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ON THE INSIDE

More Electric Power

A Summit Meeting

At the Races

I

fP^

Clri3

Vol. 14, No. 8 MARCH 1964

9U -30 05

0\(] 1
Robert J. Fleming, Jr., Governor-President David S. Parker, Lieutenant Governor Frank A. Baldwin

Panama Canal Information 0£Bcer aJa^

Official Panama Canal Publication Published monthly at Balboa Heights, C.Z. Printed at the Printing Plant, La Boca, C.Z.

Distributed free of charge to all Panama Canal Employees

Robert D. Kerr, Press Officer Publications Editors Richard D. Peacock and Julio E. Briceno

Editorial Assistants Eunice Richard, Tobi Bittel, and

TOMAS A. CUPAS

Couex ukeme: ZJtan^pottation U

out Pxincipal Su3ine^3

THIS MONTH'S REVIEW cover theme-transportation-reflects the principal business of the Panama Canal organization.

The ship at the bottom is s\ mbolic of the great flow of world commerce through

the Canal. Statistics on pages 4 and 5 tell the story in numbers and tons, but not in terms of people. Without question, millions the world over enjoy a higher standard

of hving, brought about in part by the more rapid and less costly transit of raw

materials and finished products through the Panama Canal. The continuation and improvement of Canal efficiency is the main purpose of those who operate it, which is another way of saying "transportation is our business." And the ship also represents the many smaller boats-launches, tugs and even

rowboats-that serve the Canal, directly and indirectly, in aiding the larger ships

in transit. In the center is the historic Panama Railroad and at the top is the Las Cruces, the

familiar tour boat.

» o o THE PANAMA RAILROAD, rich in the fabric of Canal history and a vital link across the Isthmus for more than a centur\-, continues to provide a daily service

linking the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Canal Zone. The route of the railroad is through a verdant, water-dappled countryside. Often

it parallels the Canal. Through the windows of the rattling train on the 90-minute

trip the traveler sees a panorama of beauty-streams, wooded glens, Gatun Lake

dotted with arching tree limbs, and great expanses of the Canal. The train carries out Its \ital function of transportation along one of the most scenic routes to be found.

a e e AT THE TOP is the familiar tour boat. Las Cruces. It has carried thousands of tourists, visiting ofiBcials and area residents on trips through Gaillard Cut and into Gatun

Lake since the little boat began operation in 1961. It has proven a success in familiar- izing people, during partial Canal transits, with the overall operation of the Canal and

the relationship of various parts of the Canal. Its passengers have ranged from hi^h

ranking diplomats and officials to groups of school children. Thousands of tourists from over the world have taken home with them the storv of the Panama Canal

after a Las Cruces trip and a locks tour. This helps to create an understanding of the Canal and its service to peoples throughout the world.

Index

Meet the Captain 3

Canal Traffic, Transists, Trade 4

Curimdu's New School q At the Races 7

A Summit Meeting g

More Electric Power 10

Port of Baltimore __ n

Shipping .'//_[ 12

Anniversaries __ 23

Promotions, Transfers I4

Canal History _ jg

The British Royal Yacht Britannia, shown

in Miraflores Locks on her trip early this month through the Canal. The 412-foot

luxurj' vessel, accompanied by the Royal

Navy tanker Wave Prince, was on her way

from the South Sea Islands to Jamaica

where she is expected to meet the Queen

Mother Elizabeth. The Britannia docked

in Balboa in 1959 when Prince Phillip

visited the Lsthmus. She went southbound

without stopping in 1902 and again in January. She carries a crew of 275.

MahCH 1964
The Hand at the Helm

Of World's Longest Liner

CAPTAIN JOSEPH ROPARS, com- mandant of the SS France, the longest

hner in the world, is no stranger to the Panama Canal. He made his initial Panama Canal transit 27 years ago on

his first assignment with the French

Line. Many transits followed over the

years. Now with promotion to the helm

of the France he can only sit aboard his ship and look at the Canal. His ship,

1,0.35 feet long and with a 110-foot breadth, is too big to squeeze through

the locks. The SS France even extends bevond the Cristobal docks by a number

of feet—and the Cristobal docks are more than 1,000 feet long.

Although he now treads soft carpets

and is commandant of one of the most

magnificent liners afloat. Captain Ropars

vividly recalls his initiation in a sea

career. A yen for travel, he says, led him to sign on the SS Madonna bound

for the west coast of Africa, out of Marseilles, some 35 years ago. Hard

work on deck and in the cargo holds awaited him, instead of the sightseeing

he had envisioned. After a year he

transferred to another vessel that travelled to South America and then to the Far East. In October 1931, at the age of 20,

he entered the French Navy to comply

with the compulsory military training

recjuired of every boy in France. Eighteen months later, and now a licensed mate, he landed a job on a

freighter bound for the Far East. In between watches he studied for a radio

operator's certificate, which he received

in 1934. At the age of 25 he obtained his Master's ticket and a few months later,

in 1937, he joined the French Line. His first assignment took him through

the Panama Canal to the west coast

of the United States. He was a junior mate on the SS Normandie when World War 11 erupted. He left that ship tied up in New York and worked through the war

as second mate or chief mate on a series of freighters. His luck held, for he was

never torpedoed, but he doesn't even want to think about the bad times of 1943 nor the many convoys in which

he traveled. Home ashore beckoned after the war days. He had been away from his wife and two children for 5 years and

a teaching position was attractive. He

asked for a professorship in hydrography and taught for 2 years in the Merchant Marine Academy at Nantes, France.

