as Management

Review Meetings, by members of the Governor's staff and directors of the Bureaus which make up the Company-Government organization.

Always apt with a phrase, the Governor calls them the "Keeping Tab on

the Pennies" meetings although the

funds he and the others talk about are a lot apter to be in thousands of dollars than in pennies.

These monthly get-togethers are tied

in to the Company-Government's operating budget and serve a two-fold purpose, Governor Potter explained last month to

L. K. Gerhardt and W. B. Hunter of the General Accounting Office, who sat in on

the meeting.

"They are aimed," he said, "at seeing

how close we are sticking to our budget

and, since all of the Bureau Chiefs are

here, are a fine way to keep all of them

cognizant of all Company-Government

operations. All should know what all are doing."

The meetings supplement the work of the Company-Government Management

Committee in keeping the Governor, as operating head of the Company, and the Bureau heads, as operators, up-to-date on operations as a whole, and by units. The meetings are informal and friendly. As the Governor explained to the GAO

visitors, "our chiefs don't sit and defend and mull over their budgets. They stand and report."

And that's exactly what they do. The

meetings, which are held in the Board

Room of the Administration Building,

usually begin with a few remarks by the Governor. Then Philip L. Steers, Jr., the Panama Canal Company's Comptroller, steps to the end of the long table and,

pointer in hand like a school master, works quickly down a row of charts which give an over-all picture of the entire organization's finances. Charts are important in these meetings. Operating results are always dia- grammed for all principal units, for workload and financial results, in comparison with the budgeted figures. As he moves along his charts, Mr.

Steers may indicate that one Bureau or another has fallen behind the budget es- timates in its expenditures and obligations. Then Governor Potter may inter- rupt to ask that particular director: "What about that?"

After Mr. Steers has completed his re- port, John D. Hollen, Chief of the Executive Planning Staff, moves up to tell the

others in the room whether the Canal's

operations are shaping up as he and his

staff have predicted they will. An important part of his work is with tolls and

shipping, since they provide the bulk of the Company's income.

When he finishes, one Bureau director

after another takes over, to give his col- leagues and the Governor—a picture of the operations of his particular unit. Some of the Bureau heads pace back

and forth, hands behind their back, as they talk, and others stand quietly, indi- cating only with motions of the pointer on the charts how their units stand. Some are in shirtsleeves, some wear coats. John Hollen's pencil is as apt as not to be behind his ear, and his glasses pushed

back onto his forehead. The "Keeping Track of the Pennies"

meetings usually last an hour, although

those at the end of a quarter may run somewhat longer-.
December 7, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Many Canal Offices

To Be Transferred

Before End Of June

Moving day is in the immediate offing for a large number of Canal units and

offices, and by next June a complete new map and office directory will be needed on the Pacific side. The moves, which are to start early in January, will result partly from the clos- ing of four large units in A neon at the end

of December. To be closed are the Ancon

Commissary and post office, the Pacific Service Center, and Tivoli Commissary.

Two of these buildings—the Ancon

Commissary and Post Office—will continue in use and be reassigned to other Canal units. The Tivoli Commissary

building will be retained and may later be converted for use as a freight house

by the Panama Railroad after the rail- road's terminal facilities are transferred

to the Republic of Panama under terms

of the 1955 Treaty.

The Pacific Service Center building, erected just before the beginning of World War II as a USO building, probably will be demolished after it is vacated. The Ancon Post Office building has been assigned for use by the Treasury

Branch. Modifications to the building

already are in progress and it is expected

that this move can be made soon after the postal service there is discontinued. The Treasury Branch is now occupying

space in the former Special Engineering

Division Branch in Diablo Heights.

The Ancon Commissary, including the annex, will be assigned for use by the Personnel Bureau. All Pacific side units

of this bureau, with the exception of the Director and his immediate staff, will move there when the extensive alterations to the two buildings are completed.

Personnel Bureau Move

All units of the Wage and Classifica- tion Division and the Employment and

Utilization Division, including the Central Labor Office Branch, will be moved

to the new quarters. The Employment

and Utilization Division is now assigned

office space on the first floor of the Administration Building and in the Central Labor Office building on Roosevelt Avenue. This change will permit a consolidation of all files with easier access by bureau personnel and will provide for better coordination of all personnel activities and actions with the unified office. Another change affecting the Personnel Bureau will be the reassignment of the former field office of the Maintenance

Division on Corozo Street to the bureau

as a Training Center. The Training Offi- cer will have office space in this building

and in the Director's office. Several other major changes are planned, but some of these will not take

place for several months.

Printing Plant Move

One of the most important of the latter

will be the transfer of the Printing Plant from Mount Hope to the Pacific side. Studies are now in progress for a suitable building for use by the Printing Plant and the move is scheduled to be made

before next July. When this is done, the Reproduction Unit now (See page is)

Labor Leaders Meet Here

LEADERS OF Canal Zone labor unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO met last month with visiting

officials of the organization when AFL-CIO President George Meany and members of his staff were

here for two days. One of the events was a dinner held at the Tivoli Guest House. Mr. Meany is seated beside the microphone, facing the camera, flanked by E. W. Hatchett, President of the Central Labor

Union, and by Mrs. Hatchett. Serafino Romauldi. Latin American Representative of the AFL-CIO,

is at the far left, hand extended, and David Dubinsky, napkin in his hand, is at the right rear. Mr. Dubinsky is President of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and Vice President of the AFL-CIO. We May Have Rain, No Snow Or Ice,

But Christmas Here Is Really Nice

Minus snow and ice of the natural variety, the Canal Zone will soon begin to bedeck itself with trappings of the Christ- mas season. Long since, the spirit of the Yuletide has become apparent among the younger

Zonians, what with visiting the Commissary Toylands, practicing carols for the annual school programs, or just dreaming

of Santa's visit to the tropics. On the adult side, there have been gentle reminders at gift counters, in readjusted family

budgets, and by plans for the purchase

of food and decorations suitable for the annual event. More and more during the past few

years, Zonians have devoted special attention to home and outdoor decorations

suitable for the Christmas season. This

trend is expected to be accentuated this year with inviting sight-seeing drives in most communities being available to in- spect home and garden decorations. Christmas Day this year falls on

Tuesday, and President Eisenhower

has issued a memorandum directing that Government agencies maintain

only skeleton forces on Monday, Christ- mas Eve, virtually making a four-day

holiday for Government workers. The

President's memorandum also stated that a liberal leave policy should be

adopted for the entire holiday season. Arrangements which had already been

made to pay most of the employees in the Canal organization on Monday, Dec- ember 24, instead of Tuesday and Wednesday have been necessarily disrupted

by making the day a holiday for all practical purposes. It would have been nec- essary for employees of both the Payroll

and Treasury Branches to work over the preceding weekend to get the paychecks

ready for delivery on Monday. While it will still be necessary for these employees

to work during the weekend to meet the Wednesday, December 26, deadline for the delivery of paychecks, it would not be

possible to move the date up to the pre- ceding Friday.

Even with overtime, there would not be time to process the time-cards and checks

in time for delivery on Friday, the last normal working-day before Christmas.

The pay period involved ends December

15 and the time-cards will not be received by the Payroll Branch until December 17 and 18. With this change in plans, household

expenditures will have to be rearranged

to get all the Christmas shopping done

with only one other pay check before the holidays begin.

This may give a weak assist to the do - your - Christmas - shopping - early

program, but even this will not prod

all shoppers to complete their shopping

until the last minute. Accordingly,

the Commissary Division has an- nounced that the retail stores will be opened on Christmas Eve morning

only. This will not only be an aid to

late shoppers but will be a help to housewives who otherwise would have

to stock up food for a three-day closing

period at a time when eating is one of the main aspects of daily living.

Announcements will be made later this month on holiday schedules, particularly

where unusual changes are to be made.

Of the many public programs arranged

for the Christmas season in the Canal

Zone, the musical programs arranged by

the various schools attract most attention This year these programs will begin

Thursday, December 13, (Se$ page is)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1 956

Here's The Man

Who Heads The Legal Staff

PAUL A. BENTZ has been familiar with Canal Zone Law since 1928.

It would be a brash individual, indeed,

who tried to challenge Paul Andrew

Bentz on the whereabouts of any article

in the Canal Zone Code. He certainly should know; he put every title and every

article in its place.

Today, as General Counsel of the Pan- ama Canal Company, Mr. Bentz is senior partner in the Company's built-in law

firm. His familiarity with the Canal Zone

Code, however, antedates his senior part- nership by a dozen years. In 1928, five years out of the University

of Nebraska's Law School and with four years as an editor in a Saint Paul law- book publishing house behind him, he was appointed codifier of the Canal Zone's laws—a much-needed job never before done. The four-inch thick volume which re- sulted from his four years' work has since been supplemented by two smaller compilations of later laws and a third is in the offing. Fairly soon there will have to be a limited revision of the Code and a new

edition, including the supplements.

When that time comes, Mr. Bentz will probably serve as an advisor rather

than as a codifier. He has much too much else to do. He is staff advisor to the GovernorPresident, with all the work a job as counsellor entails. His office represents the Panama Canal Company in legal actions; it handles the legal work of the Company; it drafts legislation which per- tains to the Company. Each of the eight

young men who comprise his "firm" is ot some extent a specialist in one phase or another of law, but, as senior partner, he

is responsible for their activities.

It is that variety of legal work, and

"the sense of being part of an organization like this one," that Paul Bentz likes best about his job.

Take a typical day's activities: As "staff advisor" he may be asked for an opinion as to the legality of some step

the Administration would like to take - such as, for instance, contracting for the

provision of additional school-bus service. Then he may hold a conference with

the members of his staff who are doing

the actual work of "defending the Company's position" in one of several pending law-suits. In addition to the pilots' pay suit, probably the best-known case now under way, the Company is defendant in half a dozen ship-damage actions, results of accidents in the Canal.

After that conference he might call another in connection with the drafting

of some legislation pertaining to the Canal

Zone. Any new law, or amendment to

existing Canal Zone law, must be passed

by Congress but if it originates in the Canal enterprise, it is generally written by the legal staff. The bill signed by

President Eisenhower last July authorizing the Company "to construct, maintain, and operate" a bridge across the Canal, was originally drafted in the General Counsel's Office. Executive Orders

pertaining to the Canal Zone and Regulations issued by the Governor are also drafted there. As General Counsel, he is chairman

of the Canal Zone Pardon Board and

of the Law Library Committee, and is a member of the Standing Transportation Committee and, in his official position, he is called on to attend the Governor's Staff Conferences.

