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fol. 12, No. 7

February S, H Coming and Going

<f$6.30&5
\V. P. Leber

Vice I ml Vi hi: Govi rnoi

filial.

Will Arf.v

J anama Canal Information Officer

N. D. Christensen, Press Officer Joseph Connor, Publications Editor

Editorial Assistants: Eunice Richard and Tobi Bittel

William Burns, Official Photographer

Official Panama Canal Company Publication

Published Monthly al Balboa Heights, C. Z.

Printed at the Printing Plant, Mount Hope.Canal Zont On salr at all Panama Canal Service Centers. Retail Stores, and the Tivoli Guest House for 10 days after publication date at 5 cents each. Subscriptions. $1 a year; mail and back copies, 10 cents each.

Postal money orders made payable to the Panama Canal Company should be mailed to Box M. Balboa Heights, C. Z. Editorial Offices are located in the Administration Building. Balboa Heights. C. Z.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the Panama Canal Company, general officers, and official visitors are shown in the Board Room at Balboa Heights as they prepared for the official Board meeting on January 20. Clockwise around the room from the foreground are: J. Kenneth Mansfield; Under Secretary of State George W. Ball; Company Stockholder and Secretary of the Army Elvis J. Stahr, jr.. Chairman of the Board and Under Secretary of the Army Stephen Ailes; Company Secretary W. M. Whitman; Under Secretary

of Commerce Clarence D. Martin, Jr.; Dr. Charles J. Zinn; Walter J. Pearson; Comptroller Philip L. Steers, Jr.; Governor Carter; Deputy Under Secretary of the Army for International Affairs Howard E. Haugerud; Governor-designate Robert J. Fleming, Jr.; Vice

President W. P. Leber; Executive Planning Staff Chief John D. Hollen; John W. Martyn; and C. Owen Smith. Board members unable

to attend the meeting were Secretary of the Navy Fred Korth. Howard C. Petersen, and C. Robert Mitchell. THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company on the Isthmus was a

highlight of local events during January, as retiring

Gov. W. A. Carter prepared to turn his duties over to Maj. Gen. Robert J. Fleming, Jr., nominated by President

Kennedy to become the fourteenth Governor of the Canal

Zone. Our cover picture of the two men was taken

aboard a car of the Panama Railroad as the Governor

(on the right) and the visiting Governor-designate traveled

to Cristobal to meet members of the Board of Directors

as they arrived aboard the Cristobal from New Orleans.

During a formal meeting at Balboa Heights, the Board

unanimously approved a resolution commending retiring

Governor Carter for his fine performance as Governor

nal Zone since July 1, 1960. It also authorized

lovernor to expedite purchase and installation of gas

turbii to meet growing power demands.

In a statement to the press after the meeting, Secretary

of the Arm) Elvis J. Stahr, jr., Stockholder of the Company, said of Governor Carter: "During his term of office, he has accelerated the waterway improvement program

and has developed engineering procedures that will greatlv reduce vessel delays during future locks overhaul

periods. And, perhaps as important as anything else he

has done, as President Kennedy said ... in accepting

his resignation, he has contributed greatly to the spirit

of friendly cooperation that exists between the Governments of the United States and Panama. In my opinion,

General Carter has turned in an excellent record as Governor of the Canal Zone and President of the Panama

Canal Company."

Stockholder Stahr also told the newsmen, "Our Board

of Directors represents a broad cross-section of U.S.

industry and Government. As I sat with them in the

Board meeting ... at Balboa Heights, I was impressed

with their intense interest in Canal problems and their knowledge of the operation."

February 2, 1962
Introducing . . .

. . . and his lady

Governor

Robert

J.

Fleming, Jr

THE NEW GOVERNOR of the Canal Zone,

Mai. Gen. Robert J. Fleming, Jr., was short on

statements and long on questions last month as he

visited the Isthmus for the annual meeting of the

Board of Directors in the Zone—and brevity of

comment and inquisitiveness seem to be basic

characteristics of the man named by President

Kennedy to succeed retiring Gov. W. A. Carter. Governor Fleming likes to see firsthand what

is going on in his organization; likes for people

to get to the point quickly and not spend too much time in explanations; believes the only

adequate foreign policy for the United States

"is the one we can derive from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence—'We hold these

truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal;' " believes American representatives should be able to speak the language

of the country where they're stationed; and

delights in making cryptic observations and

comments.

An avid golfer (he shoots in the 85-95 range).

Governor Fleming says he likes to spend some

time "digging divots," but also enjoys aviation

and photography, particularly taking and

showing 8 mm. movies. He has let a youthful

The Panama Canal Review 3
Governor Fleming's

daughters,

Mrs. Benjamin B.

Beasley, at left,

and Miss Eleanor

A. Fleming.

enthusiasm for polo wane since the days

when he learned the game on Army

Cavalry posts where his father was

stationed. A former smoker, the new

Governor now describes himself as "a re- formed nicotinic with a missionary zeal." A 1928 graduate of the Military

Academy at West Point, Governor

Fleming had been to the Canal Zone

only once before last month—"I was a customer on a ship."

Although he likes and enjoys the

lighthearted, almost laconic comment.

Governor Fleming also likes to talk seri- ously about the things in which he

believes and the activities in which he

is involved. In his assignment as South- western Division Engineer for the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with

headquarters in Dallas, he has spent

considerable time filling speaking

engagements in that area, usually dis- cussing the civil works construction pro- gram, which includes projects costing

approximately $1.8 billion. The 54-year-old Governor, who was

born in Fort Robinson, Nebr., on Jan- nuary 13, 1907, has definite viewpoints

about his work and is not averse to voicing them. Although much of his service has involved the management

of great amounts of supplies, machines.

and tools, Governor Fleming once commented:

"The most important tool we have is people. Unlike machines, people can't

be neglected. Unlike supplies, they can't be stockpiled in depots or put into deep

freezers until needed. Nobody has to think about the morale of a 2%-ton

truck or a can of beans. But you do

have to think about people. Practically

all of my time and all of my effort is spent on problems involving people.

