Gift ofthe Panama CanalMuseum Qa^\ J-)^%~0^

Vol. 5, No. 10 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, MAY 6, 1955 5 cents

Zone Will Participate

in Civil Defense Test

Planned For Entire U.S.

The first Zone-wide civil defense test since the World War II period is being

planned for June 15. Governor Seybold has accepted the in- vitation of the Federal Civil Defense

Administration to participate in the national test exercise, "Operation Alert

195.5" which will include all 48 States of the Union, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto

Rico. The extent of participation will vary from State to State and from locality to

locality. Here in the Canal Zone it is planned to have a complete public test

in a ten-minute alert, to be followed by

a test exercise by the Control Center Staff on the Atlantic side. Control Point Commanders and their immediate staffs in their respective areas, and a limited, small

scale exercise of the Townsite Warden

Service. In the ten-minute alert, all non-vital vehicular traffic on the highways will be

required to pull to the side of the road

and stop but occupants will remain in their cars. All residents in the Zone will be asked to seek shelter either in their homes or at work. Pedestrians or persons employed in the open when the sirens sound will seek the nearest available

shelter. The test alert will come in the early afternoon of June 15 with the alert to be sounded over the attack warning system.

FCDA Sets Test Standards

The standards to be used in the hypothetical attack have been prescribed for the Canal Zone by the Federal Civil Defense Administration. They call for an

atomic attack with an aerial burst over

the Canal Administration Building at Balboa Heights.

Under this simulated condition, it will be assumed that the principal Control Center of the Civil Defense Organization on the Pacific side would be inoperative. For this reason, it is planned to hold the Control Center exercises on the Atlantic

side with the alternate Control Center

Staff actively participating.

The test exercise for Control Point

Commanders and their staffs which will follow the alert will consist chiefly of a communications test, utilizing both Canal Zone Police radio cars and portable radio

units The townsite Warden Service exercise

will consist of the various Section Wardens; the manning of Child Care Centers; and rendering first aid to simulated casualties by first aid squads.

Details of the Zone-wide exercise are being planned by W. G. Dolan, Chief of the Canal Zone Civil Defense.

Limited Polio Inoculation Program In Zone

Is Required Until More Vaccine Is Received

The Salk Vaccine news— one of the great medical stories of the centurystruck the Canal Zone last month with

the same force that it did thousands of towns and cities all over the United States The ink was scarcely dry on the papers

'^

WHOA, NOW, DOCTOR! Two-year-old .James D.

Craig is very much concerned about his inoculation which is being done by Dr. Robert I. Berger, Chief

of the Outpatient Clinic at Gorgas Hospital. .James

is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Craig, and his father is an employee at the Pacific Locks. A more

spirited outburst on his part was probably avoided by

soothing words from his mother who was with him. He was one of the first nine children to be inoculated with the new Salk vaccine at Gorgas. Ten others were inoculated the same day at Coco Solo Hospital.

making the announcement that the new

vaccine is effective against polio before Canal Zone health authorities were del- uged w^ith inquiries and requests. While

these have subsided somewhat, many

questions are still being asked as to when

and how much vaccine will be received; and the who, when, and where questions

about inoculations. The answers to many of these questions

are still to come since Zone health authorities have not received such information

from the United States where the vaccine

is manufactured and where it is being

allocated. The first inoculations in the Canal Zone took place on Friday afternoon,

April 22, just 10 days after the announce- ment was made as to its effectiveness.

Six Months To 16 Years

Because of the limited supply received, the inoculations are being restricted to

childi'en between the ages of six months

and 16 years who are leaving for summer

vacations in the United States. Nineteen

were vaccinated the first day and since then the vaccine has been administered

daily at the Outpatient Clinics at Gorgas

and Coco Solo Hospitals.

Children and parents are individually

notified when to report and the inoculations are being scheduled as rapidly as possible so that the maximum number

of children will have time for the two doses

required for immunization before leaving

for the States. The doses are given at approximately two week intervals, with

a third dose being given about seven months later. Cards showing the (See page is)

ANTICIPATIO.X AND apprehension show on the faces of these young Pacific side residents as they

wait in the office of the Outpatient Clinic at Gorgas Hospital for their inoculations. Reading from left .. to right are: .John Omenitsch, William Craig, Mrs. Craig and son James, Robert and 10-month-old Ste- ven Omenitsch, George Gattoni (seated), and .Juan Hansen.
THE PANAMA,CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

A PANEL of teachers and parents enlivened the last meeting of the Diablo Heights PTA with a discussion of special educational features. Standing at the back is Lt. Col. E. B. Jennings, President of the PTA. Panel members seated at the table include R. W. CoUinge, Miss (Sladys Elkins, Miss Naomi

Griithjan, and Mrs. Elizabeth McNevin, of the teacher group; and Mrs. C .Jacnbson and Capt. .!. McTollins, representing parents.

Renewed Interest Shown In Formation

Of Zone Parent-Teacher Associations

Renewed interest is being shown in the organization of Parent-Teacher Associations in the Canal Zone after a lapse of several years and already one organization is fully functioning and three others

are well into the formative stage. The bellwether of these groups has been

the Diablo Heights Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association. It was or- ganized in February and under the vigor- ous leadership of its President, Lt. Col. Edward B. Jennings, Project Engineer

for the power conversion program, two

successful monthly meetings have been

held which were attended by about 100

or more parents of children in that school. Also fully organized and ready to initiate a definite program based on a closer cooperation between the home and school

is the Atlantic Side Parent-Teacher Association. Mrs. Dorothy Leach of New

Cristobal is President of this group. In- stead of being strictly an individual school group, this association includes all United

States schools on the Atlantic side. Latin American PTA

Two Parent-Teacher Associations have

also been recently formed by the Latin

American schools. These are at La Boca

and Paraiso. Officers for both of the associations have been selected with Mrs. Eulean Harris as President of the Paraiso group, and Christopher Heywood as President of the La Boca Association. With the earlier closing of the Latin American schools this year, these associations are still in the process of formation

and defining their aims and objectives. A

committee has been organized at La Boca

to work out a program for the association and leaders of both groups expect to be ready for full-swing activities by the time

school reopens in July.

The organization of parenl^teacher groups in the Canal Zone communities

this year has followed a suggestion made

to the various Civic Councils by Governor

Seybold. The proposal has met with excellent response and the Civic Councils

in both La Boca and Paraiso have taken

the initiative in forming the association,

and the Civic Councils of other communities have assisted in the program which

has the whole-hearted support of school administrative officials. Since the Diablo Heights Association is a going concern, its policies and objectives

as defined in the bylaws will form a pattern for other groups, particularly since they follow, in the main, those of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers. Three basic policies have been adopted

by the Diablo PTA which are: That the purpose of the association shall be educational and shall be developed through conferences, committees, and projects; that

it shall be non-commercial, non-sectarian,

and non-partisan; and that it shall not

seek to direct the administrative activities of the school nor to control its policies. Quoting directly from the bylaws, the

objectives are: To promote the welfare of children and

youth in home, schools, church, and community.

To raise the standards of home life. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.

To bring into closer relation the home

and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the train- ing of the child. To develop between educators and the

general public such united efforts as will secure for every child the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education. Basic Objectives Identical Although other PTA's being formed or

to be formed may outline their policies

and objectives differently and may in- clude special projects of interest in their respective communities, these set the basic

principles which are sponsored by the National Congress. Leaders of the local units expect the Zone associations to be- come formally affiliated with the National

Congress of Parents and Teachers at a

later date. They have already received

literature from the national body for use

in guidance in the matters of organization, policies, and objectives.

While the underlying principles of the Parent^Teacher Associations may be substantially the same, they are sufficiently

broad to provide a highly varied and inter- esting program designed to attain the objectives in individual communities. Thus,

the monthly meetings may be brought

down to specific subjects or objectives.

Typical of this was the April meeting

of the Diablo Heights Association. It was

devoted to a panel discussion on the facilities and requirements pertaining to speMRS. DOROTHY LEACH

President of the Atlantic side VTA

cial educational services of the school. The panel was led by Roger W. Collinge,

Assistant, Superintendent of Schools and

Director of Elementary Education. Participating were both parents and teachers. The panel was followed by a questionand-answer session in which such subjects

as the need for a reduction in the number

of elementary students per teacher, the requirement for a full-time resident school

doctor, the Spanish course, and child behavior, were discussed in detail. Children's Project Meeting

The program for the May meeting was to follow a completely different line. It was

planned to make that a "children's project" meeting at which time it was planned

to present special projects which have

been pursued by the various students during the school year. The June meeting

will be primarily a business meeting with

the annual election of officers. Since the student body of the Diablo

Heights Elementary School is made up

of children from several different communities, the roster of officers is appropriately representative of these. Other

officers serving this year with Colonel Jennings are: Mrs. Nina Harmon, of Fort

Clayton, Vice President; Mrs. Hall, of Curundu Heights, Secretary; Robert L. Blaney, of Diablo Heights, Treasurer; and

Mrs. Frances Baggott, of Curundu, Publicity Officer. Miss Ruth Creasy, Princi- pal of the Diablo school, is the School Advisor and member of the Executive

Committee.

All three of the meetings held by the Diablo group have been well attended,

and Colonel Jennings attributes this largely to the efforts of a "Calling Committee" which was appointed at the outset. It is the duty of the members of thi^ committee to call personally every parent

a day or two before the meeting to remind

and invite them to attend. Atlantic Side Officers

Officers of the Atlantic Side Parent- Teacher Association also come from several different communities. Serving with Mrs. Leach as President are: Mrs Evelyn

Muncy, of Fort Gulick, Vice President; Mrs. Leonore Butts, of Margarita, Secretary; and Paul Baker, of Coco Solo, Treasurer. The teacher member of the Executive Committee of the association
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

THIS AUDIENCE of more than a hundred listens attentively as Roger W, Collinge, Assistant Schools Superintendent and Director of Elementary Education, leads a panel discussion at Diablo Heights Parent-Teacher Association meeting. The panel discussed the facilities and requirements pertaining to

special educational services of the Diablo Heights Elementary School.

is Miss Frances Moomaw, Principal of South Margarita Elementary School.

-. The Atlantic side group held its second

meeting late last month at which time

Colonel Jennings was the guest speaker.

In addition to telling briefly what the Diablo Heights group has accomplished

thus far, he outlined some of the basic problems which parentrteacher associa- tions always encounter. Over 100 parents

and teachers attended the meeting.

The Atlantic Side Association has planned tentatively to hold its meetings

every third Monday. A committee has been appointed to draft bylaws for the

association and these are expected to be considered at the May meeting.

The formation of the Parent-Teacher

Associations in the Canal Zone this year may, in a sense, be termed a revival. The history of the PTA in the Canal Zone

goes back more than 35 years but it is by no means a consecutive story. First PTA In Balboa

According to Canal records, the first such group organized, about 1920, was the Parent-Teachers' Cooperative Association, of Balboa, of which H. N. Engelke was President. A Parent-Teachers Association of Cristobal High School, with Mrs. F. H. Townsend as President, was

formed about four years later. Apparently interest lagged and the association was short lived. Efforts to form similar organizations on the Atlantic side several years later did not meet with successful response. A considerable amount of public inter- est in the formation of Parent-Teacher

Associations in the Canal Zone was generated about eight years ago with the

result that several were formed and were

active for three or four years. Most of these were formed about 1947 and the list included associations for the Balboa Junior and Senior high schools, Ancon, Di- ablo Heights, and Balboa elementary

schools, and four associations in the local- rate communities at Red Tank, Paraiso,

Rainbow City, and Santa Cruz.

Interest Lagged Five Years Ago

None of these have been active for about five years and after the first burst

of enthusiasm interest waned and attend- ance at meetings gradually fell off until formal meetings were discontinued. The leaders in the present move to form Parent-Teacher Associations hope to reverse this trend by the stimulation of continuing interest in a well-rounded pro- gram which will attract both the attention and support of both parents and teachers

Colonel Jennings, one of the "sparkplugs"

in the present revival, fully believes that

this can be done by proper leadership and

cooperation among the two groups most

vitally interested in the promotion of good

relationship between the home and school. RETIRES THIS MONTH

F. H. IRWIN

Frank H. Irwin closed more than 30

years of continuous service with the Canal organization earlier this week, al- most half of which has been served as head of the Engineering Division. He

and Mrs. Irwin plan to leave within the next few days to make their home in California. His retirement becomes effec- tive at the end of May.

Mr. Irwin has been active in many

civic and community affairs for many

years. He has also been Chairman of Local Board No. 1 of the Selective Service System since it was formed and has

served as a member of the Canal Zone

Pardon Board. Many Canal Officials See

Joint Armed Forces Test

A large number of officials in the Canal

organization were invited to witness the

various phases of Exercise Barracuda this week. This exercise was a joint U. S. Armed

Forces maneuver designed to test the defense of the Canal against attack by an

agressor ground force. Climax of the Exercise was a parachute

jump at Rio Hato by some 800 paratroopers of the Eleventh Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Ky. More than

2,000 troops participated in the maneuver.

All Panama Line Ships

Filled For Northbound

May And June Sailings

When the Panama Line Ancon sails next Saturday from Cristobal for New

York the annual exodus of Canal employees and their families for summer vacations in the United States will be started

in full swing.

While travel this year is not expected

to be heavier than previous years, all Panama Line ships for the months of May

and June will be well filled. By the latter part of last week, full bookings were re- ported for all sailings in these two months

except for a few spaces left on the SS

Panama for its May 21st trip northbound.

The Panama returned to passenger

service on its last southbound sailing to provide sufficient accommodations for employees and their families during the rush vacation period. The change was made in anticipation of a substantial in- crease in travel by the Panama Line fol- lowing instructions issued early in April

for the use of travel on the Line for free home leave travel except in the relatively few cases where travel by other means to the States would be more economical.

Employees taking advantage of the

free home leave travel regulations may

use other forms of travel to the States if they so desire by paying the difference between the reduced rates on the Panama

Line and the cost of travel by other means. Few Disruptions Caused

The two changes last month relating

to travel caused comparatively little dis- ruption to employee plans. Some re- assignments were made to the Panama

for its first two northbound sailings in passenger service and these were on a voluntary basis. Also, many of those

sailing last Saturday had planned other forms of travel and changed to go on the Panama Line after the new instructions were issued.