The SS France is the world's longest liner and one of tthe most luxurious passenger ships ever built. It measures 1,035 feet in length and has a 110 foot beam. Though too wide for Canal Transit, it recently docked at Cristobal for a visit to the Atlantic-side terminus.

A

•• -*

Captain Ropars aboard the SS France.

But in 1947 he went to sea again and

in 1952 he became a captain.

In 1961 he was assigned to supervise,

as staff captain, the completion of the SS France and he has sailed this vessel since she was commissioned. He was

staff captain and relief captain until September 1962 when Capt. Georges

Croisile retired and he was given

command of the SS France.

"1 still like teaching," he admits and owns to authorship of three textbooks on radar, the gyrocompass, and the

stability of merchant ships.

Captain Ropars' daughter, Lydia, 13, wanted to follow in her father's foot- steps and be captain of a ship. Convinced finally that she should choose

another career, she's studying in France

to be a pediatrician. His son, Alain,

turned to mathematics instead of the

sea and now is studying for his doctorate

at the Sorbonne.

Superlatives are easily employed

when speaking of the SS France, for the vessel has the largest theater afloat the largest dining room on the high seas, and the longest air-conditioning cable and conduit network.

Some of the requirements for a round

trip transatlantic crossing are, for instance: 15 tons of meat, ZVz tons

of poultry, 5y2 tons of fish, 30 tons of potatoes and vegetables, 15 tons of fresh

fruit, 70,000 eggs, 3 tons of cheese,

254,000 napkins and 94 tons of linens. The SS France is the third trans- (See p. 12)

The Panama Canal Review
CANAL COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC BY NATIONALITY
inswen

It Depends

On a Number

Of Factors

No figures have been released, but it

is an accepted fact that a dependable

capacity of 43 ships per day, which was

stated in the organization's 1960 study,

is substantially below the capability of the Canal when planned improvements

are complete. In other words, the overall plan started approximately 10 years ago to increase the dependable capacity

of the Panama Canal has paid off. The experts also say that the Canal

has not yet reached its development and

therefore has not had its maximum

capacity tested. A periodic capacity

reappraisal is made, however, to deter- mine the effects of physical change to the Canal, new operating equipment,

increase in personnel efficiency, and

other factors. The problem of increasing the capacity of the Panama Canal is not new. It was considered when the Canal was

under construction and again in the

1920's. It demanded more serious attention shortly after World War II when

huge super tankers began arriving at the Canal for transit. The long-range Canal-improvement

program started approximately 10 years ago was designed to solve some of the more pressing problems.

The initial feature was planning for speedier locks overhaul, followed by the widening of Gaillard Cut to 500 feet, lighting of the locks and Gaillard Cut

and the purchase of new and more

efficient towing locomotives.

Water supply to operate the Canal's

locks also affects the capability of the Canal to transit larger vessels. Experienced personnel has been one

of the major factors in the Canal ability to handle efficiently the increasing

traffic. The capacity reappraisals have

shown that the bigger ships are spending less time in Canal waters as pilots

and lock operators develop speed by

acquiring greater familiarity with large

vessels during repeat transits.

PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES SHIPPED THROUGH THE CANAL

Pacific to Atlantic

(All cargo figures in long tons)

Commodity

Ores, various Lumber

Petroleum and products (excludes asphalt)

Wheat

Sugar

Canned food products

Nitrate of soda Fishmeal . Bananas

Metals, various Food products in refrigeration (except fresh

fruit) Coffee Pulpwood

Iron and steel manufactures Coke

All others

Total

Second Quarter, Fiscal Year 1964

1964

1,600,191

914,935

521,041

479,875

494,633

264,466

191,175

246,685

326,387

280,395

228,413

94,245

117,408

240,090

93,097

1,381,084

7,474,120

1963

1,845,254

875,659

575,719

113,073

598,046

264,583

168,545

252,397

249,480

276,307

224,456

98,424

102,450

216,169

1,528

1,370,832

',232,922

Average

1951-55

1,033,433

880,696

149,132

439,626

205,431

327,338

327,635

199,495

184,663

125,660

55,757

46,525

47,896

767,095

4,790,382

Atlantic to Pacific

Commodity

Petroleum and products (excludes asphalt) Coal and coke

Iron and steel manufactures

Phosphates . Com

Soybeans

Metal, scrap Sulphur

Metals, various Paper and paper products

Ores, various Machinery

Wheat

Chemicals, unclassified Automobiles and parts

All others

Total

Second Quarter, Fiscal Year 1964

1964

2,424

1,510

341, 639

639. 396

815

115 112 HI

277

109

152

157 106

1,627,

,702

,316 831 281 739

,946 676

399

821

,743

,545

,539

,466

,669

,960

,934

1963

2,573,482

1,204,084

315,295

505,660

352,986

539,320

369,570

68,861

128,044

96,737

186,129

116,912

159,931

126,187

75,364

1,437,093

9,540,567 8,255,655

Average

1951-55

901,706

594,946

415,441

181,170

31,270

128,551

13,654

89,389

42,135

97,333

17,271

74,768

26,711

44,132

68,824

1,279,440

4,006,741

CANAL TRANSITS - COMMERCIAL AND U.S. GOVERNMENT
A model of the Curundu School, with the geodesic dome at the left. Curundus School of Tomorrow