I can get other officers to think about

the truck and the can of beans. I think about people."

During an assignment in France,

where he was stationed for a number

of years and was awarded the French

Legion of Honor for his efforts in the field of foreign service, Governor

Fleming once asked subordinates,

"What are your problems here?" Then

he answered his own question: "I'm

sure I don't know all of them. Any time

any commander thinks he knows all about his problems, he is fat, dumb, and

happy—waiting for the roof to fall in." The Dallas Morning News, editorially

commending General Fleming on his service in Dallas, concluded with this observation

:

"He is boning up on his Spanish

because, as he explains, he likes to speak

the language of the people where he is assigned. He succeeded admirably in that regard here in the Southwest."

Governor Fleming, who speaks fluent French, was brushing up on Spanish, a language he once spoke, within days

after receiving word of his appointment

to the Canal Zone. To a newspaper

reporter, he quipped, "I'll be speaking

Spanish in 6 months. I'll make myself

learn it, because I think it's important

for American representatives to be able

to speak the language of the country

where they're stationed." The 5

1 2-foot, 135-pound Governor,

who says he chose the Engineers over

his father's field of Cavalry because he

decided "the horse wasn't here to stay," was in Europe from January 1944 to May 1947. supervising the construction program for the U.S. Army of Occupation after the war ended. Earlier in World War II, he had served in the Central Pacific area. From 1947 to 1950 he was in the

Office of the Chief of Engineers in Washington, first as Chief, Engineer

Organization and Training Division,

and then as Assistant Chief of Engineers for Military Operations. From

1950 to 1951 he was a student at the National War College in Washington

and from 1951 to 1954 was Engineer,

Army Field Forces, Fort Monroe, Va. During 1954 he was District Engineer

at Philadelphia, then served until April

1957 as Division Engineer, New England Division, before returning to Europe for a 3-year stay in France. He

has been stationed at Dallas since

November 1960. Married to the former Eleanor Marion

Canby of Denver, Colo., Governor

Fleming, like both his immediate predecessors, is the father of two daughters.

One, Mrs. Benjamin B. Beasley, is the wife of an Army lieutenant recently

assigned to Germany and is the mother

of four small children. The younger

daughter, Eleanor A. Fleming, is a student at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., but is expected to be with

her parents in the Zone during vacations. Welcoming his assignment to Zone

duties, Governor Fleming told a Dallas newspaper reporter, "I'm delighted at the . . . assignment." If past perform- ance is any indication, Governor Fleming

can be expected to renew the open-door

policy he and his family maintained in France, where they threw themselves

into the life of the French community,

participating in local activities and

playing host to local residents for both

formal and informal occasions. And Mrs. Fleming, who is credited by the new Governor with learning

the French language in 6 months, pro- bably will try to repeat the feat with

Spanish. First, however, she will have to arrange the furnishings in "the house on

the hill" which has been the official residence of every Canal Zone Governor

since it was moved to its present location from the long-abandoned construction

era townsite of Culebra.

February 2, 1962
and . .

.

Farewell

» to

Governor Carter attended and lent support to fairs in Panama Governor Carter

THE FAST-STEPPING, quick-thinking, normally soft-spoken professional

soldier-engineer who assumed the top

administrative post in the Panama Canal

Company Canal Zone Government

19 months ago, left that post late last month to take a position as senior engineering consul taut for the Inter-American

Development Bank.

During the 19 months that he served

and community activities in the Canal Zone.

as Governor of the Canal Zone, Maj. Gen. W. A. Carter established a solid record of constructive and progressive

achievement which earned him plaudits

from Zonians, Panamanians, and high

officials of both the United States and

Panama, including President Kennedv.

Assuming his Canal Zone duties

during a tense period of Panama-Zone

relations, Governor Carter took early

and effective action to restore the cli- mate of friendliness and cooperation

which have characterized both official and unofficial life on the Isthmus since

arrival of U.S. construction forces in 1904. Whenever possible, he demonstrated by friendly acts and gestures

that he sincerely desired and sought the

friendship of the Panamanian people.

The retiring Governor's success in securing that friendship was indicated

by a public tribute and presentation of a gold medal to him by a group of Panamanian citizens at Balboa" Heights on the morning of January 25. And as Governor Carter observed about his new

job during that ceremonv:

"In my new position, I will better understand Latin America and her

people because of the experience and

knowledge I have obtained here. And

I find more than a spark of jov in the thought that in connection with my

new job I will be in this area quite often

in the years ahead."

Performing his multitudinous duties

The Panama Canal Beview
Conducted President Chiari on tour of lock overhaul work . . .

with a heavy reliance on careful staff work, Governor Carter took a personal

interest in virtually all facets of the Canal's operation, from the question of establishing low-cost bus shelters for school children to the multi-million

dollar waterway improvement projects.

Meeting frequently with labor representatives of Canal employees, the

retiring Governor took a personal interest in seeing that problems submitted by

them were investigated and solutions sought. He continued the past encour- agement given to Civic Councils in the

several Zone communities and urged the Councils to take an even more active

role in community events and activities.

Just as he earned the gratitude and

trust of employees and their organizations, Governor Carter also earned the

respect and appreciation of Civic Council representatives who dealt with him

Frequently. This appreciation was indi- cated b\ the Civic Council representative who told the Governor last month,

"We are sorry to see you leave us. We

on the Atlantic side are beginning to

fell that we are no longer stepchildren." Not limiting his efforts to official decisions, the pipe-smoking Governor

became a frequent visitor to festivals, fairs, swimming meets, official and

unofficial functions, and many other

S in both the Zone and Panama,

frequently traveling into the Interior

of the Republic for such occasions. He urged, guided, and approved the developm of programs designed to improve the living conditions of disability relief retirees of the Canal organization, including the establishment of

a group health insurance program, visit- ing nurse and part-time doctor services

for their benefit. Interesting himself in the Canal Zone

facilities provided by the Company

Government for Zone residents and

employees, the Governor established improved utilization of those facilities by extending their use to all Zone res- idents employed by the Canal organization and by continuing the construction

program designed to provide better, more adequate housing.