One of Mr. Bentz's most important

jobs is also one of the most delicate: He

is one of the Company-Government's

principal interpreters of the U. S.-Panama

treaties. For many months, here and in the United States, he worked on treaty

provisions which affect the CompanyGovernment and then participated to some extent in the final drafting of the Treaty and Memorandum of Understandings. Now he assists in interpreting them.

A good-looking man, whose wavy dark

hair is beginning to gray, Paul Bentz was born in the little town of Salem, Neb.

57 years ago. In his salad days he was

something of an athlete. His tennis was

of local tournament calibre, his bowling

score nothing to be ashamed of, and his swimming stroke good enough to carry him easily to the net at Amador Beach.

Now his athletics are more of the armchair variety and his deep-sea fishing has

given way to a rod off the Amador

Causeway.

One of his most distinctive traits is the

use of his finely-shaped hands. When he

is talking with someone, he is apt to put

his fingertips together, tent-fashion, or

rest his chin in his hands. He is conservative about his clothes, as becomes a

senior partner, and generally sticks to blue or brown or gray. The only jewelry he wears consistently is an unusual tur- quoise ring, a gift from his mother-in-law,

and a plain tie clasp.

Much interested in the Interior of Panama, he has developed a readinginterest in archaeology, probably be- cause of his friends Mathew and Marion Stirling of the Smithsonian Insti- tution Staff. Other off-the-job interests are his church—he was president

of the Unitarian Society for some time —and the Red Cross. He headed the

local Chapter's drive for funds several years ago. The Ben tzes- vivacious Betty Bentz is as well known in local art circles as her husband is in the legal field- live in a big

house on the side of Ancon Hill, over- looking Panama City.

Their two children, Alan and Joan,

and their two grandsons, Brooks, 6, and

Drew, 4, live in the States. Before Alan,

who lives in Bound Brook, N. J., began

spending most of his waking hours working toward a doctorate in chemistry, he and his father used to carry on chess matches by mail.

Joan, born in Washington while her

father was indexing the laws he had codified, is now a New Yorker, up to hei ears, or eyes, perhaps, in the contact-lens business.

Employees On Leave

Are Now Considered

Returning Residents

Canal employees returning to the States on leave are now being classified as "re- turning residents" rather than non-resi- dents and are entitled to the more liberal provisions with respect to free entry. Heretofore, employees returning on

leave were classified as non-residents,

which excluded exemption of duty on

anything except personal and household

goods, and gifts with a value of more than

$10. They were also allowed free entry on one quart of alcoholic beverages, and

300 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or three pounds

of tobacco.

Generally, under the new classification, they will be granted duty exemption on

$500 worth of purchases made outside the United States, including up to one gallon

of alcoholic beverages and 100 cigars. If a family declaration is made, the combined exemptions may be applied. The

$500 exemption is permissible only when

no exemptions have been claimed six months prior to reentry into the States. Collectors of Customs in all United

States ports have been informed of the new ruling and pursers on Panama Line

ships now have the new customs declaration forms available. Although Canal employees returning to the States are classifiable as returning

residents, each individual should investi- gate thoroughly customs regulations applicable in his own case, because of the complexities and limitations which are applicable on exemptions from duty.
December 7, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Canal Zone's Now Keeping An Eye

On World-Wide Earth-Shaking Events

Next time there's an earthquake in Siam, or Siberia, the Panama Canal will know it. Not that the Canal Zone will tremble and shake any more than it has in the

past. The difference is that sensitive in- struments in the basement of the Balboa

Heights Administration Building will now

record these distant quakes.

Up until a month or so ago, the equipment in the seismograph room at Balboa

Heights was the sort which recorded only

earthquakes which were fairly close at hand. New equipment, which has just

been installed, records distant quakes

and completes what every well-fitted seis- mological observatory needs. Possibly one might wonder what the Canal's meteorologists need to know

about earthquakes in Siberia.

It's quite simple: The Meteorological

and Hydrographic Branch of the Engineering and Construction Bureau which

has charge of the seismographs has

other functions outside of those on the

home base, so to speak. The Canal

Zone station is only one in an international network of observation stations

whose reports give scientists in central

locations an overall picture of what is going on in the world—earth-shaking

events, that is. John Milne, the father of modern seis- mology, once defined seismology as "the eye through which one may view the innards of the earth." It is a compoundeye, made up of many facets irregularly

placed over the surface of the earth and

each looking inward. Occasional glimpses of energy flashes

or earthquakes—are viewed by the indi- vidual facets—of which the Canal Zone

is one-^-and the information obtained

therefrom' is coordinated by a "central

intelligence" to form a composite picture

of what is inside the earth, or of the loca- tion of the centers from which the energy

flashes originate.

The United States Coast and Geodetic

Survey at Washington, to which the

Canal Zone station reports, is one of these coordinating centers. Each year

the information it receives leads to the accurate location of more than a thous- and earthquakes.

Beside its connections with the Washington, D. C, center, the local seismographic station will have an important

job during the coming calendar year, which has been established as Inter- national Geophysical Year. During the

entire year a steady stream of reports

will flow from here, to be coordinated

with others from all over the world. The new instruments which have been

installed in the tomb-like seismograph room are what scientists call "horizontal and vertical components." There are two

of the former and one of the latter, con- nected to a precision clock.

All of these are 'long period" instru- ments (see accompanying diagram). The

instruments which they supplement are "short period" instruments. Together,

they will provide more information than

has been available here before as to the

location of an earthquake's epicenter and,

ALL OF THESE instruments which surround W. H. Esslinger have something to do with recording earthquakes and all come under the general heading of seismographs.

possibly, its direction from the Isthmus

and its depth in the earth's crust. W. H. Esslinger, Chief Hydrographer,

and T. C. Henter, his chief assistant, will derive a certain amount of personal as

well as professional satisfaction from this. They've gotten a little tired of the look

of disbelief which comes over a questioner's face when they answer, quite honestly, that they cannot tell the direction

of an earthquake or whether it occurred

in Puerto Armuelles or Darien. These two, assisted by Ken Jorgensen

and Elmer Kanz, have installed, adjusted,

and tested the new instruments which re- place equipment which was installed in 1908 and has not been in working condition for many years. Galitzin-type instru- ments, they have a coil of wire fixed to a pendulum so that an electric current is generated when an earthquake causes the pendulum and coil to oscillate between

the poles of a strong magnet.

The current passes through a sensitive galvanometer and its variations set a

small mirror swinging from side to side. This, in turn, reflects a pinpoint of light

which records the "wiggles" on a sheet of photographic paper. The paper is wrapped

around a cylinder which revolves at a rate of only 30 millimeters a minute.

When the photographic paper is deSEISMOGRAPH

EPICENTER.

Prelimmory Secondary Long

-^r—^*^^f^4t^~_ -W-f «-

Ear thquake waves recorded on seismograph DIFFERENCE IN TIMES OF ARRIVAL OF P AND S WAVES

GIVES DISTANCE FROM EARTHOUAKE TO SEISMOGRAPH

veloped in a process similar to that used

for any film, the record shows up as black lines on white paper. The actual movement of the earth is magnified ap- proximately 3,000 times. Local history records heavy local tremors in 1621 and 1882, and the worst local quake is thought to have been that which

occurred on September 7, 1882. From

newspaper and eyewitness accounts, seis- mologists have classified it as intensity VIII on the Mercali scale. That means

that chimneys, monuments, columns, and

walls fell, heavy furniture was overturned.

Poorly-built structures were greatly damaged, ordinary substantial buildings col- lapsed partially and only specially-designed buildings—of which there were few

in those days—escaped with little damage.

Every year the seismographs at Bal- boa Heights record about 300 earth- quakes, but only a few of these tremors

are felt. In August of this year, for instance, 21 quakes were recorded but

people were conscious of only four of them. Fifteen of the 21 originated

within a 150-mile radius from Balboa.

The most recent generally-felt earth- quake was that which occurred the eve- ning of November 19. Even the average nonscientific indivi- dual of today realizes that seismographs

record but do not predict earthquakes.

In December 1906, however, a rumor cir- culated widely in Panama that the city

would be razed by an earthquake. The

Star & Herald for December 21 that year commented that the rumor "has not been

substantiated by events. The earthquake

is now some days overdue." The rumor turned out to have origi- nated with a talkative gentleman, meeting with his cronies over a glass of beer, and led to an ICC ruling that virtually no information was to be given out except

by authorization of the Commission's

chairman.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1956

FOR YOUR INTEREST AND GUIDANCE

,.„£ TflK /_/

IN ACCIDENT PREVENTION

Twenty schools in the Canal Zone sys- tem were enrolled last month, for the

first time, on the National School Safety

Honor Roll. Enrollment certificates were

presented to student representatives of the 20 schools by Lt. Gov. H. W. Shull, Jr. In order to qualify for the safety award

each of the schools had to meet certain minimum specifications set up by the National Safety Council; they will remain

on the honor roll for three years under

these standards. At the end of the three- year period, however, the schools must

intensify their safety training to continue on the honor roll and the requirements

will become increasingly tight.

One of the requirements of the National Safety Council was that each school be inspected by a special committee.

These committees checked a list prepared

by the Safety Council to see that certain safety requirements were being complied

with and that safety instruction was being given. In addition to the principals

of the schools the committee members in- cluded at least one parent, a civic leader, and a student. The following'were the committees for the 20 schools: Ancon: Roger D. Michel, Mrs. R. G

HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

OCTOBER

HEALTH BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDER YEAR

Health 9

Civil Affairs 7 Supply and Employee Service 3 Engineering and Construction 1 Marine 1 Transportation and Terminals 1

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

OCTOBER

NAVIGATION DIVISION

HOSPITALS AND CLINICS

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION

HOUSING AND GROUNDS DIVISION

DREDGING DIVISION

INDUSTRIAL DIVISION

ELECTRICAL DIVISION

MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION

STOREHOUSE DIVISION' FIRE DIVISION! SANITATION DIVISION

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

AWARDS THIS CALENDER YEAR

Aids to Navigation 10 Sanitation. --- 10 Storehouses 10 Hospitals and Clinics 9 Industrial 9 Motor Transportation 9 Service Center 9 Commissary 8 Dredging... 7

Electrical 7 Railroad 7 Housing and Grounds (8 mos.) 6 Maintenance 4 Navigation 4 Fire (4 mos.) — 3 Locks 3 Police (4 mos.) -- 3 Terminals 1

CERTIFICATES THAT THEIR schools have won Honor Awards from the National Safety Council

are displayed proudly by the boys and girls above. On hand for the presentation ceremony last month

were a number of parents and school officials. Left to right, front row, are: Jerry Mann, Eugene Linfors, Edith Murray, Olga Winter, Robert Boatwright, Samuel Bettsak, Jerry Cooper, Jackie Holcomb, Sheryl

Oliphant, Carolyn Smith, Margaret Morris, and Lt. Gov. H. W. Schull, Jr. Second row: S. E. Esser, Russell T. Wise, Ricardo Cameron, Pauline Smith, Osmond Brown, Jr., Raymond Oakley, George Clarke, William Dolan, Brian Cox, and Robert Bohannon. Owen B. Shirley, Byron D. McDougall, Roger Michel, Mrs. Marie H. Neal, Charles A. Dubbs,

Mrs. Niles Linfors, Miss Frances Moomaw, Mrs. Leonard Mann, R. W. Collinge, and G. C. Lockridge.