A GEODESIC dome will be part of the new multimillion

dollar school plant to be built in Curundu next year by the Panama Canal. A modern architectural form originated by the noted U.S.

architect R. Buckminster Fuller, the dome will house the cafetorium, one of the units of the new Curundu Junior High

School complex, designed to accommodate 2,200 students. The cafetorium also is something new for the Canal Zone.

It will be a combined cafeteria and auditorium ha\ing kitchen

and dining room facilities for 700 students. When used as an

auditorium, it will seat 1,000 students on the main floor and

4.50 more in the balcony, built over the kitchen area. Because of the triangle-sided pyramid shape and thin sides, the inside of the dome will be covered with sprayed-on

gypsum acoustical and thermal insulation to make air conditioning of the modern shaped building feasible. The dome

will be 140 feet in diameter and will rise 46 feet over the cafetorium area. The school plant will be contemporary in design and concept, involving many of the latest construction techniques. It will consist of five separate buildings joined by covered pas- sageways. These include two identical classroom buildings,

a combination administration-academic building, a gymnasium

and the cafetorium.

The two academic buildings will have. 48 standard class- rooms, two study rooms, 24 laboratories for general science,

chemistry, art, language, household arts and shop. Between

the two academic buildings will be a combination administrative suite, a health suite, teachers' lounges, two audio-visual rooms, a library, and eight standard classrooms. Gymnasium facilities will be at the west end of the school complex. The gym forms an interior court with the academic

buildings and includes two separate gym units, one for boys

and one for girls, together with a center gymnastics room.

Present plans call for a standard Softball diamond and a standard baseball diamond, with a football or soccer field and running track to be built in an area near the gymnasium.

The design for the school classrooms has provided for the reduction in the window area together with special glass and

window overhangs to eliminate excessive sun glare. All of the buildings will have air conditioning provided by a central

chilled water svstem located in the gvmnasium building.

The school complex will be on a 25-acre site in the Curundu

military reservation between the two main Curundu housing

areas at Curundu and Clayton Roads.

When completed, the new school plant will provide educational facilities for all U.S. -citizen-school students on the

Pacific side for grades 7, 8, and 9. Students in grades 7 and 8

presently attend classes in Diablo Junior High School and

those in grade 9 are part of Balboa High School. Work on preparation for the site, utilities and foundations was started this month bv Foster-Williams Bros, who submitted

a low bid of $109,560 when bids were opened in January.

Drawings and specifications for the construction of the academic buildings and the gymnasium are scheduled for completion in March and bids will be opened in May. The

construction of the cafetorium and the athletic fields will be

carried out during the fiscal year 1965. The design of the school is by the Architectural Branch,

Engineering Di\ision, of the Panama Canal organization; with

Crabtree, Dawson, and Michaels of Belmont, Mass. as equipment consultants; and Duffer and Associates of Miami, Fla. doing the consultation on the boiler facilities.

6 March 1964
These '' Sailsmen''

Work on Weekends

The Anchor Heaves, the ship swings free,

The sails swell full. To sea, to sea!

—Thomas Love 11 Beddoes (1803-1849)

Sailor's Song. Stanza 2

ALMOST ANY WEEKEND or holiday, a group of sailboat racing enthusiasts can be found at the Cristobal Yacht Club

warming up for a tooth and nail contest. A majority of them are Panama Canal pilots on a busman's

holiday but—pilot or clerk—they all have salt water in their -veins when the day comes for the big race. The boats start from the Cristobal Yacht Club and take a course which is mapped out according to the weather conditions. The racing season usually extends from January 1 until Memorial Day when the stiff trade winds and relatively dry

weather produces perfect racing weather.

Contestants race according to the North American Yacht

Association racing rules. The sailboats are listed in three

classes: the handicap or miscellaneous class; the Mercury class and the cruising class. Two of the racing boats were built in Hong Kong by the well-known Chinese sailboat builder Choy Lee. At least four

others were built b\- their owners from imported kits. The Chinese built craft are the Mistress, a 28-foot fiberglass

boat owned by Capt. William Gillespie and the Maria II,

a 40-foot teakwood craft, owned by Capt. Kenneth Orcutt. The Mistress won the cruising class contest during the Washington Birthday Regatta held this year.

Sweeping gracefully across Limon Bay is the Maria II with owner

Capt. Kenneth Orcutt aboard. This craft later developed rudder

trouble and dropped out of the Washington Birthday Regatta.

Three Cristobal Yacht Club sailboats race around a buoy in Cris- tobal Harbor. In the foreground left is the A. J. Maru, a Mercury

class boat owned by Capt. A. J. McLean. At the right is the Susannah, owned by Capt. Norman Hutchinson with his wife and

son David aboard. The other is a Star-class owned by William Wirtz.