He also pursued the implementation

of the presidential 9-point program of

benefits for Panama, including the construction of a new 30-inch water line

to make more water available for Pan- ama City. He also instigated the pur- chase of the LasCruces, a 200-passenger

launch for Canal sightseeing, thus pro- viding a major assist to the Republic of Panama in developing its tourist trade. Making himself readily available to newsmen, the Governor frequently

explained his viewpoints about the Canal, its operation, maintenance, and

improvement, thus increasing understanding of the waterway and its importance to Panama, the Western

Hemisphere, and the whole Free World.

To help answer the increasing number of requests for information about

the Canal and the Canal Zone, he paved

the way for production of the documentary film described on the next page.

Although concerning himself with

many of the human relationships in- volved in operation and maintenance of the Canal, the retiring Governor also took an active role in dealing with the engineering problems and plans for improving the waterway.

This included the speeding of work

on widening Gaillard Cut from 300 to 500 feet, ordering studies aimed at modifying lock overhaul procedures

to reduce lock lane outages during

future overhauls, development of plans

for lighting the entrance channels to the waterway to improve nighttime use

of the Canal, and ordering comprehensive studies of the Canal's present and

future water requirements.

With a sense of the historic and

an appreciation for the engineering

achievements of leading figures during

the construction era, Governor Carter ordered three new tugs delivered to the Canal during his administration named

in honor of John F. Wallace, John

F. Stevens, and George W. Goethals,

the successive Chief Engineers in construction of the waterway.

On January 25, just 1 week less than

19 months after arriving on the Isthmus

to assume his duties as Governor of the Canal Zone and President of the Panama

Canal Company, the retiring Governor

left the Isthmus to return to the United

States and his new duties, which continue to be in the engineering and

administrative field in which he has

proved himself so capable.

. . . and

speeded task of

widening

Gaillard Cut.

February 2, 1962
Harold Fischer

adjusts camera

to shoot

Cut-widening

scene, as Bay State

Film President

Morton H. Read,

far right, and

A. Herbert Wells

watch.

Filming the Waterway

Movie will tell story of construction, operation, maintenance, and improvement.

CAMERAS have been whirring on the Isthmus the past few weeks as a photographic crew of the Bay State Film Productions, Inc., of Springfield,

Mass., started production work on a documentary film about the Panama

Canal and the Isthmus. The 16 mm. sound movie, in color, will have both English and Spanish

sound tracks and will take about 30 minutes showing time to tell the mechanics

of the Canal enterprise, as well as the

basic procedure in transiting ships from

one ocean to another. The film, a number of copies of which

will be available for showing on a loan

basis, will be aimed at presenting a complete and accurate story of the construction, operation, maintenance, and

improvement of the waterway. The first film of its kind ever produced under

auspices of the Canal organization, it will be used for more effective personnel

recruitment and orientation, as well as for informational uses outside the Canal

organization.

Shortly after the first of the year, representatives of Bay State Film Productions, Inc., arrived to start production work on the film. The group, headed

by Morton H. Read, president of the

film firm, included Harold M. Fischer,

production manager and the cameraman who shot "Assignment in America," and

A. Herbert Wells, assistant production manager. Edward R. Knowlton, script

writer, had made several trips to the Canal Zone and worked closelv with

the Panama Canal Information Office,

prior to the start of the actual shooting.

The film will examine all aspects of the Panama Canal operation in an educational account of the Canal construction, its purpose, use, and importance to the United States and the world. It will picture the economic, military, and

Carlos Montalban

moral reason for the United States' management and operation of the Canal,

while showing what the Panama Canal

and the United States are doing here. The film also will deal with the friendlv

relationships between the Canal Zone

and Panama.

The filmed story of the 50-mile long

international waterway connecting the

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans starts with

the efforts and failures of the two French

companies, and moves through the his- torical and geographical background to

a photographic actual transit. While virtually all the scenes will be

filmed on the Isthmus, the sequences of the documentary will be completed in the Springfield, Mass., laboratory of the

film company, and sound effects and

dialogue will be dubbed in. Actors George Ga\nes and Luis Van

Rooten, both of whom speak fluent Spanish, will share the dialogue. The

narrator will be Carlos Montalban, who

has been active for many years in the American theater, radio, and television

as actor, director, and producer.

Filming of the documentary was

approved by the Panama Canal Company Board of Directors, at the request

of Governor Carter. The contract with

Bav State Film Productions was signed

in May 1961. It is expected that the film

will be completed in about 6 months.

The Panama Canal Review
Chief HydrographerW.H. Esslinger and Robert D. Munson of Coast and Geodetic Survey with seismological instruments at Balboa Heights.

G. C. Burrell with the newlv-installed time-control mechanism.

CflTCHinG

the

SHflH€S

A SMALL ROOM in one corner of the basement

of the Administration Building at Balboa Heights

long has been the source of local information about

earthquakes which occur in this part of the world. Now, with installation of new and more sensitive equipment completed, that room is ready to become

part of a global earthquake recording network span- ning 6 continents and including a total of 125 stations

in 65 nations and islands by the end of this year. Robert D. Munson of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic

Survey and George C. Burrell of Texas Instruments,

[ni left the Isthmus in January after spending

approximately 2

x/2 months installing the new equip- ment and training representatives of the Canal's

al and Hydrographic Branch in its

1 mil maintenance.