It was announced last month that changes in the sailing date for any employees as a result of the Panama returning to passenger service would be made

by the Chief of the Administrative Branch. Very few reassignments in sail- ing dates have been necessary and these were also on a voluntary basis after consultation with the individuals concerned. The "teachers' special" for the north- bound trip this year will be the Panama

on its June 1 1th sailing. As in past years, employees with children of school age

will be given priority in assignment on

the two sailings before and the two after the teachers' special.

This will be the first summer vacation

in which Canal employees have the op- portunity to take advantage of the free home leave travel. The legislation for

free home leave travel was enacted last August after most employees had already taken their vacation. Although travel to the States is ordi- narily by the Panama Line, employees

and their families may use any form of travel they desire in going to their homes

from New York. If they travel by private

automobile, they are entitled to reim- bursement on a mileage basis for the most direct route from New York to their home.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

Hundreds Of Zonians Have Received Help

From Past Donations Made to Cancer Fund

With the eradication of polio now a

possibility through the development of the Salk vaccine, medical science is ex- pected to tackle with renewed vigor one

of the greatest killers of mankind and

one of man's most dr?ad diseases cane r. Again this month Isthmian residents

will have an opportunity to aid in this great fight by their donations to the Cancer Fund which has the two-fold purpose

of providing financial assistance to those

stricken and funds or research. Although

the generosity of local residents has been

amply demonstrated by gifts amounting

to more than $50,000 during the past five years, the story of how this money is

"spent and what is being accomplished

here in the Canal Zone is little known.

Some part of the story is told in a message being issued by Governor Seybold. Chairman of the Canal Zone Cancer

Committee, inviting contributions.

$9,079 In Financial Aid

"Since May 1954 " he said, "the date

for the opening of the previous campaign,

72 patients were furnished hospital services, medical care, and financial assistance by the Committee. During this same

period disbiu-sements to patients alone amounted to $9,079. In addition, to this

local expenditure, $3,857 was transmitted

to, the American Cancer Society specifically for cancer research. While it is deeply regretted, you should know that during the last year in the Canal Zone

there were 11 terminal cases which were beyond the ability of our doctors to pre- vent." This brief statement tells the story of the more serious cancer cases where direct

financial assistance was provided in hospitalization, medical services, nursing care

BIOPSIES are made free of charge in all examinations for cancer. These are paid for by the Cancer Fund, being one of the several services in which a

large number of Canal Zone residents benefit directly bv money donated each year. Dr. Ferruccio Bertoli, Chief of "Pathology at the Board of Health Laboratory, is shown making the microscopic examination

of a piece of tissue to determine if there are any

signs of malignacy.

X-ray treatments, and medical supplies. In addition to these, many others were

directly benefitted without their knowledge. About a year after the first Cancer Fund Drive was held in the Zone, the Canal Zone Cancer Committee made ar- rangements for the Health Bureau to make direct billings for all charges for certain services provided in cancer detection and treatment. These include: Charges for cancer detection examinations, biopsies, and those not in excess of

DR. D. D. DOrCL.^SS, Acting (_'hief of the X-ray Service at (iorgas Hospital, and Mrs. \ivian Zim- merman, X-ray Technician, are examining chest .X-rays fur possible indication of cancer. Such examinations are done at no cost to the patients who rarely know that this service is free and is paid for by

the Cancer Fund

$50 for minor operations on indigent patients. That list has since been increased and now includes post-operative examinations. Charges Paid Automatically

These charges are paid out of the Cancer Fund, generally without the knowledge of the patient. In addition, other treatment of a minor nature, such as Xray and drugs is paid on direct charges

from the hospital without being referred

to the patient. In a recent summary of expenses in- curred during a typical quarterly period, the Executive Chairman of the Committee reported that direct charges were paid

for 34 consultations, 12 biopsies. X-ray

treatments, and drugs. These were in addition to financial assistance granted to

fi\-e patients.

These services were provided without

fanfare and while most Zone residents have personal knowledge of financial assistance being rendered in isolated cases

of long hospitalization of some friend or acquaintance, few realize that they themselves may have been personally benefit- ted financially through the Fund.

It is impossible to judge how many lives may have been saved by this little known

service, but medical authorities are in complete agreement on the importance of the early detection of cancer. In its national drive for funds this year, held during April in the States, the American

Cancer Society stated that cancer strikes one in four persons. Of those stricken, one is saved by early detection and treat- ment and one could be saved by earlier diagnosis.

Educational Program Important

While the Cancer Fund has a two-fold purpose, primarily, it also serves in an

educational program designed to save the one out of four whose case might have

been cured by early diagrcsis. And, much

progress has been made locally under the sponsorship of the Cancer Committee in educating the public in the importance of recognizing the early signs of cancer and

consulting a physician immediately.

The history of the Canal Zone Cancer Committee is relatively short. It was

first organized in 19.50, largely through

the initiative of Dr. K. 0. Courtney, for- merly Assistant to the Health Director. The first formal drive was held during

the latter half of May of that year, and a total of nearly $11,500 was donated.

Sixty percent of that was retained in the Canal Zone and the remainder was for- warded to the American Cancer Society.

The Canal Zone Cancer Committee be- came formally affiliated with the American Cancer Society the following year and

since that time it has forwarded 30 per- cent of the funds raised and retained 70 percent to render financial aid to cancer

victims here and to provide free medical

services for detection and early treatment. The Governor of the Canal Zone serves

as Chairman of the Canal Zone Cancer Committee and the funds are administered by a Board of Trustees with the Health Director as its Chairman. The

Board of Trustees is composed of repre- sentatives from the Canal organization

and the three branches of the Armed Forces on the Isthmus. The administrative
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

work of the committee is handled under

the direction of an Executive Chairman

who is elected annually by the Board of Trustees.

Leaders For 1955 Appeal

The Executive Chairman al-o has the

responsibility for the annual fund rai^inp; drive which is held during the last half

of May each year. The Executive Chair- man this year is Leonard M. Brockman,

Assistant Personnel Director of the Pan- ama Canal Company.

For the annual drive this year, Mr. Brockman has app.iintcd Frank J. Moumblow as Pacific side chairman, and Oearge

A. Tully to head the Atlantic side c;)in- mittec. As in past years, ivo specific goal has been set and all contributions will be on

the voluntary basis. In his appeal for support in this year's campaign for funds. Governor Seybold

said:"All residents of the Canal Zone are urged to render whole-hearted support

and are invited to participate in this great

humanitarian cause through the contribution of funds. No goal or minimum contribution is established. The frequency

with which cancer strikes makes it a very

personal matter to all of us that we assist to the extent that we are financially able."

You may be a fine upstanding person, but that makes no difference to a bananaskin. Accidents are no respector of persons, neither are hazards, so keep your

eye peeled. Think of your own skin.

Remote Control Of Power Plants Planned

As Phase Of 60-Cycle Conversion Project

Imagine yourself sitting at your desk and holding the check reins on fiO.OOO horses charging up and down several hundred miles of roadway, slowing down oi' stopping a few thousand here, and k'tting

10,000 others tun more fK'ely T)!) miles away.

That, you say, couldn't he done. And,

if the horses were I'eal live animals, you

would be correct, but translate the potential pulling power of 60,000 horses into units of electric energy, and it becomes

entiiely feasible. Not only is it feasible, but is being

planned in connection with the (JO-cycle conversion project. The Boaid of Directors at its last quartei ly meeting appi oved

a plan to provide operation of the two

hydroelectric generating plants at Madden Dam and Gatun by remote contiol from a single control board. The plan actually is an extension of one

already in effect in the Canal Zone power

system, since all major substations are now operated by i emote control. This

existing equipment is due foi' replacement

in the near future and will be included in the power conversion program. The pur- chase of additional equipment required at the generating plants will permit the

tying-in of the entire system to a single

centi'al board from which the power dis Armed Forces Day - May 21

SYMBOLIC OF the spirit uf Aimed ]'"urces Day. ceremonial personnel representing each of the .\rmed

Services of the United States present an impressive picture of the nation's armed strength. Local observ- ance of Armed Forces Day is scheduled fcr May 21 with open-house ceremonies at .^Ibrook Air Force Base and Coco Solo .\aval \\r Station. The Canal organization is again actively participating in this year's observance by a special exhibit

in the area set aside for this purpose at Albrook. Several thousand Canal employees and their families are expected to attend the open house ceremonies as they have done in past years. Canal Zone schools are also taking a special part in the observances through an essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wai's, an annual event of the past several years. The contest is open to boys and girls in the seventh and eighth grades who are American citizens. Prizes will be the selection of a boy and a girl to be Generals of the Ai-my, Generals of the Air Force, and Admirals of the Navy for a day.

Special caps and stars will be given the essay winners. The contest closes at midnight, May 9.

patcher can control both the generation

and distribution of power to all parts of the .system. Single Control Hoard Needed

Undei' the proposed .system, the operation of the two hydro plants and all main

substations will be handled through a

single cntrol board, which will be a miniature of the control board at each

plant, and will permit remote control, metering, and supervision of all impoitant

functions at each station. Not all features of the two generating

plants will be fully automatic, and per- sonnel will be available at each plant at

all times for duty in connection with the nonautomatic features and for direct control of the entire plant if an emergency

develops, as well as to perform mainte- nance work. The actual workings of the centralized

control plan for the power system is too

highly technical for the ordinary layman

to understand. Its main features, however, are understandable and they indi- cate a regular fairyland in which a string

is pulled here and something jumps yonder, the apparatus working something like an automatic telephone exchange.

Novel Communication System

One of the more interesting features of

this remote control set-up is the communication system by which the messages

will be brought into the control board

from all parts of the power system. These

mes.sages will be brought in by "carrier current" which means they will flow in over the same power line that is trans- mitting the regular curi'jnt, but at a much higher frequency.

The control board will have meters to

indicate to the dispatcher the voltage,

current, and powei- flow throughout the system, indicating lights to show whether

switches are opened or closed or whether

apparatus is energized or dead, as well as control switches to start, stop, open,

close, raise, or lower; and devices to indi- cate hot bearings, overloads, failures, or other disturbances. Any uncontrolled operatic n of a switch or unusual happening

will soimd an alarm and indicate the device is in trouble. With the constant information supplied over the "carrier current," and indicated on the control board, the dispatcher, by

pushing a button or turning a knob, can

start or stop the generators at Madden

Dam and Gatun ; increase or decivase the voltage anywhere in the power system;

turn the lights on or off in any locality; locate trouble here, there, and every- where; and, in general, hold the check

reins of the 60,000 hoi-ses charging up and

down the Isthmus, which is the rated

capacity of the two hydroelectric plants. Diesel Plants Not Included

The diesel generating plants will not be tied into the remote control system

for the two hydroelectric plants. While

this might be possible, it is not considered

either feasible or economical because of the more intricate details requited in their operation.

The last of the major contracts of the

pov/er conversion project to be let this

fiscal year was awarded last tnonth to the Sachse Electrical Company.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

FOR YOUR INTEREST AND GUIDANCE IN ACCIDENT PREVENTION

Our 1954 Toll - 355 Disabling Work Injuries

Durins,' the calendar year 1954, the Canal Z;)n" Government-Panama Canal

Company expeiienf_'d 355 disibling injurii^s, of which six were fatalities, S p;'i- manent partial disabilities, and 341 t;Mii- p )rary total disabilities. These 341 temporary total disabling injm'ies represent

a total of 8,372 actual days lost by the

injured persons from the job. Since the

actual costs of the six fatalities and the

eight p?rmanent partial disibilitiss are intangible amounts, which are spread

over many years, a fixed scheduled charge

of 51,000"d'ays, as specified by the American Standards Association, was recorded

at the time of the injury for statistical purposes and in order to compare accident

expsriences, whether or not any days were

lost by the injured employee from the job.

The accident frequency rate for the year was 12.72 which represents a 4 per- cent improvement over our previous

3-year average of 13.21 for the years

1951, 19.52, 1953, and a 29 percent improvement over our 19.50 frequency rate

of 17.84, the first full year under the Government-Company reorganization.

Those chiefly responsible for this over- HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

MARCH

TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Civil Affairs 1 Community Services 1 Engineering and Construction 1 Supply - 1 Transportation and Terminals 1 Health_.._ -- Marine ••

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

MARCH

TERMINALS DIVISION

MAINTENANCE DIVISION

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION

DREDGING DIVISION

ELECTRICAL DIVISION

MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION

RAILROAD DIVISION

HOUSING DIVISION

SANITATION DIVISION

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Maintenance 3 Aids to Navigation 2 Dredging 2 Electrical - — 2 Grounds Maintenance 2 Housing 2 M otor Transportation — 2 Railroad 2 Sanitation 2 Commissary : 1 Industrial 1 Service Center _. 1 Storehouses .._ 1 Terminals _ I Hospitalization and Clinics Locks

Naviga tion

all improvement during 1954 and who

showed improvements ranging from one

percent to 100 percent over their own

3-year averages were:

1

.

Bureaus -- Community Services Bureau; Health

Bureau; Transportation and Terminals Bureau; Marine Bureau.

2. Divisions and Miscellaneous Bureau

Units

Printing Plant and Supply Bureau

Misc.; Housing Division and Community Services Bureau—Misc.; Postal and Customs Divisions; Service Center Division; Engineering Division and Eng. and Constr. Bureau—Misc.;

Police Division; Staff and Administration- Grounds Maintenance Division; Dredging Division; Locks

Division; Motor Transportation

Division; Division of Storehouses; Navigation Division, Aids to Navigation, and Marine Bureau—Misc. The "Accident Statistics for the Calen- dar Year 1954," which have just been

published, compares the improvement

each bureau and division made over their own previous 3-year average. This sys- tem of gauging each unit's safety effort with their own previous 3-year average

is a less controversial method than that

of comparing the safety experience of one

unit with that of another. Under this method, if a unit makes steady progress each year in reducing accidents their per- centage of improvement will be plus and

as the saying goes: "in the green;" if not, their percentage will be minus and "in

the red," which of course shows they are not doing so well. The National Safety

Council also uses the previous three years

as a basis for comparison.