Rennie, Mrs. John E. Deming, and Sally Randal; Balboa Junior-Senior High School: T. F. Hotz, Charles Brandl, C. F. Magee, Kenneth B. Tucker, and the following students: Jack Perantie, Pat Tubbs, Janet Tribe, Carlos Kiamco, Robert Hatting, and Marie

Dells; Balboa Elementary: Mrs. Marie H. Neal,

Lt. E. L. Cotton, Sgt. Jack F. Morris, Mrs.

Vivian Mikulich, and Perry Raymond.

Chagres: Mrs. Elouise G. Small, the Rev.

G. R. Grandison, Joseph Henlon, and Ruby

Simon;

Cocoli: Miss Ruth Creasy, Leonard Mann

G. J. Denny, Mrs. Esther Hodges, and Michael McClung;

Cristobal Elementary: Miss Helen Rushing, Miss Thelma Godwin, and Earle Orr, Jr.; Cristobal Junior-Senior High School: Paul L. Beck, Mrs. Stella Riefkohl, Mrs.

Dorothy Leach, James Pfau, and three committees totaling 40 students; Diablo: Roger D. Michel, Mrs. Mortimer

Hill, E. G. Evans, and John Zelnick; Gamboa: Miss E. Frances Fanning, Mrs. Ruth Banton, Mrs. Josephine Hidalgo, and

Gerald Cooper; Gatun: George Gercich, Mrs. George

Mitchell, Mrs. Albert Goguen, and Joseph

Coffin; Kobbe: Miss Ruth Creasy, Louis DeArmas, R. Williams, and Eugene Linfors; La Boca: Miss Pearline Carter, John

Blake, R. R. Livingston, and Alfred Bowen;

North Margarita: Miss Frances Moomaw,

Mrs. Henrietta Cheek, Mrs. Dorothy Leach,

Thomas Sellers, and Dennis Roy Reid; South Margarita: Miss Moomaw, Mrs. Nannie Hawthorne, Mrs. Leach, Mr. Sellers, and Tommy Wilson; tParaiso: Ellis L. Fawcett, {Seepage IS)

OCTOBER 1956

BUREAU

Health

Supply and Employee Service

Marine

Engineering and Construction

Canal Zone Govt. -Panama Canal Co.

Transportation and Terminals

Civil Affairs

FREQUENCY RATE—Disabling injuries per 1,000,000 employeehours worked.

I js 5 10 15 20

0.00 ||P^a

1 1.74

||pS§8^

1 1.82 lliss^s^^i

1 3.19

9 3.79

3 7.35

3 15.19 —1—

^s^sp^

(Number of Disabling Injuries 9) LEGEND

| Frequency Rate this month

f:!--:-.:::^] Accumulative Frequency Rale this Calendar Year

1 1953-1954-1955 Calendar Year Average

5 10 15 20

(Employee-hours worked 2,377,618)
December 7, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

OF CURRENT AND FUTURE INTEREST

Plans have been made for enlargement of the Rainbow City luncheonette to provide

restaurant facilities for employees working on the dredge "Mindi" and other equip- ment and installations on the Atlantic side. At the present time, Latin American

workers on such jobs have their meals at the Camp Bierd Service Center, which will be one of the units closed January i. The present storeroom at the luncheonette will be converted to a kitchen and

a cafeteria installed in a new L at one end

of the service counter. The porch, which

is to be screened, will provide additional space for tables.

William Brown, Assistant to the Health

Director, returned November 15 from Washington where he attended the 13th Inter-Agency Institute of Federal Hospital Administrators. The Institute was held at Walter Reid

Hospital between October 22 and November 9.

In a special "memorandum to all con- cerned," Lt. Gov. H. W. Schull, Jr., last month expressed high praise for the per- sonnel of the Canal Zone's Civil Defense

unit and of the more than 500 individuals who took part in the recent "Jackpot Exercises." In his memorandum the Lieutenant Governor said: "The exercise indicated certain needs

and deficiencies in our Civil Defense estab- lishment and plan of operations which has proved to be basically sound. Action will be taken at once to overcome these defi- ciencies and planning and training will be

continued to the end that our mutualassistance capabilities in time of disaster

will be as high as we can reasonably make

them. "The ability, enthusiasm, and cooperation shown by all personnel, both U. S.- and Local-Rate, were most evident and the success achieved is a credit to yourselves

and the Panama Canal. I am very pleased

to be able to say to you all that it was a

job well done." A ninth-grade student at Rainbow City

Junior High School was $25 richer last month after she won first prize in an essay

contest sponsored by the Canal Zone Nurses'

Association. The prize winner was Yvonne Hewitt,

whose prixe-winning essay, WhyI WouldLike

to be a Nurse, appeared in a local newspapers. The essay contest was part of the Zone- wide celebration of Canal Zone Nurse Week,

November 12-17.

Those stalwart guardians of public safety

and welfare, the Police and Firemen, have

again demonstrated their unselfishness by

responding with alacrity to a call to give blood to the Gorgas Blood Bank. In the new Blood Replenishment Program recently

inaugurated, 99 percent of the members of the Balboa District signified their willing- ness to contribute, and 97 percent of the

ja^-bafai

Off icial Panama Canal Company Publication Published Monthly At Balboa Heights, C. Z. Printed by the Printing Plant, Mount Hope, Canal Zone

W. E. Potter, Governor-President H. W. Schull, Jr., Lieutenant Governor W. G. Arey, Jr., Public Information Officer

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor Eleanor H. McIlhenny, Assistant Editor

On sale at all Panama Canal Service Centers, Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days after publication date at 5 cents each. Subscriptions, $1 a year; mall and back copies, 10 cents each.

TV STARS IN their own right are these four from Cristobal High School. They appeared last month

on one of a series of TV programs arranged in connection with National Education Week. In the scene above, Kathleen Cox, and Jon McGraw at the far right, impersonate new students. Paul L. Beck, CHS Principal, and Brian Cox, left, President of the Student Association, explain the school to them. men of the Balboa Fire District have signed up as donors. Although the Atlantic side is not as yet included in the Replenishment Program, some of the men of the Cristobal Police and Fire Districts have also volunteered as prospective contributors.

ball-park or in the theater, depending on

the weather; and at the Jewish Welfare Board in Balboa on Monday, December 17, at 8:15 p. m. There will also be a program

of music at the YMCA, but the date has

not yet been announced.

Although they declare they can't think why they should want to be a part of what

is sometimes called "the mad rush," two

temporary clerks, Catherine W. Filo and

Helen F. Leves, are back again this year working on annual license plate renewals in the License Section. Actually they say they

enjoy the challenge of a mountain of work. This is the fourth year on plate renewal work for Mrs. Filo, who at one time was a

full-time worker in the License Section. Mrs. Leves reported back this November for the second year. The other temporary worker,

added to the License Section staff for the

period of the renewals, for the first time, is Mrs. Mildred A. Mallahan, of Balboa, wife

of the American Bureau of Shipping Surveyor.

The shops at the Canal Zone Penitentiary

are once again beginning to resemble

Santa's workshop and from the number of toys being built it is apparent that there

will be many little children who receive a happy surprise on Christmas Day. Those

convicts whose good behavior records per- mit them the privilege of working in the shops are busy turning out a sturdy lot of brightly-colored toys and games, under the supervision of Policeman Karl D. Glass. The toys will be distributed at Christmas

time to needy children in Panama and the Canal Zone, and to the children of the convicts. This "Operation Christmas" is part of the rehabilitation program of the penitentiary. Materials for the toys are obtained through contributions made by Panama

and Canal Zone residents. Capt. W. H. Munyon, Deputy Warden of the Penitentiary, says that practically all of the lumber

used this year was donated through the kindness of the Panama Plywood Corporation.

Christmas mail going by ship to the United States should be posted in the Canal Zone by noon, Friday, December 14, to be reasonably sure of delivery by Christ- mas Day. Airmail should be sent by Wednesday, December 19. Earl F. Unruh, Director of Posts, says any date later than

that is thought to be risky. Ship mail for Europe or the British Isles should have been in the post office by

noon, November 30, but airmail for over- seas may be posted up to about December

14-

Capt. Arthur J. Troup, who retired as Canal Zone Fire Chief in March, 1955, and

his wife, Marion, who was formerly employed in the Payroll Branch, returned re- cently to visit friends on the Isthmus.

Since leaving the Zone, the Troups have made their home in LeGrange, 111. In November, when they went to Miami

to attend a convention, they decided they were too close to their old home not to pay

a visit to the Canal Zone. During their stay on the Isthmus, they were guests of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Heyd of Brazos Heights

and of Mr. and Mr . Walter F, Allen of Ancon.

Among November's visitors was a Congressman, Rep. Paul B. Dague, Republican

of Pennsylvania, who has visited here on

several previous occasions. He and his wife made the round trip from New York

aboard the Panama Line's "Ancon." A member of Congress since 1946, he is a member of the House Agricultural Committee.

Postal money orders made payable to the Pan- ama Canat Company should be mailed to Editor, The Panama Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z.