V. hen installation of all of the 125 stations is complete id '.! i us year or early next, the Balboa Heights

station ill one link in a system which includes

stations ai sui h widely scattered points as the South

Pole, on Guadalcanal, in South Africa, Ecuador,

February 2, 1962
Turkey, Peru, New Britain, and 25

different locations in the United States. Not only is the equipment in the new

stations to be far more sensitive than

that previously in use, but an ultra- accurate radio time signal will keep the time recording devices of all the stations within a few fractions of a second of each other. The Summit Radio Station operated in the Canal Zone by the

U.S. Navy is to be used for transmitting

the time signals to some of the seis- mograph installations, including the one

at Balboa Heights.

The immediate information available

locally about earthquakes occurring

within a 1,000-mile radius of Balboa

Heights is not expected to be much

more extensive or accurate than in the

past, but Chief Hydrographer W. H.

Esslinger says it will make it somewhat

easier for him to provide the information. Most of the improved value to be

derived from the Balboa Heights station

will be in the correlation of information from the other stations which are part of the network. As the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey representatives

explained it, most present stations differ from one another to a greater or lesser degree. The differences from station to station have made it virtually impossible

to relate, correlate, and evaluate all the information coming from them to the Geophysics Section of the Coast and

Geodetic Survey Office in Washington.

With all the 125 new installations

to be identical, even to the point of the time registered on the recording sheets, the Geophysics Section personnel will be able to correlate information from all the stations and evaluate it much more

thoroughly, with consequent increases

in scientific knowledge about the earth. As explained by Capt. R. A. Earle,

Chief of the Geophysics Section of the Coast and Geodetic Survey's Office of Physical Sciences, "The extremely practical results hoped for from the system

are earthquake warnings and seismic ocean warnings. If we know when signi- ficant disturbances occur under the

sea, we can predict destructive ocean

waves." This, of course, could serve to provide coastal residents with warnings

of impending tidal waves and thus help

protect them. Eventually, Captain Earle,

said, "We hope to be able to predict to some degree of accuracy dangerous

earth shocks."

If and when that day arrives, the information collected in that basement room at Balboa Heights will have

played its part, just as it and a pre- decessor station established in the Zone

in 1908 have contributed for the past

half-century to the knowledge of earth- quakes and seismologic disturbances

gathered by scientists.

The sharp jagged

lines marked

the beginning of an

earthquake, while

the wavy lines below them were

recorded as the

effects were dying

down about an hour later.

Here's How It's Done

"I KNOW a seismograph records vibrations caused by an earthquake, but how

does it work?"

In a sense, this query raises much the same problem posed by Archimedes

when he made his remark about "Give me a place to stand, and I can move the

earth." The problem, in other words, is giving the main working part of a seis- mograph "a place to stand" where it will not be unduly affected by minor

vibrations, but can "see" any major

vibrations transmitted through the earth by shaking in response to them and

transmitting its movements to a separate

and also partially "neutralized" device

which records them. Because there isn't any practical

"place to stand" except the earth, all seismographs represent a compromise

with the ideal, achieving part of the desired goal through use of a pendulum

designed to utilize the inertia of matter

to capture, measure, magnify, and record

seismic vibrations. Through this design, it is possible to create an instrument in which the pendulum is relatively unaffected by

minor vibrations such as those created by human footfalls, but reacts in a predictable manner under the impact of seismic vibrations emanating from an

earthquake.

When the pendulum quivers from the tremors of a temblor, its movement is recorded via a beam of light directed onto a piece of photographic paper. The

effects are shown on the accompanying

sample from a recording sheet taken from the Balboa Heights seismograph

after it recorded an earthquake which

occurred last month in the Dominican

Republic.

During periods when there are no

earth vibrations, the light beam records

a straight line on the photographic paper which slowly revolves in front of

it. The wavy lines on the accompanying

sample are typical of those created by

earthquakes. Irregular lines are created by vibrations such as those made by a

train passing below the Administration

Building, by dynamite blasts on the Cut- widening project, or by other vibrations

of sufficient severity to be recorded by

the instruments. The trained seismologist has no difficulty distinguishing the movements caused by an earthquake

from those caused by other sources. By using several seismographic instru- ments placed in proper geographical

relationship to the earth, the various

vibrations emanating from an earth- quake are recorded simultaneously.

Using the recordings from the several

different machines, the seismologist then

is able to determine the direction from

which the vibrations came, the distance they have traveled before reaching the seismograph, and the severity of the earthquake at its point of origin. By

comparing data from a number of dif- ferent locations, much more extensive information can be accumulated.

John Milne, father of modern seis- mology, once defined seismology, as "the eye through which one may view

the innards of the earth." The new

equipment now operating at Balboa

Heights will serve as a better "eye" than

that formerly in use here, giving scientists a better look at the "innards of the earth" than ever before.

The Panama Canal Review
Robert E. Marshall, ex-Zonian turned author, in hunting attire.

f}im J\eeve3 Jronored

THE ATOMIC Energy Commission's Distinguished Service

Award has been presented to James (Jim) E. Reeves, formerly

of Diablo Heights during assignment to the Panama Canal on

design of the third locks now of Albuquerque, assistant manage for field operation in the commission's Albuquerque

operations office. Mr. Reeves and his family first resided in the Canal Zone

from 1938 to 1942. A few years later he returned as a consultant on sea-level canal studies and, more recently, he has

been a member of the Canal Zone Governor's advisory board on planning work for the proposed 24-hour outage locks overhaul project. He visited the Canal Zone late in 1960 in

relation to the latter project.

