Gift ofthe Panama Canal Museum wt

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Vol. 6, No. 9 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, APRIL 6, 1956 5 cents Apprentices Will Hold

Fiftieth Birthday Party

SENIOR APPRENTICE ALUMNI on the Atlantic side, still in service, are these four. Left to

right, they are: Alexander McKeown, Winchell T. Pennock, Albert MeKeown, and Russell Parsons, £l

SENIOR APPRENTICE ALUMNI on the Pacific side are these three: Kenneth M. Edwards and John L. Reese, Jr., of Pedro Miguel Locks, and R. E. Seavey, of the Balboa Gas Plant. The Panama Canal's apprentices are having a birthday party this month, and

a fiftieth birthday party at that. The party will not celebrate the birth- day of any of the current crop of apprentices, of course. It is, rather, a birthday

party for the apprentice-training program, which is in its fiftieth year this year. In addition to the 36 young men who

are taking four-year apprenticeships in 18 crafts, there are 212 former apprentices—graduates of the program in the Canal service. Just how many of them

will be able to attend the celebration at

the Tivoli Guest House next Wednesday

night is not certain; early returns to invitations sent to the former apprentices

indicate a large turnout. The birthday party will take the form

of a semi-official dinner, complete with

wives, filet mignon, a toastmaster, and

speakers. As this issue of The Review

went to press Gov. J. S. Seybold was to address the 1 1 young men who have completed or who will complete their four- year apprenticeships this year. Seven

of them are or will be wiremen, two,

pipefitters, one, a boiler- (Nor page 15)

ZONIANS SET

TO WATCH TV

IN OWpOMES

Installation of television sets

in Canal Zone homes was begun

last month by the Commissary Division following an an- nouncement that the Armed

Forces station will soon begin

regular telecast programs.

In connection with television in the Canal Zone, a revision of General Order No. 22 has been issued, pertaining to out- door antennas for radio and television. The revision brings up-to-date the regulations for such installations to conform

with the National Electrical Code. The

regulations cover all outside antenna

installations including those for radio and

for amateur broadcasting. Applications for the installation of antenna systems on houses under the

jurisdiction of the Canal Zone Govern- ment may be obtained from their housing

offices by employees. Those who install outside antennas have been cautioned to make applications and install their equipment to conform

with the new regulations. The installa- tion will be subject to inspection by the Engineering and Construction Bureau to insure that the code requirements and

other regulations have been met. Indoor antennas will not require approval. Programs In May

According to the recent announcement,

test-pattern telecasting is scheduled to be

started about mid-April and regular pro- gram telecasting early in May for the

Pacific side. Telecast programs from the Atlantic side Armed Forces station will be sometime later, depending upon deliv- ery of transmission equipment for relay- ing signals across the Isthmus. The television sets being sold by the Commissary Division are equipped with

"rabbit ears," or indoor antennas. The

sets are being installed by the distributors

in Panama. The first orders for television sets were

taken just before Christmas by the Commissary Division. The first sets were

received in January but their installation was deferred pending announcement as to the starting date for telecast programs. The sets being sold by the Commissaries are built to receive television signals on 25- or 60-cycle current and therefore

will not require conversion when the change is made in the power system

supplying the various communities. A note of caution concerning reception

of television signals in the Canal Zone was sounded by Governor Seybold at his

last conference with Civic (See page 15)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956

Psychiatric Social Worker Leads Off

REVIEW'S New "One-Of-A-Kind" Series

THE INFECTIOUS SMILE and charming personality of Elizabeth' Murphey, psychiatric social worker at Gorgas Hospital, pat her patients and visitors at their ease. Here she tells an interviewer: "Never since I was a little girl have I ever wanted to do anything except what I am now doing."

Elizabeth B. Murphey is not only the only medical-psychiatric social worker in the Canal Zone. She is also the first person who has ever held such a position here and thus is doubly qualified to lead

off this new Review feature. A handsome, soft-spoken, white-coated but very feminine woman, she is on duty

five days a week in the Neuro-Psychiatric Clinic at Gorgas Hospital helping

the doctors who help Zonians unwind. She has been with the Canal organization

since September 1954, when the position was created to fill a long-felt need in the Canal Zone's medical services. "In my job as Psychiatric Social Worker," she told The Panama Canal

Review, "I work as an assistant to the

Psychiatrist in evaluating the social and

emotional elements of patients' problems and their motivation for treatment."

Social Casework

Her job, of course, also involves social casework, for which she was trained at Goucher College in Baltimore and at the Worden School of Social Service of Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio,

Tex."Casework," she explained, "is a form

of relationship-therapy by which an

individual is helped to mobilize the latent strengths in his personality for the solving

of his own problems." In less technical language, she helps the patient to help himself. Her work brings her into close contact with patients of all ages but she does all of the interviewing of adolescent girls. They may have come to the clinic because

they realized they were tangled emotionally in school or social problems, they may have been brought by their parents,

or the visit may have been suggested by

the school nurse or principal. In hourly interviews weekly, the girls are helped to adjust toward school or

society. As long as she can remember, Mrs.

Murphey has never wanted to do anything except the work in which she is now engaged. Born in Philadelphia, she attended the Friends' Select School there. Always Main Interest "My interest in social work," she says

today, "was first aroused by my Quaker

teachers, whose deep faith in the inherent worth of the individual and his right to make his own choice in life early became

part of my own philosophy. They made

an opportunity for me to understand the

social problems of race discrimination, poor housing, financial need, and the emotional problems of frustration and

inadequacy, and aroused my interest in doing volunteer work at a settlement house in the slum area, sponsored by

the school." In her first job, she performed family casework, investigated families which

needed assistance, and helped widows and

small children who had been referred to the agency. Later, in the Philippines, from which she and her children were evacuated not long befoie Pearl Harbor,

she did rehabilitation and repatriation work with American women stranded in the islands. Before she came to the Canal Zone she worked in Pediatrics and

Child Guidance at Brooke Army Hospital

in San Antonio, Tex. Mrs. Murphey will be leaving the Isthmus soon with her Army doctor husband, Col. Henry S. Murphey, who

is just ending a tour as Chief of the Eye,

Ear, Nose, and Throat Service at Gorgas

Hospital. Their two children are already

in the United States, their daughter as a graduate student in the School of Social Economics at Bryn Mawr, and their son

in pre-medies at Princeton.

I Editor's Note: This is the first of a

series of stories on the "singletons" in the Canal organization the men and women

who hold one-of-a kind jobs, either in the Panama Canal Company or the Canal Zone

Government.)

Careful Study Needed

For Analysis Of Bids

On Lock Locomotives

Initial cost will be but one of many

important factors to be given consideration by Canal officials during the next few weeks as they analyse and evaluate bids opened late last month to replace the 67 Locks towiDg locomotives now in use. Machines to do an unusual job safely and with complete reliability under

tropical weather conditions for a period of several decades are needed. Many of the

"electric mules" now in service are well over 40 years old and long, careful consideration will be given to their replace- ment.

Proposals for their replacement were

received from three large manufactureis

of industrial equipment: International General Electric Company, R. G. Le- Tourneau, Inc., and Sandy Hills Iron and

Brass Works—with the lowest unit price being slightly over $130,000, entered by

General Electric. LeTourneau entered a proposal for a new type of towing locomotive which would require only 30 to do the job of all those now in service at a total price of $4,982,400, or about $166,000 a unit. Biggest Replacement

This will be the largest single replace- ment order placed for Canal equipment

since the waterway was opened. It is made necessary by the power-conversion program as it was considered more eco- nomical to buy new towirg locomotives than to convert those now in use, some

of which are nearing the end of their useful life and would have to be replaced. Other phases of the Power Conversion

Project continued apace during the past few weeks. Some delay will be experi- enced in the conversion of domestic equipment at Margarita which was scheduled to start this week. The work is now- scheduled to start April 16. The post- ponement was made necessary by late delivery of necessary materials caused by

the strike at Westinghouse Electric Company plants.

It has also been announced that the opening of bids for the Central Area conversion will be postponed from April 4

until April 16 to give prospective bidders

additional time to study the project. In connection with the beginning of conversion of frequency-sensitive equip- ment, the Electrical Division has called attention to the fact that more power

interruptions are likely during the conversion period. Most Canal Zone areas

are served by alternate feeder lines. During conversion periods some of these

lines will supply 60-cycle and the others

25-cycle current. If a power outage occurs

it will in many cases be necessary to make

repairs rather than switch to an alternate feederline without noticeable interruption. Complex Bids Much interest was aroused in the opening of bids for the replacement of the towing locomotives, not only because of the size of the project but also by the

fact that the Panama Canal Company

had invited manufacturers to submit

plans and prices for any new mechanism

to handle ships in the Locks. The pro- posal by LeTourneau was submitted under this phase of the (See page W)
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL' REVIEW New Railroad Crossing

Will Be Opened Soon

Paul Runnestrand Appointed

Zone' s New Executive Secretary

Maintenance Division forces this week

began the resurfacing of the section of

(iaillard Highway between the Corozo

Street Crossing and the main entrance of Albrook Air Force Base.

It is expected that this phase of the

Gaillard Highway improvement program

will be completed within the next two

weeks and the section will be reopened

to traffic April 23. The new Walker Avenue extension across the raihoad

tracks will also be completed on that date. The Gaillard Highway work is the

largest single street improvement project planned for this fiscal year. It includes resurfacing the road from the boundary line to Diablo Crossing, installation of traffic lights at the principal inter- sections, the extension of Walker Avenue

in Diablo Heights across the railroad, and

construction of a new street to connect

Frangipani Street in Ancon with Tivoli Crossing. The Maintenance Division is doing all of the street work; the traffic signals will be installed under contracts awarded

several weeks ago. The remainder of the street work on

the highway will be done in short sections and these will be closed to all traffic while work is underway. When the present phase is completed, the section of highway

between Corozo Street Crossing and the entrance to the Civil Affairs Building at the Albrook hangar will be closed. The

next section to be closed will be that be- tween the hangar and the entrance to Curundu, with work on the remaining

section scheduled last.