Since it is their own record each unit is trying to beat, there can be no alibis,

such as was previously the case when the frequency rates of all units were compared. Some units claimed they should

be given some sort of a handicap over

other units because of the difference in their activities and degree of hazards

involved, including something greater

than the possibility of falling out of an

office swivel chair. This method of safety competition does

not permit a unit to rest on its "laurels," or to become satisfied with a more or less fixed frequency rate. Every new annual

record in turn becomes one of the three previous years and, if an improvement,

sets up a new lower average for the unit

to shoot at for the year coming up. A good example of how this works is the safety experience of the Terminals

Division. They figured back in 19.50 that because of their relatively high frequency

rate they would always be on the bottom

for any Honor Roll Award.

In 1951 they started out with a 10 per- cent improvement over their previous low

record and rose to 46 percent improvement in 1953 over their previous 3-year

average. These new lows gave them a much lower 3-year average to shoot at

in 1954. As it turned out, they were unable to better this average because of one major accident. Even at that, they were

only 1 percent worse for the year. However, they have taken a new hold on their accident prevention situation for 1955,

and have won the Honor Roll Award for no disabling injuries during the month of March— something they never expected

would happen back in 1950. For them,

this is a new outlook in safety, when they

discovered there was a way for them to win recognition for a sincere effort in preventing accidents and they found they

could stand up among the best.

MARCH 1955

Transportation and Terminals Bureau ,, 1 <<<<>:<:m

Engineering and Construction Bureau 1 ^ Civil Affairs Bureau 1 •:»::::•: :•:•::) Community Services Bureau 4

S

5

7

IE

15

^m— 1

C. Z. Govl.-Panama Canal Co. ( This Month

)

,x-J

Wf^ 1

Health Bureau

Supply Bureau

i<:}::y-:i K^H ffff^K 1 S32a

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

|

Bi^l 1

Marine Bureau ^^

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

(Frequency Rale)

10

Number of Disabling Injuries 13 Man-Hours Worked .2,454,688 LEGEND

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

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

fi'X'f^'iii Aocuimilative Frcqiipnoy Rate This Year
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

JUeJ-, .e/fi^hj,!.

Official Panama Canal Company Publication

Published Monthly at BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE

Printed by lh« Printinf PUint Mtunt Htpe, Canal Zont John S. Seybold, Governor-President

William G. Arey, Jr. Public Information Officer

J. RuFUS Hardy, Editor

Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Editorial Assistant

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 BYMAIL—10 cents each B.\CK COPIES—10 cents each On sale when available, from the Vault

Clerk, Third Floor, Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

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

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z.

Marine Director Serves

As Acting Zone Governor

C.-VPT. FRANK A. MUNROE, Jr.

Capt. Franlv A. Munroe, Jr., Marine

Director, became Acting Governor of the Canal Zone last week with the departure

of Governor Seybold for Washington to attend hearings on Canal appropriations.

This was the fourth time in the history

of the Canal organization that the head

of the Marine Bureau (or Division) has been called to take the Canal Zone Governor's place on a temporary basis. Others who have served briefly as Acting Governors were: Rear Adm. (then Captain) Clark H. Woodward in 1929; Commodore

Stewart A. Manahan in 1942; and Capt.

Robert M. Peacher in 1952. Captain Munroe's appointment was made following the departure of Lt.-Gov. H. 0. Paxson for his new assignment in Washington.

Col. Herman W. Schull, Jr , who has been appointed by Governor Seybold to succeed Colonel Paxson as Lieutenant

Governor, is scheduled to arrive on the Isthmus about May 25.

OF CURRENT INTEREST

Annual Safety Trophy Presented

WEARING a broad smile. Wilson H. Crook, Community Services Director, receives from Governor

Seybold the Governoi'-President Annual Safety Trophy at a special ceremony last month at Balboa

Heights. Equally pleased is Emmett Zemer, standing at Mr. Crook's right, since he is Safety Inspector

for the Community Services Bureau. Emphasizing the importance of the safety program, the Governor invited all Bureau directors, heads

of the principal units of the Community Services Bureau, and members cf his staif to attend. In making

the presentation. Governor Seybold said the ceremony had a two-fold purpose: To give recognition of the fine record, and to stress the importance of the safety program throughout the Company and Government.

This was the second year when the Governor-President Safety Trophy has been awarded. It was won

last year by the Health Bureau. It is presented to the Bureau with the highest percentage improvement

in accident-frequency rate over its own previous three-year average.

Eleven cottages and one two-family bouse

in the Ancon-Balboa area which were scheduled to be vacated for demolition by tbe end of June, will be retained temporarily because of the present shortage of quarters on the Pacific side. The decision to keep

these bouses in use for the present was made

following an inspection as to their condition. The occupants of these quarters to be

kept have bee;i given written notice from

the Housing Division of the change in the

demolition schedule. The change will not

affect the demolition schedule for other houses and occupants of quarters slated to be torn down soon will know there has been

no change in the date they must vacate,

unless the>' have received such a notice. The houses to be kept in use will be repaired;

it necessary, repainted, and kept on a min- imum maintenance basis.

in Cristobal by Governor Seybold, effective May i6. Canal Zone Magistrates are ap- pointed to four-year terms. Judge Tatelman has been a resident of the Isthmus since IQ24 when he was first employed in the Marine Division. He has

served as Magistrate in Cristobal since

1931. Aside from his official duties, Judge

Tatelman has taken an active role in many

civic affairs during his 30 years of residence. He and Mrs. Tatelman left last week for a vacation in Colorado.

Bids are now being advertised for the

sale and removal of three of the six emergency dams of the Panama Canal which were erected at the time of the Canal construction. Bids are to be opened May 31. The three dams to be sold are those at Miraflores and one at Pedro Miguel. The

other three are to be sold for scrap at a

later date. They were remodelled several years ago for use as spillways for flood control if needed. None of the dams has ever been used for emergency purposes. h draft of legislation has been forwarded

to Congress by the Canal administration which would reciuire the registration and

licensing of architects and professional engi- neers in the Canal Zone. The proposed legis- lation is patterned along standards prevailing in the District of Columbia. The regis- tration and licensing of these two professional groups has been sought by them and

the proposed bill would establis'-' substantially the same procedure in the Canal Zone

as now applies to the medical and legal professions. Meanwhile, it was announced

recently that pending approval of the legis- lation, registration and licensing will proceed under regulations similar to those now in practice throughout the llnited Stales.

Judge E. I. P. Tatehnan has been reap- pointed to a four-year term as Magistrate

The Communications Branch of the Electrical Division recently completed the instal- lation of a new telephone directory- listing system designed to simplify the work and

increase efficiency.

It is an interlocking card system in which

individual cards contain a line of information such as is listed in the telephone directory. Upon removal of a telephone, the

individual's card is withdrawn and upon

installation a new card is inserted alphabetically in the area of the listing. The interlocking card system is expected

to eliminate the end-of-the-year rush and

greatly simplify the compilation of the new

Canal Zone telephone directory each JanA total of 38 U. S.-rate student-assistant

positions have been authorized this year for allocation on the basis of Bureau justifica- tion for the coming school vacation months

from June 8 through September 9, it has been announced by the Personnel Bureau. These positions can be filled by Canal Zone

high school students or Junior College stu- dents of 16 years of age or over who meet

the general qualifications for U. S.-rate employment in the Company-Government or- ganization. The jobs also will offer training

opportunities and many of the high school graduates employed during the summer may be retained in permanent positions

similar to those held during their training

peiiod. Students wishing to apply for jobs may

register at the U. S.-rate Employment

Branch of the Personnel Bureau in the Administration Building or at the Central Labor Office in Cristobal.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

The Panama Canal Honor Roll

Fifty-one years ago last Wednesday

May 4, 1904- the United States formally

undertook to build the Panama Canal. Ten years later, on August 14, 1914, the new waterway between the Atlantic and

Pacific oceans was opened to traffic despite all the gloomy predictions which had

been made to the contrary.

During that ten-year, hurry-burly period, t?ns of thousands of Americans left their homes to come to the Isthmus to help build the "Big Ditch" as it soon became affectionately called by them.

Although there were never more than

7,000 employed at any one time, it was

estimated that a total of about 40,000

employments and reemployments were made during the Canal construction period.When the work ended, several thousand

of these pioneers remained to run the Canal ancl for a period of some .30 years afterward most of the responsible position

in the Canal organization were held by

them. Gradually, the hardy band has been reduced and on May 4 of this year, the 51st anniversary of the Canal enterprise under the United States Government, there were only 13 of those who

were first employed during the construction period still in service. When this Honor Roll of the Canal or- ganization was published in the first issue

of The Canal Review in May 1950, the

list contained 106 names. It has declined

rapidly in the intervening five years and

another few years will make the honor

roll something for the history books. Only 5 Roosevelt Medal Holders

Of those remaining in service, only five are holders of the Roosevelt Medal which was awarded for two years of construc- tion-day service. These are five out of 7,391 who received the coveted medal. Their names below are indicated by an

asterisk. The names of those now in service who

began work for the Canal before it was

opened is given below with the dates they

entered service. The three names in capital letters have had continuous service. A brief calendar of events is given with

each name and date as a reminder of the time when they began their careers.

1909

*Adrien M. Bouche—July 2 The floor of Gatun Spillway was completed and the sea-level section of the Canal on the Atlantic side had been

dredged down to within nine feet of its

final depth by July 1909. During the month, a $25,000 clubhouse building at Gatun was authorized and survey work

for the Cristobal Breakwater was practically completed.

1911

*Lea K. Dugan—June 6 Pedro Miguel Locks were nearing completion and the permanent construction

plant there was moved to Miraflores Locks. This was the month when the

first ordinance was issued requiring all operators of automobiles to be licensed. 'GEORGE N. ENGEEKE—Sept. 5 'Bernard VV. Mclntyre—September 28 The installation of the vast amount of machinery needed for the operation of the

MOUNTAINOUS SLIDEvS plagued the Canal construction during tlie latter years and delayed opening

the waterway. Most of those still in service remember sights such as this where steam shovels were up- ended and railroad tracks were made to look like rubber when millions of yards of earth and rock started

to move.

locks was begun in September 1911. The

Canal Zone Postal Savings System was

established by Executive Order of the

President, and the Society of the Chagres, an association of those with six years of Canal service, was formed. *Gregor Gramlich—October 14 Excavation for the permanent harbor

at Balboa was begun the same month Mr. Gramlich was employed. The old Hotel

Washington was reopened after being

moved from the site where the present

hotel was to be built. 1912

Samuel J. Deavours—March 1 Work on Pedro Miguel Locks was well advanced and the concrete for the emergency dam foundations were being poured.

Meanwhile the first shipment of material

for the Miraflores Lock gates had arrived and preparations were being made to concentrate work there. President Taft

issued an Executive Order setting the speed limit at 15 miles an hour for cars on a straight road and eight miles on

curves and in towns. Thomas J. Breheny—November 1 The upper guard gates at Pedro Miguel

Locks were operated for the first time two weeks after Mr. Breheny started work. That same month the Executive

Order of President Taft setting toll rates

for ships to use the Canal was published.

About 400 acres of land comprising a part

of the present town of Balboa was being

reclaimed by hydraulic fill from dredges

in Balboa Ilarlwr. George C. Orr—December 5 ARTHUR MORG.\N—December 10 Gatun Lake was being filled with the

practical completion of Gatun Dam and

the lake reached a level of slightly over

56 feet in December. However, the lake was lowered to 50 feet to permit work on

the concrete spillway to be completed.

Surveys were begun for the location of towers for the 44,000-volt transmission

line across the Isthmus. The Canal force rose to the highest level of any time in the construction period, with 40,159 employees. Of these, however, 3,499 were employed by contractors on Canal work. 1913

David W. Ellis—June 11 A committee reported unfavorably on

plans for a tunnel under the Canal near

Paraiso. Erection of the framework for the Administration Building on the side

of Ancon Hill was begun in June 1913.

It was announced that the filling of Gatun

Lake to its operating level would start on July 1. Meanwhile, villages in the lake area were still being evacuated and buildings removed or demolished.

Edward P. Walsh—July 1 EMMETT ZEMER—July 10 A contract was awarded for the construction of Piers 15 and 16 in Cristobal. Plans for blowing up the Gamboa Dike in October were announced. Work was

started on the construction of the Miraflores Filtration Plant.

William V. Brugge—December 17

Slides, which delayed the opening, of the Canal, were main topics of conversation at the end of 1913 and at the time Mr. Brugge started work, dredges had just cut a channel sufficiently wide for floating

equipment to pass through the big Cucaracha Slide. News of the death of Col. David DuBose Gaillard was received on

the Isthmus. Plans were announced for the Ancon Commissary, the first permanent type store to b? built.
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

ONE OF THE Canal Zone's notaries, F. J. Moumblow, attests the signature of a document.

186 Notaries Public Serve The Public

In Canal Zone Towns And Military Posts

Notaries public in the Canal Zone will never get rich; the top fee they may ever

charge is $1 and although that $i may

legally go into their pockets a good many

of them don't ever bother to collect it. What they get out of their appoint- ments as notaries is the satisfaction of having helped someone untangle a bit of red tape or comply with the rules and

regulations which require that the signa- tures on many documents must be sworn

to, or, in better notary parlance, attested. Notaries public have been functioning

in the Canal Zone since January 1905; today there are 75 of them scattered in 10 Canal Zone communities -and this fig- ure does not include the 111 notaries among military personnel or civilians whose headquarters are in the Canal

Zone's military posts or Navy stations.