The Atomic Energy Commission's award to Mr. Reeves was

based primarily on his achievements in leadership and in management of field test programs basic to military and to peacetime applications or nuclear explosives during the period 1954-1960. Mr. Reeves is a native of Atkinson, 111., attending school

there and in Davenport, Iowa, before going to the University

of Iowa. After graduation, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers and, among his assignments, worked on development of the Mississippi River 9-foot channel, 1930-1938; the Panama Canal, design of the third locks, 1938-1942; report on Isthmian sea-level canal, 1946-1948; Greek rehabilitation

projects, 1949; and flood control, navigation, and military construction in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, 1949-1952.

Since July 1954, he has been assistant manager for Field

Operations (formerly Test Operations) in the Albuquerque

organization, responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling operations at Nevada Test Site; for planning, organizing, and coordinating AEC scientific and

pport phases of Enivvetok Proving Grounds Operations; for

lining, organizing, coordinating, executing, and controlling

lowshare field projects; and for planning, organizing, and

site selection activities under the seismic improve-

.m. He has served, additionally, as Manager,

N( i i Site organization.

a member of the American Society of Civil Engim > married and the father of three children, Ann,

foe, and Ton

Vale of Stranae Cat

A FORMER Zonian and onetime fireman on the old Ancon

has written what he believes to be the first book ever published

about a mvsterious and pugnacious member of the cat family

which Mexican legend, history, and present-day belief ascribes

to remote mountain districts of that country.

Robert E. Marshall, now a resident of Phoenix, Ariz., and

a brother to David R. Marshall of Margarita, has been an

ardent student and hunter of the wild members of the cat family ever since his days on the Isthmus.

In the preface to his book The Onza, Marshall says: "The research that has resulted in The Onza has been

sustained only secondarily by a desire to make known the unknown; the primary motivation can be ascribed more

accurately to an interest in the Felidae, or cat family, that dates back nearly 30 years, to the day in the jungle along Panama's great Chagres River that I sat on a stump and stared

into the huge golden eyes of a big black jaguar. I had been

sitting for more than 2 hours on that stump. . . . "Where el tigre came from I do not know. . . . He

suddenly appeared close by as if by magic, one forefoot half raised for the next soft step, his head half turned my way in surprise. How long we stared into each other's eyes before

I remembered the 25-35 Savage carbine I had with me, I do

not know. It lav across my lap, pointed in the general direction

of the beast. 1 held the rifle straight out at the black brute and pulled the trigger. The report shattered the spell. I jumped

to the ground, the hunter once more, but the beautiful cat was gone forever. . . .

"I was in my middle teens at the time of this experience,

and it made a deep impression on me. In the years that have

gone by since, my interest in the big cats has grown steadily

and I must own to an inordinate fascination for these beasts." The onza, though unrecognized by zoologists, is known to natives over a wide area of Mexico's great Sierra Madre

Occidental as a terrible cat the size of the puma, or mountain

lion. Existence of the animal first came to Mr. Marshall's

attention through a picture and brief explanation which he saw in an old copy of the Arizona Wildlife-Sportsman in the spring of 1954. From the description given, Mr. Marshall was sure the animal was not any commonlv known member of the cat

family, which he had studied for so long. Many hours

and days of library and museum research followed, with Mr. Marshall sifting hundreds of scraps of information in search of the truth. Several trips to Mexico were included in his study and, finally, in 1957, he took a year's leave of absence

from his job as a senior design draftsman with Motorola, Inc.,

in Phoenix, to pursue the chase for information about the

elusive animal. His book is the story of the search. The 47-year-old author's Isthmian background dates to 1916, when his parents brought him to the Canal Zone as a 2-year-old baby. During 2 years on the Isthmus his brother,

David, was born. The family left the Zone in 1918, but

returned in 1929 and the two brothers attended school in Cristobal. In 1933 and 1934, the future author of The Onza

worked for the Army Signal Corps as a motorboat operator on Gatun Lake. He then signed on as a fireman for the old Buenaventura for 5 months, later joining the Ancon for 9 months, at the end of which time he left the ship in New

York. That was in May 1936 and he has not visited the Zone since, but is planning to do so within the next couple

of years. His mother, Mrs. Irene Houston Marshall, also lives

in Phoenix.

10 February 2, 1962
David J. Markun receives file from Secretary Grayce L. Nadeau during meeting with Florencio Arosemena F., and Theodore P. Daly.

LEGAL GUIDES

Office of General Counsel serves Company Government as private

attorneys serve individual clients.

"SEND THIS to the General Counsel

to have the legal aspects checked,

please."

The man speaking was Marine Bureau

Director Richard G. Jack, but it could

have been any of his fellow bureau

directors or other top executives of the Company Government in need of

official legal advice or guidance.

Captain Jack wanted a legal review

made of a proposed regulation about

private skindiving in the Panama Canal

channel, but the questions submitted to the Office of the General Counsel are by

no means limited to matters directly associated with the waterway and its operation.

During a single day recently, the

office was called upon to ( 1) argue a motion in a case pending against the Company in the Canal Zone District Court; (2) draft a proposed regulation

governing home-leave travel allowances;

(3) review the provisions of a contract

on which the Engineering and Construction Bureau was preparing to seek

bids; (4) recommend a course of action involving a financial claim against the Company which had been presented to the Claims Branch; (5) advise whether

an employee's damage claim against the Company was legally allowable; and

(6) represent the Company at an evening marine-accident investigation held by the Canal Zone Board of Inspectors in regard to a ship mishap which

occurred that day in the Canal. These requests are fairly typical of the varied matters which come to the

Office of the General Counsel for

legal review. They all are dealt with

on the top floor of the Administration

Building at Balboa Heights, where the

legal experts have their offices. David f. Markun, a 39-year-old

Minnesotan, who has been employed

by the Canal organization since October

1948, is General Counsel, having been

appointed to that position on April 1, 1960. His chief associate is Theodore

P. Dalv, Assistant General Counsel, a

36-year-old New Yorker. A graduate

of St. John's University in Brooklyn, Mr. Dalv joined the Canal organization

in January 1957 as admiralty trial attorney, having previously been asso- ciated with an admiralty law firm in New York Citv. He was named to his present position in April 1960. Mr. Markun received his law degree

in 1948 from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he served as law clerk in his senior year to Justice