PAUL M. RUXNESTRAXI)

Paul M. Runnestrand, who has just completed 15 years of continuous service with the Canal organization, became

Executive Secretary of the Canal Zone Government on April 1. He will also continue to hold the title and perform

the duties of Executive Assistant to the President of the Panama Canal Company.

With the dual title and duties, Mr.

Runnestrand will be one of the Governor's

top advisers in both Company and Government affairs. As Executive Secretary he is a principal adviser, liaison officer, and responsible staff representative of the Office of Minimum Wage Hearing

THE SECOND Congressional hearing in the Canal Zone in a three-month period took place last month when members of a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Labor and

Education visited the Isthmus. The Congressmen took testimony to be studied in connection with a

bill which would exempt the Canal Zone from the Federal Minimum Wage Law. After hearing Company-Government, contractor, labor, and employee representatives here, the subcommittee

returned to Washington where Governor Seybold appeared before them. Above, members of the subcommittee confer before the beginning of one session here. Left to right, they are: Fred C. Hussey, Committee Clerk; Russell C. Derrickson, Chief Investigator; Rep. Carl Elliott, of Alabama.

Chairman; Rep. Sam Coon, of Oregon; and Rep. Orvin B. Fjare, of Montana.

the Governor-President on policy matters

concerning the Government of Panama,

diplomatic and consular missions, and

private commercial and non-commercial

interests in the Republic of Panama and

also in the Canal Zone. His responsibilities include staff coordi- nation and supervision of policies and

regulations concerning contraband control, Canal Zone purchase privileges,

eligibility to engage in business activities

in the Zone, and the eligibility of persons

to enter, reside, or remain in the Zone. He represents the Office of the Governor

in policy matters concerning administration of laws governing foreign corporations, including insurance companies, and

of the securities sales law. He is custo- dian of the Canal Zone Seal and performs

consular and related duties. As Executive Assistant to the President

of the Company, Mr. Runnestrand serves

as staff adviser, participates in the formulation of policies, and in general renders executive assistance to the Presi- dent. His duties include initiating, coordinating, or reviewing programs, reports, and correspondence involving committees and members of Congress or the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company.

Mr. Runnestrand is a native Minnesotan and was graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor

of law degree in 1 938. He joined the Canal organization in 1941 as Associate Attorney in the General Counsel's Office and was promoted to Assistant General Counsel in August 1948. He is a member of the bar of the Minnesota Supreme

Court, Canal Zone District Court, the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth

Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. The new Executive Secretary was

transferred to the Canal's Washington

Office in August 1953 to become Assistant Secretary of the Panama Canal Company. He returned to the Isthmus six months

ago when he became Executive Assistant

to the Governor-President.

April 16 Is Final Date

For Paying Income Taxes

A large number of Canal Zone residents have already filed their final tax returns on income for the calendar year 1955 and

have made estimates of the income they

expect to earn during 1956, but all others must file their returns and declarations of estimated tax not later than April 16. Due date for taxes for the previous year and for tax estimates is ordinarily April 15 but the closing date has been

extended one day this year because April 15 falls on Sunday. The balance of the 1955 tax is payable

in full when the return is made and at

least a quarter of the 1956 estimated tax

is due with that return. Because they live outside the conti- nental United States, Zonians have an automatic extension to June 15 for final returns for 1955. Those who take ad- vantage of this extension, however, will pay an additional 1 percent interest on

the unpaid balance of any taxes due.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956 Zonian' s Camera Discloses World Beneath The Sea

THE MANNS, above, are equipped for a combination photographic and spear

fishing expedition. Schools of fish, below, are not disturbed by the camera.

Armed with movie and still cameras, in addition to the customary spearguns, aqualungs, and

fins of the skin diver, Mr. and Mrs. Anthony

Mann of Balboa are spending their spare time

recording some of the world which lies beneath

Isthmian waters.

Skilled swimmers and skilled photographers,

they decided to combine their two hobbies when

they found themselves without words to describe some of the amazing fish and corals which they found at the bottom of the seas off the coast of Panama. And, incidentally, to provide a record

of some of their expeditions. So far they have explored some of the ocean bottom off the San Bias Islands and have made

diving and photographic trips to many of the

islands in Panama Bay. They have encountered

sharks and barracudas, which they regard with

caution; they have come face to face with huge jewfish which were so friendly that they

"hogged the lens;" and they have swum amidst

schools of brilliantly colored fish of other

varieties. The clearest water, they have found, has been

off the San Bias. There, also, are stupendous

beds of coral of many kinds. They have seen

their biggest fish in the Pacific but the water

there is frequently so murky that photography

is difficult. Just the other day, however, the underwater light was good at the same time a

fellow diver speared a big jewfish. Mr. Mann

hopes he has the battle safely recorded on

his film. Other than waterproof cases for their camera,

they are not working with special cameras. The pictures on this page were taken with a Paxtet 35 mm. camera. Mr. Mann, whose working hours are spent in the Engineering Division, uses home-made heavy

plexiglass boxes to enclose the 35 mm. camera and the 8 mm. Revere movie camera. A

rubber-covered control shields the winding stem

of the movie camera and similar rubber sheaths cover the film wind and shutter of the still camera. He has yet, however, to devise some method

of adjusting the lens opening of either camera and must work with fixed focus and spetd. He

uses Kodachrome or Ektachrome film, a speed

of l/50th of a second, and lens openings according

to the light.

BEDS OF CORAL and big grouper, hiding in rock clefts, attract underwater swimmers off San Bias islands Rk V

V \

< ' aflH

X f *2 V ^m^*
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

WITH TELESCOPES like these. Atlantic side stargazers scan the night skies. Behind the instru- ments are Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Herrman, of Gatun. The 8-inch telescope was built by Mr. Herrman.

The Sky's The Limit For Stargazers

In Newest Canal Zone Hobby Group

At an abandoned Army position on the

outskirts of Gatun where nothing lies between them and the horizon, a group

of Atlantic siders are stargazing. Almost any night up to half a dozen of them may

be found there scanning the bright, dry- season skies through their telescopes. The stargazers are members of the Panama Canal Astronomy Club, newest

of the hobby groups among Canal employees. All of them are amateurs, they

emphasize; they would have included "amateur" in the name of their club had

they not felt that the title would then have been too long. So far they are not interested in the

declination of the stars or the perihelion and aphelion of the planets, though these

technical aspects of the oldest science in the world may come later. Right now

they are still quite literally wide-eyed at the celestial wonders their telescopes have disclosed the great craters of the moon, the snowy-white rings of Saturn,

the satellites surrounding Jupiter, and

the blood-red star in the center of the Southern Cross. And for some of them their stargazing has opened up a new field -mythology. They want to know the stories behind the

constellations, why Cassiopea is seated in her chair? why Orion is hunting with his two dogs? and who were the twins? Began With Telescope The founders and leaders of the Pana- ma Canal Astronomy Club are Mr. and

Mrs. Charles Eugene Herrman of Gatun, and the club, by and large, is an out- growth of Mr. Herrman's interest in telescopes. Several years ago when they were living in Diablo Heights Mr. Herr- man, whose father was an amateur astron- omei, decided to build a telescope. His

first instrument, a 6-inch reflector, was

constructed from diagrams in books from

the Canal Zone Library. The instrument opened up such wondrous new fields for the Herrmans and some of their friends that they talked of organizing a club for those with similar

interests. Before anything could come

of their plans the Herrmans moved to Gatun and he had built another larger telescope—this one with a S-inch mirror. Not long after last Christmas Mr. and

Mrs. Hen-man and Mr. and Mrs. Fay M.

Brown, of Margarita, who had been in on

the earlier discussion of an astronomy

society, decided to "stop talking and do

something concrete." A few nights later John H. Leach, of New Cristobal, Mr.

and Mis. Chester S.Harrold, of Margarita, and Theodore L. Bailey, of Gatun got

together with the Herrmans and the Browns and the club was organized. Looking Ahead

At every subsequent meeting of the group the membership has increased; on March 14, 15 persons turned out for the Club's first Star Party to S3e the moon

and the bright planet Venus. When the Club is formally incorporated in May, its members will pay $3 annual dues for an

individual or $4.50 for a family membership, and the Club will eventually become

associated with the Astronomical League, headquarters for which are in Washington. The league is the parent association

for the amateur astronomy clubs in the United States. As the knowledge of its members

increases, the Club hopes to chart the Isthmian skies, supplementing and adding

to the sky maps prepared some years ago by Clarence True. They will also make

reports, as amateur astronomers do the world over, to the Harvard University; data from such amateur reports has more

than once started the experts on the trail of an important astronomical discovery. Later on Mr. Hen-man expects that the Panama Canal Astronomy Club, like other such groups, will be called on to keep a constant check on the man-made

satellite which the United States plans

to launch into space. Their reports will provide information to add to that col- lected by professional observers. And as time goes on, some of the members may begin to specialize, as a good many other amateurs do. Some of them may concentrate on nebulae, some on the moon with its fantastic ranges of mountains and gaping craters, and others on meteors or comets. Four Telescopes Some of the members of the Astr raomy

Club are working with "boughten" instru- ments, some with those they have made

themselves, and others have telescopes in various stages of completion. At the present time they have, among

them, the 8-inch telescope which Mr. Herrman made, a 6-inch owned by Mr.