All Canal Zone notaries public have

several things in common: they must be

citizens of the United States; they are appointed for terms of three years by the Governor; they may function only in the Canal Zone but are not bound to their home base, i.e., a Cristobal notary may

notarize documents in Gatun, Gamboa,

Balboa, or any other place in the Canal

Zone; they may not generally charge for administering an oath or attesting papers which are to be filed with a department

of the United States or with the Panama

Canal Company; and they must provide

their own impression seals, at their own

expense. My Friend, The Notary

Canal Zone notaries also, apparently,

have one complaint in common: they

wish their friends would not take ad- vantage of friendship. What they mean

is something like this: John Jones, who works for the Locks

Division, say, has to swear to a certain document. The document says, quite

plainly, that the oath of signature must

be made before a notary public. But

John Jones is a busy man, he's been an

old friend of his neighborhood notary for a good many years, and said friend knows

John Jones' signatiu'e as well as he knows

John Jones. So Jones signs his piece of paper, at home, and asks Mrs. Jones to take it to

their old friend the notary so he can put

his seal on it; "then we can get it into tonight's air mail." Both Joneses are al- most invariably highly incensed when

their friend, the notary, points out that he cannot place his seal on any document

which has not been signed in his presence and when he insists that Jones come

around in pei'son and take care of this matter. Specialized Notaries

Some notaries have specialized work. The two notaries at Gorgas Hospital, for instance, deal mostly with the oaths re- quired when a veteran applies for treat- ment in a Canal Zone hospital. Death

certificates, also, must be notarized. The Canal Zone Credit Union has a notary on its staff; the work there deals mostly with chattel mortgages arranged

by Credit Union members.

A number of oil companies in the Canal Zone have notaries in their offices, as do

several shipping agencies. They may deal with such matters as bottomries, hypothecations, and affreightments—which mean

respectively, a contract in the nature of a mortgage with a ship, and sometimes

its freight, as security; the pledging of a

vessel as security by a bottomry bond;

and the mercantile lease of a vessel under

which it remains in charge of its owners. Notaries at the Canal Zone License

Section attest transfers of vehicles, and

notaries at the Canal Zone District and

Magistrates' Courts must notarize all affidavits of complaint. A person who is charging his next-door neighbor with bat- tery must take his oath that the charge

is, to the best of his knowledge, correct. Notaries public also administer oaths

to Canal Zone officials. For many years August T. Schmidt, a notary public in the Administration Building, swore in each Governor of The Panama Canal, and

today notaries in the Magistrates' Courts swear in the Magistrates.

Election periods in the United States always bring an extra load of work to the

notaiies public, as absentee ballots must

be sworn to before a notary. John A.

Michaelis, who is clerk of the Balboa

Magistrate's Court but also a notary,

recalls that the number of absentee ballots was unusually large in 1952 when

Dwight D. Eisenhower was Republican

candidate for president. Because his

office is located near the two large Canal Zone banks, Mr. Michaelis is also called on frequently to notarize powers of attor- ney to enable someone other than the payee to collect retirement checks, for instance. Never Collected George M. Lowe, of the Locks Division's main oflice at Pedro Miguel, has been a notary public for nine years and

in all that time he has never collected a cent for his work, although there have

been many times when he could have

charged for his notarization. "I don't

feel like taking money from my buddies," he says. Most of the time, his notary duties have been routine. He recalls, however,

an involved mass of legal documents he was once called on to notarize. These

were concerned with the guardianship of

the minor children and with the estate of a widowed Locks employee who died suddenly.

The first order establishing notaries public in the Canal Zone was signed by

William Howard Taft in January 1905,

when he was Secretary of War. A schedule of fees which could be charged by the

notaries was set up three years later; notaries public who were employed in the Department of Civil Administration had

to account for the fees they collected, but others were permitted to retain their

fees. Three Year Terms

In 1920 Governor Chester Harding

issued an Executive Order providing that

the notaries public should be appointed

by the Governor for a three-year term,

fixing the fees which they might collect, and stating that they might not charge

"for any service performed for the Pan- ama Canal or for any other department

or agency of the Government of the United States." A good many prominent Zonians have

served as notaries public at one time or another. In 1914, when there were 17

notaries public in the Canal Zone, they

included such well-known persons as W.

G. Comber, Courtenay T. Lindsay, Wil- liam D. Taylor, F. "H. Wang, "H. H. Hammer, and Gerald D. Bliss. Until 1930, the Canal Zone's notaries public were sworn in by the District Judge. One oldtimer recalls the annoyance of a certain judge when two pros- pective notaries appeared before him to take their oath, without benefit of tie or

coat. Today notaries are sworn in by

other notaries and the matter of coat and

tie is optional.

Blessings Of Allah

Occasionally a special situation has

called for the appointment of temporary

notaries public in the Canal Zone. The

most recent of these was in July 1946,

when 86 employees were appointed to administer affidavits relating to membership in organizations which asserted the

right to strike against {See page w)
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

Pure Water Supply Was Major Problem

Of Primary Concern To Canal Builders

Editor's Note: This is the second of a

series of stories on the Canal Zone water

system.

The average householder gives little thought to the manifold inconveniences,

in fact, dire consequences, which would

occur if water failed to come through the pipe like magic when the tap is opened.

Like good health or warmth, good drinking water is not missed until it isn't there. While the quenching of thirst is the most important use of potable water to man, the lack of it can be disastrous or inconvenient in many other ways.

Several weeks ago the Technical Chiefs

of the Canal Zone Civil Defense organi- zation met to consider what steps each would have to take if an atom bomb with

the explosive potential of -50,000 tons of TNT were detonated near Miraflores. The general assumption in the problem was that the Pacific side water system had

been wrecked. Of the many individual problems the group was asked to solve under simulated

emergency conditions, one vividly illus- trated the ever-present need of water for purposes other than drinking. The Technical Chiefs were asked to decide what

to do if the Tivoli Guest House caught

fire. Without water to fight the blaze, the answer was simple: Evacuate the

building and dynamite it! The problem

and answer told a simple but pointed

story of one of the most urgent needs man has for water. Ten Billion Gallons

Last year the Water and Laboratories

Branch filtered and distributed 10,800

million gallons of water to 315,000 con- sumers in the Canal Zone and the cities

of Panama and Colon at a direct operating

cost of over $1,000,000. The purification was done at the two big filtration plants located at Miraflores and Mount Hope,

while the water is distributed through a vast network of mains and smaller pipelines measuring 1.50 miles in total length.

An interesting sidelight on the amount

of filtered water used is the fact that it requires about five or six gallons of water

to run the electric turbines which generate the power to deliver each gallon of water to a consumer. The distribution of this vast amount

of water, which would cover 1,000 acres

to a depth of 33 feet, is no less crucial and exacting than making the water fit

for human consumption. The distribution system, in fact, represents about 60 per- cent of the $8,500,000 investment in the

entire water system, while 78 of the 123 employees are engaged in this phase of the work.

Excellent Record Set The thought of a major distribution

failui-e has the same nightmarish qualities for E. W. Zelnick, Chief of the Water and

Laboratories Branch, and his principal assistants as any rise in the bacteria count

in the water. On both scores they have

maintained an excellent record. Last

year, for example, there were no service interruptions in the water distribution system involving more than a few hours

other than those in restricted areas which

were planned in advance for repair work

or construction. Much of the credit for

this is due to the excellent storage faciliST.WDIXG BESIDE one of the two, big pumps which supplies filtered water to the communities on

the west side of the Canal, from left to right, are: R. .J. Risberg, Sanitary Engineer who is Assisant to the Chief of the Water and Laboratories Branch; E. W. Zelnick, Chief of the Branch; and H. F. CckIv, Supervisor of the Pacific side water distribution system.

ties and a well integrated system.

Men are on constant call for any break

of a pipeline or service interruption of any

nature, and repair crews are hustled out on an emergency basis for any trouble. Two Separate Systems

Both the filtration and water distribu- tion systems are separate for the two

sides of the Isthmus. On the Atlantic

side nine electrically-driven centrifugal

pumps are used to pump the filtered water

to the various rsservoirs, or in some in- stances direct into distribution pipes serv- ing Atlantic side communities.

The reservoirs have a storage capacity

of approximately six million gallons.

They include two .500,000-gallon elevated

steel tanks at Agua Clara, two of one million gallons capacity each at Mount Hope,

and one steel reservoir at Fort Gulick

M.\XY THOUS.-\XDS depend on this 30-inch fil- tered water main for their water supply. Xew

foundations are being installed where it crosses a

small stream near the Miraflores Power Plant. Supervising the job is John E. Jennison, Leader Foreman

of the Water System. He is bareheaded and is standing at the far right.

holding 2, .500,000 gallons, plus miscella- neous tanks on military reservations. The water is fed through 180,000 feet of mains and distribution piping ranging

from 30-inch to 4-inch pipes. These are,

in turn, equipped with such fixtures as

fire hydrants, valves, meters, air reliefs, and blowoffs. In the case of distribution

lines for supplying ships, the lines are equipped with safety valves preventing

a back flow and possible pipe contamination from ship tanks.

Pacific Side System

The Pacific side distribution system is much more extensive, proportionate to the population. The communities on the west side of the Canal are supplied from

a pumping station at Miraflores through

a 16-inch pipeline crossing under the Canal to three reservoirs located at Cocoli, Howard Field, and San .Juan which

have a combined storage capacity of 2,187,500 gallons.

Water is also pumped from Miraflores

to three "wash water" reservoirs, with a combined capacity of 1,750,000 gallons,

which in turn feed the Pedro Miguel and

Paraiso filtered water pump station. The

latter station pumps to the 250,000 gallon. Paraiso reservoir which supplies Paraiso, and a 750,000 gallon tank at Gamboa. The big twin reservoirs on Engineers

Hill and a tank at Fort Clayton are supplied from the Miraflores Pump Station. The Reservoir Hill tanks, holding 3,000,- 000 gallons, supply water to suburban

Panama, while water for Fort Clayton,

Albrook Air Force Base, Corozal, and Los

Rios is supplied from the Fort Clayton

tank which holds 791,000 gallons.

Balboa Pump Station

The Balboa Pump Station is the principal distribution unit for the Pacific side communities of Ancon, Balboa, Diablo

Heights, Quarry Heights, Fort Amador,

Curundu, and Panama City. It is supplied by water flowing by gravity from
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11

S. L. CRAIG. Pump Plant Operatur at Alcmnt Hope, fxamines "lu- m tn? meters on the control panel. This is one of two control panels which starts the pumps for filtered water distribution on the .\tlantic aide.

Mirafiores through 30-inch and 20-inch mains. It pumps to three big reservoir.^ serving these communities from which it flows by gra\'ity to domestic and industrial users. Two res?rvoirs of 2, .500, 000-

gallon capacity each are located on Chorrillo Hill near the boundary line and one

of 2,400,000-gallon capacity, known as the Ancon high service reservoir, located on Ancon Hill. The mains and distribution pipes on

the Pacific side range in size from 4 inches up to 30 inches in diameter and measure

approximately 610,000 feet in length.

The amount of piping does not include that on Armed Forces reservations nor

that in the cities of Panama and Colon. The installations in the Armed Forces

reservations are owned and maintained by

them and the same is true in Panama

City and Colon. The Water and Laboratories Branch's only responsibility is to supply filtered water to the point of entry

to these areas where it is metered. Complicated System Required

While the total population served by

the water system is estimated to be 31.5,-

000, the system is considerably more complicated than in a normal city of this

size in the United States. In the first place, the system is divided into two dis- tinct parts, and, secondly, the topography

is more rugged than is generally encountered and the communities are more

widely scattered. Despite this and other local conditions which cause increased cost of producing

filtered water, the price of water to con- sumers here is low in comparable population. A recent siu-vey shows the cost of

filtered water in the Canal Zone is in the lower ten percent of a group of cities comparable in size and with purification

systems of the same general type used

here. Why System Is Needed

Since this is the tropics it is not sur- prising that more water per consumer is used here than in the United States.

Also, there is a seasonal variation here which ranges about 20 percent, with the usage being much higher in the dry season than in the rainy season. Many people may wonder why such an

extensive purification and distribution system is necessary in a land where so much rain falls annually. The main

answer is the problem of storage through

the long dry seasons. If only drinking water was required, cisterns to catch rain- water might suffice, but the use of filtered water ranges from about 40 up to about

350 gallons a dav per consumer in the various communities on the Isthmus,

which would require an enormous tank

for each household. Even this would be no guarantee of fire protection because

of lack of water pressure, nor against con- tamination during the storage period.

These are, however, only a few of the problems which would be left unsolved by

the use of cisterns. A source of water often tapped else- where which is not feasible here is the underground supply. Many cities and

isolated homes draw their water supply

fi'om deep wells which, in many instances, obviate the expensive process of purification. The geological formation of the Canal Zone is not favorable to this system

and the underground water supply is not

sufficient to meet the extensive demands

for potable water even if the system were

less expensive than the one in use. System Developed From Scratch

The present modern water purification

and distribution system was developed

from scratch. As mentioned in the pre- vious Review article describing the filtra- tion system and processes, the provision

THE .APP.\RATU.'< shown in this picture is a -rate

of flow controller" at the Mirafiores plant. Working

on the controller is R. M. Turner. Mechanic of the Water System. .Assisting in the job at the left is George W. Joshua, repairman-helper.

of a pure water supply was one of the

first and most urgent concerns of the

builders of the Panama Canal. There was no public water supply in Panama and only a limited supply in Colon in 1904 when the United States began construction of the Canal. Consequently, diseases directly traceable to the consumption or use of polluted water were more rampant than malaria and more

dangerous than "Yellow .Jack." In the very earliest planning stages, it was recognized that an adequate sewer and water system would have to be pro- vided and work was begun on this immediately. By special Treaty provision, the

cities of Colon and Panama were included

in the plans for sanitation, and sewer and

water installation, since diseases do not

stop at curb-line boundaries. Both plans and work on a watei' and

sewer system for Panama City and Colon

and the Canal Zone communities were

carried forward conciu'rently with those

for the Canal's construction. Work Was Started In 1904 The first work for a Pacific side supply was begun in 1 904. It consisted of raising a dam, built by the French, on the Rio

Grande River 1 7 feet to impound enough

water with sufficient elevation for gravity

flow to Ancon. This reservoir is now- being filled by spoil taken from Contractor Hill. The water was brought to Ancon in a 16-inch cast-iron pipe to a

concrete reservoir built on a spur of Ancon Hill which was long known as Reservoir Hill and which was flattened two

years ago for the residential development

there. Meanwhile, sewers, water mains,

and feeder pipes were being installed in Panama City.