The Panama Canal Review
^u3t for Juity Mow cAbout a M^eeting.

A "SUMMIT MEETING," in the usual

sense, is a serious event. But not when

it's a meeting at Summit Garden, a

center of recreation for Canal Zone area

residents.

And anyone can participate in the "big four" activities at this Summit

meeting. Because dancing, picnicking,

playing games, and barbecuing are the

four items that will take up most of the time on a weekend at this delightful

spot.

Children might have the edge in the fun department. There are the httle burros, which jog along with a youngster perched atop the saddle, with a

guide to show the way. In the pla\-

ground area, there are swings and a merry-go-round, alwa\s loaded to ca- pacity. The zoo is full of interesting

animals, particularly the zanv monkeys,

and there are popcorn machines and

trees that make dandy hide-and-go-seek

co\er, not to mention the music for the

older children who like to dance.

For adults there are barbecue pits for the weekend outdoor chefs, and there

is the pleasure of a picnic among friends

in the shade of tall trees.

Summit Garden offers an ideal setting

for carefree relaxation for the whole

family and its popularity increases everv vear.

These boys find it fun to take a jaunty ride along the trail on a burro, a favorite pastime.

:^.'^»r-^> .-> >ii.

7^ :^.^.

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Mabch 1964
tke Siumnti

A piggyback ride, the favorite form of small fry transportation. And what could be more fun on a sun-splashed dry-season

weekend afternoon at Summit Garden.

Before the aternoon is over, there will be the scent of barbecued chicken, hamburgers,

hot dogs and other delicacies in the air. These picnickers have an ideal spot for a feast.

"People is the crazies! monkeys" might be what these Summit Garden simians are thinking

as they swing about and watch the boys, who do a less graceful imitation on the fence.

The Panama Canal Review
New Generator Unit Will

Increase Power For Canal

CONTRACTS TOTALING more than

$1)2 million have been awarded by the Panama Canal to Westinghouse Electric Corp. and to the Foster Wheeler

Corp. of New Jersex' for the furnishing

and installation at Miraflores of the major components of a steam turbine

generating unit which will add 22,000

kilowatts to the electrical power generation potential of the Canal's power

s\stem.

The Westinghouse Electric Co. made

a bid of 8787,000 on the design, manufacture, and installation of the steam

turbine generator. The Foster Wheeler

Co. bid $843,950 on the manufacture

and erection of a complete weatherproof outdoor type steam boiler. The new steam turbine generating

unit, due to be completed and installed by January 1966, is to be used in conjunction with the gas turbine generators

installed last year at the Miraflores Generating Station. The steam boiler was designed to employ the waste heat

from the gas turbine supplemented by

oil-firing as required when the gas tur- bines are operating, or fired entirely by

oil when the gas turbines are idle. This steam will provide the motive power to drive the 22,000 kw. steam turbine

generator.

Bids on the new units were opened

at Balboa Heights in January and the

a\v ard made, following evaluation of the

various offers. The gas turbines installed at Miraflores in 1962, were the first of their kind

to be purchased by the Canal organization. They increased the power generation potential of the Canal Zone bv

approximately one-third and are being

used in conjunction with the present

electrical power generators to supply the

steadilv increasing power load. During

the dry season months, when hydroelectric generation from Gatun Station has

to be curtailed in order to conserve

water, they are used continuously.

The gas turbines and the new steam

turbine generator are part of a long- range plan to increase the power potential of the Canal Zone and a direct result of continuing surveys initiated in 1960.

Officials of the Electrical EMvision, top men in the Engineering and Construction Bureau with R. A. Kampmeier, then

with the Tennessee Vallev Authority,

determined in 1961 the need for increased generator capacity to meet

predicted increased power loads. At that time studies were made of the power needs of the Canal organization and problems connected with the production of electrical energy which

the Panama Canal organization fur- nishes for all Government installations

in the Canal Zone including the Canal

locks. Except for the installation of auxiliary

diesel power stations, used principally

for conservation of water and during

emergencies, the power supply of the Zone had not been increased up to that time since the construction of Madden

Dam in 1935.

Excess heal from these two gas turbines will be used to provide power for the new unit heinn installed at .Miraflores Generating Station.

10 March 1964
World Poxti

Baltimore, at the hub of a wide range of

transportation facilities, is served by three major trunk-line railroads, 165 common

motor carriers and 13 air cargo lines. Pic- tured here are tracks of the rail car holding

and support yards at the Western Maryland Railroad's Port Covington terminal.

Baltimore^ Eastern

Key to the Midwest

BALTIMORE, port with a historic

past, is shaping its dynamic future. Linking much of America to .the rest of the world for over two and a half

centuries, Maryland's major world shipping center today is playing an even

greater role in international commerce.

Boasting the advantages of year- round shipping, almost no tidal variation, and ample anchorage of 1,589

acres of sheltered waters, the Port of Baltimore has been a "safe haven for ships" since 1706, when it became an

official port of entry in Maryland.