Leach and a 3-inch instrument owned by

Mr. and Mrs. Brown; these are all the

reflector type. The other of the four owned by Club members is a 60-mm.

refractor. In a reflector type instrument, a con- cave minor throws the images from the sky back toward the upper end of the

telescope where they fall on the eyepiece

or, in some instruments, on a photographic plate. In some reflecting tele- scopes the light is reflected again to a secondary mirror and comes to a focus

either to the side or after passing through

a hole in the principal mirror. The

famed Palomar telescope in California, with its 200-inch mirror, is a reflector. In a refractor telescope, the light falls onto a lens which converges the rays to a focus where the image may be magnified by a second lens in the eyepiece. Bigger The Better The larger the lens or mirror in the

telescope, the farther into space the astronomer can see. With the Club's 3- inch instrument, for instance, an observer can see two of the black surface bands

which distinguish Jupiter. But through

the 8-inch instrument many more bands

are clearly defined. Four of the planet's

1 1 moons are distinguishable through any

of the Club's instruments. Mr. Herrman spent over a year on his 8-inch telescope and most of this was

devoted to the long, slow process of grinding, shaping, and polishing the mirror. He did all of the work himself, starting the grinding process with car- borundum and continuing with successively finer abrasives. For the final polishing he used rouge. Commendation When he had finished the mirror, he

sent it to Springfield, Yt., where experts coated it with aluminum to increase its reflecting power. His work had been so

well done that the minor was returned with a letter of high commendation from

the Springfield specialists. Mr. Herrman is president of the new

club and Mr. Leach its vice president. Other officers are: Mrs. Fay Brcwn,

Secretary, and Mrs. Herrman, Treasurer. The group meets about twice a month in the homes of members and on special occasions in the Margarita Service Center.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956

FOR YOUR INTEREST AND GUIDANCE

i e& i~i— i&t

CCIDENT PREVENTION

LYE

The practice of individuals of using lye

to open up sluggish sink drains sometimes

creates a hazard when a plumber has to open the drain for cleaning. Employees

have experienced burns on their hands and in one case an eye injury occurred. In addition to creating a hazard, the. combination of lye, grease in the drain, and cold water, forms soap and may

cause the drain to become completely

stopped.

If your sink does not drain properly, HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

FEBRUARY

COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Community Services 2

Civil Affairs 1 Health 1 Supply 1 Transportation and Terminals 1 Engineering and Construction Marine

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES FEBRUARY

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION DREDGING DIVISION ELECTRICAL DIVISION MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DIVISION RAILROAD DIVISION STOREHOUSES DIVISION HOUSING DIVISION SANITATION DIVISION AIDS TO NAVIGATION

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Aids to Navigation 2 Grounds Maintenance 2 Housing 2 Motor Transportation 2 Railroad 2 San i ta tion 2 Service Center 2 Storehouses 2 Commissary

Dredging

Electrical Hospitalization and Clinics Industrial Maintenance Naviga tion Terminals

Locks.

phone for the plumber. Don't use lye

or other clean-out materials.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, the penalty for driving while intoxicated is a fine of $2,800 or 10 years in jail or both. SHOCK

You may be in for a shocking surprise

if you're not in the steady habit of grounding electrical tools. Maybe you've been a little lazy about

this in the past. If so, it's time for a change —to avoid a charge. Make certain the ground wire on

every portable electric tool is attached to a suitable ground before inserting the

plug. Report unprotected tools to your

foreman. A short circuit can give you such a jolt you may lose your balance and fall. If you're standing on wet ground the shock

can kill you!

Nowadays, the thing to put aside for

one's old age is all thought of retirement. ONE SIDED LIFT

Safe lifting is not all summed up in the

familiar "lift with the legs instead of the back" rule. Among the practices to keep in mind is to keep the load shared

equally by both sides of the body.

If you lift an object without facing it squarely, or if you carry it on one side, you may be in for some trouble. You're

not only off balance and your feet less sure, but also you're probably throwing

too much load on one side of your back. Don't be in line for a strain by out-of-line

lifting.

in an accident in which the driver is at fault must stay in jail until his victim

recovers. VISIONS

What was the most exciting thing you

ever sawl What was the funniest thing? The most heartwarming thing? The most mystifying? The bravest? The most unusual? The most pictures- que? The sweetest? The most rememberable? Think about them! Are not such

things worth using goggles and constant

caution to protect your eyesight? SAFE DRIVING TIP

Always try to drive as if your family

were in the other car. HIGHWAY ZOO ~|

In the Central American country of San

Salvador, a motorist who injures a person

The ELEPHANT

This is the big, stalwart, unpassable

type who plants himself in the middle

of the road and slowly plods along. Accused of being a traffic hazard, he

looks hurt and surprised ond says, "Who me? I was only going 20!"

NA7IONAI SAFETY COUNOI

FEBRUARY 1956

Community Services Bureau

Civil Affairs Bureau

Transportation and Terminals Bureau

Supply Bureau

Engineering and Construction Bureau

C. Z. Govt.-Panama Canal Co. (This Month)

Marine Bureau

Health Bureau

C.Z. Govt.-Panama Canal Co. I Last 3-Year Av.!

Number o( Disabling Injuries 8

Disabling Injuries per 1,000,000 Man-Hours Worked

( Frequency Rale) W

^^

Man-Hours Worked 2,278,037 LEGEND

Amount Better Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Last 3-Year Average

] Amount Worse Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal I 'ompany Last 3- Year Average

Accumulative Frequency Rate This Year
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

,^fr>fc.L

Official Panama Canal Company Publication Published Monthly At BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE

Printed by the Printing Plant Mount Hope, Canal Zone

John S. Seybold, Governor-President H. W. Schull, Jr. Lieutenant Governor William G. Arey, Jr. Public Information Officer

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Assistant Editor

SUBSCRIPTION—$1.00 a year SINGLE COPIES—5 cents each On sale at all Panama Canal Service Centers, Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days

after publication date. SINGLE COPIES BY MAIL—10 cents each BACK COPIES—10 cents each On sale, when available, from the Vault

Clerk, Third Floor, Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

Postal money orders should be made pasable to the Treasurer, Panama Canal Company, and mailed to Editor, The Panama

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z. SH!

FINGER TO LIPS, the Lady in White warns visitors to Gorgas and Coco Solo Hospitals that sick patients need quiet. Enlargements of this photograph, taken by C. S. LaClair, Official Photographer, were posted

last week at strategic locations in the two hospitals. The model was Mrs. Veronica Rosa, whose husband was until recently on the Gorgas Hospital staff.

TOURISTS EVERYWHERE

SCENES like these above have been common all the present dry season when thousands of tourists nocked to see the locks and the Canal. The tup picture shows part of one large group just after they had left the ferry Presidente Pottos and were taking a quick look at Pedro Miguel Locks. The lower

picture shows the ferry on one of the 35 trips made for tourists so far this year. Nearly 10,000 tourists took a good look

at Gaillard Cut this dry season from aboard

the Panama Canal excursion ferryboat "Presidente Porras." The visitors, who

arrived on the Isthmus as passengers aboard

a score or more of cruise ships, boarded the "Presidente Porras" either at Gamboa or Pedro Miguel and took a one-way trip through the Cut as part of their tour of the Canal Zone and Panama.

During the cruise season, which this year began in December and continued through March, the "Presidente Porras" made 35 scheduled trips with an average of 250 passengers each trip. Twenty-six of the

trips were southbound from Gamboa to Pedro Miguel and nine were northbound. A total of 6,974 visitors took the southbound

trip and 2,360 went in the other direction. In addition to scheduled tourist trips, the "Presidente Porras," was used during the past two months by 175 students from the Canal Zone Latin American schools; 400

students from the U. S.-rate schools; and

850 students from the Republic of Panama

for special excursions through the Canal from Gamboa to Pedro Miguel.

In an effort to get an overall picture of whether Canal employees desire group hospitalization and the type of coverage they

prefer, all U. S.-rate employees have been asked to complete questionnaires sent out

late last month on this subject. The questionnaires were to be returned by today. The survey is being made by a special committee composed of Canal administration, labor, and Civic Council representatives which was formed at the suggestion of Governor Seybold. The committee is headed by F. G. Dunsmoor, Administrative

Assistant to the Governor-President.

Surplus furniture, miscellaneous unclaimed baggage and freight, tires, and

construction machinery, will go on the

auction block again this month. The sale, which will include hundreds of items,

divided into 300 lots, will be held Saturday

April 14 in Building No. 42 at Section I of the General Storehouse located along Diablo Road. Among the items listed for sale are bed- room sets, individual dressers, tables, beds,

refrigerators, chairs, and such miscellane- ous articles as canned goods, a suitcase and contents, uphclstery material, 453

cases of pear nectar, 10 boxes of cod fish, a case of engine parts, a road maintain er and other construction equipment, and

tires out of stock. Inspection of the property offered for sale can be made by prospective bidders in Building 42 on April n, 12, and 13, be- tween the hours of 7 a. m. to n a. m. and

from 12 noon until 4 p. m. The auction

will begin at 9 a. m. Saturday and will continue until all articles are sold.

If the residential sections of the Canal Zone have a new and gayer look these days,

it is mainly because of the bright red paint being used on the sidewalk guard rails. Formerly painted white, the guard rails got a coat of fire engine red when the Maintenance Division gave them their regular coat of paint last month. Since white is more visible at night, however,

white paint is still being used on the guard

rails along Canal Zone highways. The Ancon Optical Shop, now located in the Ancon Commissary Annex Building,

will be moved next week to a new location

in Balboa. Together with the Ancon Commissary Annex, it will close Saturday after- noon at the end of the day's business and

will reopen Tuesday morning in Balboa, in the old Balboa Dispensary building where

it will occupy the office formerly occupied by the Contraband Control Section. Operation hours will remain the same—from

8:30 a. m. to 12:30 p. m. and from 2:30 to 5:30 p. m. At the same time the Ancon

Commissary Annex operations will be

transferred to the Balboa Commissary.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956 Oldest Zone Bank Plays Vital Part

In Canal Operation, Employees' Lives

to their families back home.

In Panama City the first office of the

International Banking Corporation was

at the northwest corner of Avenue A and

6th Street, not far from the present post

office building, then the headquarters for the Isthmian Canal Commission. In 1906 the bank moved to the corner of Central Avenue and 7th Street, where

Preciado's book store is now located. Although this was a somewhat precarious

site—a speeding fire engine once failed to round a corner and crashed through

the bank's front window—the banking

offices remained there until J.928 when

they were moved to their present location on Central Avenue.

Life Was Fun

In 1907, the banking firm established a branch at the corner of Front and 7th Streets in Colon where the present Pana- ma Savings Bank now stands. It was

originally housed in a three-story frame

building. Bank offices occupied the ground floor; two dentists had offices on

the second floor, and all bank employees

including the janitor and his wife lived on the top floor. Room rent was $3 a month, in those good old days.