Traditional Christmas music will be sung by the La Boca Alumni Association, undet

the direction of Miss Emily Butcher, this year as in years past. Carols will be sung by the Alumni Chorus at Paraiso, on Sunday, December 16 at 4 p. m., either at the

A total of 1,745 applications for vehicle

license plates had been received by the Canal Zone License Section last month in time for the annual drawing for low numbers. This was about 300 more than th number from which low license plates were drawn last year. Entitled to sport number 21 on his car, as a result of the drawing, is Frank Koenig,

of the Ancon Post Office. The next two numbers went, in order, to Maj. Alvin E.' Weber, of Fort Clayton, and John B. Bombek, of the Motor Transportation Division.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1956

Everybody Came To The Tivoli's Party

J

An Oldtimer recalled former days

youngtimers sang and acted

It was a real nice party, and the Tivoli would be the first to say so, if it only

could. After all, fiftieth birthdays are something special, even if the celebrant

is a hotel. On hand to help with the celebration was one of the oldest oldtimers of them

all— Maurice H. Thatcher of Washington, D. C, the only member of the Isthmian

Canal Commission still living. He and

Mrs. Thatcher, who were given the Roosevelt Suite for their stay here, enchanted

young and old with their spryness and

interest in the Isthmus.

Also on hand was the Canal Zone's topranking Good Neighbor, President Ernesto de la Guardia, Jr., of Panama, who

came accompanied by his wife and some

of his official family and who seemed to enjoy thoroughly every minute of the birthday party.

On this page are a few pictures taken

the night of November 15 in the ball- room which was packed to the doorsills.

In the big picture across the top of the page "Governor" Thatcher is making the main address at the celebration. He

stressed international cooperation when,

speaking directly to President de la Guardia, he said: "I am sure, Mr. Presi- dent, that you will find in Governor Potter, and he in you, that desire to cooperate and work in mutual regard toward the

relationship which destiny has brought

to our two countries."

In the center, left, is the Balboa High

School Chorus, directed by Victor H.

Herr, which provided a musical back- ground for the seven-scene pageant

Their two featured numbers were "Out

On The Big Front Porch," composed for the celebration by Mr. Herr and Don

Musselman, and a musical version of the

inscription on the Statue of Liberty.

The stage— a miniature of the front porch and some of the players appear

at the left below. At the far right is Fred

Berest, who played the "Oldtimer"

throughout the pageant. Appearing with

him are Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Ely,

Lynne Little, and two members of the TWoli Staff, Kenneth 0. Sealey and Al- fred Cox.
December 7, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Wasn't November A Busy Month!

MRS. EZRA HURWITZ was not forgotten November 13 when her husband was awarded the Depart- ment of the Army's Meritorious Civilian Service Award. The award was presented when Dr. Hurwitz was formally retired—and immediately rehired —as Superintendent of the Palo Seco Leprosarium.

Few recent months have been as crammed with events as November.

Starting off with Panama's Independence

Days, the month moved on through

Election Day, with its unprecedented

turnout for Civil Council elections, to Veterans' Day celebrations on both sides

of the Isthmus. Then came a Safety Award for the Panama Canal Company, a personal

award for Dr. Ezra Hurwitz of Palo Seco, and the Tivoli's fiftieth birthday celebration. Meanwhile the Community Chest

Drive was underway; when final figures were in, more employees had given more money for the Chest than ever before. November also brought National Education Week, Isthmian Nurses' Week,

and Thanksgiving, with its long weekend

for school children. A shipping strike canceled one Panama Line sailing but

ended in time so that Christmas mail

would not be disrupted. As November ended, AFL-CIO officials were visiting the Isthmus; as was Robert

J. Rhinehart, President of the National

Society of Professional Engineers.

OVER 1,000 ATLANTIC Side children had a real treat November 3 and 4. The activities included

trolley-car rides, free movie=. Above, Mrs. B. I. Everson cuts a ribbon to open the celebration.

ZONIANS TURNED OUT by thousands November 6 to vote for Civic Councilmen. Here Virginia Welch and Mrs. John G. Higgins cast their ballots under the eye of Ginny Di Bella, student judge. 4 ^^U

^m^fff

*
10 THE PANAMA'CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1 956

Promoted

i

FRANCIS F. SULLEY, a member of the staff of the General Counsel's Office, has been appointed Assist- ant Secretary of the Panama Canal Company. Ac- companied by Mrs. Sulley and their son, Scott, he

will leave late this month for his new post in Washington. He has been a Zonian for the past three

years. His previous experience includes work in the

Office of Price Stabilization and a term as Assistant Attorney General for the Territory of Guam.

School Children To Get

3 Dental Examinations

Every child in the Canal Zone schools

will be given three dental inspections be- tween the time he enters first grade and

the time he becomes a high school student, according to a new program which

becomes effective immediately.

The examinations of Zone school child- ren will serve two purposes. They will give school and health officials, as well as the childrens' parents, a thorough picture

of the dental health of the young Zonians,

and they will also give an indication as

to the efficiency of the fluoride which has

been used in Canal Zone water since early

in 1952. The system worked out by Dr. Lewis

E. Fontaine and Dr. Willard French,

Chiefs of the Health Bureau's dental services on the Pacific and Atlantic sides, respectively, calls for an examination to be made each year of first-, fourth- and

seventh-grade pupils. These dental ex- aminations will, of course, supplement

those given the children by their private

dentists. While no definite schedule has yet been

worked out, the examinations will be

given during the school year by dental

officers of the Health Bureau, in cooperation with the school nurses. During this calendar year, the first over-all dental survey was made of stud- ents in the Canal Zone schools. Between January 9, when the survey began in the United States schools, and

the latter part of June, when it was con- cluded in the Latin American schools, dentists probed into the mouths of 7,164

boys and girls in kindergartens through

seventh grade.

Of the 4,955 U. S. school children ex- amined, 38 percent had no dental defects. This meant that the youngsters did not have any dental health problems or that they had and were receiving regular dental treatment. The average number of decayed, missing, or filled teeth per child was .65. In the Latin American schools, a total

PAGES FROM THE

KVS HIST

THIS MONTH

50 Years Ago

The most disastrous flood since 1879

sent the Chagres River up almost 36 feet at Gamboa early in December 1906,

swept away the bridge at Matachin and

disrupted railroad service across the Isth- mus. Over 15 miles of the Panama Rail- road's main line was under water and

there was a washout between Mamei and

Gorgona. About 100 inhabitants of Frijoles were evacuated, first to the roof of the railroad station and then to Bohio.

The end of the month brought more bad

weather, but of a different kind. A norther foreed a dozen steamers into the shelter of Portobelo for four days before wind and

seas abated enough to allow them to put into Limon Bay. Zonians saw this as another

indication that an artificial breakwater was

urgently needed to protect shipping.

The opening of bids for construction of the Panama Canal by contract was deferred until January 12 because of changes

in the invitation and form of contract re- quired. The changes, which were made

at the instigation of a number of contractors, included the reduction of the

builder's bond from $3 to $2 million. For Zonians who measured a day's success by the amount of dirt they took from

the Canal excavation, Christmas Eve was a day to be remembered. That day they ex- cavated 15,005 cubic yards of earth, nearly

1,000 yards more than any previous day's

digging.

The new YMCA building at Culebra was nearing completion and the new

schoolhouse, known as "Culebra College," was opened the end of December.

The Union Oil Company of California pumped water through its ^Yi-mile long

trans-Isthmian pipeline from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic for the first time in December 1906. It was the first union of ocean waters across the Isthmus. 25 Years Ago

Isthmians, 25 years ago, were con- cerned about some means of getting from

one side of the Isthmus to the other by

either highway or ferry. While the Cris- tobal-Colon Rotary Club endorsed a plan

to build a trans-Isthmian highway with

funds furnished by a group of Milwaukee

investors, a number of other Isthmians were backing a ferry plan. Supporters of the latter included Max Bilgray, Nelson

Rounsevell, and Capt. C. B. Fenton who

suggested that ferry boats be brought

from Denmark.

Meanumile some ferry service was available. The Star & Herald for December 2, 1931, described a "recently-inaugurated" combination bus-and-ferry trip -Gatun to Gamboa by ferry and the trips at either end

by bus. The entire crossing took three hours. Before he left for Washington to appear

before Congress, Gov. Harry Burgess an- nounced that soon after his return Herbert D. Brown, Chief of the Bureau of

of 2,209 children was examined. Of these, 26 percent had no dental defects and the average number of decayed, missing, or

filled teeth per child was .29.

Efficiency, would come to the Canal Zone

to make a general survey. More than 900 men, including contractors' and Canal forces, were at work on the Madden Dam site. The commissary and

post office for the fast-growing settlement were opened that month. As usual, the Canal Zone had distin- guished visitors. Among them: Dr. Frank

Chapman, Ornithologist from the American Musuem of Natural History, here to

visit Barro Colorado Island, and Dr. Albert Einstein, en route to San Francisco

from Antwerp. And hundreds of other

visitors arrived on such cruise ships as the Mauretania, Empress of Australia,

Statendam, Kungsholm, Columbus, Franconia, and La Fayette.

1 Years Ago

The annual announcement of Panama

Canal operations ten years ago this month

disclosed that during the fiscal year which

ended June 30 a total of 1,939 tolls-paying

ships had transited the Canal, carrying

8,603,607 long tons of cargo and paying

tolls totaling $7,243,601. These were the lowest annual figures in Canal history.

The Central Labor Union retained Attor- ney John O. Collins to see what could be done to prevent the coming rent raise; at the end of the month he filed suit in the District Court at Ancon, stating that the Gover- nor had no legal authority to establish rent

rates. The United States Maritime Commission which had "controlled all phases of shipping in Canal waters since May 1942"

announced the closing of its Cristobal

office. Three members of Congress, Senator Robert A. Taft and two Representatives, Albert

J. Engel, of Michigan, and Francis Case,

of South Dakota, were Isthmian visitors. Senator Taft had little to say, but the two

Representatives expressed their opinions on Zone housing. Representative Case (now a

Senator) described the Canal Zone housing

policy as "wretched and pennywise," while

Representative Engel came out in favor of home ownership here. The icebreaker North Wind with several other ships, forerunner of a U. S. Antarctic Expedition, were southbound

through the Canal 10 years ago this month.

Zonians in the news: Harry H. Corn, now Postmaster at Balboa Heights, turned up safe in Acapulco, Mexico, 78 days after he left Balboa, when the yacht on which he was traveling finally made port; it had been becalmed for weeks. Henry L. Donovan, now Civil Affairs Director, became President of the Canal Zone Baseball League.

One Year Ago

Seven members of the Panama sub- committee of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, headed by

Representative Edward A. Garmatz,

spent 10 days on the Isthmus, collecting first-hand information on Canal operations and holding public hearings. The

hearings were the first of the sort to be

held here by this group.
December 7, 1 956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11

Bids To Be Opened

This Month For Two

Conversion Projects

Group Health Insurance Plan Is Ready;

Employees To Elect Committee Members

Daniel J. Paolucci, Coordinator of the Personnel Programs Staff, has been ap- pointed Company-Government liaison representative.