A Day Of Rejoicing

The water was turned on in Panama

City on July 4, 1905, and it was a day of great rejoicing. The Municipal Council

held a special session and adopted a reso- lution of appreciation, and a special Mass

of thanks was held in the Cathedral which was attended by the President and his Cabinet as well as prominent officials of the Isthmian Canal Commission.

The water problem on the Atlantic side was solved by forming a big reservoir back of an earth dam on Brazos Brook.

Water was brought by gravity flow from

there to a steam pumping station and a pressure filter plant, similar to a filter plant on the Pacific side. A short time

later on the Atlantic side a sedimentation

basin was constructed where the water was treated with aluminum sulfate before

it was passed through the filters. The

Atlantic side water system was completed

in 1906. The present facilities, which have since been greatly expanded, were constructed during the latter pait of the Canal construction period. The Mirafiores Filtra- tion Plant was completed and placed in operation in March 1915, while the Mount Hope plant was placed in service a year earlier, February 1914. The water problem on the Pacific side, however, was not completely solved by

the construction of the modern filtration plant. The original plans for the plant

provided for an intake of raw water from

nearby Miraflores Lake, since it repre- sented a saving of $500,000 over any

other project then considered feasible.

Miraflores Intake Abandoned

It w^as not before it was discovered that

this economy could not be effected be- cause of the rise in chlorine (See page 16)
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

Up And Down The Banks Of The Canal

Civil Affairs Bureau Engineering And Construction

Three Canal Zone representatives of the

Civil Defense organization were to return from the Nevada Proving Ground at Las

\'egas where they attended as observers "Operation Cue, "a nuclear test shot, originalIv scheduled for April 26. They are William

(>. Dolan, Chief of Civil Defense; Edward

M. Browder, Jr., Assistant Engineering and

Construction Director and Civil Defense

t-ontrol Point Commander for the Pacific Area; and Melvin F. Millard, Safety Engineer and Civil Defense Facility Coordinator

of the Engineering and Construction Bureau. The group left by plane April 19 and were

to return early this week. In addition to seeing the atomic blast, the three representatives attended briefing classes given under

the sponsorship of the Atomic Energy Commission.

• • • Orders have been placed for the 1956 Canal Zone automobile license plates. Next year's plates will have black numerals on a bright yellow background. The

size of the plates will be increased slightly to conform with a standard being adopted

throughout the United States and Canada

as a result of the efforts of the American

Association of Motor Vehicle Administration. The association estimates the size, six by twelve inches, will be in standard use by 1957.

• • •

After being away from his job for two years

serving with the U. S. Army on duty in the

States, Harold F. Egger was welcomed back

to his old post at the Cristobal Fire Station Fireman F.gger, who was on duty there before entering the Army, says he is happy to be back on his old job and with his former pals.

Mrs. X'irginia Roberts, of the Civil Affairs Director's office, returned recently from a

vacation trip to South i'\merica. She and

her husband, James P. Roberts, well known

shipping agent, visited Lima, Cuzco, and

Macchu-Picchu, the "lost city of the Incas"

in Peru, and Guayaquil, Ecudaor.

Mrs. Suzu K. Kuranioto recently resigned her position with the Canal Zone Library in A neon to go to Patau in the Caroline Islands where her husband has been assigned. Mrs.

Verna S. Winstead, of Ancoti, has been employed as Library Assistant.

Talks to different groups were given re- cently by Canal Zone Library personnel. Mrs. Eleanor D. Burnham, Librarian, gave an informal talk to the Caribbean College

Club on the Canal Zone Library System,

and Mrs. Emily J. Price spoke to the Gray

Ladies training class at Gorgas Hospital on

library service to hospital patients.

Lt. Perc F. Graham is presently acting as Chief of the Balboa Fire District during the absence of Capt. William E. Jones who is on vacation in his home state of Te.xas.

Personnel Bureau

Miss Marie L. iMjster, Position Classifier, has spent the past month on official duty

in the New York Office of the Panama Canal Company. Her assignment has been in connection with a position classification sur\ey

in that office.

• • • Edward A. Doolan, Personnel Director, returned at the end of .April after a two week's

offcial business trip to the United States.

Leonard M. Brockman, Assistant Personnel Director, served as Educational

Director for the Caribbean Girls State which was held at Fort Gulick this year during the first week in April. This was

the second year he has served Girls State

in this capacity. Among other things, he

gave a series of instructive talks on forms

of government.

Se\er;d ])ernianent translers ol ])ersonnel are being made to the Power Conversion

Project from other units. These include the

transfers of Lt. Col. E. D. Jennings from

Project 13-A and George C. Dunlap from

the Electrical Division to be Project Engineer and Assistant Project Engineer, respectively. F2arl O. Dailey, Supervisor of the

Electrical Division's Field Office, has been

transferred to the Power Conversion Project as Atlantic Area Engineer, and W. L. Brooks, of the Electrical Division Field

Office at Mount Hope, has been transferred

to Mr. Dailey 's office as clerical assistant. Other transfers in connection with the conversion program are Allen K. Miller and

Robert E. L. Brown from the Electrical Division to the Engineering Division. Both

ha\e been on a "loan" basis for the past

several months.

Subscribers received their new Canal Zone telephone directories late last month.

The late issue of the directories was caused

by non-receipt of the new systems equip- ment for the telephone exchange which will be used in making the records sent annually

to the Printing Plant. Two features are added to the directories

this year which will make them much more

useful for reference. For the first time the house numbers are listed in the Personnel

Section, and the mailing addresses of all Company and Government organizations are listed to permit a more efficent and

direct use of the mails.

• • • The o\erhaul of the big suction dredge

Mindi was completed at the first of this month by the Industrial Division. The

dredge is to return to regular operations on work in the outer anchorage of west Litnon Bay.

• • • An unusual drilling assignment was completed last month by Dredging Division forces under the direction of i.eorge C. Felps. This was a water well drilled through the volcanic formation at Concepcion. R. de P.. for the Cia. de Leche Chiricana. The well was drilled

to a depth of \S0 feet and lined zcilh \2-inch

and 8-inch surface casing. The work was ex- tremely difficult because of caving boulders in the lolcanic formation. The new well has a capacity estimated at 50 gallons of artesian water a minute.

Charles P. Barton who has been on duty

as Field Engineer at Contractors Hill has

been transferred to the office of the Engineering and Construction Director as Assist- ant Budget and Projects Coordinator.

Supply Bureau

LISTENING TO the advice of some o.ustumers is Michael Ward, center with shoes in liand, who is the Commissary Division's shoe buyer in New York. The customers are Mrs. I. Robert Berger and Mrs. Thelma H. Bull, who were among several women representing various gi'oups invited to a conference on women's shoes. F. R. Johnson, Supply Director, at the right, attended the conference as did several representatives from the Commissary Division. Mr. Ward spent two weeks on the Isthmus visiting the retail stores and conferring with Commissary

officials and customers. He met .John M. Brown, Manager of the Wholesale Shoe Section of the Commissary Division, in New- York later in the month and they were to attend the various spring and summer shoe displays and shows.

With the transfer last montli of some

accounting functions from the Accounting

Division to the Commissary Division, per- sonnel from the Accounting Division were

regular visitors to the General Manager's

Offices at Mount Hope. They included M.

D. Davis, Norbert Jones. Janet Harness, Ann Lawson, and Carl Pajak who assisted

in the training of Commissary Division employees with their new duties.

• • • Changes being made in the retail stores

at Cristobal and Margarita are nearing completion. The changes in layout are designed

for increasedcustom er convenience and are meeting with many favorable comments.

• • • Work is nearing completion on the construction of another entranceway at the

Balboa retail store. The new entrance opens on Clinton Street, and will prove

highly convenient for the many patrons

using the adjacent parking area.

• • • W. C. Bain, Commissary Cold .Storage Supply Officer, left for the States late last month on an extensive official business trip. Before he returns about May 12. he will visit retail and wholesale establishments in New

York; the meat packing industry in Chicago;

and the various fruit and vegetable centers in California and Arizona.

• • • R. L. Sullivan, General Manager of the Commissary Division plans to leave at the

first of June for a vacation at his moimtaintop home at Frisco, Col. He expects to return to the Isthmus at the end of August.
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13

Community Services Bureau

William Benny, of the Motion Picture

Service, is conducting a Civil Defense first aid course for personnel of the Service Center Division. He recenth' completed the

44-hoiir first aid instructor course. Fire

fighter Civil Defense training courses are befng planned for the personnel in the various Ser%'ice Centers. In connection with

this, Melvin E. Walker has been named lia- ison ofiicer between the Service Center and

Fire Divisions.

• • • Several of the Community Services Bureau buildings are being repainted and re- decorated. Exterior painting has been completed at the Balboa and Margarita Service Centers, and the repainting of the Diablo Heights Service Center is underway.

The Fern Room of the Tivoli Guest House is getting a full-treatment renovation which includes alterations and redecoations. Although many, improvements have

already been made to this popular meeting

place for small groups, the overall decorative scheme is not yet completed.

• • • A wide screen has just been installed in the Paraiso Theater, and similar installa- tions are to be made soon at the theaters

in Gatun, Gamboa, and Santa Cruz. The

new screens ha\e already been received.

• • • With the recent closing of La Boca bakery

in connection with the overall program of consolidating facilities, pies, cakes, and pastries will be produced in the kitchens of the Balboa and Diablo Heights Service Centers

in the future. The facilities in these kitch- ens have been considerably expanded to take care of this added work.

• • • The demolition of the "300 .^rea" opposite the Balboa Port Captain's office has been

started. A part of this project includes the conversion of a part of one warehouse into a roller skating rink.

• • • The Grounds Maintenance Division has moved its Southern District office and shops

from Building. 397 in Ancon to Buildings

0630-,-l and 0630- Z? which zvere formerly oc- cupied by the Maintenance and Storehouse

Divisions in the Ancon area.

Limiled Polio Inoculation Program In Zone

Is Required Until More Vaccine Is Received

(Cnn'imed from page 1) date or dates of inoculations are issued and those" children receiving only the first dose before leav- ing may present these to private clinics or physicians in the States for their second

inoculations. While it will be necessary to limit the

inoculations to the children leaving for vacations until additional supplies of the vaccine are received, Brig. Gen. Don

Longfellow, Health Director, has an- nounced that the supply available is sufficient to inoculate all children going on vacation this summer. More Vaccine Promised

Canal authorities have been informed

that the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis will apportion sufficient vaccine to the Canal Zone to inoculate

first and second grade school children. This is being done on a national basis with the vaccine being paid for by March

of Dimes funds. At the time this edition of The Re- view went to press, no announcement had

been received as to when the vaccine will arrive. It is hoped that the supply will be

received in time to administer the vaccine

before schools close. However, the vaccine is being allocated on a priority basis to those areas with the highest rates of incidence, and the Canal Zone will have

a low priority because of a later polio season than the States and a low rate of incidence. No information has been received by

APRIL SHOWERS are more likely to be May

downpours on the Isthmus, and they can be

expected almost any time April Showers after May Day. When rain

In May— makes its appearance, howMuddy Feet' ever, it means wet feet and

muddy streets as well as green grass and flowers. The Commissary Division has taken all this into consideration and, like squirrels preparing for the winter, they have gathered together an extensive supply of wet weather

clothing accessories suitable for Mom and

Dod as well as the children.

WE ARE starting with feet, wet feet, which seem to bother mothers most of all on wet and soggy days. There will be available in all shoe sections soon a supply of soft rubber boots for the smaller fry. They are bright red and will slip on easily over any child's shoe ranging in siie from eight to three. The color should please the children and the boot

should please mother who will find her off- spring with dry legs as well as dry feet. They should please daddy too for they cost only $1.95.

RUBBERS ARE things people in the tropics seldom fool with because a tropical storm

IS usually over in a few minPlastic Boots utes and nobody walks if for they can avoid il. NeverTropical Storms theless the Commissar/ has a supply of hHood Rainsteps,

which are boots made of clear Koreseal plastic to fit over any size shoes either high or low heel and can be carried in miladys

pocketbook, so long as it isn't an eveningbag. The boots come in small, medium, and

large sizes, and have a matching Koreseal

scarf to be used to cover the top-knot.

THE MEN haven't been left out in this foot- saving operation. On sale in all shoe sections during the year are black rubbers for men with a non-slip sole made by the Tingley Rubber Company. The sole is something special having been developed by the U. S. Navy during the last war for use on wet

slippery aircraft carrier decks. It involves some sort of suction principal and it works

very well, we are told.

WHILE WE are on the subject of footwear,

the Commissary has a new stock of sport shoes for men, women and

Sport Shoes children with rubber soles

for which will be just the Summer Vacation thing for the summer vacation months or for wear

on the ship to the States. The shoes for ihe moppets are made by the well known U. S. Rubber Company. They have a cushioned

built-in arch and best of all are washable. They come in harbor-blue sail cloth with white trim. There are similar types in blue and in white for the older gals, and hand- some cork rubber soled cloth sport shoes for the men in brown and in blue. They are all the best things we have seen for sports wear

and ore all priced under $3.

MEN'S SHOES are something of a problem

to the Commissary Division in that it is diffi- cult to keep a wide variety of styles and

sizes in stock. A solution was recently worked out which should be of interest to those men who have a large shoe wardrobe

as well as to those who buy one good pair every two years. The Stetson Shoe Company

will send on order any shoe included in its

catalog. All the customer has to do is to put in on order at the Commissary retail store shoe section and the shoe of his choice will arrive within a few weeks. Samples of the shoe to be ordered as well as pictures and

prices may be seen in the shoe sections.