Life was not as serious then as it is today for bankers, or anyone else. During

working hours, the manager of the Colon bank could be found quite frequently in the Strangers Club across the railroad tracks from the bank building; drafts requiring his signature were taken to the club. "After this duty was performed" one

oldtimer said, "the manager resumed his more interesting assignments at the club." The year in which the International Banking Corporation opened its first Canal Zone Branch is questionable. Old Canal files contain a letter from the Mayor of Empire to the Executive Secre- tary of the Isthmian Canal Commission,

dated February 16, 1907, which refers to the licensing of the International Banking Corporation in Empire, as of January

1; "they have been conducting a regular banking business in this district since that date," he wrote. Bank oldtimers here cannot recall any

CONSTRUCTION DAY WORKERS did their banking at the Empire Branch of the International Banking Corporation, now The First National City Bank of New York. This photograph, a real

relic, was taken about 1908.

Professionally or personally and sooner

or later almost every employee of the Canal organization has some dealings with one or both of the two commercial banks which have branches in the Canal Zone. Because of their close connection with

the operations of the inter-oceanic water- way and their day-to-day contact with

the personal life of practically every

Zonian, the banks perform some of the most vital functions of any commercial

establishments in the Canal Zone.

If a Canal employee is one of those who

are authorized to collect funds—like Commissary cashiers, Postmasters, or Service Center managers—he is required

to make deposits to the credit of the Treasurer of the Panama Canal Company

in one of the two banks. From the banks he also obtains his own "working bank"—the cash with which he makes

change, etc.

If he happens to be the Treasurer of the Panama Canal Company, he writes checks on the accounts in these banks to pay for the shrimp or lumber or cattle or any other of the thousand and one items which the Company-Government buys. And last, but certainly not least to the other Canal employees, the Treasurer

writes on these banks the paychecks for every Canal employee on the Isthmus. Older Than Canal

In taking care of his personal banking

affairs, an employee may cash his pay- check at one or the other of the two banks

which maintain branches in the Canal Zone or he may have the check deposited

to his own personal account. Through

the banks in the Canal Zone he may buy

travellers' checks, purchase bank drafts, buy or cash government bonds, place orders for securities, transfer funds to an

account in the United States, rent a

safety-deposit box, or negotiate certain types of loans. The paychecks which Canal employees

greet with enthusiasm every other week

are written alternately on The First National City Bank of New York and

on The Chase Manhattan Bank. Consequently, practically everyone is aware

that there are these two banks in the Canal Zone and that each has branches

in Balboa and Cristobal. But not every- one knows that commercial banking in the Canal Zone antedates the completion

of the Panama Canal.

Senior of the two Canal Zone commercial banking institutions is The First National City Bank of New York. It began its operations on the Isthmus of Panama in 1904 and in the Canal Zone

about 1908. It was, first, the Inter- national Banking Corporation. In 1927

it became the National City Bank, and

in 1955 its name was changed, again through a bank merger, to the present

First National Citv Bank of New York.

Until 1907 or 1908 -the date is uncertain—men and women who worked in the Canal Zone had to travel to Panama

City or Colon to transact any banking

business, frequently at the loss of a day's pay. It was not at all unusual to have

150 laborers at a time away from their jobs right after payday while they were

arranging with the banks to send money

\ I \ I ; I !RY from the Rank's first Canal Zone branch in Empire is today's Balboa branch of The

First National City Bank. Banking business is transacted un the first floor: the manager and his family live up

'
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

such business and wonder whether the Mayor was referring to a practice of that

day: For some time, they said, the bank

kept representatives "along the line" a couple of weeks out of each month to explain banking procedures to Canal

employees, particularly those who had come from southern Europe. Empire Days The old tile also contains conespondence pertaining to IBC plans to open

branches in Gorgona, Gatun, and Empire; none of these materialized except the Empire branch. It opened for business

in April 1908, in a one-story building

directly opposite the YMCA and be- tween the Empire courthouse and the

post office. The front part of the building housed

the bank's offices and the rear provided

fairly primitive living space for two of the bank staff. The porter, whose duties included preparation of breakfast and

tea for the staff, was understandably

upset one day when he discovered that a

coral snake had slipped through the spout of the teapot and made itself cozily at home inside. Hubert Osorio, of the Campo Alegre

section of Panama City, who was the second manager of the Empire Branch,

recalls that in those days people "worked

hard and played hard." Hunting was a

favorite after-hours pastime. One night, however, a member of the bank's staff got into serious trouble when he mistook

a police horse for a deer. The Canal files refer to another bank

in the town of Empire. This was the Panama Banking Corporation, which

later became Isaac Brandon & Sons. Mr.

Osorio cannot remember where that bank was located but does remember that one of the Empire saloons did a thriving banking business of a sort. The saloon- keeper accepted money for safekeeping

and, reversing the usual practice, charged

his depositors one percent a month for

this service. For some reason, probably because of the great number of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian laborers living and working

in the Canal Zone at that time, the

International Banking Corporation maintained its savings accounts in "silver," or pesos, and conducted its other trans- actions in "gold," or dollars. Since pesos were worth half of the dollars,

tellers had to be careful not to overpay

those withdrawing money from savings

accounts. Back To Zone

The Empire branch of the bank closed about 1914 when the Canal was completed and Empire abandoned. Still living on the Isthmus are several of the bank's employees of those days. Samuel

Applewhite and Rogelio Boyd are still bank employees, and are on duty at the Panama Branch. Other bank oldtimers

are Mr. Osorio, who is acting as manager

for Artistic Tours; Frank Morrice, Sr., cashier of the Pan American Life Insur- ance Company in Panama City; Claude

Vaz, Manager of the Agencias de Cordoba

in Panama City; and Tomas Paredes, who is now with Cerveceria Nacional. Although the International Banking

Corporation -and later the National City Bank held a license to operate in the Canal Zone for many years and although

it continued to be an authorized deposi- tory for Canal funds, the bank did not

again open a branch in the Canal Zone

until 1938. From 1914 to 1938 all of its customers transacted their business

JAMES DOROW

Cristobal Branch Manager

fc

4»

BRUCE CARPENTER

Balboa Branch Manager

through the branches in Panama City and Colon.

Its first post-construction-days branch,

in Balboa, was located in the rear section

of the Balboa Commissary, in space which had formerly been occupied by an ice manufacturing plant. This, of course, led to considerable jests about funds being

"in cold storage"—and similar feeble humor. The branch opened in the old

ice plant on December 5, 1938; a little over two years later it moved to its present location on Balboa Road near

the Balboa Service Center. The First National City Bank is especially proud of this building and of some of its special features, such as the only drive-in and walk-up banking win- dows on the Isthmus. The bank's busi- ness is transacted on the ground floor; the manager and his family live in an apartment on the second floor. The Cristobal branch's first location was in the Administration Building, near

the present Housing Office. In 1951 the branch was moved to its present quarters

in the C. B. Fenton—formerly the HapagLloyd Building on Steamship Row.

Close Cooperation

Although for some time there was an

unexplained official opposition to the

location of any bank branch in Balboa,

relations between the Canal administration and the banks in the Canal Zone have

been close and cordial for many years. An example of this occurred in 1907. Inexplicably, and without foundation, a run started on the International Banking Corporation. When the depositors turned out in droves to withdraw their funds they found the counters of the Panama and Colon branches piled high with bills and coins, most of them gold- pieces—all supplied by the Isthmian Canal Commission which had been

assured by cable from the United States

that the bank was perfectly sound. The

run stopped as suddenly as it had started. When the Panama Canal was opened

to ship traffic in 1914 the International Banking Corporation added another operation to its already long list of functions. This was the matter of guaranteeing

the collection of tolls and other expenses

for transiting vessels. Simplified, the process works like this: The XYZ Line, owners of the MV Jane

Allen, which is about to transit the Panama Canal, establishes a credit with

the New York headquarters of the bank. The New York headquarters then notifies the First National City's Cristobal branch and the ship's agent that such a

credit has been established to cover tolls and other expenses incident to a normal

transit. Someone from the Cristobal branch

then informs the Customer Deposits

Section of the Panama Canal Company's

Accounting Division- all financial ar- rangements for ships calling at or transit- ing the Canal are controlled through this

office -that the tolls and normal expenses

for the Jane Allen will be paid by the bank.

After the Jane Allen has transited the Canal, the various agencies which have

provided services for her prepare in- voices for tolls and other charges and

send these to the Customer Deposits

Section for processing. The processed,

invoices are then sent to the bank's

Cristobal branch and the Panama Canal Company's bank account is credited with

the amount represented by the invoices. The Cristobal branch debits against the

credit established by the XYZ Line for the ship, and forwards the invoices to

their final destination. Zone Staff Both Canal Zone branches of The

First National City Bank are in charge

of American managers. Bruce H. Carpenter, who has 27 years service with the bank—eight of them in the Canal Zone,

is Manager of the Balboa branch. James

B. Dorow, who is Manager of the Cris- tobal branch, has over 20 years of service with The First National City Bank and

has been in the Canal Zone for the past

six years. Both of the managers refer their prob- lems to Leigh R. Cramer, resident Vice President on the Isthmus.

In the Balboa branch, Mr. Carpenter

has three official assistants who maintain

personal contact with the bank's cus- tomers. They are Mrs. Lillian Mead,

Mrs. Theresa Rogers, and Jose A. de la Ossa. Their combined service is 37

years. In Cristobal, Miss Gladys Pescod and Miguel Sanchez, whose combined

service is 30 years, assist Mr. Dorow in the branch's customer contacts.