F. T. Gallagher of the Minnesota

Supreme Court. Fulltime attorney members of the

office staff, in addition to Mr. Markun

and Mr. Daly, are: John A. Cooper,

Dwight A. McKabney, W. Allen

Sanders, Whitney E. Smith, and Walter

T. Williams. Florencio Arosemena F., son of a former Panama president and

The Panama Canal Review 11
a practicing attorney in the Republic

for more than 40 years, is employed by

the office on a retainer basis to represent

the Company in litigation in Panama

and to advise on questions of Panamanian law which arise from time to

time. Having been associated with the Panama Canal Company and its predecessor, the Panama Railroad Company, since 1920, Mr. Arosemena is the "dean" of the legal staff. The General Counsel is the official

legal adviser of the Governor President

and other Company Government officials and, contrary to the belief held by

an occasional employee facing personal

legal problems, attorneys on his staff are not authorized to practice privately and. therefore, cannot advise the occasional employee who seeks such

legal guidance.

In addition to providing official legal

advice and representing the Company

in the Courts and before administrative

boards, the General Counsel also pre- pares legislative proposals for submission to Congress, drafts a wide variety

of Canal Zone regulations having the

force and effect of law, and studies bills introduced in Congress which might

affect operations of the Panama Canal

Companv or Canal Zone Government,

then alert the officials concerned.

Preparation of a bill to revise the Canal Zone Code has been the most

significant work in the field of proposed

legislation during the past 2 years. The

revision, prepared under Congressional

authority to revise and codify the Code, was introduced in the House on June 5, 1961. The revision was prepared by a

firm of law revisers under the Governor's

general direction, with the aid of an

advisory committee on which Markun

served as chairman and Sanders as secretary. A brief listing of proposed

changes of general interest included in

John A. Cooper

indicates section of

contract under

discussion

with

Whitney E. Smith

the proposed new Code is contained

elsewhere with this article. A major change in the Code would

be to adopt Stateside Federal improve- ments designed to streamline legal

administration by providing for use of the Federal Rules of Procedure, both

civil and criminal, developed since 1948

and prescribed by the U.S. Supreme

Court. The Rules are designed to

facilitate introduction and discovery of evidence.

Under the new rules, evidence in the hands of the opposing parties must be

disclosed on demand. This tends to eliminate surprise as a factor in a civil

suit. Also, the Rules encourage pre-trial settlements. In the Canal Zone, the District Court has had pre-trial conferences

in major civil cases for a number of years, as a matter of Court-ordered

practice.

Legislation prepared by the office

Proposed Changes in Code

Maximum fine for driving while intoxi- cated increased from SI 00 to $500, and

the maximum term of imprisonment

increased from 30 to 90 days.

New sections provide that whoever

operates a motor vehicle shall be deemed

to have given consent to a chemical test or tests to determine the alcoholic con-

!( nl of his blood. Anyone refusing to permit the testing may have his license

or permit to drive revoked for 1 year. A new section requires that local regulations which specify criminal

ies and are not published in the Federal Register, such as traffic regulations, must be published in one or more

of the dail) new spapers having a general

circulation in the Canal Zone before becoming effective. The Governor is given authority to issue fishing and swimming regulations

which have the force and effect of law and could carry a penalty of a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment

for not more than 30 days, or both.

Procedure is modernized for hospitalization of the mentally ill and for deter- mination of the mental competency of defendants in criminal actions.

Probation procedure is improved and

parole is authorized, along with authority for appointment of a probation and

parole officer.

during recent months, in addition to the work done on revising the Canal Zone

Code, has included the measure which

recently was enacted to prevent garnishment of wages owed to Company

employees.

A pending bill (H.R. 9351) in the

present Congress would provide for issuing certificates of U.S. citizenship in the Canal Zone to certain persons born

in the Canal Zone or the Republic of Panama who are U.S. citizens at birth under U.S. law. At the present time

the certificates of citizenship must be

obtained at a U.S. Immigration Office and before an immigration officer in the United States. The proposed bill would authorize an immigration officer

to come to the Canal Zone periodically

to issue certificates here. One of the major and more absorbing

tasks of the Office of the General

Counsel is to defend the Company in the Canal Zone District Court in suits arising out of accidents to vessels in the Panama Canal. The trial of these cases

is assigned to one attorney, but any or

all of the legal staff may be called upon

to contribute to the solution of the complex and diverse legal problems

which these suits involve. Mr. Daly's

background makes him the specialist in these cases. His principal assistant, until

his recent resignation, was Paul Dunn.

The Company became suable in vessel-accident cases in 1951 by Act of Congress. Prior to 1951. the Canal

authorities were not suable for injuries

to vessels except for accidents occurring

in the "locks." When a vessel goes aground in the

12 February 2, 1962
Canal or strikes one of the rocky banks

of Gaillard Cut, the resulting damages

are usually substantial, running typically from' 8100,000 to §500,000. It is often difficult to determine just why a vessel leaves her ordered course, or "takes a sheer." Many vessels are

inclined to become balkv when they get

into confined waters. Complicating the picture is the fact that, although Canal

personnel have control of the navigation of the vessel and issue the necessary

orders, it is the ship's crew and equipment which are called upon to execute

the orders. Fortunately, the General Counsel's

start has on call willing and able experts

in the Company Government to pro- vide advice and to offer testimony on

the many technical questions that arise

in the defense of these suits. Experts in the fields of piloting, towing, steering

gears, propulsion engines, ship design,

meteorology and hydrology, handwriting and document analysis, are

called upon in almost every case. The

Company has been absolved of blame

in five of the six vessel-accident cases which have been tried to date in the

District Court. Because of the diverse activities of the Company Government each staff attorney must be competent to handle a wide variety of legal problems, but each

tends to have one or more specialties in which he is regarded as the office expert. Mr. Cooper. 43-year-old Chicagoan,

who was with the Department of Justice in Washington before joining the Canal organization in 1954, specializes

in contracts, reviewing all major conMrs. Marion Mallory hands additional law book to W.A.Sanders as he prepares to give dictation to Mrs. Thora Mahoney about a proposed regulation referred to him for legal evaluation.

tract proposals and participating in discussions relative to any major change

orders after contracts have been signed.