TO GET back to the subject of rainwear,

the Commissary has put in a complete stock

of plastic raincoats and

Raincoats, Rain capes for women and little Capes, and girls which are as goodUmbrellas looking as they are protective. The Vinylite material used in these raincoats is milled specifically

for rainy weather. The girls' raincoats have

bright red roses appliqued on the collars, and are equipped with hoods. In addition

to raincoats for women, there are ram capes

folded into a small pack, easy to carry. These

capes are bright yellow, a color which is now being widely used in the States in rain- wear as a safety color. The stock of umbrellas for the coming rainy season is more varied than usual this year, with a number of new styles and colors. None of them is priced higher than $3.15

and children's umbrellas, miniatures of

mother's, are as low as $1.50. These make

wonderful birthday presents. ANY MOTHER who feels that she has a problem fitting out her young son in durable

clothes which will make him look more like a cowboy or a wild Indian, will find the solution in the men's and boys' wear sections. The Commissary will place on sole soon a

stock of rayon and orlon spot-resistant long

trousers in charcoal shades made to complement, if anything can complement, the high

fashion color shirts the boys have been mad

for recently. Some are slack style with an

elastic back and some are to be worn with

belts. They run from size four to 16.

For rough play or work, there are some new style jeans or levis made in Texas, by

Texans, for unlucky little boys who live else- where. They are called Panchitos, America's

original jewel studded jeans, with a cowboy

cut, and a zipper fly. In addition to the

usual blue, they come in brown, and a goodlooking shade of soft green. For $2.50, Mom couldn't go wrong.

IF THE local gals have been to the States recently or if they have been reading the ads in the fashion maga- New Nylon zines, they will know all S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-e-s about the new nylon sheer Ordered stretch stockings known as

'Stretchies." The Commissary has ordered an ample supply from the

Burlington Mill people in fashionable shades. They don't come in sizes, only in three differ- ent lengths and are a |oy in that they wear

twice as long, are very sheer, and are practically snag-proof. They will be sold at $1.60 and ore worth every penny. A NEW shipment of furniture made by the Heywood-Wakefield Company in the Old

Colony style which has been so popular here

is now being received by the Commissary

Division and will be placed on sale this month. The shipment includes arm chairs, davenports, and a variety of end tables. There is also a limited stock of the platinumfinish modern furniture made by the same

company.

The Commissary Division announced that

furniture catalogues are available in all houseware departments at Balboa and Cris- tobal Commissaries and that orders will be

accepted.

the Health Bureau as to the priority of inoculations when additional supplies are

received. Full announcements will be made when such information is available. The same priorities will prevail here as those adopted in the United States, the Health Director has announced. When

ample stocks are received, health officials

plan to make it available to persons of

all ages. The anti-polio inoculations are entirely on a voluntary basis although the general

program is being administered as a public health measure. The vaccine is administered only after a request form is signed

by the responsible individual in each case.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS APRIL RETIREMENTS

March 15 Through April 15

Employees who were [iromoted or trans- ferred between March 15 and April IS are

listed below. Within-grade promotions are not listed.ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

Mrs. Marie T. Lindh, from Secretary,

OflSce of Lieutenant Cjovernor, to Clerical Assistant, Administrative Branch.

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Ruth R. Townsend, from Library Assist- ant to l.ibrari.in, ("anal Zone Library.

Robert H. Beecher, from Teacher, Senior High School to Principal, La Boca High

School. Division of Schools. Russell S. Johns, from [Principal, La Boca

High School, to Supervisor of Instruction, Latin American Secondary Schools, Division

of Schools. Mrs. Mary Ellen Horine, from Substitute

Te.icher to l-:ienienlary School Teacher, Division of Schools. COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

John W. Hare, from Land Inspector to Real Property Analyst, Office of Director,

Community Services Bureau. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Howard Lewis, from .\ccountant to Sys- tems .Accountant. .Accounting Systems Staff. Mrs. Eleanor A. Connor, from Accounting Clerk, Methods and Relief Assignment

Staff, to Bookkeeping Machii\e Operator,

Machine .Accounting Cnit. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Wesley H. Sparling, from Powerhouse

Operator to Powerhouse Dispatcher, Power

Branch. Mrs. Nita B. Hartman, from Supervisory

Clerk, Water and Laboratories Branch, to Supervisorv Administrative Assistant, Contract and Inspection Division. Manuel Quintero, from Construction In- spector to Contract Assistant, Contract and

Inspection Dixision. Robert H. Hayes, from Wircman, Electrical Division, to Foreman, Quarters Maintenance, Maintenance Division. William W. Spencer, from Wireman.

Electrical Division, to Foreman, Quarters

M.iinten.uice, Maintenance Division. Nelson E. Wise, from Planning Engineer

to Budget and Projects Coordinator, Office

of Director, Engineering and Construction Bureau. Robert H. Stewart, from Hydraulic Engineer, Meteorological and H\drographic

Branch, to Civil Engineer, Engineering Division. William L. Brooks, from Clerk-Typist,

Electrical Division, to Clerical Assistant, Power Conversion Project.

John E. Jennisoh, from Water System Foreman to Leader Foreman, Water Sys- tem, W.iter and Laboratories Branch. William I. HoUowell, from Water System Foreman to Leader F'oreman, Water System, Water and Laboratories Branch. Preston J. Barker, from General Fore- man. Water Ssstem, to Leader Foreman, Water S\stem, Water and Laboratories Branch.

Earl O. Dailey, from Supervisor, .Southern

District. Electrical Division, to Supervisors Construction Management Engineer (<ieneral). Power Conversion Project.

Frank L. Cunningham, from General Fore- man to Field Supervisor, Electrical Work,

FMectrical Division. Delmas A. Swafford, from Foreman, Distribution, to Foreman, Electrical Division. William J. Dorgan, from Foreman to General Foreman, F^lectriral Division. Thomas S. McKibbon, from Electrical Engineer to Supervisor) Electrical Engineer, Electrical Division. Vernon C. Douglas, from Pidilic Works

Foreman to Filtration Plant Operator,

Maintenance Division. Mirt Bender, from Special Combination

Welder to Pumping Plant Operator, Maintenance Division. Charles B. Douglas, from Powerhouse Oji- erator-Dispatcher to Power Dispatcher,

Electrical Divihidii. OFFICE OF GOVERNOR-PRESIDENT

Patricia A. Robinson, from Secretary,

Office of .Administrati\ e Assistant to Governor, to .Secretary (Stenography), Office of Lieutenant Governor. Mrs. Barbara H. Schmitt, from Clerk- T) pist to Clerk, Contraband Control Section. Fred R. Middleton, from Investigator to Contraband Control Inspector, Contraband

Control Section. Edward W. Isaacs, from Investigator to Contraband Control Inspector, Contraband

Control Section. William H. Hele, from Investigator to Contraband Control Inspector, Contraband

Control .Section. Joseph S. Corrigan, from Investigator to Contraband Control Inspector, Contraband

Control Section. Mrs. Bernice R. Finley, from Clerk (Typist). Selective Service Section, to Clerical Assistant (Stenography), Office of Governor. HEALTH BUREAU

Mrs. Foy H. Frauenheim, from Staff Nurse, Coco Solo Hospital, to Gorgas Hospital.Dr. Robert L. Koenig, from Medical Offi- cer to Chief, Medical Service, Coco Solo

Hospital.

MARINE BUREAU

James E. Snodgrass, from Lock Operator

Machinist, P.icific Locks, to Atlantic Locks. James H. Jarvis, Jr., from Lock Operator

Machinist, Pacific Locks, to Atlantic Locks.

Dixie P. Bender, from Electric Welder,

Industrial Division, to Towing Locomoti\e

Operator, .Atlantic Locks.

Hilton B. McPheters, from Hoisting and

Portable Engineman, Division of Store- houses, to Towing Locomotive Operator.

Pacific Locks. Edward P. Scott, from Construction F-quipment Operator, Maintenance Division, to Towing Locomotive Operator,

Pacific Locks. John J. Sproul, from Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Division, to Guartl, .At- hintic Locks. Mrs. Myrtle P. Hughes, from Timekeeper

to Clerk Typist. Navigation Division. Charles T. Jackson, Jr., from .Administrative Assistant to Administrative Officer. Office of Marine Director. Mrs. Maxine A. Cawl, from Clerk-Typi.st

to Time and Leave Clerk, Nax'igation [Division. Mrs. Violette D. Zeese, from Clerk Sten- ographer to Shorthand Reporter, Marine

Bureau. SUPPLY BUREAU

Lee R. Sparks, from Meat Cutter to Supervisory Production Specialist, Commissary

Division. James B. Gilder, from Property and Supply Clerk to Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Division. Joseph L. H. Demers, from Storekeeper,

General, to Supervisor)- Storekeeper General, Division of Storehouses.

Julius Szivos, from Guard Supervisor to

.Supervisor)' Storekeeper (Receiving and

Shipping), Conmiissary Dixision. Martha A. Griffith, from Commissary

.Assistant to Cash Accounting Clerk (Teller), Commissary Division. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

LeRoy P. Marsh, from Foreman Crib- tender to Engineer. Steam, and Foreman

Cribtender, .Marine Bunkering Section.

Retirement certificates were presented at the end of .\pril to the following employees

who are listed alphabeticall)', together with

their birthplaces, titles, length of service, and future addresses: Joseph G. Black, Sr. Indiana, .Armature Winder. Balboa Field Office Electrical Division: 1,1 years. 10 nicmths. 16 da\s: Gorgona, R. tie P. Miss Alice E. Candee, Connecticut;

Teacher, Balboa High School; .30 years, i months, 26 days; Bridgeport, Conn. Harold D. Halverson, Illinois; Chief, Communications Branch, Electrical Division; .?0 years. 16 da\s; Reno, Nev. Miss Betty Ryan, Michigan; Teacher, Balboa Elementary School: ,30 )ears, 1 mouth, 6 days: California. Hugh L. Samples, Kentucky; Heavy

Equipment Operator, Motor Transportation Division; 21 years, 4 mouths, 14 days;

Leesburg, Fla. Douglas Shelton, Texas; Wood, Steel, and Car Inspector, Railroad Division; IS

years, 4 months, 8 days, .Albuquerque, N. M.

Walter E. Zimmerman, Texas; Iron- worker, Wekler, .Atlantic Locks; 28 years,

10 months, 16 da);-: Clark>\ille. .Ark.

MAY SAILINGS

From Cristobal

.4 neon Ma\- 7 Cristobal : May 14 Panama Ma\'21 Ancon May 28 From New York

Cristobal May 5 Panama May 1

2

Ancon ' Mav 19

Cristobal Ma)- 26 (Southbound the Haiti stop is from 7

a. m. to 4 p. m. on Monday; northbound,

the ships are also in Port-au-Prince Mondays, from about 1 to 6 p. m.)

ANNIVERSARIES

F'orty years of government service, most

of it with the Sanitation Department of the Canal Zone Health Bureau, is the anniversary record set this month b\- Carl G. Brown, Chief of .Area Sanitation for the Canal Zone. Mr. Brown, a native of Ithaca, N. Y., went to work in the Board

of Health Laboratory in .Ancon

in 1920 after five )-ears as a ser- geant in theMediical Corps of the U.S. Army. With

onl V a short break

in '1921, he has been employed

continuously since that time on sanitation work on both sides of the Isthinus.

In addition to his duties as .Area Sanitation Chief, a job he has held since 1947, he

has developed a number of hobbies and is well known locally as an amateur botanist and photographer. These two hobbies have complemented each other very well and

many a Canal Zone visitor has f-ieen treated

to a showing of his color slides of local plants

and fiowers, a showing which he accompanies with a tape recorded explanation. In addition. Mr. Brown is an active mendier

of the Dialilo Heights Camera Club, a ham

radio operator, an able musician, and a competent chess player.

•15 YEARS

Louis L. Moolchan, who is the only em- pUnee to celebrate 35 years of serx-ice this month, has worked in the Administration

Building longer than any other employee.

He was with the Paymaster's Office when

that unit moved to Balboa Heights from
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

Empire in Septenilier 1914. Mr. Moolchan

is a naturalized Panamanian citizen. He

first arrived on the Isthmus in 1911 and

took his first job soon after in the Paymaster's Ofiice.

30 YEARS

Harold D. Halverson, Chief of the Comnumications Branch of the Electrical Divi- sion, not only

completed 30

yearsof unbroken

service with the Communications

Branch in April but also retired from service at the end of the month. A native of Chicago, 111., Mr. Halverson first came to the Isth- mus in 1925 as one of the "^ ^ technicians from

the Automatic

Electric Company to install the automatic

telephones\-stem in the Canal Zone. Afterthe workwascompleted, Mr. Halverson remained

with the Canal organization as a switchman

with the Communications Branch. He was made General Foreman in 1946 and has been Chief of the Branch since 1951. .Another employee to pass the 30-year

mark in go\ernment service in April was

Arthur T. Cotton, Postmaster in Balboa. Mr. Cotton, the son of a former Canal

emplo>-ee and a member of a well known

Canal Zone family, was born in Beachmont,

Mass., and came to the Isthmus with his family when he was 15 years old. He attend- ed Cristobal High School and took his first job with the Canal in 1924 as a mail clerk on the Panama Railroad. After a year of school in the States, Mr. Cotton was reemployed by the Canal Zone Postal service in 1926 and since that time, his service has been continuous. He has been Postmaster

in Balboa since 1950.

25 YEARS

Of the six employees who have completed

a quarter of a century ol government service in April, three have unbroken records with the Canal organization. They are; Gustaf A. Peterson, of Troy, N. Y., first em]5loyed as a switchboard operator with

the Electrical Dix'ision in 1930, and pres- ently Powerhouse Dispatcher at Gatun; James B. Rigby, a native of Kittanning. Pa., who is employed as a heavy equipment operator with the Motor Transportation Division; and James R. Johnson, of Cumberland, Md., wdio is Chief ol the Agents Accounts Branch in the Office of the Comptroller. Those whose service is broken are; Wesley H. Townsend, Supervisory General Engineer. Engineering Division, who was born

in Chatanooga, Tenn., and who first worked

for the Canal organization in 1919; George

L. Cain, a native of Beverly, N. J., worked

with the Commissary Division for a number

of years and is now a Customs Guard in the Canal Zone Customs Division; and Hayden

B. Jones, who served his apprenticeship as

a cable splicer with the Electrical Division and who is now a Foreman in the Cristobal

Field Office.