(Editor's Note: This is the first of a

series of two stories on the commercial banks of the Canal Zone. A story on the Chase Manhattan Bank will appear in an

early issue.)
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956 Violent Storms Often Wrecked Shipping

At Atlantic Port In Its First 60 Years

CRISTOBAL WATERFRONT presented this appearance in the latter part

of 1916, not long after most of the ocean shipping had been diverted to the docks in Cristobal. This, however, was where the big body of workers to build the Panama Canal landed on arrival from 1904 to 1914. The remnant of the old pier in the foreground was all that was then left of the Pacific

Mail Steamship Line pier. Some of the old piles on which the T-shaped pier was built were not removed until the 1930's. The longest pier belonged to the Panama Railroad and the old freight house, one of the oldest landmarks

on the Atlantic side, may be seen at the land end. The Hotel Washington on Margarita Point was relatively new at the time this picture was taken.

To travellers ending a choppy voyage

across the Caribbean, and particularly those afflicted with mal de mer, the Port

of Cristobal is a welcome sight and feeling as their ship glides between the break- waters into water as calm as a millpond. The Panama Canal's Atlantic terminal

port has not always had this reputation. Storms, fires, trade winds, and deluges have all played significant roles in its history. The constant placidity of its waters today is one of the man-made

wonders which came about with the building of the Panama Canal. The two

long breakwaters, built at an original cost

of about $3,500,000, make the harbor

virtually a land-locked port with ample,

safe anchorage for ships of all categories. At the turn of this century the port had developed a reputation for northers which frequently struck with sudden and

devastating fury, causing much damage

and sometimes loss of life. Of the several destructive fires which have swept the Atlantic side community

and affected port activities there to a greater or lesser degree, the worst occurred in May 1885 when all but seven buildings were burned and 10,000 were made

homeless. The property loss was reported

at $6,000,000. The water of both Limon Bay and

Manzanillo Bay help make Cristobal Harbor. Limon Bay is the large body of water between the port and Fort Sherman. It was long known as Navy Bay, this name

being derived from Naos (Ships) Bay, which it was called during Spanish

colonial days. Manzanillo Bay is the smaller body of water on the opposite side

of the island on which Colon and Cris- tobal are built. The earliest written history of the port, or bay as it was then, goes back to 1502 when Christopher Columbus visited Li- mon Bay on his fourth and last voyage to the New World. An account of this

visit and what Columbus and his men

found is given in Dr. C. L. G. Anderson's

Castillo del Oro. According to this ac- count, Fernando, son of Columbus, said the Admiral and his men rested there for three days. More entertainingly, Fernando wrote that the inhabitants "dwell upon the tops of trees, like birds, laying

sticks across from bough to bough and

building huts upon them rather than

houses." "Though we knew not the reason of

this strange custom," he related, "we

guessed it was done for fear of the

griffins there are in that country, or of enemies; for all along that coast the

people at every league distance are great enemies to one another." That is believed to be the last report

of mythological half-lion-half eagle figures inhabiting the general area. It was al- most the last report of Limon Bay for 350 years until construction of the Panama Railroad was begun. Commercially, the Port of Cristobal or Aspinwall or Colon, which it has been

variously called, is 105 years old this month, antedating by just 50 years the opening of the Port of Balboa. Although

construction of the Panama Railroad was

begun on Manzanillo Island in May

1850, it was not until 1851, that the first wooden docks were built. The history

of the port in the intervening years is packed with highly entertaining passages. The selection of Manzanillo Island as the Atlantic terminus of the railroad was made by Brevet Lieutenant Colonel George W. Hughes, first Chief Engineer

for the railroad. The selection was

supposedly made after some controversy

as to its fitness as compared with the better known harbor at Portobelo. It was rumored that George Law, a steamship line owner and a director of the Panama Railroad Company, bought all the land around Portobelo and demanded

a price for its use too steep for the new- company. At any rate, the company secured possession of the entire island, then little more than a mosquito and mangrove swamp covering some 650 acres, by trad- ing back to New Granada about twice as much land which had been granted else- where on the Isthmus. The first of the many storms to strike the port during the last half of the nineteenth century occurred December

31, 1854, shortly before the railroad was

completed. It was a violent norther which wrecked every vessel in the new

port and shook the Chief Engineer's confidence in Limon Bay's safety as a harbor.

L. T. Chapel, formerly the Canal's

Assistant Chief Hydrographer, who de- voted much time and study to Isthmian weather and its abnormalities wrote of the storms which plagued the port: "The

historical northers were probably remembered more for the damage they caused than for their meteorological associations. Unlike the intensified trades, all available evidence indicates that destructive northers are not associated with well-established trades." Ten northers which occurred between

1857 and 1906 were mentioned in an

article appearing in the November 1917 issue of the "Monthly Weather Review." Of these, the three most dis- astrous occurred in November 1862, January 1873, and December 1885. The English steamer Avon was driven

ashore in the 1862 storm and the three- masted Bolivar was wrecked at the wharves. Two U. S. Navy vessels, the

sloop Bainbridge and the storeship Fal- mouth, were at anchor and were almost

driven onto the reefs. The crew of the Bainbridge cut away its masts and threw

the guns overboard to save the ship. It was necessary to rescue the crew but the

ship was not wrecked. That November

was a wild one for Colon and about 45

inches of rainfall were reported. Damage estimated at a half million dollars was caused to the waterfront in the 1873 norther. Three men were

drowned, a three-masted ship was driven through the Pacific Mail wharf, and many

other ships were lost in the harbor Fourteen sailing ships were lost in what the Star & Herald called the "terrible gale" of 1885. One of the principal

piers was practically demolished and many lives were reported lost. The

newspaper deplored the great loss of life, saying the waves were so high it was

impossible to rescue the crews. People who are inclined to blame all weather changes today on nuclear weapons

can hardly hold to that theory on the northers in Cristobal harbor. In fact,
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11

the weather there seems to have changed

early in this century, before an atom was

split, and the past half century has produced far fewer destructive storms

than the preceding 50 years. Three storms of unusual intensity occurred during the Canal construction

period. The first of these put the finish- ing touch to a decision to build protective breakwaters. It happened in January

1905 while the Committee on Engineering

of the Isthmian Canal Commission was

visiting the Isthmus to study and report on engineering phases of the Canal construction. While apparently not of the

severity of other storms, it made a deep

impression on the committee members. Almost as much attention was given, in their report, to the Atlantic terminal as

to digging the Canal. The committee unanimously and emphatically recommended a breakwater to protect the harbor and shipping, saying,

in part:

"If the construction of the canal were

a purely commercial enterprise the protection of an outer terminal harbor open

to storms of rare intervals, as in this instance, would not be justified. This

project, however, is a great public work

by the United States Government, in which no feature contributing effectively to either safety or efficiency should be

omitted." There have been few statements about the Panama Canal which more

eloquently describe its basic mission and the need for providing its many

special services and facilities for world

shipping. Two violent northers hit the harbor in 1915, one early in February and the other in April. In the first, 4,000 feet of

trestle erected for the east breakwater

were carried away. Two piledrivers and

a train of 21 Lidgerwood flat cars and

their unloader were lost. Sixty-nine men

working on the breakwater were marooned on one end when the trestle was

carried away and were rescued by a tug and dredge. The April storm also did considerable damage to both breakwaters,

the total damage by the two northers being estimated at over $360,000. Apropos of storms and trade winds on

the Atlantic side, a statistically-minded employee in the meteorological office at Balboa Heights has figured that 4,150,000

miles of wind have passed the anemomeTHIS PICTURE WAS taken in 1886. It shows the waterfront of Aspinwall (Colon) on a busy day. Ask a hundred persons what is being unloaded and doubtless none could tell you. Since this is not

a puzzle contest, we can tell you—it is ice. Some of the tycoons of that day may be seen in the center supervising operations and perhaps thinking of a mint julep with ice cut out of some New England lake.

ter at Cristobal since it was installed in January 1908. This is an average rate

of 9.9 miles an hour, day and night- enough wind to make eight and a half round trips to the moon. From its infancy, the port on the

Atlantic side has been a busy place. In

fact, a description of passengers arriving there in the early Panama Railroad days

might well fit a cruise season of today.

Otis, in his History of the Panama Railroad, described this activity as follows: "Fifteen hundred passengers, with the mail and freight of three steamships, have not infrequently been transported during the single half day. The arrange- ments for loading and unloading of cargoes are unusually perfect. Frequently

less than two hours pass between the

arrival of the largest ships, laden with from 200 to 300 tons of merchandise,

besides the baggage of from 400 to 800

passengers, and the departure of the

trains for Panama."

This was back in the gold rush days when thousands were stampeding across the Isthmus to California. Such a hum

of activity did not long continue and

there were many years during the next

half century when the port presented as

sleepy and lazy an appearance as any

port of the Caribbean. The facilities for loading and unloading

cargo which Otis called "unusually per- fect" probably would not measure up to that classification today. The first wooden piers built in 1851 were designed to unload men and materials for the Panama

Railroad construction. The port got its first big boost in November 1851 when

two steamers, the Georgia and Philadelphia, were driven away from the mouth

of the Chagres by a violent storm and put

into Limon Bay with 1,000 gold-crazed

passengers. The California-bound passengers de- manded passage on the Panama Rail- road on tracks which had been laid to Gatun. This fortunate incident made

the port and probably saved the Pana- ma Railroad Company from a financial

failure. Because of the great trade which

sprung up almost immediately after this incident, the port facilities were greatly expanded from the small wooden wharves

put up by the Railroad Company.