Since then, well over 1 billion tons

of cargo from all over the world have

crossed its 82 piers and wharves for oceangoing vessels in a constant flow. These facilities include 80 general

cargo, 43 specialized cargo, and 28

public coal, grain, and ore berths. Deepwater sea lanes connect the city of Baltimore with over 300 world ports. Some 5,300 ships, representing 120

overseas steamship lines, come and go each vear, carrying an annual average

of 23 million tons of foreign trade. Baltimore has been the second largest

foreign trade port of the United States

for 7 out of the past 10 years. Her total

waterborne commerce, foreign and

domestic, produces an annual cargo of over 45 million tons valued at $2.2

billion. Situated 150 miles from the ocean, Baltimore is the only U.S. port served

by two routes from the sea: south, via

the Chesapeake Capes, and north, via

the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. A $36 mOlion Federal channel dredging program was initiated in 1960 by

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and now gives inbound fully loaded deepdraft vessels including supertankers

access to the Port of Baltimore. Dredging of the channel's outbound side is scheduled for completion by 1966.

Saving is a key factor in the Balti- more picture. The port is 50 to 200

miles closer than any other east coast port to the industrial and commercial

centers of the great Midwest.

The port today is moving forward

with a far-reaching, multi-million-dollar building program to provide unexcelled

facilities for the handling of all types

of cargos, and is developing services and

rate structures that will assure its competitive position.

Looking southward toward the entrance to the famous Chesapeake Bay, this aerial view

of the Patapsco River shows Baltimore Harbor's 43 miles of waterfront. The older port

facilities, now being improved, are those nearest the heart of the city, foreground.

The Panama Canal Review 11
o H I ? ? I M G

More Grace Liners

THE GRACE LINE recendy added two more container cargo ships to its original order of four being constructed at the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. The

order added $25,250,0()0 to the original

figure for a total of $77,850,000.

The new ships, which are expected to use the Panama Canal as soon as they

are completed, have a deadweight ton- nage of 13,800 and will be exceptionally fast with a top speed of 24

knots. They will have space for 104

containers, will be air conditioned

throughout and have space for 12

passengers. Meanwhile the Grace Line's pas- senger cargo ship Santa Mercedes, last of the four new liners on the west coast

of South America run, is being completed and is scheduled to arrive at the Canal on her maiden voyage on April 17. This ship has been dedicated to Peru.

San Juan Pioneer

THE GIANT ore-oil carrier San Juan

Pioneer, a sister ship of the San Juan

Prospector, which broke all Panama

Canal records in January, made her first

trip through the Canal March 12 on

her way from Trinidad to San Juan,

Peru. The Pioneer and the Prospector

are two of the biggest ships to use the Canal and are given daylight clear-Cut preference and assistance from tugs

when passing through Gaillard Cut. The

two ships and another sister called the San Juan Pathfinder were built at Mitsui

Shipyard in Japan as combination ore

carriers and bulk oil tankers suitable

for carrying either iron ore or grade "A"

or lower grade petroleum—or for carry- ing these two types of cargo simultaneously. They have a length of 835 feet and a beam of 106.3 feet which makes

them a tight fit in the Panama Canal

locks. The San Juan Pioneer arrived in ballast and was scheduled to take on a load of iron ore in Peru for Japan.

Volkswagen Carrier

CARGO CARRIERS get more special- ized every day. One of the Canal's

best customers recently is the Johann

Schulte, a 23,000 deadweight-ton

motorship, reportedly the world's largest

ocean-going automobile carrier. The

vessel came southbound through the Canal March 10, on her way to Los

Angeles with 1,700 Volkswagens on

TRANSITS BY OCEANGOING

VESSELS IN JANUARY

1964 1963 Commercial 1,015 769

U.S. Government 33 20

Free 7 7

Total 1,055 796

TOLLS'

Commercial $5,144,472 $3,872,855

U.S. Government. 136,705 87,142

Total $5,281,177 $3,959,997

CARGO"

Commercial 5,833,165 4,118,440

U.S. Government. 85,416 62,340 Free 34,896 39,785

Total.... 5,953,477 4,220,565

• Includes tolls on all vessels, oceangoing and

small. "* Cargo figures are in long tons.

board, each compact little car carried snug as a bug in separate stalls. The

ship makes a trip through the Canal

approximately once each month or 6

weeks. On her return voyage from the

. West Coast to Europe, she carries bulk

cargo. On her last eastbound voyage,

the Johann Schulte was transporting

12,069 tons of borax for Rotterdam.

C. B. Fenton & Co. are agents at the

Canal. Yugoslav Line

THE YUGOSLAV shipping company

called Splosna Plovba recently beefed

up its round-the-world service with the addition of a seventh ship. The Metohija, coming northbound through the Canal in January, enabled the company

to operate on a 25-day frequency. The , Metohija is one of three sister cargo I carriers built in Rijeka, Yugoslavia especially for this service. Wilford & McKay

represent the line at the Canal.

Hand at the Helm of World's Longest Liner (Continued from p. 3)

atlantic liner to carry this name. The

first, built in 1864, was 5,800 tons. The

second, built in 1912, was 28,000 tons while the present pride of La Compagnie Generale Transatlantique has a

gross tonnage of 66,000.