The group health insurance plan will be administered solely by the employeecommittee being formed and it will handle

all matters pertaining to the operation of the plan with the insurance firm. However, the Canal administration has ap- proved the payment of premiums by payroll deductions and other assistance will be furnished to the committee through

the services of Mr. Paolucci. Contracts for the insurance will be

made individually by employees and

these are expected to be ready for dis- tribution at an early date. Under the proposal submitted by Mutual of Omaha,

at least 50 percent of each of the two

main groups of Company-Government

employees based on salary classification must subscribe before the plan can be- come effective on a non-selective basis. Additional information on the insurance

plan will be distributed with the membership applications.

Under the plan adopted, major medical

benefits will be provided in addition to the normal coverage for medical and

hospital costs. Monthly premiums are based directly on the medical tariff of the Canal Zone Health Bureau which is es- tablished on a sliding scale based on

annual salaries. The Review presents below two charts which show the costs and maximum benefits of the group health insurance plan

A group health insurance plan proposed

by Mutual of Omaha will be submitted

this month to Panama Canal employees

With the opening of bids this month and their families. on two more important projects in the The plan was adopted by a committee

Power Conversion Program, the Canal appointed by the Governor to investigate Zone moves a little nearer to the day the possibilities of group health insurance. when all electrical current in the Canal The committee invited proposals from Zone will be 60 cycles. various insurance firms with local repre- This morning bids were to be opened sentation. Four proposals were received.

for the construction of the new substation A permanent Group Health Insurance

at Summit. This bid will include con- Committee is now in process of being

struction of an entirely new building and formed> with empi oyee representation

yard, which will be approximately two- from the varioug labor 01^anizations and

thirds the size of the Mount Hope sub- Civic Councils of the Canal Zone. Four

station, together with the furnishing and members of this permanent group were

installation of all its equipment. Most appoin ted and six committee positions

of this will have to be made specially; wi]) be fi, led b employee elections, the contractor will be allowed 420 calen- _,, , .. . ,.,„/-, , dar days for the work. , The elections, in which all Canal em-

_. ,, „ . ... . . ployees will be invited to participate, are The other December bid opening is sVeduled for next week, with ballots to scheduled for December 12. The contract be distributed witb the pavchecks. Nomfor which bids are to be opened that day mations for thege gix ifions were to be

is for furnishing and installing new pumps made th jg weeL The nominations were and switchgear in the Mount Hope sub- ^ be made b the four ex offido memheta

station converting other pumps re-wir- alread apointed although write. in ing the building and converting all other

votes

- {or

^ , will be per. frequency-sensitive equipment Slated

mjsgible Qn^

ba]lotg ;

for opening on January 4 are bids on a contract for construction of a 12,000-volt The four ex officio members and the

tie-line between Miraflores substation and organizations they represent are: Thomas

Cocoli Diesel Station, and furnishing two L- Sellers President of the Cristobal- 10,000-KVA power transformers. Margarita Civic Council; Ellis L Faw-

^.r i_._j.ii.uTi n cett, President of the Congress of Latin Other contracts for the Power Conver- ^^ ^ Councils; Edward W.

s.on program, for which no definite dates

fa p^d f ^ fc ^

Labo„ have yet been set, will be advertised dur- TT . ' , -- , , „, B „• -«,„;___„

,_ ,

', , ln(-- rr.„ „ . { Union; and Harold VV. Rerne, Chairman

mg the early part of 195/. Ihe first of , T

' , nnA AT?T nTA

u 11 v. r j.l c n j of Local 900, Al'L-CIO.

these will be for the conversion of all domestic and industrial equipment in the ^r^^^XS^- EMPLOYEES GROUP HOSPITAL SURGICAL AND

tisements for the conversion of the Balboa MAJOR MEDICAL INSURANCE BENEFITS*

and Miraflores substations and for the

installation of a remote control and relay

system, and others for the Gamboa and

Paraiso pump stations. Meanwhile, the following summary was

provided by the Power Conversion office, on progress to date: Three units have been completed at the Gatun hydro-electric plant and are under- going final adjustments.

The work of converting equipment in the town of Margarita is three-quarters

done, and conversion in the Industrial Division area is progressing as equipment

arrives. Domestic and industrial conversion in Gatun W1H De started next spring, fol- -Employees in categories 3 through 6 will also have coverage for $12 daily benefits elsewhere; $75 miscel- lowed by Rainbow City and Cristobal. laneous hospital fees elsewhere; $250 maximum surgical charges elsewhere; and $75 maximum maternity The contractor (Sachse) is already re- benefits elsewhere. ceiving equipment for those areas. With the conversion of the sewage- pump station at Fort Davis —done by

Canal forces—the conversion of the entire Post is now completed.

A contract for the conversion of equipment at the Madden Dam hydro-electric

station was let last month to Sachse, International. This is separate from the conversion of the generators, for which a contract was let some months ago to General Electric. Conversion of the Central Area—Gamboa, Summit, and Paraiso—is still waiting arrival of material. The contract for

this area is held by L. R. Sommer. Optional "Dread-Disease Rider" monthly premiums, individual $0.34; family, $0.67.

Cana! Zone Government

Medical Tariff Groups

Maximum

Annual Wage

or Salary

Max.

Daily

Hospital

Benefits On

Isthmus Same As

Tariff, Max.

70 Days

Miscellaneous Hospital

Fees; Isthmus

Maximum

Surgical Based On

C. Z. G. Tariff On

Isthmus

Maximum

Maternity

Benefits On

Isthmus

Maximum

Major

Medical

Benefits In Excess Of Basic With 20%

Co-insur- ance

l $1,290

3,050

5,400

6,600

9,300

(Over)

9,300

$1.50

2.25 3.50

4.75

6.75

8.00

$7.50

12.25

17.50 23.75 33.75

40.00

$50.00

100.00

150.00

175.00 200.00

250.00

$27.00

45.00

65.00 80.00

85.00

105.00

$1,000

2 2,000 3

4

3,000

4,000

5 . 5,000

6 6,000

MONTHLY PREMIUMS

Wage Salary Group

Individual

Individual And One

Child

Individual And Two

Or More

Children

Man

And Wife

Man

And Wife And One

Child

Man

And Wife And Two

Or More

Children

l2

$0.53

0.83

1.62 2.05

2.61 3.08

$0.88

1.38 2.62 3.28

4.09

4.71

$1.41 2.20

4.13

5.13 6.32

7.54

$1.12

1.74 3.30

4.22

5.28

6.24

$1.47

2.28

4.30

5.39 6.76

8.92

$2.00

3.00 3

4

5.81 7.24 56--

9.03 10.69
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1956

And What Did They Talk About? Clothes!

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.6

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CLOTHES WERE THE subject of the moment during a luncheon given

last month by the Supply and Employee Service Bureau for women who

buy them, wholesale and retail. Seated, left to right, are: Miss Helen Ross,

of the New York office of the Associated Merchandising Corporation, Mrs.

W. E. Potter, Wilson H. Crook, Mrs. H. W. Schull, Jr., and Miss Ruth

Gerson, also of AMC. They are backed up by a group of Canal Zone women

and a few men—T. G. Relihan, C. P. Shay, and V. J. Huber—who came

along because commissaries are their business.

Women who buy commissary clotheswholesale and retail—got together last month over a luncheon table in the Tivoli's Fern Room and talked shop.

The wholesale buyers were Miss Helen Ross and Miss Ruth Gerson of the Associated Merchandising Corporation's New

York office, and the retail buyers were a couple of dozen Canal Zone women, many

of them representatives at the Commissary Division's regular forums. The two wholesale buyers who were on

a vacation cruise on the Panama Line's Ancon, were invited to the luncheon by

the Supply and Employee Service Bureau

to tell local women some of the problems

encountered in the clothing business and,

at the same time, ask Canal Zone women

what they want in the dress line. Miss Ross is the AMC's buyer for misses' budget-dresses and Miss Gerson

buys budget- and better-suits. Their

Association, they explained, buys not

only for the Commissary Division but

for 26 major department stores—in- cluding Burdine's in Miami, Bullock's

Closing Of Abattoir

At Mt. Hope Planned

Plans for the purchase of dressed beef from the abattoir in Panama for retail sale in the commissaries were announced

late last month.

With this charge, which will be made

sometime early next year, the Commissary Division's abattoir at Mount Hope

will be closed and the purchase of native

cattle for slaughter will be discontinued. The new arrangement provides more

flexibility in the handling of Panama beef, since the trade after the first of the year

will demand a higher percentage of the

better cuts. Flanks, forequarters, and

other of the lower-grade cuts of meat are now used in making sausage and other ground meats sold. Most of this trade

will be lost after the first of the year by

the withdrawal of commissary privileges

from non-U. S. citizens residing outside the Canal Zone.

In announcing the closing of the abattoir at the Civic Council meeting last month, Governor Potter said that a careful selection of beef would be made and

that it will be inspected by Canal Zone

Health Bureau veterinarians.

on the West Coast, and J. L. Hudson's

in Detroit from one end of the United

States to the other. "And you don't buy the same sort of clothes for Miami that you do for Detroit, or for the Canal Zone that you do for Los Angeles," Miss Ross explained.

In the two years during which she has been handling the purchase of budgetdresses for the Panama Canal Company,

she added, she has become "enthralled" by the Canal Zone's peculiar requirements

and has come to feel almost as if she were

buying for an individual. One major problem of local supply, she

explained, is the need to provide warmweather clothes the year around, although

clothing manufacturers offer these only at certain times of the year. From now through January, she said, only the so-called "cruise-clothes" are

available in the wholesale market. From

January through Easter, manufacturers

will concentrate on the dressier type of street clothes, like ensemble outfits; it

will not be until after Easter that sum- mer wear becomes generally available. Miss Gerson spoke briefly on her specialty—suits which, she said, are not much in demand here except wools for traveling and some washable cottons. She outlined the trend in the suit-field,

this year however—"softer suits; gray is good and blue strong"—so that Isthmian women could know what their sisters in the States are wearing.

When their turn came, the Canal Zone women pointed out that they need, pri- marily, tubbable cottons or linens which

will stand repeated laundering. They also asked for a better type of well-made, smart dress to wear for work and indi- cated that they preferred such dresses with sleeves. Miss Ross answered that they should

find clothes of this sort in several of the

lines she buys, and said that there should soon be available in the commissaries

many Irish-linen dresses and a considerable variety of the "wash-and-wear"

clothes. The commissary customers also asked

for more "sun dresses," for street or office wear with jackets and for home wear

without, and for a larger selection of

dresses, in the under $10 bracket, for teenagers to wear to school. The older women at the luncheon expressed a pref- erence for plain colors or small prints.