Covered wooden piers long enough to accommodate all types of ships of that

era were constructed and (See page is

CRISTOBAL HARBOR with its placid waters provides a fine anchorage for many vessels. The pier area is shown in the upper left of this aerial view of Manzanillo Island on which Cristobal and Colon are built. Practically all remnants of the old pier area between Fort de Lesseps and the Panama Railroad Company have now been removed. At one time this was as busy a place

for shipping and passengers as the modern concrete piers in Cristobal. In the early days of the Panama Railroad it was not unusual for several hundred

passengers—bound for the California gold fields—to land in a single day.
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956 Canal's Agronomist Now Available

To Consult With Amateur Gardeners

WALTER K. LINDSAY

Ailing alamanda and peaked poinsettia, which have been subject to the well- meaning if often ineffectual care of amateur gardeners, can now take heart. Professional attention of the expert

variety is available, without charge. With the consolidation of the Grounds

and Housing Divisions and his transfer to the position of Agronomist, Walter R. Lindsey may now be called on to consult with Canal Zone householders on plant foods and pruning and pests, or any other problems which beset them and their gardens. Unlike most Zonians, whose first

Violent Storms Often Wrecked Shipping

At Atlantic Port In It s First 60 Years

(Continued from pap ti) four years after the railroad was completed a 60-foot high

iron lighthouse was erected to replace a wooden tower built earlier. The wooden piers were clustered in the area at or near the seaward tip of the

island, mostly between what is now Fort

de Lesseps and the Colon Railroad station. The piers were set perpendicular

to the land and therefore broadside to the prevailing trade winds and northers, with no protection from the open sea. For this reason, one or more were occasionally wrecked and had to be replaced over the years. A relic of this era and one of the oldest structures on the Atlantic side is the Panama Railroad freight house near the waterfront in Colon. It was built in 1864 and rebuilt after the 1885 fire. Adjoining this building was one of three

of the Panama Railroad piers. Two

other piers there were the Panama Mail and Pacific Mail Steamship Line piers, the latter being a T-shaped structure at the present site of the Strangers Club. During the first 50 years of its existence, the port was served by about a half dozen

ship lines, both steam and sail, op rating

to the United States, Central and Smith

America, and Europe. While the port had its busiest period during the few years that the California gold rush was in progress and before the first transconti- nental railroad was completed in the United States, its fortunes rose and sank

several times between 1851 and 1904. Even in its dullest periods, however, it remained the principal port of entry for the Isthmus of Panama and was far

exposure to hibiscus and shower trees came when they arrived on the Isthmus, Mr. Lindsay has been familiar with tropical plants all of his life. He was responsible for introducing to the Isthmus many of the now common

trees and shrubs used in landscaping. Many new varieties of hybrid hibiscus, anthuriums, and dracaena are some of the most recent introductions. Practically all of the Norfolk Island pine trees on the Isthmus originally came from seeds produced by trees on Mr. Lindsay's place

in Hawaii. Born on the Island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands, he worked during sum- mer vacations supervising laborers on the

island's pineapple plantations. Later, while he was attending the University of Hawaii, he was a part-time horticulturist

for the United States Experimental

Station in Honolulu. He came to the Isthmus in 1930 to work at the Experiment Garden at Summit and was its director until 1950 when

he was named Chief of the newly established Grounds Division. His new post leaves him freer for actual gardening work than he has been for the past several years. Any perplexed gar- dener on either side of the Isthmus may

call for advice through the Housing and Grounds Division at 2-1801, or 3-2373.

In addition, he is making plans for classes on plant classification and the care of plants to be held a little later in the year.

busier than either Panama or Balboa. Business was greatly revived in the

early 1880's at the beginning of the Canal

construction by the French. Some additional improvements to the port were made during this period, principally by

the extensive dredging program for the

Atlantic entrance. It was during this period that much of the land which is now Cristobal was filled in by dredged

material.

NEW G0RGAS SUPERINTENDENT

WILL ARRIVE HERE APRIL 16 Col. Norman H. Wiley who was

recently appointed to succeed Col. Howard W. Doan as Superintendent of Gorgas Hospital will arrive here April 16

to assume his new duties. Prior to his appointment to the Canal Zone, he was

COLONEL NORMAN H. WILEY

in command of the U. S. Army Hospital

at Fort Benning, Ga. A native of Hollisterville, Pa., Colonel Wiley is a graduate of Lafayette College and of the Jefferson Medical College. He served his internship at Walter Reed Army Hospital and was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps in 1929. Early in his Army career he spent four years on the surgical staff of the Stern- berg General Hospital in Manila.

Colonel Wiley has a colorful World War

II record. He landed with the first United States troops in Algeria and

Tunisia and subsequently commanded

the 128th Evacuation Hospital in the invasion of Sicily. Later he led this unit across Europe with the First Army. Accompanying Colonel Wiley to the Isthmus will be his wife and their three

children, Valerie, 17, Norman, Jr., 16, and James, 8. Engineers At Play

FORE! Or whatever croquet fans say, and Bob Donaldson's ball sails for the stake. Weather

and wives permitting, the croquet tournament goes on every Saturday afternoon on the ROTC

parade ground in Balboa. Left to right, the players, all from the Engineering Division, are: Hubert

Oken, Eddie B. Goodrich, Hubert C. Schroder, Robert D. Donaldson, and Donald Wyeneth.
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13 Supply Problems Discussed

OFFICIALS of the Supply and Employee Service Bureau and the Commissary Division got together last month with managers of the retail stores to meet Lester A. Ferguson, Chief of the Procurement Department of the New

York Office. Mr. Ferguson, wearing a bow tie, is fourth from the right in

the front row. On his right is Paul H. Friedman, Assistant to the Director

of the Supply and Employe? Service Bureau, and on his left Richard L.

Sullivan, General Manager of the Commissary Division. George N. Engelke,

Assistant General Manager of the Division, is on Mr. Friedman's right.

Voting Information

Will Be Available

To All Employees

Employees in the Canal organization and their dependents will be given all assistance feasible this year to exercise

their privilege of absentee voting.

It is estimated that approximately

6,400 employees and their dependents are

eligible to vote. Governor Seybold has

expressed hope that the maximum number of these will exercise their franchise

rights in the national elections this year. He plans to discuss the program for publicizing information on registration and

absentee voting at his April conference with Civic Council representatives. "The right of franchise," the Governor

said in a recent announcement, "is one of the foundations of our democracy. It should be exercised by every citizen who

is qualified to vote. Many employees

here have failed to take advantage of

this great privilege of our citizenship, either by ignorance of the fact that they

are privileged to vote or a lack of interest because of long residence outside the United States." Coordinating Committee

To promote a wider interest and partici- pation in general elections through

absentee voting this year, the Governor

has appointed L. M. Brockman, Programs

Coordinator in the Personnel Bureau, and

William G. Arey, Jr., Public Information

Officer, as a committee to coordinate

the program. Absentee voting by civilians in general

elections is permitted by all States with

the exception of New Mexico. Voting

in primary elections is permitted by all but seven States- -Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, and North

Carolina—with North Carolina having

requirements permitting certain civilians to vote. The requirements for registration vary

widely among the various States. Employees have been urged to ascertain for themselves the regulations of their own

States with respect to qualification,

E JUNIOR COLLEGE STUDENTS LEARN

FINE POINTS OF WORKING—BY WORKING

MILDRED DAMERATJ

When nine young women students of the Canal Zone Junior College enter the business world this year, office procedures

will be no mystery to them. They will have been well-schooled in such elementary facts that punctuality and regularity

of attendance are well thought of—to put

it mildly- -that there are bound to be

crises in the best run office, and that they

will get just as much cooperation from

their fellow workers as they give. The nine young women are learning

the theory of these and other funda- mentals of day-to-day office life in a

course on Work Experience taught by John A. Lyons of the College faculty and

they are putting the theories into practice

registration, and absentee voting. Generally, most States permit absentee

registration. A number of pamphlets giving full information on absentee voting have been

received and a substantial number of these will be placed in the Library and

its branches on a nonlending basis.

in six hours each week of actual on-the- job training in three different Canal units. The girls, all Junior College second- year students, are: Livia Noiran, Emma

Robles, Rosa and Pilar Vales, Virginia Kam, Velvia Bringas, Margarita Latorroca, Teresa Chutis, and Mildred Damerau.

Will Receive Credit Miss Noiran and Miss Robles are spending their six hours a week, in two

three-hour sessions, in the Wage and

Classification Division of the Personnel Bureau. Rosa and Pilar Vales, sisters, are also in the Personnel Bureau, Rosa

with the Employment and Utilization Division and Pilar with the U. S. Records

Section, and Miss Kam is assigned to the

Office of the Personnel Director in the Training Section. This group of five is on a roving-assignment basis; before the end of the school semester, they will have learned a little of each type of

clerical work done in the unit to which

they are assigned. The Misses Bringas, Latorroca, and

Chutis have been assigned to the typing

pool in the Accounting Division, and

Miss Damerau is spending her six hours on the job in the office of the Balboa

Junior High School. Various Jobs At the end of the semester they will receive two hours of college credit for

their on-the-job work, provided, of

course, that they complete their assign- ments satisfactorily. They will be graded by their immediate

supervisors on such factors as willingness

to cooperate, dependability, adjustment

to work situations, acceptance of responsibility, orderliness of work, initiative and resourcefulness, ability to get along with others, etc. The work-and-learn program was worked out by Mr. Lyons with Daniel J. Paolucci, Training Officer in the Personnel Bureau; they confer frequently on

the development of the course and the

progress of the trainees.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956 PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS ANNIVERSARIES

February 15 through March 15

Employees who were promoted or trans- ferred between February 15 and March 15 are listed below. Within-grade promotions

are not listed. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Richard S.Brogie, from Accounting Clerk, Housing Division, to Time, Leave, and

Payroll Clerk, Payroll Branch. Jack C. Campbell, from Accountant to Auditor, Internal Audit Branch. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION BUREAU

Mrs. A. Elizabeth Lester, from Clerk- Typist to Clerk (Typing), Electrical Division.Mrs. Patricia A. Robinson, from Clerk- Stenographer, Executive Planning Staff, to Clerk-Typist, Electrical Division. Joseph B. Baker, from Barge Repair

Station Foreman to Construction and Maintenance Superintendent, Dredging Division. Fred L. Stewart, from Electrical Distri- bution Foreman to Lineman Foreman, Power Branch, Electrical Division. Roger M. Howe, from Mechanical Engineer to General Engineer, Engineering

Division. Charles F. Bertoncini, from Cartographic- Compilation Aid to General Engineer, Engineering Division. HEALTH BUREAU

Mrs. Louise E. Griffon, Clerk-Stenographer, from Gorgas Hospital to Coco

Solo Hospital. Mrs. Sara S. Keegan, from Clerk- Dictating Machine Transcriber to Accounting Clerk, Gorgas Hospital. Edwin C. Mcllvaine, Accounting Clerk, from Industrial Division to Gorgas Hospital. Mrs. Norma C. Belland, from Substitute Teacher, Division of Schools, to Clerk- Typist, Coco Solo Hospital. Mrs. Susan H. Boles, from Clerk (Typing), Service Center Division, to Clerk- Dictating Machine Transcriber, Gorgas