La Compagnie Generale Transatlantique was founded in 1855, the year

the Panama Railroad went into operation, under the name Compagnie Generale Maritime. In 1864 service to New

York was inaugurated with the Washington which made its first crossing in 14y2 days. In 1888 this shipping company's La Bretagne set a transatlantic Le Havre to New York record and in 1935 the French Line's Normandie

received the blue ribbon crossing

record. Bet\veen 1939 and 1945 the French Line lost by war two-thirds of

its tonnage. From 1947 to 1952 the French Line constructed 40 ships and

modernized 19 others, and then topped

its shipping efforts on May 11, 1960

when the SS France was launched,

destined to enter transatlantic service

in 1962.

1100
ANNIVERSARIES

(On the basis of total Federal Service)

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

krvisic

TR4^££QfTAl

TERMINALS BUI

Egbert A. Williams Helper Locomotive Engineer

SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY

SERVED DUIIEA'

Luther A. C

Grocery Attenda: Daniel B. McFarlai

Field Tractor Operal

MAR

Santiago Sal Helper Loci?

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Marcella G. Green

Clerical Assistant (Typing)

ENGINEERING AND

UCTION BUREAU

e Dredge,

lant)

Technician

frner oreman Pipefitter TRANSPORTATION AND

TERMINALS BUREAU

Walter R. Fender

Liquid Fuels Dispatcher

COMPTROLLERS OFFICE

Felix Ciril Louis Bookkeeping Machine

Operation Supervisor

Helen D. McKeown

Supervisory Accounting

Assistant

SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY

SERVICE BUREAU

Florencio Akins Laborer

Manuel Bernal

Assistant Meat Cutter

Antonio Chifundo

Garbage Collector

Veronica M. Church

Laborer (Cleaner)

Secundino Diaz

Helper (General)

Ceyon Jemmott

Laborer (Heavy)

Doris Smith Kelly

Counterwoman

Maximino Medianero

Dairy Worker

Mark R. Perkins Laborer

Winnifred H. Turner Counterwoman

MARINE BUREAU

David Aparicio Boatman Armando Cruz

Boilermaker

Ricardo Espinoza

Line Handler (Deckhand)

Cesar C. Linero Helper Lock Operator

Salustiano Martinez

Helper Lock Operator

T. N. McPherson

Line Handler (Deckhand)

Kenneth P. Scanlon Lock Operator (Machinist)

Jose M. Silvera Line Handler (Deck

Jplatt

: LockJPpeuffOi

Joseph W. Casey

Leader Armature Winder

Lydia Czapek

Physical Science Technician

(Geology) Eustace J. Hurley

Seaman

Victor Manuel Mite

Leader Seaman

Thomas C. Robertson Leader Electrician (Lineman)

Gregorio Ruiz

Surveying Aid

Hugh L. Shannon

Helper Electrician (Power Plant)

TRANSPORTATION AND

TERMINALS BUREAU

Roscoe S. Burgess

Inspector (Carman,

Wood and Steel)

E. E. Corpas

Tire Rebuilder

E. H. Lippincott

Guard Supervisor

Ildefonso Rosas Laborer (Heavy)

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

H. W. Dempsey, Sr. Police Private

James L. Dunn

Police Private

Edith M. Mathieson

Clerk-Stenographer Eva M. Tait Elementary Teacher,

Latin American Schools

HEALTH BUREAU

Naahon Goffe Storekeeping Clerk

Alfred Hibbert Medical Technician

(General)

Carlos B. Moreira

Food Service Worker

Pascual Santamaria

Nursing Assistant (Medicine and Surgery)

K. F. Taliercio

Staff Nurse

(Operating Room)

The Panama Canal Review 13
PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

EMPLOYEES promoted or transferred between Januar\' 5 and February 5, 1964 (within-grade promotions and job

reclassifications arc not listed)

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

DIVISION

Richard Shapiro, from Guard, Locks Division to Passenger Rate Assistant. CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Reinaldo Archibold, Utility Worker to Clerk, Customs Division. Schools Division Worden E. French, Jr., Student Aid to Recreation Assistant (Sports). John P. Manning, Recreation Assistant

(Sports) to Swimming Pool Manager.

Elsie G. de Vega, Substitute Teacher, U.S. Schools to Teacher (Senior U.S. High

School). Josephine A. Morris, Substitute Teacher,

U.S. Schools to Teacher (Junior High,

U.S. Schools). Ida L. J. Kane, Substitute Teacher U.S. Schools to Teacher (Elementary, U.S.

Schools). Mildred S. Rowe, Substitute Teacher, U.S. Schools to Teacher (Junior High, U.S.

Schools). Robert W. White, Teacher-Principal Ele- mentary School to Elementary School

Principal. Police Division

Hollis Griffon, Police Private to Detective. Edmund S. Coe, Police Private to Police Sergeant.

Mary J. Lavallee, Extension Class Teacher,

U.S. Schools, to Clerk-Stenographer.

Lillian J. Dombrowsky, Substitute Teacher,

U.S. Schools to Clerk-Stenographer.