20 YEARS

Eight of the eleven employees who completed 20 years of government service in April have had continuous service with the Panama Canal organization and two of these share service dates. The latter two are Sgt. Jack C. Sutherland, of the Balboa Police, and Harry E. Townsend, Foreman of the Instrument Repair Shop, both of whom

went to work with the Canal April 12. 1935. Others having continuous Government

service are: Leslie A. Beauchamp, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic with

the Maintenance Division; William A. Cawl, Car Loading Foreman with tlie Commissarv

Division; Robert L. Coffey, Accountant in the Accounting Division; Arie T. Van Gelder,

Chief Towboat Engineer. Dredging Division; Charles M. Middleton, Chief of the Plant Inventory and Appraisal Staff; and David

A. Yerkes, General Engineer, Plant Invenliir\' and Appraisal Staff. Those with broken service are; Ernest E. Berger, Meter Inspector with the Electrical Division; Clarence W. Kilbey, Assistant to the General Manager of the Service Center

Division; Kenneth E. Marcy, Quarters

Maintenance Foreman with the MaintePayroll Machines Begin To Grind

NEED AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY? This PajToll Writer being operated by Rafael Herrera does practically everything but that. The four things it does simultaneously are; Writes your chock, the check

register, pajToll journal, and the your earnings record card. The traasfer of the Payroll Branch operations from Diablo Heights to its new home in the former Ancon Clubhouse has

progressed to the point where the first paychecks will be issued this month to employees on the biweekly pay schedule. The first checks will be to local-rate biweekly employees and will be issued from the new location and on the new

machines May 23. The first checks to U. S.-rate personnel will not be issued from the Ancon ofiice until July 11. Checks have been issued to employees

paid weekly and disability relief annuit- ants since the first of February.

The former clubhouse building is being

transformed into a modern office building

suitable for a major payroll operation such as required for the Canal organization. The alterations include fluorescent

nance Division.

15 YEARS

Nineteen Panama Canal employees completed 15 years of government service in April.

Those having continuous service w ith tl-e Canal organization are; Dorothy K. Babbitt,

Staff Nurse at Gorgas Hospital; Grover R.

Barnes, Iron Worker and Welder in the Locks Division; Santo V. Casella, Heavy

Special Truck Dri\er. Motor Transportation Division; Martha A. Furey, Clerk-Sten- ographer, Maintenance Division; Harry W.

Gardner, Wharf Building Foreman, Dredging Division; Kenneth C. Heliums, Project

Engineer, Contract and Inspection Division; Thomas McNeill, Carpenter Foreman, Pe- dro Miguel Locks; Virginia K. Roberts, Secretarv. Civil Affairs Director; Charles F' Schonert, Postal Clerk; Cecilia E. Waldorf,

Staff .N'urse, Gorgas Hospital; Wilson H.

Waldron, Superintendent of the Bud\' Repair Shop, ^Iotor Transportation Division, Cristobal; and Clara A. Zapponi, Staff" Nurse

Gorgas Hospital.

Those with broken ser\ice are: Dr. L

Robert Berger, Chief of the Out-Patient

Service, Gorgas Hospital; Wilbur B. Fall, Welder in the Maintenance Division; William R. Graham, .Accounting Assistant with

the Railroad Division; Harland V. Howard,

Jr., Electiical Engineer. Engineering Division; John F. Rice, Fireman at Gatun; John W. Urey, Pipe Fitter with the Industrial Division; and William S. Wigg, Supervisory Administrative Assistant, Administrative Branch.

lighting and tinted louvres for the wide- open building, in addition to the new

machines.

Procedures Almost Automatic

The new machinery which will make

the payroll procedures and bookkeeping

largely an automatic function include ac- counting machines, high-speed addressographs, and check-writing machines.

The operation of these machines will be by a group of local-rate employees who

were given a two-month course of intensive training. Following the training period, 15 have been employed.

Under the present scheduled move of the Payroll Branch, the work of the unit

will not entirely cease at the Diablo

Heights location until the end of July

since some of the work is involved with

the closing of books at the end of the

fiscal year period.

Heads Engineering Division

JOSEPH M., COOKE has assumed his new duties

as Designing Engineer of the Panama Canal Company

succeeding F. H. Irwin. Mr. Cooke has been employed

as Chief of the Engineering Division with the "Corps

of Engineers in the Huntington, West Virginia, District before his employment in the Canal organization
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

Farewell Luncheon For Lieutenant Governor

PRINCIPAL AMONG the many affairs arranged for Lt. Gov. II. 0. Paxson and his family before their departure was a luncheon at the Tivoli Ciuest House tendered by Governor Seybold. Guests included

the principal oflicials of the Canal organization and of other Government agencies on the Isthmus with whom the Lieutenant Governor had been closely associated. Facing the camera in the picture above, left to right are: Capt. Frank A. Munroe, Jr., Marine Director; Maj. Gen. Lionel C. McGarr; Lieutenant Governor Paxson, and Governor Seybold. Seated opposite,

left to right, are: F. R. .Johnson, Supply Director; H. L. Donovan, Civil Affairs Director; E. C. Lombard,

Executive Secretary; U. S. District .Judge Guthrie F. Crowe; and I". S. Ambassador Selden Chapin.

Annual Canal Zone Police Pistol Shoot

ONE OF the big events of the year for the Canal Zone Police and their friends is the pistol competition. The big shoot was held this year at the Balboa range, with Paul S. Stewart, of Cristobal, the winner with

a scoreOf 197 out of a possible 200. Robert A. Engelke won second place with 192, and D. V. Howerth

and F. A. Robinson tied for third with a score of 191, with the former winning in the shoot-off. This shows the crowd enjoying one of the main features of the day—the lunch. This year it consisted

of fried fish and roast pork as the main dishes. The considerable amount of food remaining after the crowd of over 400 had finished was donated to the Bella \'ista Children's Home.

Pure Water Supply Was Major Problem

Of Primary Concern To Canal Builders

(Continuedfrom page I

h

content, or

salinity, in Miraflores Lake by the diffu- sion of sea water. Miraflores Locks was

first placed in operation in November

1913 and by the following May the chlor- ine content had risen so rapidly that it was decided to abandon the lake as a raw water supply source, and the intake on the Chagres River at Gamboa was

constructed and the water piped from

there to the filtration plant. Since the water system here is now a

half century old, comparatively few resi- dents remember back to the times when

a pure water supply for all residents was

non-e.xistent. They are also inclined to overlook the fact that conditions relative

to potable water which existed on the Isthmus in 1904 are still common in many

areas of the globe. It is such conditions that the World Health Organization is seeking to spotlight and correct. Because

of its importance to public health, potable water was made the subject to which

World Health Day, celebrated April 7, under the sponsorship of WHO, was dedicated this year.

CANAL ZONE CLERGY

REV. ALEXANDER H. SHAW

After five years as pastor of the Balboa

Union Church, the Reverend Alexander H. Shaw is a firm believer in what he

calls "cooperative Christianity." During

a recent poll of his congregation, he found

that his flock representsd 24 different Protestant denominations.

The church services are conducted

along non-denominational lines and Mr. Shaw himself is a member of the Baptist

Church.

The members of the Balboa Union

Church get along just fine and since 1951 Mr. Shaw has seen the congregation

double in size. At present the chiu-ch has

a total membership of 600 adults, and

400 children in Sunday School, with tlirce youth groups and six choirs.

The Balboa Union Church is one of the

five Union Churches established in the Canal Zone and is a member of the National Council of Churches. Its activities are non-sectarian and its teaching non- denominational as was the first Union

Church which was created in 1914 at Corozal by representatives of the Christian League of eight Canal Zone communities.

Mr. Shaw was born in Patterson, N. J., and is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, N. Y. He took his theological training in the Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, N. Y. where he obtained his Bachelor of Divinity Degree. He spent seven years with

the East Marion Baptist Church in East

Marion, L. I., and the eight years prior to coming to the Canal Zone as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland

Park, N. J. He also served as Executive

Secretary of the New Brunswick Council

of Churches.

He spent his first six months on the Isthmus as pastor of the Cocoli Union

Church.

The Shaw familv, which includes Mrs. Shaw and their children Joyce, 15, and

Bruce, 7, are planning to leave the Isthmus and return to the United States sometime in July of this year. Mr. Shaw says that his plans are indefinite but that he expects to settle on the

east coast, possibly New Jersey.
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 17

STATISTICS ON CANAL TRAFFIC

For the purpose of comparison between pre-war and post-war traffic tiirougii tlie Panama Canal, statistics for thehscal year 1938 are used in this section, as being more nearly normal for peace time than those for 1939. Commercial Shipping Reaches High Peak

Heavy traffic over three of the principal trade route.s through the Canal re- cently brought commercial ship traffic during the past quarter to the highest

level in the history of the waterway.

New records for commercial traffic were

set in both the months of February and

March.

While commercial traffic was at a high

peak, the number of ocean-going Govern- ment vessels during the third quarter of

this fiscal year was lower than in any

three-month period of the past several

years. There were only 65 large Govern- ment vessels in transit during the past

quarter, as compared with 74 in the pre- vious three-month period.

The decline in Government shipping

offset the increase in commercial shipping with the result that the number of oceangoing transits for the three months of January-March was lower than previous

high records for total traffic. Govern- ment traffic in February reached the lowest level of any month since before the Korean conflict with only 15 large ships

in transits. Three Trade Routes High

The three trade routes which had high

traffic records during the past quarter were those between the east coast of the United States and South America; be- tween Europe and the west coast of the United States and Canada; and between

Europe and South America.

A tremendous increase in Latin American trade is indicated in comparative

figures for trade routes through the Canal

for this fiscal year and the fiscal year

1938. In the third quarter of this year

there were 510 transits over the route between the east coast of the United

States and South America, and 132 from

the east coast of the United States to Central American ports. In the same

quarter of 1938 there were 145 and 30

transits, respectively, over these two

routes. A substantial increase also has been shown in the amount of shipping

moving through the Canal over the trade

route between Europe and South America.

Europe Trade Increases On other trade routes through the Canal in the past quarter, traffic was at approximately the same level of a year

ago, with the exception of the route be- tween Europe and the west coast of the United States and Canada. There were

217 ships in transit over this route in the

last quarter, as compared with 1 77 in the

third quarter of the previous fiscal year. New records were set in March for the number of commercial transits, daily average- of transits, cargo tonnage, and

amount of tolls on commercial shipping.

There were 709 transits during the month,

this being the first time.4hat the number

of ocean-going transits "by commercial

vessels ever exceeded 700 in one month.

(The daily average number of transits

in March was 22.9. A new record daily average had been set in February but/the

hW mark was exceededin March by 0.2. There- was 3,760,038 long tons .of cargo shipped through the Canal during March,

which was also a new record.

Tolls collected on commercial vessels exceeded the three million dollar mark in March for the first time in any one month.

The previous record for commercial tolls was set in December 1953 when $2,962,- 749 was collected on 690 transits. The

former record number of transits of 693

in one month was set in March 1954. Government Shipping Drops

Both tolls and transits for commercial

and Government shipping in March were below previous high records because of the decline in number of Government

ships using the Canal. Commercial traffic and tolls for the first nine months of this fiscal vear are well

above the figures set last year. There

were 5,961 transits by large commercial

ships up to the end of March this fiscal year, as compared with 5,781 in the comparative period of the previous fiscal year. Commercial tolls this year are approximately $300,000 over previous fiscal year

figures.

The decline in Government shipping,

which has been steady throughout this

fiscal year more than ofl'sets the increased commercial traffic, and total figures for

all ocean-going traffic for the first nine months of this year are below those in the comparative period of the previous

year.

Luxury Liner Visits Canal

THE LUXURIOUS Liner Kungshulm transited the Canal early last month on its last leg of a roundthe-world voyage. It stopped overnight in Balboa. The visit of the Kimgsholm was one of the last by many cruise ships of a busy tourist season on the Isthmus.

CANAL TRANSITS

COMMERCIAL AND U. S. GOVERNMENT

Third Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 1954 1938

.Atlantic to

Pacific

1,003

Pacific to Atlantic

Total Total Total

Commercial vessels: Ocean-going - - - 1,011 2,014

215

1,911

233^

1,386

*.Sni.ill 108

1,111

43

15

1,169

107 219

Total, commercial 1,118 2,229 2,144

125

1,605

**U. S. Government vessels;

' .. Ocean-going 22 65

.Small 51

1,191

66

2,360

54

2,323

Total commercial and I'. S. Goxernment --

* Vessels under 300 net tons or 500 displacement tons. ** Vessels on which tolls are credilccl. Prior to jiiK 1, I')5I, Go\eriinient-operated

ships transited free.
18 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

75,000 Paid In Insurance

Claims Since Federal Plan

Was Instituted Last Year

Payments totaling more than $75,000 were made to survivors of deceased Canal

employees under the Federal Employee

(iroup Life Insurance plan during the

first six months it was in effect. A summary of the results of the plan

during the first six months, from August

2!) when it became effective until February 28, revealed that .3,592 employees, or 95.66 percent of those eligible, are participating in the plan with a total of straight life insurance coverage of almost

$23,000,000. Since the insurance plan

provides for double indemnity in event

of accidental death, plus additional coverage for serious injury, the coverage amounts to nearly $46,000,000.

There were 1 1 deaths among employees

since the plan became effective up to February 28. Of these, two had already

retired from service. The insurance payments, averagmg $7,000, were paid to

eight widows and three next-of-kin survivors. Of the latter group, payments

went to six adults, the father or brothers and sisters of the two deceased employees.

Among the beneficiaries were 10 minors. The survivors of three of the employees

also received payments on policies held with the War Agency Employees Protective Association, a low-cost insurance which has been available to Canal employees for the past 10 years.

Free Coverage After Retirement

One of the special attractions of the Federal Employee Life Insurance plan is the provision for continued coverage after retirement at no cost to the employee.

Full coverage is provided until the retired employee reaches 65 years of age, after which there is a gradual reduction in coverage. Since the plan became effective and up

to the end of February, there were 42 employees who retired with a total life insurance coverage of $294,000. The av- erage age of this group was 565 years, so that they will have full coverage at no

cost for about eight and a half years. The War Agency Employees Protective Association also now permits the lowcost insurance offered employees to be continued following retirement. However

premium payments continue but at no

extra cost.