Hospital. MARINE BUREAU

J. D. Barnes, from Distribution and Window Clerk, Postal Division, to Guard,

Atlantic Locks. Robert G. Peterson, from Supervisory

Administrative Assistant to Safety In- spector, Navigation Division. David B. Marshall, from Towing Loco- motive Operator to Guard, Locks Division. Otis M. Ramey, Jr., from Towing Loco- motive Operator, Locks Overhaul, to Admeasurer, Navigation Division. Emmett C. Kiernan, from Control House

Operator to Lockmaster, Pacific Locks. Raymond J. Kielhofer, from Foreman Wireman to Control House Operator,

Pacific Locks. Manuel M. Progana, from Wireman to Foreman Wireman, Pacific Locks. Charles L. Miller, from Steam Loco- motive Crane Engineer, Locks Overhaul,

to Machinist and Steam Locomotive Crane

Engineer, Atlantic Locks, John L. Irwin, Machinist, from Locks Overhaul to Atlantic Locks. SUPPLY AND EMPLOYEE SERVICE BUREAU

Wilson H. Crook, from Community Services Director to Supply and Employee

Service Director. Paul H. Friedman, from Assist. mi Supply

Director to Assistant to Supply and Employee Service Director. Floyd R. Johnson, from Supply Director

to Staff Storehouse Advisor, Office of Supply and Employee Service Director. Bart L. Elich, from Assistant to Supply

Director to Special Assistant to General Manager, Commissary Division. Raoul O. Theriault, from Administrative

Assistant, Community Services Bureau to Administrative Officer, Supply and Employee Service Bureau. Desmond S. Doig, from Storekeeper

(Receiving) to Stockman Foreman, Commissary Division. Walter G. Peterson, from Supervisory Meat Processing Specialist to Abattoir and Meat Processing Manager, Commissary

Division. Walter R. Lindsay, from Chief, Grounds

Maintenance Division, to Management

Agronomist, Housing and Grounds Division. Boyd M. Bevington, Supervisory Administrative Assistant, from Grounds Mainte- nance Division to Housing and ('.rounds Division. Emmett Zemer, from Real Property

Assistant, Community Services Bureau, to Safety Inspector, Supply and Employee

Service Bureau. Phoebe J. Hughes, from Usher to Usher and Ticket Seller, Service Center Division. John V. Brown, from Usher and Doorman

to Doorman Supervisor, Service Center

Division. Arthur C. Payne, Accounting Clerk, from Grounds Maintenance to Housing Division. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS BUREAU

James A. Barrett, from Accounting Clerk, Commissary Division to Supervisory Cargo

Clerk, Terminals Division. Vicente Alfaro, from Lead Laborer Fore- man to Claims Investigator, Panama Local Agency. Lamar T. Kitchens, from Machinist, Locks Overhaul, to Locomotive Machinist, Railroad Division.

APRIL SAILINGS

From Cristobal Am on. April 7 Panama April 14 Cristobal... April 21 Anion . April 28 From New York

Panama April 5 Cristobal.. April 12 Anion April 1') Panama April 2(> North-bound and south-bound ships are

in Haiti Mondai s. RETIREMENTS

Retirement certificates were presente I the end of March to the following employees who are listed alphabetically, together with

their birthplaces, titles, length of Canal

service, and future addresses: Paul D. Bernard, Vermont ; Lockmaster,

Pacific Locks; 27 years, 3 months, 12 da\s; address undecided, Robert L. Dickerson, Missouri; Supervisory Marine Traffic Controller, Navigation Division; 32 years, II months, 15 days;

California. Eugene C. Lombard, New Jersej ; Executive Secretary, Canal Zone Government]

37 years; 9 months; 12 days; address undecided. Edwin M. McGinnis, Ohio; Architectural Engineer, Engineering Division; 20 years,

2 months; 17 days; address undecided. Leo C. Page, [owa; Chief, Architectural Branch, Engineering Division; 29 years, (> months, 8 daj s; Paradise. Calif,

Louis E. Snedeker of Balboa holds the

distinction of being senior man on the March list of anniversaries —by 24 hours. On March 1 he completed 30 years of gov- ernment service, just one day ahead of March's two other 30-year men, Leo C. Page and Wallace C. Bain. Born in Havana, Cuba, he came to the Canal Zone when he was only two years old. His father, Capt. Cartie C. Snedeker, was

one of the Panama Canal's first pilots, working out of Cristobal. Mr. Snedeker

has worked for a number of Canal units. He has been with the Canal's oil plant since 1934 and is now a Steam Engineei for the Marine Bunkering Section. March 2 was Mr. Page's last Canal anni- versary as March also saw his retirement

as Chief of the Architectural Branch of the Engineering Division. He was born in Raleigh, Io*a, and has been a Canal Zonian

since 1926. In addition to designing

buildings, he has also designed stamps, among them the commemorative stamp for the Panama Railroad centennial. He also has a considerable reputation as a cartoonist. As Superintendent of the Refrigerated Products Branch of the Commissary Division, Mr. Bain is the man responsible for getting lettuce, apples, cheese, and meats —

and any other refrigerated or frozen food

to the customer in the best possible condition. He was born in Nebraska but has

lived in the Canal Zone since he was a

small boy. During his school days, "Wally"

Bain worked as a "boy" in the Mechanical

Division but all of his service as an adult has been with the Commissary Division.

25 YEARS Two employees rounded out a quarter of a century of government service last month. They are: Julian B. Hall, Shiptitter with the

Industrial Division, and Paul W. Colby, an

Architect in the Engineering Division. Mr. Hall's service with the Canal organization is unbroken although about 10 years of his total service was with othet Government agencies. In addition to

shipfitting, he is a radio technician. He is a native Georgian. Mr. Colby was born in Iowa, and served

as an officer in the Army during two World

Wars. He is well known as an artist and

his watercolors are prized possessions of many Zonians.

20 YEARS

It isn't often that a boss and his Girl Friday celebrate anniversaries the same month but that happened in March to John D. Hollen, Chief of the Executive Planning Staff, and his secretary, Annie F. McDade. Most of Mr. Hollen's service, however, has been elsewhere, part of it in the Navy. Almost all of Miss McDade's

service has been with the Canal organization. Five of the remaining 20-year employees have unbroken Canal service. They are: William J. Carson, who was born in Dover,

N. J., and is now a Plumber Foreman with

the Maintenance Division; Frank A. Chollar, a native of Cleburne, Tex.. PhotOlithographer in the Canal's Printing Plant

at Mount Hope; Max W. Finley, who

originally came from Topeka, Kan., Supervisory Funeral Director for the Board of Health Laboratory; and H. C. Richards, Jr., a native of New Hampshire, who is a police sergeant with the Cristobal Police District. Those whose (anal service is broken are: Edwin B. Cain, police sergeant presently detailed with the Gamboa penitentiary he is a second generation Zone policeman: Mrs. Sarah B. Rothwell, Supply Clerk in the Housing Division, who comes from

Houston, Tex.; and William Wood Wood,

a native Zonian. He was born in Empire, and is Supervisory Accounting Assistant with the Maintenance Division.

Two of March's 15-year employees went

to work for the Panama Canal on the same

• late. March 3, 1941. They are Arthur C. Baggott, Control House Operator at Gaum

and Winfield F. Fearn, Pumping Plant Operator with the Maintenance Division. Nine other employees who completed

15 years of service in March have unbroken

service. They are: Loy E. Bates, Sr., Chief Towboat Engineer with the Dredging
APRIL 6, 1956 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

Official Circular Issued On Political Activities Of Canal's Employees

The following circular concerning the

participation by employees of the Company-Government in political activities

in Panama was issued last month at Balboa Heights. The circular is an

excerpt from General Order No. 42, which was dated July 28, 1955, and issued at Balboa Heights:

In view of the geographical and political relationship between the Republic of Panama and the Canal Zone, the following

policies respecting participation by employees of the Canal Zone Government and Panama Canal Company in Panamanian

political activities are hereby prescribed:

1. Employees residing in the Canal Zone who are not Panamanian citizens shall not engage in any form of Panamanian political activity.

2. Employees residing in the Canal Zone who are Panamanian citizens may exercise

political rights guaranteed to them by Panamanian law. They may affiliate themselves with the political party of their choice. They may attend political meetings and be free to vote in all elections without jeopardizing their position with the Company/Government. These privileges may be exercised subject to the following

reservations as to political activities which

might adversely affect the good relations of the Republic of Panama and the Canal

Zone: (a) Employees shall not engage in Panamanian political activity in or from

within the Canal Zone.

(b) Employees shall not engage in Panamanian political activity during duty

hours.

(c) Employees shall not use their jobs

or positions with the Company/Government

in the advancement of Panamanian political activity.

3. Employee associations, organizations, labor unions, and other employee groups, organized and existing in the Canal Zone,

shall not engage in Panamanian political activity.

4. Any employee who may be elected to

political office in the Republic of Panama

will be required to terminate his employ- ment with the Company/Government.

5. Any employee violating any of the

provisions of this order will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include

dismissal from employment.

Division; Mrs. Dora J. Coleman, General

Supervisory Medical Technician at Coco

Solo Hospital; Mrs. Catherine M. Cummings, Staff Nurse, Gorgas Hospital; Lester V. Forsgren, Auto Repair Machinist and Gas Motor Craneman, Motor Transportation Division; John W. Hare, Real Property Analyst, Office of the Civil Affairs Director; Mary M. Long, Clerk, Terminals

Division; Robert E. Rogers, Locomotive

Engineer, Railroad Division; Harry A. Stone, Customs Inspector, Cristobal; Mari- on B. Woodruff, Piant Electrician, Maintenance Division, and Willis Woolems,

Auto Repair Machinist, Motor Transportation Division. Other 15-year employees are: Mrs.