One of the problems in a community as

small as the Canal Zone, Miss Ross said during the discussion, is to limit the number of dresses in each style, so that Zone women "don't meet themselves coming

down the street." In the more expensive

price range, only one dress of a style is purchased; the number bought increases

as the price decreases. Just before the meeting adjourned,

Jack Halivosky, a New York manufacturer of budget-type dresses who was also a cruise passenger on the Ancon, told the women some of the problems of his busi- ness and described the manufacturing

process for dresses of this type.

Commissary And Service Center Divisions

To Be Merged Into One Unit On January 1

(Continued from page 1) wholesale stock with any overflow stored in the building now being used for the toy sale. The consolidation of the various activities of the Supply and Employee Service Bureau is one of the many avenues now

being explored to reduce overhead and

operating expenses of these units and

hold the price line for both consumer

goods and services. The various changes which will be made

will be in the nature of consolidations and

will not affect services or sales in the units

to continue in operation.

With the restriction under terms of the Treaty of Commissary and Service Center sales to U. S.-citizen employees

and to non-U. S.-citizen employees who

reside in the Canal Zone, the number of customers in the retail stores will be cut by well over 50 percent, and sales volume

is expected to be reduced by half. Approximately 6,000 of 13,500 Canal employees will lose their commissary privileges at the end of this year, and to this number must be added practically all of the non-U. S.-citizen employees of the Armed Services and other Government

agencies, plus some 4,000 retired employees who now have limited privileges.

The biggest cut in sales volume will be

in the Canal Zone Wage Scale retail stores. The Tivoli Commissary, largest

of these units, and the Camp Bierd

Commissary on the Atlantic side, will both be closed at the end of the year. A

appreciable drop is also expected in the

stores serving United States communities

and in some units this may be as high as 20 percent of sales.
December 7, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13

Changes Galore Scheduled End of December

(Continued from page 2) authorized by

the 1955 Treaty. A list of items that may

be purchased in specifically limited quantities is being prepared. It will include such items as a package of cigarettes, a candy bar, a bottle of aspirin, a box lunch

or food and beverages consumed on the

premises.

The second card will be for the use of the employee's dependents for health

services and hospital privileges only.

These cards, which will be of a different color from the other issued to employees

in this group, will require the listing and

relationship of dependents granted health

service privileges.

The health service privilege cards for dependents must be signed by the employee. The dependents listed will be checked against personnel records. Al- though temporary cards will be issued at

first, cards good for one year will be

issued later and these will be laminated

by the Personnel Bureau. Both of these types of identification- privilege cards will state on the face of the cards that they do not authorize entry

into or purchase at any commissary,

storehouse, or gasoline service station. They will also carry a warning against

trespassing in the commissaries. All existing contraband control measures will be continued in full force. Residents of the Canal Zone who violate purchaseregulations will run the risk of the heavy

penalty of loss in the Canal Zone of both

purchase and housing privileges.

No change will be made in the identi- fication-privilege cards issued for U. S.- citizen employees with limited privileges since the Treaty commitment does not

affect this group. Employees in this group are principally married women

whose husbands are not entitled to commissary privileges.

Although retired employees residing in Panama are now accorded limited pur- chase privileges, these cards are issued only on a special authorization issued by

the Republic of Panama in each case, and it is understood that the special authorizations for this group will not be extended by Panama beyond the end of

this year. The issue of the new identification- privilege cards will be made in the usual

Canal Again Wins Safety Award

•JUST .ABOUT THE spryest 85-year-old ever seen here was Maurice H. Thatcher, back to the camera

in the center front row, above. Mr. Thatcher, the only surviving member of the Isthmian Canal Commission, has just presented Governor Potter with the National Safety Council's Award of Merit and

the Governor has just asked the group of employees "How many of us could read this without glasses?" This was the second time that the Canal organization has won the Award of Merit, second highest safety recognition and only given for a noteworthy improvement in accident frequency and severity rates.

manner for those with full purchase privileges. The Payroll Branch will make

distribution of the health-service privilege cards and those entitling employees to make small purchases in service centers near their job sites.

Safety Zone

(Continued from page 6) John Beckles, Cyril Atherley, and Edward Ford;

Paraiso High School: Mr. Favvcett, Glenville A. Davis, Ernest A. VVattley, and

Fenton Gill; Pedro Miguel: Miss Helen Starr, Mrs.

Millord Seymour, and Connie Seymour.

Rainbow City Elementary: William Wilkie, Jefferson Joseph, Mrs. Miriam Chambers, Philip Henry, and Roberto Miller; Rainbow City High School: O. B. Shirley,

Spencer S. Josephs, DuBois Andrews, Oscar

Murrell, Harold Scott, Maurice McLean,

Milton Richards, Edwin Josephs, Frank

Saums, Carlos Jones, Clarence Stuart, and

Eugene Lowe;

Santa Cruz: A. L. Morgan, Mrs. Hilda

Butcher, A. R. Phillips, and Juanita Greene.

Many Canal Offices To Be

Transferred Before End Of June

NOT A SINGLE empty chair was evident "Out on the Old Front Porch" when Isthmians turned out to say "Happy Birthday" to the Tivoli. Above is part of the crowd. For more pictures of the party, see page S.

(Continued from page s) in the basement

will be moved to the building to be occupied by the Printing Plant. The west wing of the Administration

Building is slated for a full-scale revamping and air conditioning for use as offices. One of the principal changes will be the

construction of a Control Room for the

Civil Defense organization. The room

will be completely fitted with radio and

telephone communications system, a chart room, maps, and other equipment

needed for use as a command post. The long series of moves and office re- assignments, being given momentum by

the changes required by the 1955 Treaty,

will be one of the most extensive ever made since the Canal opened and the Canal headquarters were moved from

Culebra to Balboa Heights.

Bids For Panama Liner

Will Be Opened Dec. 19

Bids for the sale or charter of the SS

Panama are to be opened in Washington, D. C, on December 19. The transaction,

including the advertisement for bids, is being handled for the Company by the United States Maritime Commission.

It is expected that the Board of Directors will give consideration to the pro- posals received at an early date after the opening of bids. The Panama was the first of the three Panama Line vessels placed in service.

It was requisitioned for use as an Army

transport during World War II and was

the first to be returned to civilian service

after the close of the war.

If the Panama is sold or chartered, the Panama Line schedules will have to be adjusted but the exact sailing dates

will not be announced until after a decision

is made on disposition of the ship.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1956

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

October 75 through November 75

Employees who were promoted or transI between October 15 and November

IS are listed below. W'ithin-grade promotions are not reported.

ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

Records Section William D. Hardie, from Supervisory Records Analyst to Supervisory Management Analysl

.

Charles K. Cross, from Supervisory Records Analyst to Management Analyst.

George H. Logan, from Records Analyst

to Management Analyst (Files Analysis and

Design)

.

David F. Mead, from File Clerk to Supervisory Management Analyst (Records

Scheduling and Disposition).

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Division of Schools Mrs. Hope H. Hirons, from Life Guard

to Recreation Assistant. Mrs. Nancy J. Hatchett, from Senior

I [igh School Teacher to Substitute Teacher. Mrs. Gladys S. Lee, from Junior High

s< hool Teacher to Substitute Teacher. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Ralph K. Skinner, from Publications Ed"

itor (Accounting) to Systems Accountant,

Accounting Policies and Procedures Staff. Mrs. Claire V. Hughes, Clerk-Typist, from Accounting Division to Budget and

Rates Division. To Accounting Division Richard W. Coy, from Auditor, General Audit Division, to Systems Accountant. Robert K. Hanna, Accountant, from

General Audit Division. Mrs. Susan H. Boles, from Clerk- Dictating Machine Transcriber, Gorgas Hospital, to Clerk-Typist.

Woodrow G. Torbert, from Accountant, Maintenance Division, to Supervisory Accountant. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Charles S. Malsbury, from Engineering Aid to Meteorological Aid, Meteorological

and Hydrographic Branch. John L. Fischer, from Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Division, to Engineering Aid, Meteorological and Hydrographic

Branch. Howard H. Harrison, from Fleet Machinist to Lead Foreman, Hyacinth Control,

Dredging Division. Carl L. Simons, from Heavy Labor Lead Foreman to Paving and Heavy Labor Lead

Foreman, Maintenance Division. Vernon C. Douglas, from Paving and

Heavy Labor Lead Foreman to Road Construction Lead Foreman, Maintenance Division. Gabriel J. Bonzoumet, William J. Stev- enson, Chris A. Devine, Robert R. Micek, Lawrence J. Ryan, from Frequency Changer

Operator to Power Plant Electrician, Electrical Division. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-PRESIDENT

Thatcher A. Clisbee, from Organization and Methods Examiner to Capital Program

Coordinator, Executive Planning Staff. HEALTH BUREAU

Richard A. Williams, from Staff Xurse, Gorgas Hospital, to Sanitation Inspector, Division of Sanitation. Paul J. Brooks, from Sanitation Inspector

to Supervisory Sanitation Inspector, Division of Sanitation. Mrs. Margaret C. Yerkes, from Procure- ment Clerk to General Supply Assistant (Medical), Gorgas Hospital.

Helen C. Milloy, from Supervisory Property and Supply Office to Supervisory General Supply Officer (Medical), Gorgas Hospital. MARINE BUREAU

John R. Bruland, Jr., from Boilermaker

to Tank Tester, Industrial Division. Harold R. Rodell, from Stockman Fore- man, Commissary Division, to Towing Lo- comotive Operator, Pacific Locks. William R. Dunning, Jr., from Apprentice

Shipfitter to Shipfitter, Industrial Division. Wilfred R. Waldrip, from Commissary

Supervisor, Commissary Division, to Guard, Locks Security Branch.

Alvin A. Rankin, from Lead Foreman

Machinist, Industrial Division, to Floating

Equipment Inspector, Office of Marine Director. Edward J. Friedrich, from Planner and

Estimator to Lead Foreman Machinist, In- dustrial Division. Kenneth W. Wilcox, from Meteorological

Aid, Meteorological and Hydrographic

Branch, to Marine Inspection Assistant, Navigation Division. Mrs. Betti- Jeanne C. Micek, from Usher

and Doorman, Cristobal Theater, to Clerical (CLE), Navigation Division. Charles W. Brown, from Supervisory Clerk (Typist), Pacific Locks, to Supervis- ory Storekeeper, Atlantic Locks. Gardner Hayes, from Supervisory Sanitation Inspector, Division of Sanitation, to Towing Locomotive Operator, Atlantic- Locks.