Postal Division Junie N. Scott, Truck Driver to Window

Clerk, Substitute. Moises de la Peiia, Finance Branch Superintendent to Foreman, Mail Handling

Unit. Milton J. Ilalley, Finance Branch Superintendent to Relief Supervisor, Balboa. Edgar S. Shaw, Jr., Cargo Marker, Ter- minal Division to Window Clerk, Substitute. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Electrical Division Glyndon M. Worrock, Edward T. Paine,

.Machinist (Marine) to Shift Engineer

(Mechanical). Bernice R. Finley, Clerk-Typist to Clerk

(Typing). Ricardo A. Honeywell, Clerk, Railroad Division, to Clerk, Electrical Division. Roy A. Dudley, Arthur C. Hubert, Alejan- dro Sheperd, Helper Machinist (Maintenance) to Oiler. Joseph A. Reid, Meteorological Technician

to Meteorological Technician (General). Robert W. Adams, Apprentice, Cable-

.splicer, (2d year) to Apprentice, Cablesplicer (3d year). Phyllis D. Perry, Clerk-Stenographer to Clerk-Typist.

Maintenance Division Lloyd A. Perkins, Apprentice, Carpenter,

(2d year) to Apprentice, Carpenter (3d

year). Rafael A. del Cid, Laborer (Heavy) to Helper (General).

Alexander James, Jr., Apprentice, Painter, (2d year) to Apprentice, Painter (3d year). Dredging Division Frederick L. Walton, Chief Engineer,

Towboat to Chief Engineer, Dipper

Dredge.

Conrad O. Beckles, Leader Laborer

(Heavy) to Leader (Core Drilling). HEALTH BUREAU

Coco Solo Hospital

Patricia D. Hunt, Staff Nurse (General)

to Staff Nurse (Medicine and Surgery).

Gorgas Hospital Dr. Wilmer C. Hewitt, Jr., Medical Officer (Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology) to Medical Officer, (Chief, Pathological Anatomy Section). Joseph A. Owen, Hospital Resident, 4th

year, to Medical Officer, Pathological

Anatomy and Clinical Pathology (Assist- ant to Chief, Laboratory Service). Marie K. Corrigan, Staff Nurse (Obstetrics), Coco Solo Hospital to Staff Nurse (Obstetrics), Gorgas Hospital. Charles H. Jordan, Pharmacist to Supervisory Pharmacist.

Jose B. Barria, Laborer (Cleaner) to Hospital Attendant.

Jose C. Quiros, Utility Worker, Supply Division to Hospital Attendant. MARINE BUREAU

Navigation Division Albert L. Guinn, Pilot, Probationary, to

Pilot. John W. Meeker, Jr., Pilot-in-Training to

Pilot, Probationary. Richard M. Andrews, Master, Towboat

(Pilot Trainee), to Pilot-in-Training.

John L. Fischer, Supervisory Clerical Assistant to Supervisory Administrative

Services Assistant. Mauricio Quiros, Laborer (Cleaner) to Laborer (Heavy).

Industrial Division

Albert J. Wanner, Machinist (Marine) to histrament Mechanic (Mechanical).

Gilbert A. Campbell, Machinist (Marine) to Toolmaker.

Keith D. Bowen, Clerk to Timekeeper.

Dimas Comejo, Jose M. Yanguez, Helper

(General) to Maintenanceman (Boats). Julian W. Crouch, Apprentice (Machinist)

to Machinist (Marine).

Locks Division Richard J. Danielsen, General Engineer to Supervisory General Engineer (Superintendent, Atlantic Branch).

Donald R. Chancy, Electrician to Lock

Operator (Electrician). Ernesto M. Weeks, Line Handler to Helper

Lock Operator.

OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Chiquita C. Cassibry, Clerk-Stenographer

to Management Technician. General Audit Division Rose M. Monzon Clerk-Stenographer,

Accounting Division, to Internal Audit. Carolyn L. Hogerson, Clerk-Stenographer, General Audit Division to Clerk-Stenographer, Office of the Comptroller.

Accounting Division Frances J. Ponder, Clerk-Typist, Community Services Division, to Clerk-Typist. Maritza K. de Oranges, Accounting Clerk

(Typing) to Clerk-Typist.

Sylvia E. Staples, Time, Leave and Payroll Clerk to Supervisory Accounting Assist- ant (Machine).

Edgar R. McArthur Payroll Systems Assist- ant to Supervisory Accounting Assistant (Machine).

SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Office of General Manager

Margaret M. Larrison, Voucher Examiner

to Freight Rate Assistant. Gertrude M. Patten, Clerk-Typist to Accounting Clerk. Margaret M. Nash, Clerk (Sales Promotion

Circulation) to Clerk (Advertising Cir- cular Writer).

Henrey H. Lee Jr., Supervisory Storekeeping Clerk to Accounting Assistant. Fisher M. Oltenburg, Leader Motion Pic- ture Projection Equipment Mechanic to Equipment Specialist (General). Supply Division Lemuel C. Pryce, Warehouseman to Stock- man. Edward W. Howell, Clerk to Accounts Maintenance Clerk. Herman G. Nelson, Leader Laborer

(Cleaner) Division of Schools, to L,aborer. Susanah L. Hawkins, Counterwoman to Sales Checker. Mary I. Griffith, Utility Worker to Counter- woman.