All employees became automatically

insured under the Federal Employee

group plan last August unless they specifically waived their rights. According to

figures announced with the six-month

summary, the plan met with almost unan- imous approval by employees. Only 151 employees waived their rights to the in- surance. The percentage of Canal employees participating is above that for the Federal (lovernment generally. According to figures recently announced by the

Civil Service Commission, the total participation by all Government employees

is 90 percent.

The group life insurance plan offers insurance at an extremely low rate of 25

cents per $1,000 for each pay period.

The Government pays half this amount. The amount of policies is dependent on

the salary of the employee, being to the next $1,000 above the annual salary.

Principal commodities shipped through the Canal

(All figures in long tons)

ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC

Commodity

Mineral oils Coal and coke Manufactures of iron and steel Phosphates

Soy beans . J_-_ Sulphur

Ammonium compounds

I'aper and paper products

Sugar

Cement

Machinery.

.Automobiles and accessories.

.

Canned goods ' Raw cotton

Fertilizer All others -.-

Total

Third Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955

1,159,995 720,518

461,280

249,624

185,391 111,247 108,233

84,603

82,452

82,113

73,940

67,843

62,526

62,012

53,085

984,684

4,579,546

1954

,124,711 616,091

415,321

241,807

150,781 90,253

59,449

77,544

126,603

81,836

66,450

54,322

43,969

72,243

52,759

991,406

4,256,535

1938

236,664

27,867 362,008

67,518 493

44,830

7,872 90,274

32,587

26,719

25,179

76,102

29,626

56,323

6,003

959,589

2,049,654

PACIFIC TO ATLANTIC

Commodity

Lumber .._

Ores, various Mineral oils Wheat .--'- ^ Nitrate Canned food products , Sugar Bananas

Metals, various Barley -. Refrigerated food products (except fresh fruit) Wood pulp

Raw Cotton

Coffee Wool . . - All others _ _ _

I'otal .

Third Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955

951,720

892,294

811,523

456,284

328,149

305,652

257,907

235,476

197,439

181,825

158,284

81,914

75,973 75,869

75,769

923,666

6,009,744

1954

993

1,216,

128, 551,

414,

296,

288, 200

117

4 178

7176

8368 646

,184 999

798

687 058

845

007

,128 511

561

,700

,046 397 444

,782

,915

5,337,062

1938

632,901

542,936

498,282

267,904

5,?0,861 220,124

299,404

20,076

165,473

81,435

106,820

64,156

37,801 53,179

37,915

753,856

4,313,123

Canal commercial traffic by nationality of vessels

Third Quarter, Fiscal Years

Nalii)nalit\'

1955 1954 1938 Number of transitj

Tons

of cargo

Number of transits

Tons

of cargo

Number of transits Tons

of cargo

Helpian - 12 307

15850

6

70

12

338

10623 110

906

4,279

1,893,191 71,875

70,797

61,871 40,625

251,632

14,999 20,543

156,660

267,700

214,907

100,952

5

• 2,373

317

23

447

1067

16

1,972,475 124,768

33,328

50,942

60,333

223,288

21,880

348

3

1,626,625

Chilfiin 10,012

Colombian

56 161,735

Frnadorean

1 26

86

1910

4,021 138,303

312,330

96,467

French. _ German - - Greek -

3294

38

77

2

1 44

95

159,832

191,936

309,984

98,151

16,702

7,971 272,858

594,606

Honduran 3,8.?9

Iri'.h Italian. Japanese .. 36

118

1 107

1 36

15

2.?6 143

8

4

218,427

836,906

1277

1

31,762

495,136

782,303 57 341,155

Xetherlaiid Nicaragiian

Norwegian

Panamanian

Perux'ian

214,212

21,735

1,076,750 776,054

21,994

20,162

29

6 207

170

75

167,420

7,780

950,365

958,360

6,998

27,552

77 179,917

17444

3

2

848,325

56,087

4,008

Philippine -- 4,375

654

1 497

13,795 252,1137 65

71 77Q

227,746

30,400

2,691.897 21,268

28 187,191

8,005 I 4 I'nited States

\'oeosla\'

3,175,897 480

2 413

2

2,195,344

7,300

Total 2,014 10,589,290 1,911 9,593,597 1,386 6,362,777
May 6, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 19

AND SHIPPING

Transits By Ocean-Going Vessels

In March

195.5 1954

Covimercial 709 693 U.S.Government 19 40

Total 728 733

Tolh*

Commercial $3,020,532 $2,937,357

U..S. Governments 64,892 193,700

Totd $3,085,424 $3,131,057

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

The Aids to Navigation salvage tug

Taboga is expected to return late this week from towing the Swedish tanker Pegasus to Curacao. The big tanker, with 18,000 tons of

fuel aboard, became disabled during its transit of the Canal when its steering gear failed while the ship was in Miraflores Lake. The type of repair work re- quired that the tanker be unloaded, it was determined by a diver who examined

the rudder. Although ample storage facilities are

available in the Canal Zone for the amount of fuel oil carried by the Pegasus, the tanker operators decided to have the

vessel towed to Curacao for unloading

and repair.

The tanker is owned by the Esso Company and local agent is Fenton and Comany.

The February record for the highest

daily average number of commercial transits lasted only one month. The record

of 22.75 was broken in March by a daily average of 22.9. Other new records for commercial traffic in March were in the number of transits, amount of cargo, and

amount of tolls.

March saw the end, for all practical purposes, of the 1954-55 tourist season on

the Isthmus so far as excursions through

Gaillard Cut are concerned. It was one

of the busiest cruise seasons in many

years, and approximately 9,000 tourists were afforded trips through the Cut

aboard the Navigation Division ferryboat

Presidente Porras.

Northbound traffic was delayed a few

hours during the lask week in April when

a strut arm which moves the lock gates

broke. The break occurred on the lower

gate of Miraflores Locks late at night.

Workmen were engaged throughout the night and until one o'clock the next day

replacing the strut arm, the replacement

being delayed when it was necessary to burn out the big metal pin holding the

strut arm to the bull wheel. There were no delays to southbound traffic but some

of the northbound ships were delayed as the accident occurred on a day when

there was heavy traffic in the Canal. The Colombian frigate Capitan Tono

visit«d Canal waters briefly at the middle

of last month after having spent a year

in service off the China and Japanese

coasts as a part of the United Nations'

fleet. The ship is under command of Lt. Comdr. Jorge Taua Suarez of the Colombian Navy. After spending a day in

NEW IN looks and new in ili'sit;n, thi' Shaw-.Savill passenger liner Smitheni Cross attracted as much attention as any vessel to visit Canal waters in a long time. The new vessel on its maiden voyage transited the Canal April 1 1 on a round-the-world voyage. It is shown in Miraflores Laiie as it entered the Locks. The Southern Cross, built in Belfast, is 600 feet long and has accommodations for 1,600 passengers.

It has a designed service speed of 20 knots and the owners have announced that it will do four voyages around the world each year, two in each direction.

It was built primarily for low-cost travel but it is beautifully fitted in both the staterooms and in the

public areas. It is air conditioned throughout for the comfort of its passengers in the tropics where most

of its sailing time will be spent. Among the passengers on the first trip was Mrs. Ruth T. Getz, former Canal employee, who retired

last October as clerk-typist in the Board of Health Laboratory. Mrs. Getz had lived on the Isthmus

for many years. She went to England after her retirement and after making the round-the-world trip on the Southern Cross, she plans to make her home in Milledgeville, Ga.

Balboa, the frigate transited en route to Cartagena.

Governor Seybold has received a letter of congratulations and appreciation for the presentation of the briefing on Canal

operations before a group of shipping ex- ecutives in Washington at the first of last month. The letter was from T. J. Tarr, Operating Manager of the Luckenbach

Steamship Company, Inc. He said in part: "Your address, together with your exhibits, models, and booklet, entitled 'The Panama Canal,' was most interesting and

instructive and I am certain our entire group benefitted greatly. Your patience

and courtesy in responding to our queries were also appreciated."

The Panama Line was the recipient of high praise for the manner in whicli it handled the shipments of 54 big, glass-lined tanks from New York to the Isthmus.

The tanks, manufactured by the Pfaudler

Co., of New York, for the National Brewery, were shipped as deck cargo and all 54 arrived without mishap.

In a letter to Governor Seybold, A. E. MacLean, Erecting Engineer for the manufacturing company, said:

"I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the manner in which this equipment was

handled. "In New York City, I had the wholehearted cooperation of Mr. R. H. Halsey,

Jr., Mr. J. Ratter, and Mr. Cusick. "In Cristobal -Messrs. Beck, MacPherson, and Sanders; and at Panama City

I found thatMr.J.Michaud was very effi- cient and anxious to render the best possible service at all times.

"I only wish that I could depend on

all our handlers to take the same interest and give the same cooperation as your

line has given."

TRAFFIC MOVEMENT OVER MAIN TRADE ROUTES

The following table shows the number of transits of large, tons or over) segregated into eight main trade routes: commercial vessels (300 net

Third Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 1954 1938

149 151 264

510 481 145

132 127 30

275 288 142

U. S./Canada east coast and Australasia .- . - 38 41 39

217 177 271

161 147 134

Fiirope and Australasia 97 96 65

\11 other routes - 435 403 296

2,014 1,911 1,386
20 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW May 6, 1955

Tecon Contract Extended To Include Removal

Of 250,000 Yards Of Material In Project 13

m

"''%*_£'.

PROJECT 13 is well di'tinuii iu this picture taken before Tecon Corporation started work on Project 13-A (Contractors Hill). A total of 250,000 cubic yards of material are to be removed as part of Project

13. The arrow in the foreground marking the limits of this 20-year pi-oject marks where this tip of Cucaracha formation juts out into the Canal channel.

The completion of Project 13 on which

work has been in progress intermittently

for the past 20 years may not be many

months away.

This project, authorized in 1934, pro- vides for the widening of the entire section

of Gaillard Cut known as Culebra Reach

to a bottom width of 500 feet. It is now

approximately 96 percent completed.

The remaining part is approximately 900

feet long on the north side of Contractors

Hill and involves approximately 437,000

cul)ic yards of material. A supplemental agreement has been

reached with Tecon Corporation to re- move this spur which juts out into the Canal channel down to near the water

level as an extension of its work on the Contractors Hill project. This will in- volve the removal of approximately 250,- 000 cubic yards of Cucaracha formation. Also under consideration is a proposal

to have the contractor blast the 187,000

cubic yards of material below elevation 90 feet to bottom depth. This would complete Project 13 except for the removal of the blasted material which could be done

186 Notaries Public Serve The Public

In Canal Zone Towns And Military Posts

later by wet excavation. Two-Month Extension Granted

A two-month extension has been added

to Tecon's contract for Project 13-A (the Contractors Hill work) since the additional excavation will be done as a part

of the main contract. However, the Contractors Hill project is well ahead of schedule and it is presently estimated

that both projects could be completed by

the end of August.

The extension of the contract to include

the Project 13 work will be advantageous

and economical since the contractor has

the necessary equipment at the site and

the excavation can proceed concurrently

with that on Contractors Hill. It also eliminates the hazard of having one contractor working independently of another

in the confined area.

All of the 250,000 cubic yards of material to be removed on Project 13 will be dumped in the same area as the spoil

from Contractors Hill which is being hauled to the old Rio Grande water reser- voir for disposal.

All work done on Project 13 up to the

present has been accomplished by the Dredging Division forces. The work has

been done on a low priority basis and has

included blasting and sluicing. The material was removed by dipper dredges and

hauled bv scows to dump areas in Gatun

Lake. Most Of Work Done

Nearly one and a half miles of channel

of Culebra Reach has already been wid- ened but the spur of Cucaracha material which remains and projects into the channel opposite Gold Hill greatly reduces the

usefulness of the completed section for a distance of 1,500 to 2,000 yards. The

spur is at a point in the channel where

vessels make an abrupt change of course and the completion of the project will be

of special benefit to northbound traffic by

improving visibility coming into the reach and removing the hazard of a vessel taking a sheer in the change of course as it passes Gold Hill. The work on Contractors Hill is now

entering its final phase and at the end of April it was reported that Tecon had ex- cavated a total of 1,235,000 cubic yards

of rock, and 410,000 cubic yards of Cucaracha formation. Rapid progress has been

made by the contractor during the dry

season with efforts being concentrated in recent weeks on the excavation of the Cucaracha, or shale, which is difficult to handle during rainy season. In accomplishing the excavation to date

the contractor has used 544,000 pounds

of explosives in blasting the rock and

shale, and has drilled a total of 75 miles

of holes. MONTHLY COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC AND TOLLS

Vessels of 300 tons net or over By fiscal years

(Continued from page 9) the Government.

The appointments were for 30 days only.

While the monetary take of the usual Zone notary is infinitesimal or non-existent, a notary may receive his reward in a different fashion. The thanks of a tired old person, who must have a document

notarized in order to collect her disabled husband's check, is worth any amount

of money.

The best payment one local notary

'.er received was a letter from a grateful individual who invoked the "blessings of Allah" on the notary. The notary never knew whether the individual was a Moslem or whether this was the most grateful

phrase he could think of.

Mciiith

Transits Tolls

(In thousands of dollars)

1955 1954 1938 1955 1954' 1938

Julv -- -- 640 638 457 $2,646 $2,817 $2,030

Aiit^iist - 652 640 505 2,752 2,778 2,195

Suptenilicr — 660 612 444 2,756 2,591 1,936

OftobtT — . 683 654 461 2,831 2,755 1,981

\()\emtn'r - . 636 636 435 2,630 2,668 1,893

December 676 690

626

592

439

444

2,853 2,963

2,726

. 1,845

January 668

637

2,832 1,838

Fcl)rii:ir\' 436 2,720 2,491 i -1,787

March 709 693 506 3,014 2,934 2,016

Xpril 654 487 2,838 1,961 Mav 689 465 2,923 1,887

660 445 2,764 1,801

Totals for first 9 months

i)t liscal \'ear ' 5,961 5,781 4,127 25,034 $24,723 $17,521

7,784 5,524 $33,248 $23,170

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