Alfred C. Mullennax, Henry R. Chenevert, from Fleet Layerout Machinist to Launch Repair Shop Foreman, Navigation

Division. Beverly G. Allen, from Guard to Towing

Locomotive Operator, Pacific Locks. Anthony J. Zablocki, from Towboat Master to Senior Towboat Master, Navigation

Division. SUPPLY AND EMPLOYEE SERVICE BUREAU

Charles P. Shay, from Assistant to Chief- Retail Stores Branch, to Manager, Balboa

Commissary and Supervisor Retail Stores,

Pacific Branch, Commissary Division. Dennis S. Cassidy, from Doorman, Service Center Division, to Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Division. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Cliff Sanders, George H. Egger, Roscoe

S. Burgess, John H. Allen, Ross E. Pase, from Railroad Car Inspector to Inspector Carman, Wood and Steel, Railroad Division. Mrs. Florence Demers, Cash Accounting

Clerk (Teller), from Commissary Division

to Motor Transportation Division. John J. Ryan, from Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Division, to Guard,

Terminals Division.

RETIREMENTS

Retirement certificates were presented the end of November to the following employees w-ho are listed alphabetically, together with their birthplaces, titles, length of Canal service, and future addresses: George D. Cockle, Nebraska; Supervisory

Commissary Supply Officer; 32 years, 9 months, 14 days; McAllen, Tex. John J. Crawford, New York; Plumber,

Maintenance Division; 21 years, 5 months,

29 days; Isthmus, for present. Clarence L. Foiles, Illinois; Supervisory

Storage Officer, Division of Storehouses; 21 years, 1 month, 27 days; Isthmus, for pres- ent.Dr. Ezra Hurwitz, Missouri; Superintendent, Palo Seco Leprosarium; 29 years, 1 month, 17 days; Palo Seco. Capt. Henry P. Kilcorse, Michigan; Towboat Master, Ferry Service; 18 years, 5 months, 29 days; Buffalo, X. Y. Robert L. Miller, California; Control House Operator, Miraflores Locks; 32 years, 6 months, 4 days; Ramona, Calif. Capt. Howarth V. Rowe, Virginia; Pilot, Navigation Division; 29 years, 1 month, 27 days; Madison, Conn. Raymond A. Taylor, Illinois; Distribution and Window Clerk, Diablo Post Office; 5

years, 8 months, 25 days; Washington. Mrs. Anna D. Thomas, Pennsylvania;

Telephone Operator, Communications Br.; 17 years, 6 months, 6 days; Panama, for the

present.

DECEMBER SAILINGS

From Cristobal

Cristobal December 8 Panama* December 15 A neon* December 21

Cristobal December 28

From New York Pa na ma December 6 Ancon December 13

Cristobal] December 19 Puna mat December 28

Because of holiday, the schedule of the Ancon

and the Panama moved forward one day; the ships

will sail from Cristobal on Friday and arrive in New

York the following Thursday.

^Cristobal leaves New York on Wednesday, instead

of Thursday, arriving in Cristobal Christmas Day. XPnnama leaves New York Friday, omits Haiti stop southbound and arrives Cristobal January 2. The

northbound sailing is on schedule.

ANNIVERSARIES

To a second-generation Canal Zone fire- man, Sgt. Blabon D. Humphrey of the Coco

Solito Fire Station, goes the honor of being

senior 30-year man among those who had

anniversaries in November. Sergeant Humphrey is the son of L. L. Humphrey, who

was a fireman with the Isthmian Canal Commission from 1910 to 1914. Sergeant Humphrey had almost 10 years

of Navy service behind him and was an

Aviation Machinist Mate First Class at Coco Solo when he joined the Police and

Fire Division of The Panama Canal in July

1936. He returned to the Navy during

World War II, again for service at the Naval Air Station. Except for some time at Gamboa, when

he was in charge of the Jadwin Avenue substation before the war, and again at Gamboa briefly after the war, all of Sergeant

Humphrey's service has been on the Atlantic side of the Canal Zone.

In January 1951, he was one of several Canal employees selected to attend the Army's Panama Area Damage Control

School at Fort Amador.

Twelve days behind Sergeant Humphrey

in point of service is November's other 30- year employee, Vicente Alfaro. Mr. Alfaro

is Supervisory Freight Traffic Specialist for the Panama Local Agency, more familiarly

known as the Panama Freight House. Mr. Alfaro, who was born in Cartagena,

Colombia, is a Panamanian citizen. All of

his service has been with the Panama Rail- road which he joined on November 24, 1926. He began as a clerk and has been promoted through the ranks to his present

post. Although his service is unbroken, he spent

several months of his leave during the 1930's

in Washington with the LInited States- Panama Claims Commission.

25 YEARS

Two Ohioans, a man from Massachusetts, one from Pennsylvania, and an outlander from the Virgin Islands make up the quintet

of Company employees who rounded out a

quarter of a century of government service

last month.

Two of the five —Lawrence W. Jenkins

and Malcolm A. Johnston, Jr. —have un- broken Canal service. Mr. Jenkins, who

comes from Punxsutawney, Pa., started his Canal career as a clerk with the Receiving

and Forwarding Agency. He is now a Guard Supervisor at Miraflores Locks. Mr.

Johnston, a native of Quincy, Mass., started

at the Locks. He is now an accountant with

the Payroll Branch. The other three 25-year men are, alphabetically: Merwin A. French, William F. Robinson, and Ralph H. Walker. Mr.

French and Mr. Walker are the Ohioans; Mr. French's birthplace was Toledo and

Mr. Walker's Urbana, about 100 miles due

south of Toledo. Mr. French's first Canal job was that of clerk in the Accounting Department. As

Dispatcher and now as Supervisory Marine

Traffic Controller in Cristobal, he has been

putting ships through the Canal since 1940. Mr. Walker, clerk-typist in the Railroad
December 7, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

Time To Get Your Car Ready

For Its Annual Inspection

Owners of vehicles licensed in the Canal Zone have the rest of this month to get

their automobiles and motorcycles and

scooters in condition to pass the annual

examination which is now required by

the Canal Zone traffic regulations.

Beginning January 2 and lasting through

February, inspectors will be on duty at the Ancon and Cristobal garages of the Motor Transportation Division to check

vehicles licensid in the Canal Zone except

those entitled to military-post stickers. Inspection hours will be announced later

in the daily papers. A charge of 50 cents is made for the

inspection, which takes about ten minutes

for each vehicle—according to the per- formance last year. The inspector will concentrate on see- ing that each vehicle is in safe mechanical

condition. The inspection will include

brakes, steering gear, wheel alignment,

horns, tires, rear-view mirror, windshield

wipers, safety glass, mufflers, and turnindicators. The latter are required on al[ vehicles assembled since January 1, 1956

Division, began his Canal career in the old Correspondence Bureau. Mr. Robinson, who was born in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, has never worked for any other Company-Government

unit but the Commissary Division. He is now Manager of the Ancon Commissary.

20 YEARS

The Locks Division corners the 20-year

anniversary section this month. Five of the

ten employees who completed 20 years of government service in November are Locks men, and all five of them have unbroken

service with that Division. Alphabetically they are: Arthur F. Crusey, Control House Operator, Gatun Locks; James H. Jones, Lead Carpenter Foreman,

Miraflores Locks; Charles H. Kissling,

Steam Engineer-Lock Operator, Pedro Miguel Locks; George A. Smith, Machinist- Foreman, Pedro Miguel Locks; and H. A. Sneckenberger, Lockmaster, Miraflores Locks. Two other 20-year employees have un- broken service with the Canal organization; both are with the Postal Division. They

are: James E. Harrell, Postal Clerk at Bal- boa, and Donald R. Jones, Distribution and

Window Clerk at Balboa Post Office. The remaining 20-year employees are: Robert C. Daniel, a native Minnesotan,

who is a Yard and Road Conductor with

the Railroad Division; Frederick A. Ebdon,

who born born in Colon Hospital and is now an Electrical Equipment Inspector for the Power Conversion Division; and Robert

L. Thompson, Administrative Assistant at Gorgas Hospital.

15 YEARS

All but four of November's 15-year employees have unbroken service with the Canal organization. They are: Millard C. Coleman, Engineer, dredge

Cascadas, Dredging Division; Mrs. Gladys

A. Conley, Supply Assistant, Commissary

Division; George R. Ellis, Meteorologist,

Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch; John W. Forrest, Machinist and Inspector,

Industrial Division; Howard E. Fuller, Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Divi-

' sion; Darwin E. Grier, Distribution and

Window Clerk, Coco Solo Post Office; Mrs.

Frances Horter, Clerk, Payroll Branch;

Sophia D. McLimans, Household Arts

teacher, Cristobal High School; George J. Marceau, Manager, Margarita Service Center; Leo A. Ronan, Cablesplicer, Electrical Division; Earl M. Stone, Customs Guard, Customs Division; Edwin C. Tompkins,

Engineer, dredge Mindi, Dredging Division; and Edward C. Yocum, Electronics Mechanic, Electrical Division. Other 15-year employees are: Mrs. Eliz- abeth I. Brown Clerk (Typist), Engineering

Division ; Mrs. Nadine W. Cain, Head Nurse

Corozal Hospital; Anthony J. Catanzaro, Motor Boat Maintenance Mechanic, Dredging Division; and Bernadine C. Lally, Sten- ographer, Executive Planning Staff.

Both Sides Of Isthmus Will Celebrate Passage Of Billionth Ton Of Cargo

(Continue! from paq>. 1) other high officials of Panama and the Canal Zone.

Plans for the observance of this signi- ficant milestone in the Panama Canal's 42 years of operating history have been

arranged by a committee appointed by

the Governor and headed by Capt. Warner S. Rodimon, Marine Director. Serving with him are Wilson H. Crook, Supply

and Employee Service Director; B. I. Everson, Transportation and Terminals

Director; Capt. Anthoiy C. Roessler,

Balboa Port Captain; Capt. Charles S. Hutchings, Cristobal Port Captain; Wil- liam G. Arey, Jr., Information Officer; William A. Van Siclen, Jr., Superintendent of the Atlantic Locks; Capt. Harold

T. Longmore, President of the Pilots' Association; Neil H. Wilson, Director of Admeasurement; and Hugh A. Norris,

Economist.