Mileano Carr, Meat Cutter Assistant to Meat Cutter. Community Services Division Griceldo E. de la Cruz, Hospital Attendant,

Gorgas, to Laborer. Ovidio Gonzalez, Laborer (Cleaner), Division of Schools, to Laborer. Alfredo Vargas, Laborer to Garbage

Collector. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Railroad Division

Garfield Brown, High Lift Truck Operator

to Automotive Crane Operator. Luis A. Naar, Laborer (Heavy) to High Lift Truck Operator. Motor Transportation Division Roberta J. Patterson, Clerk- Typist, Maintenance Division, to Accounting Clerk

(Typing).

Jasper L. Myers, Automotive Machinist to Lead Foreman (General Equipment

Repair),

Terminals Division Ralph McD. Smith, Laborer, Maintenance

Division, to Guard.

Arnold C. Sandiford, Hugo Salazar, Cargo

Marker to Clerk (Checker). Raymond D. Simons, Cargo Marker to Helper Liquid Fuels Ganger.

Samuel Bradiel, Helper, Liquid Fuels Dispatcher, to Heating Equipment Mechanic (Maintenance).

Steadman C. Lumbsden, Medical Aid

(Ambulance), Coco Solo Hospital, to Guard. OTHERS

Ernest Oliver, Physical Security Specialist, Internal Security Office. Kerry B. Magee, Industrial Engineer,

E.\ecutive Planning Staff. Jack E. Van Hoose, Graduate Intern (Administrative Services). Mercedes T. Palomeras, Passenger Rate

Assistant, Administrative Services Division. Juanita M. Karst, Clerk-Typist, Engineering and Construction Bureau. Hiram D. Hunter, Timekeeper, Transportation and Terminals Bureau.

14 March 1964
«rr^^

PLEASURE PANORAMA—This striking view of Balboa Harbor and the hills beyond is one many boatmen eye with pleasure. Their boats, dotting the waters of the bay, await the weekenders who look forward to hours of fishing and cruising. At right is Thatcher Ferry Bridge.

CANAL HISTORY

50 l/earJ fp4cfo

THE END of the construction era was

in sight in the Canal Zone 50 years ago

this month and the permanent organization for operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal was under consideration. Many employees were uncertain

as to whether they would be employed

in the new organization. The first announcement of assignments of duty was made in the Canal Record of March 18. Among them was Lt. Col. Charles F. Mason, Chief Health Officer; C. A. Mcllvaine, then Chief Clerk to the Chairman, as Executive Secretary; H. A. A. Smith, Auditor; J. H. McLean,

Paymaster; Capt. Hugh Rodman, Marine Superintendent; Comdr. Douglas

E. Dismukes; and Lt. Comdr. H. V.

Butler, Port Captains at the terminal

ports of Cristobal and Balboa. The first towing locomotive of the 40 ordered from the United States was

being tested on the west side of the

centervvall at Gatun Locks. A second

machine also was unloaded at Gatun

Locks and four more arrived March 15 with four to be delivered about the middle of "ach month until all deliveries are completed.

25 y[earJ cAg^o

THE U.S. FLEET war games held in the Caribbean and Atlantic areas clearly

demonstrated that the Panama Canal was vulnerable to enemy attack, news

reports from Washington said 25 years ago this month. Brazil and all countries

to the south along the east coast of South America also are vulnerable, the

reports said. As World War H approached, the House Merchant Marine Committee

announced it had started a study to determine the need for the construction

of auxiliary locks for the Panama Canal

to be used as bypasses through which

U.S. warships could be moved in time

of war if existing locks should be destroyed. A bill was introduced authorizing the expenditure of S277 million

for their construction. George W. Green, municipal engineer

for the Panama Canal reported that the concrete runawavs being constructed at Albrook were 50 percent complete. The

work was being done by the Municipal

Division of the Panama Canal at an

estimated cost of $500,000. Upon

completion Albrook would be on a par with the finest military aviation fields

in the United States. President Roosevelt approved the

elevation of the U.S. Legation in Pan- ama to the status of an embassy and

Panama likewise raised the status of its legation in Washington.

iO y[earJ cAg-o

HUNDREDS of Canal Zone oldtimers

arrived in the Canal Zone 10 years ago

this month to attend the dedication of the memorial in Balboa built to honor

Col. George W. Goethals, one time

Chief Engineer and Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission and the

first Governor of the Canal Zone. The

ceremony included the unveiling of the monument b\- the sons of the Colonel

Goethals, an address by Sen. Alexander

Wiley of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the presentation of prizes to essay contest winners by

Maurice H. Thatcher, only sur- \iving member of the Isthmian Canal

Commission.

One yiear cAgo

AFTER 20 YEARS of wearing the same

stvle headgear, the Canal Zone Police

last year got new distinctive Milan straw

sheriff-stvle hats. The hats were of police blue or a near navy blue, with

silver cord and accessories for police- men and gold-colored cord and

accessories for officers. Governor Fleming announced last March that the minimum wage levels

in the Canal Zone v\ould be increased

to 70 cents an hour in July and to 80 cents an hour in July 1964.

.ACCIDENTS.

FOR

THIS MONTH

AND

THIS YEAR

FEBRUARY

ALL UNITS

YEAR TO DATE

DAYS

CASES CASES ABSENT

•64 '63 '64 '63 '64 '63 233 242(11) 9 14 139 198

480 510(23) 30 29(2) 228 271(7)

( ) Locks Overhaul injuries included in total.

The Panama Canal Review 15





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