Louise K. Allen, Clerk-Stenographer, Terminals Division; Stephen A. Bissell, Accounting Assistant, Methods and Relief Assistant

Staff, Office of the Comptroller; William R. Byrd, Supervisory Freight Clerk, Terminals

Division; Mrs. Virginia D. Cunningham,

Clerk-Typist, General Services Section, Administrative Branch; Mrs. Eula R.

Driscoll, Teacher, Balboa High School; Herbert A. Green, Jr., Marine Boarding

Officer, Balboa; William H. Hyde, Jr., Station Agent, Balboa Heights, Railroad

Division; John R. McGlade, Lock Operator

Machinist, Miraflores Locks; Henry S. Makibbin, Jr., Records Analyst, Administrative Branch; Paul H. Reynolds, Fire- man, Balboa Central Station; Earl V. Romigh, Supervisory Accounting Clerk, Dredging Division; and Harry E. Wentsler,

Jr., Lock-Operator Ironworker Welder,

Miraflores Locks.

They've Both Retired

AN ASSOCIATION of a good many years' standing, with each other and with the Panama Canal, ended last month when these two top men from the Engineering Division retired. Their combined

service totaled over 50 years. Leo C. Page, Chief of the Architectural Branch, standing, left the Isthmus March 17 to make his home in Paradise, Calif. Edwin M. McGinnis, Architectural Engineer, and Mrs McGinnis will sail for New York early in May en route to their future home, probably Florida. Apprentices Will Hold Fiftieth Birthday Party

{Continued from page i) maker, and one, a cable splicer. Other speakers on the program will include Capt. R. H. Emerick, Chief of the

Industrial Division, in his capacity as Chairman of the Industrial Training Committee, honorary member of the Central Labor Union, and member of the Union's Educational Committee; Ray Hesch, as labor's representative on

the Industrial Training Committee; Harry Townsend, representing the alumni of the apprentice program; and Robert Ausnehmer, representing this year's apprentices. Caleb Clement, of the Locks Division, at Gatun, will serve as toastmaster. The party next Wednesday night will

Zonians Set To Watch TV In Own Homes

{Continued from page 1) Council representatives. He said satisfactory reception can not be guaranteed for all parts

of the Zone and technicians will be

requested to check any areas which may

not have clear reception. While it cannot be determined until test patterns have been made which, if any,

areas in the Zone will not get clear reception it is generally true that clear signals can be obtained with indoor antennas where direct vision is possible to the transmission tower for a distance of several miles. It may be possible in many instances to correct imperfect

reception by the installation of outdoor

antennas. The Commissary Division does not

plan to stock outdoor television antennas. These may be bought, however, through

several different dealers in Panama.

Direct sales of television sets at the Commissary stores are only being made

by cash purchases or on charge accounts. Arrangements have been made, however,

with the Canal Zone Credit Union for the purchase of TV sets on the time-payment

plan similar to that used for refrigerators and other such equipment. The servic- ing of sets sold by the Commissaries will be done by the manufacturers' representatives in this area.

take place just one day short of the

fiftieth anniversary of the date—April 12, 1906—when the Isthmian Canal Commission approved a program of apprentice

training for the sons of its employees. The apprentice program between 1906 and 1914 was not the formal one of today,

or even of later years. In June 1914, formal apprenticeship rules were adopted and within the next few months a number

of young men were admitted to the program. One of these was Russell Parsons, today an electrician with the Motor

Transportation Division in Cristobal. He is the senior former apprentice still in service. Other graduates of that early program,

still employed in the Canal service, are Albert and Alexander McKeown, brothers, and Winchell T. Pennock. The McKeowns began their apprenticeships

in 1918; today both work for the Industrial Division, Albert McKeown as a

boilermaker, and Alexander as a sawmill

operator. Mr. Pennock is Repair Shop Foreman for the Motor Transportation

Division in Cristobal. He was an apprentice in 1919. Three other apprentice alumni of the

class of 1919 still in the Canal service are Kenneth M. Edwards, Foreman Wire- man, at Pedro Miguel Locks; John L. Reese, Jr., Control House Operator, also at Pedro Miguel; and R. E. Seavey, L?ad Foreman of the Balboa Gas Plant. During the early 1920's reductions of force and lack of work almost put an end

to the apprentice program; class work

was discontinued entirely in 1925. In 1935 the apprentice training program was revived and reorganized; formal

class training began the following year. Today the apprentice program is administered by Philip T. Green, with the

assistance of Willard E. Percy. It comes

under the Electrical Division, administratively, and is directed by the Industrial Training Committee. Members of the committee are Captain Emerick,

E. A. Doolan, J. B. Smith, F. H. Lerchen, and R. F. Hesch.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW APRIL 6, 1956 SHIPS and SHIPPING

HOW DID four men and a woman ever manage to live for months on this? curious Zonians ask, as they inspect the raft Canluta when it arrived in Balboa last month aboard the Greenville Victory. The raft and its occupants were picked up after they had drifted for weeks in a great circle in the

Pacific Ocean in an unsuccessful attempt to duplicate the feat of Thor Heyerdahl's well-known Koti-Tiki.

Transits By Ocean-Going Vessels siderably increased with the alterations In February accomplished at Gatun last year. These

1956 1955 permit double-culvert operation while one Commercial 681 637 lane of traffic is out of seivice. Previ- U. S. Government 12 15 ously, the number of lockages at Gatun

averaged about 23 a day with one side TotaL . . 693 652 of the locks empty. During the present

Tolls* overhaul about 30 lockages can be aecomCommercial $3,013,944 $2,723,170 plished in a 24-hour period. U.S. Government 57,953 53,178 The world's largest hopper dredge, the

Total $3,071,897 $2,776,348

Essayons, was scheduled to transit the Canal early this week. It is owned by

"Includes tolls on all vessels, ocean-goii.g and small. The Locks Division enters the last lap

of its overhaul of Gatun Locks this month

with the flooding of the west chamber and

opening of both traffic lanes for service. The work remaining to be done is the overhaul of the center-wall culvert. This

is being done for the first time with both

sides of the locks in service; this is made

possible by the use of gigantic metal plugs placed in the intakes at the bottom of the lock chambers to close off the flow

of water to the center culvert. The overhaul of Gatun Locks is being . . . - done with no appreciable delay to ship- ping during a period when Canal traffic

is at a peak. A new high daily average of k^wiJs1

'' 23.76 transits was set in February for •» commercial traffic. Oddly, a record high

in daily average transits was set in February 1953 while the Pacific Locks

were being overhauled. The record three years ago was for both Government and

commercial shipping and has since been 9H

urpassed. In that month there were B

690 ocean-going transits, 74 of which were Government ships. The traffic record

for February this year was 693 transits, W^^^^^^^^M

but with only 12 Government vesse|g. ,,,,„• , v ,,r «,., n. ,- „ , m im

t>u ui t- t l „ „ . _i l ;„ „Tv,„,l BAlk IN PLA(1., the Uiillard Memorial Plaque is The Atlantic Locks overhaul is acheda(, ajn one lif thc, ^, )f the ranal f( „. tr Jitm , llled to be completed about May 1. visitors. The plaque, which was originally imbedded Many time-saving methods have been in the side of Contractors Hill, was removed when the used during the overhaul to expedite the hill was cut back. It is now supported on a free- ~~.„.TM 4- „f „!,;„. :„„ standing concrete backing wall on the third berm of movement Of Shipping

the terraced hill. The plaque is a memorial to Cut lhe amount ol traffic which can be D. D. Gaillard and symbolizes the removal of the last handled during overhaul periods is con- shovelful of dirt from the cut which bears his name.

the Corps of Engineers and was designed

for work in New York harbor. It is en

route to Portland, Oreg., for temporary

duty there. The big vessel is 525 feet long with a 72-foot beam. It is self- propelled and sea-going. It is a suction dredge, with a 36-inch intake. The

material it dredges is loaded onto the

vessel and later dumped at sea.

Scheduled to make its first appearance

in Canal waters early this month is the new motorship Union Carrier of the Chilean Line. It will operate from ports on the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast

ports of South America. It was scheduled to sail from New Orleans April 2

after calls at Mobile and Houston. It

will join two other ships of the Chilean Line to provide regular three-week service.

Careful Study Needed On Locomotives

(Continued from page 2) invitations for bids. The Company also asked for proposals

for locomotives built to its specifications and those of the same general design but

with modifications by the manufacturer. Bids were requested for 57 locomotives, enough for a complete replacement program; 30 to replace mules on one side

of the Locks; and for two test units. The new units will be more powerful and

speedier than those now in use. Three of the units to be supplied will be equipped

for crane duty. The General Electric Company sub- mitted proposals under all these classifi- cations, and with four different bids for each, providing for the use of different winches by as many manufacturers. The

range of bids was from $7,580,000 to $9,866,000 for 57 locomotives, $4,267,000

to $5,509,000 for 30, and from $630,000

to $904,000 for two tests units, when built to Canal specifications. General Electric offered 57 units about $7,000 lower a unit with modification by the manufacturer. The Sandy Hills Iron and Biass Works

offered $10,992,434 for 57 units, $6,775,- 378 for 30 units, and $790,000 for two

test locomotives, all built to Canal

specifications. LeTourneau Proposals LeTourneau submitted designs and

specifications with its proposal for the new

type of towing locomotive. It would

eliminate the use of mules on the side walls and normally only two units would

be required to handle a ship in the Locks. Each locomotive would be equipped with two electrically-operated winches of considerably more power than those specified by the Canal. Fore and aft towing lines would he attached to both locomotives with braking or pulling power. Under this type

i f tow, the vessel would be moved through

the Locks adjacent to the center wall under the control and propulsion power of the two locomotives. To prevent ships from scraping the Lock walls, each loco- motive would be equipped with a large, pneumatic-tired fender which could be

raised or lowered by the locomotive's own power. A new feature also proposed in the LeTourneau design would be the equip- ment of a line boom on each towing

locomotive which would pass a towline

to ships as they approached the walls, thus eliminating the present method of handling connecting lines by men in rowboats.
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