Participating in the billionth-ton cere- money at Gatun will be representatives

from every Company-Government unit and activity having direct responsibilities

in connection with the actual transit of a

ship between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in addition to officials of all the shipping firms on the Isthmus. Among the Canal groups to be repre- sented by an employee designated by the

unit head will be the Panama Canal pilots, boarding officers, lockmasters, towinglocomotive operators, signalmen, Aids to Navigation employees, Dredging Division, Transportation and Terminals Bureau, Industrial Division, Panama Railroad, the Customs Division, and several other units. They will be introduced at the Gatun

Locks ceremony by Captain Rodimon,

who will act as master of ceremonies. In making the introductions, the Marine

Director will tell briefly what the duties of each unit are in respect to transiting ships.

Wide Publicity

Since the special ceremonies for the

billionth ton of cargo shipment through

the Canal are designed to publicize to the world the tremendous import of the Pan- ama Canal to world commerce and its importance to the free world in time of war, the event is being widely publicized.

Special press releases have been issued

in advance to all the major news services, leading newspapers throughout the United

States and Latin America, and shipping

publications in various parts of the world.

Invitations have been extended to press, radio, television, and newsreel agencies to send representatives to the ceremonies. The ship bearing the ton of cargo which

is to attract such wide attention will be

clearly identifiable as it passes through

the 50-mile interoceanic waterway. A

gigantic banner has been painted and

will be placed on the port side of the ship soon after it steams through the break- water in Cristobal. Postal Cachet

The movement of the billionth ton through the Canal will be given special

recognition by the Canal Zone Postal

Service with a cachet to be placed on all outgoing first-class and airmail that day.

This has also been widely publicized

among newspapers in the United States which devote interest to philately. The

cachet will not be used as a cancellation but as an imprint on outgoing mail. The design of the cachet, carried in

this issue of The Review, was made by

Paul W. Colby, Chief of the Panama

THIS CACHET, designed by Paul Colby, will be

used on all first-class mail the day the billionth ton

of cargo goes through the Canal.

Canal's Architectural Branch, and a well- known local artist. It is expected, be- cause of the advance publicity which the

billionth ton has received, that the special cachet will be highly popular among

stamp collectors and dealers. The prediction of the specific date on which the billionth ton of cargo will be shipped through the Canal is fully in keeping with the ups and downs of Canal

traffic over its 42 years of operation. Ship

movements through the Canal have been

vitally affected by major political and

economic upheavals throughout the world and few periods of the past half century

have been more uncertain for world shipping than the past month.

However, Panama Canal personnel who

deal daily with ship and cargo movements

both in actuality and statistically, fully

believed, the last day of November, that

the billionth ton would arrive for transit no later than next Friday. Up through

last Friday, November 30, there had been

shipped through the Canal since it was

opened to commercial ship traffic on August 15, 1914, a total of 998,841,585 tons

of cargo.

It was fully expected at the time when

this edition of The Review was closed, that an upsurge of ships through the Canal would occur within about ten days

of the settlement of the maritime strike which has paralyzed shipping along the East and Gulf coasts of the United States. The prediction on the date of arrival of the billionth ton is based on past experi- ences in the revival of shipping movement

following the settlement of maritime

strikes which have tied up a large segment

of shipping in United States ports.

We May Have Rain, No Snow Or Ice But Christmas Here Is Really Nice

(Continued from pages) when the Bal- boa Junior High School presents its annual program beginning at 7:30 o'clock that night in the Balboa Gymnasium.

Dates, places, and times for the other secondary school programs are: Balboa High School: 8 p. m., December

18, Balboa Theater.

Paraiso High School: 7:30 p. m., Dec- cember 19, High School Campus.

Cristobal High School: 7:30 p. m., Dec- ember 20, Cristobal High School Auditorium. Rainbow City High School: 7:30 p. m., December 21, High School Gymnasium.

Sometime during Christmas week,

there will be a special presentation of The Messiah in the patio of the Balboa

Elementary School, given by members of the Canal Zone Junior College Community Chorus. The date will be announced

later.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 7, 1956

SHIPS t ND SHIPPING

INDUSTRIAL DIVISION forces are now at work on an extensive repair and replacement program

for the 183-foot dredge, Colombia, above. This will be one of the largest jobs ever done at Mount Hope.

TRANSITS BY OCEAN-GOING

VESSELS IN OCTOBER

1956 1955

Commercial 699 709 U.S. Government.. 22 29

Total.. 721 738 TOLLS*

Commercial.. _$3,089,444 $3,070,459

U.S. Government. 99,468 101,433

Total $3,188,912 $3,171,892

"Includes tolls on all vessels, ocean-going and small.

Transiting Tourists Twenty-eight large parties of tourists, ranging from groups of 100 up to almost

700, are scheduled to make a partial transit of the Canal before the first of April when the tourist season more or less

officially comes to an end. The figure

does not include the group from the

Bergensfjord which was here last week on

her maiden cruise. In some cases, two large ships will be

in port the same day and their passengers have arranged for hips through the Cut. When this happens one group will make

the southbound trip from Gamboa to Pedro Miguel aboard the ferryboat Pr?si- dente Porras in mid-morning and the other will start from Pedro Miguel toward

Gamboa in the late afternoon. The first December cruise ship was the Ryndam, several hundred of whose pass- engers made the trip through the Cut. The Ryndam was in port Wednesday.

Other large cruise ships which will have

shore parties making the Cut trip this month and next are: Flandre and Homeric, December 28;

Carinthia, December 31; Silver Star, Jan- uary 9; Homeric, January 12; Empr ess of

Scotia tid, January 23 ; Oslofjord, January 29. Ten cruise ships are due in February

and the same number in March. Those

due in February are: Nieuw Amsterdam,

February 8; Empress of Scotland, February 11; lie de France and Andes, February

12; Olympia, February 14; Flandre, February 17; Mauretania, February 18; Homeric, February 19; and Silver Star, February 20. For March and April: Stella Polaris and Empress of Scotland, March 4; He de

France, March 5; Olympia, March 6; Mauretania, March 9; Homeric and

Flandre, March 10; Olympia, March 21; He de France and Empress of Scotland,

March 22; and Silver Star, April 1. Ex-"Man'posa" Due

One of the most interesting of the cruise- ships is the 26,000-ton Homeric. Flagship

of the Home Lines, she will make four

cruises here this season: December 28, January 12, February 18, and March 10. The January cruise is reserved for the American College of Surgeons. The February cruise will differ from the others

in that on that trip the Homeric will put

in to the San Bias Islands. Once the Mariposa of the Matson Line, the Homeric was "re-engined" in Cali- fornia in 1954. She then went through

the Panama Canal May 16, 1954, in ballast, en route to Italy. This 9,265-mile

trial run is considered by shipping men

the longest of its sort in maritime history.

From April to early November, the Homeric is on the Quebec-Le Havre- Southampton route, carrying over 1,100 passengers on each of her trans-Atlantic voyages. Local agents for the vessel are Fenton & Co. Banana Comfoit

The last wrinkle in comfort for bananas

has been installed on one of the newest

United Fruit Company freighters.

Stabilizing equipment, which keeps

passengers happy and non-seasick on the

rolling main, is used on the MV Calamares

to keep Chiquita Banana in a pristine

and unbruised condition. Her skipper told local agents that the equipment worked "just fine" and would

keep both passengers and bananas happy.

The new United Fruit ship was built

in England and arrived here recently on

its maiden voyage to Golfito. New Super-Tanker

One of the largest ships to pass through

the Panama Canal during November was

the Esso Colombia, super-tanker owned by

the Esso Shipping Company. The vessel arrived in Cristobal from Amoy Bay,

Venezuela, with a full load of 31,602 tons

of crude oil. She made her first transit with three Panama Canal pilots on board and sailed

Industrial Division Starts ==

Repair Of Colombian Dredge <S,

g c One of the biggest marine repair jobs ^==^

ever to be tackled by the Canal's Indus- u. *

trial Division in Cristobal was started °

jj this week when work was begun on the ^^=c complete replacement of the hull and the

jfj ^=S overhaul of the main and auxiliary engine >

c

, of the 183-foot Colombian government- §^^c

owned suction dredge Colombia. ^^=

The project, it was estimated, will cost =

approximately $160,000 and will require

five months to complete.

The estimate was made in October

after an extensive survey and assessment

of the extent of the repairs needed was made by Industrial Division forces. The

Colombia was pulled up onto the Marine

Railway No. 2 Monday when work was

actually started. One of the most valuable pieces of har- bor equipment in Buenaventura, Colombia, the dredge was brought to the Canal Zone in August under tow of the tug

Englishman. It was towed through the Canal to Cristobal by a Panama Canal

tug and, except for a short time when it was on the marine railway for inspection, the dredge has been tied up at the Industrial Division pier. The Colombia was built originally in 1907 and was rebuilt, in Holland, 20 years

later. Since 1927, it has been in contin- uous service in the busy Buenaventura

harbor where it was used to pump out heavy silt and sand deposits brought into the bay by several small rivers. The dredge is under the command of Capt. Miguel Insignares, a veteran Col- ombian dredge expert who has been en- gaged in dredging operations in the Buenaventura harbor for the past 18

years.

en route to Huntington Beach, Calif. The super-tanker was built recently for the Esso Company in Dunkirk, France. She is 690 feet in 'length, has a 90.2-foot beam, and has a gross tonnage of 31,602

tons. She flies the Panamanian flag and

will make regular runs between California and Venezuela.

Piles Of Piles

If the piling discharged from the Grace

Line's Santa Leonor at Balboa last month

were laid tip to tip in a single line, it would stretch from the railroad station

in Panama City almost to the railroad- stop at Corozai which is a lot of piling

in anyone's book.

In all, 310 pieces of piling were unloaded from the Grace Line freighter.

The piling, in pieces from 50 to 75 feet

in length, is creosoted fir from the west

coast. It is to be used by the Canal or- ganization at the locks, the ferry landings,

and the Cristobal terminals, among other ±

places.

Scrap Shipment

One of the largest shipments of scrap

to leave here in some time was loaded aboard the German-flag Esperanza at Balboa in November.

A total of 2,787 short tons of scrap

all from Panama were loaded aboard

the 4,956-ton freighter. The scrap is con- signed to Antwerp.

The Panama scrap joined Peruvian

scrap aboard the Esperanza. Before loading in Balboa, the ship had picked up a smaller load of scrap in Pimental, Peru.