Dwight McKabney, 40-year-old Illi- nois native, who served with the Canal

organization in two previous tours with

the Personnel Bureau, Electrical Division, and the Office of the Comptroller,

before returning as an attorney in 1954,

handles most wage and personnel

matters, including litigation in those

fields. W, Allen Sanders, 28-year-old Alaba- man, who joined the Canal organization

in 1957 through the Justice Department

Honor Program, which was limited to

Dwight A. McKabney

holds door for

Walter T. Williams

as they enter

Mr. Markun's

office for a meeting.

law school graduates who ranked in the top 10 percent of their law school graduating class, has major responsibility in the field of legislation and in drafting various regulations.

The two most recent additions to the

staff are Whitnev E. Smith, 46-vear-okl

native of Utica, N.Y., and Walter

T. Williams, 26-year old Indianan. Mr. Smith, who had served as real estate officer for the Panama Area Engineer, Army Corps of Engineers, before joining the Canal organization in December 1960, handles a variety of general legal matters including contracts and procurement. Mr. Williams,

who was an attorney-examiner in the

Division of Corporate Finance of the

Securities and Exchange Commission,

joined the Canal enterprise in September 1961 and is assigned general legal matters covering many areas. Much of the effort of the General

Counsel and his staff is directed toward

the end that the Comptroller General

in his annual audits of the Panama

Canal Company and the Canal Zone

Government will give both agencies

clean bills of health in finding all of

their activities to have been conducted

in conformity with law.

In a broader sense, however, the

office serves as part of the staff "team"

that assists the Governor President in making his day-to-day decisions in administering the two Canal agencies.

In most respects the Office of General

Counsel serves its "client" in much the same manner as individual attorneys

serve their private clients—advising

them, defending them, and seeking to enforce legal rights through judicial process.
Keeping

the Record

Straight

Isthmian Historical Society is

interested in the past, while

retaining interest in today's

events . . all part of local lore.

Loron B. Burnham, onetime president of Society, interviews Miss Aminta Melendez and R. D. Prescott about Panama revolution.

WHETHER it's ascertaining the origin

of place names in Panama and the Zone,

studying the Zone's educational system

during the construction era, discussing

landmarks in Panama, or any one of dozens of other historical subjects deal- ing with the Isthmus, there's a good

chance it has been discussed by the Isthmian Historical Society.

This organization, founded early in 1954 as the Isthmus prepared for the Goethals Memorial Dedication program,

has interests extending back to the days when Columbus anchored off the

Atlantic shoreline and also up to yesterday evening's headlines. Any historical

error about the Isthmus which is made

public soon results in some member of the Society calling attention to it and

"keeping the record straight."

A recent instance of this penchant for

historical accuracy concerned the resignation of Governor Carter. When the Governor's plans were announced early

in January, newspaper articles stated he was the first Governor of the Zone ever

to resign. Society member and amateur

historian Fred de V. Sill, a retired Canal

engineer, soon was passing along the word that a number of Governors had

resigned before their terms expired,

including Col. George W. Goethals.

I hief Engineer during construction of

tin waterway, and first Governor of the Zone.

not too important, perhaps,"

said with a smile, "but I like to d kept straight when it's *n do SO."

I < ( lormack, one of the

ind first president of the S tins the lounding of

the "i gari ion in this way:

"I read in the paper that there

were 200 'oldtimers' on the Isthmus

and approximately that number were

expected to arrive from the United

States to attend the (Goethals Memorial

Dedication) ceremony. ... I also had

read an article by C. R. Vosburg . . . in the Star h Herald, in which the writer deplored the fact that there was no Historical Society. ... I called a meeting

of all interested persons for what

I hoped would be the beginning of such

a society."

The meeting called by Mrs. McCormack was held on April 7, 1954, and

regular meetings of the organization

have been held continuously since that

time, usually one each month. The

meetings have included discussions on

a wide variety of subjects: Operations

of YMCAs in the Zone during the construction era, the history of what now is Gorgas Hospital, the events of November 3 and 4, 1903, which led to Panama's independence from Colombia,

interviews with employees of the

construction era, and other subjects.

The meetings are open to the general

public. They usually are held in the ballroom of the Tivoii Guest House and

the dollar a vear dues paid by each

member are used to pay for a microphone for speakers and other program

participants. The main objects of the

Society, as of similar organizations, are

to stimulate a greater love for history,

to learn more about local history, and

to preserve what is learned for those who may be interested in later years. To achieve the latter goal, a file "1 pictures, recordings, transcriptions, and

clippings have been preserved by the

Society and scrapbooks of each year's

activities are on file with the Canal

Zone Library.

Among those who have participated

in the programs presented by the Soci- etv are'Dr. Ricardo J. Alfaro, three times President of Panama and now a

jurist on the International Court of Justice at The Hague; Juan Antonio Justo, former archivist of Panama; A. V. McGeachy, Editor Emeritus of the

Start- Herald; Eugene Lombard, former

Executive Secretary of the Panama

Canal; Miss Aminta Melendez, heroine

of Panamanian independence, who car- ried a message across the Isthmus on the Panama Railroad advising Panama City

leaders of the revolution that a detach- ment of Colombian troops would be

detained in Colon; Richard D. Prescott, railroad telegrapher who read messages

sent and received between the two sides of the Isthmus during the revolution; John Easter Minter, author of The

Chagres; and many others. Those who have served as president

of the Society, in addition to Mrs. McCormack, are the Reverend Mainert

J. Peterson, Otis Myers, Donald Mussel- man, Loron B. Burnham, Cornelius S. McCormack, and Charles R. Bowen,

who now is serving. Until this year, when he finallv accepted the post of president. Dean Roger C. Hackett of the Canal Zone Junior College served

several vears as vice president.

Even though he is preparing to leave

the Isthmus soon, Dean Hackett still

is active in directing work on a major

current project of the Society—deter- mining the origin and meaning of the names of Isthmian provinces, rivers,

cities, towns, mountains, lakes, streets, and other place names. Other members

pursue their fields of interest, developing new insights into the rich history of the Isthmus and keeping the record straight.

14 February 2, 1962
jfapK

Dean Roger C. Hackett, president of Isthmian Historical Society,

and Juan Ehrman, Panama businessman and fellow Society member,

examine flags of Panama and United States along Zone portion of parade route for Panama's Flag Day festivities in November 1961.

Mrs. Amy McCormack, first president of Society, with former Canal

Executive Secretary Eugene Lombard, left, and jurist and former Panama President Dr. Ricardo J. Alfaro, both honorary members.

Massive Orion Hunter barely fit between walls of 100-foot wide locks

as she transited waterway under able guidance of 3 Canal pilots. " Congratulations

and Well Done"

A "WELL DONE" for officials and employees of the Panama

Canal Company in connection with the January transit of the huge supertanker Orion Hunter was received by Governor

Carter from the owners of the vessel a few days after the transit. The cable, sent to the Governor from the Orion Shipping

& Trading Co. offices in New York, said, "Owners of the Orion Hunter express their appreciation and profound thanks

to the Panama Canal Company, its officers, and employees

for directing the successful and expeditious transit of the Orion Hunter on January 4. Congratulations and well done,"

the message concluded.

The Orion Hunter, largest commercial vessel ever to transit the Canal, except for the old German passenger liner Bremen,

made the southbound trip last month on her maiden voyage

from the east coast to Long Beach, Calif. The ship measures 860 feet in length, has a 104-foot beam,

and a tropical fresh-water draft of 45 feet and QVz inches. With a Panama Canal net tonnage of 33,829 tons, the Orion Hunter paid $30,446.10 in tolls, the highest ever collected from a commercial vessel. The supertanker arrived at Cristobal January 4 and, with

three Panama Canal pilots aboard, started the southbound

transit at 6:40 a.m. The ship made the trip without incident and left Miraflores Locks shortly after 3 p.m. The entire transit of Canal waters took 11 hours and 11 minutes. United Fruit Co. served as agent for the ship at the Canal.

The Panama Canal Review 15
- -

.} & General Wilson at Gorgas Hospital project with Engineering and Construction Bureau

Director Matthew C. Harrison, far left. Canal engineers, and others in tour party.

Chief 0/ LnyineerS ViJitJ 3$tnmuA

FOR MANY YEARS, the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers has played a major

role in the engineering achievement

represented by the Panama Canal, with

every Governor of the Canal Zone

having been selected from the officers of the Corps. Many other high officials of the waterway also are drawn from

the Corps.

It was appropriate, therefore, that the Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Walter K.

Wilson, Jr., should visit the Canal Zone

to view current improvement projects.

1 al Wilson arrived on the Isthmus

) for a 3-day stay which

isits to the Thatcher Ferry

BridL, t, the Gorgas Hospital

construction project, and the La Boca

housing area.

The Canal Zone Post, Society of American Military Engineers, honored

General Wilson with a dinner dance at the Fort Amador Officers' Open Mess

and heard a brief talk by the visitor. General Wilson was accompanied to the Isthmus by Brig. Gen. H. A. Morris,

Division Engineer of the South Atlantic

Division, Corps of Engineers, Atlanta; C. P. Lindner and L. M. Stephenson of the South Atlantic Division office; Col. Julian Sollohub. District Engineer,

Jacksonville. Fla., and J. J. Koperski,

F. E. Biehn, and E. C. Brown of that office. During his stay on the Isthmus, General Wilson was a guest of Governor

Carter.

Worth

studying, at Company Lxpenie

THE TUITION Refund Program sponsored by the Canal organization to enable Company Government employees to receive refunds of their

tuition for off-duty studies that will help

them in their work, has been extended

to cover employees off the Isthmus, as well as those living and working on the Isthmus. Thus, regular employees in New

Orleans, Washington, and Tokvo now

may take night courses and correspond- ence stud) under Company, Government

sponsorship.

The Tuition Refund Program, al- though less than 18 months old, has proved very popular among Isthmian

employees. Records of the Personnel

Bureau's Employee Development Staff show that 66 employees have completed 95 courses and received a total of $2,681 in refunds, or an average of about S28 per couurse. Of the courses, 4 were taken by

correspondence, while the remaining 91

have been night classes in the Canal

Zone Junior College and local facilities of Florida State University. Of the 66 employees participating, 20 non-U. S. citizens have completed 29 courses and

46 U.S. citizens have completed 66. Approximately one-third of the participants took more than one course. Fourteen took two; four studied three, one employee took four courses, and

one took five. The five-course champion

is James L. Rinehart of the Industrial Division, who has been going to Florida

State University night classes almost

continuously, studying Spanish and

organization and management.

As of December 31, 1961, 15 courses were being studied. Company Government employees are good students. Employee Development

Staff records show that of the 95 courses completed, 50 final grades of A were

achieved; 31 B's were scored; and

14 showed final grades of C. Any employee may apply to his bureau director for Tuition Refund

Program sponsorship if he believes a course of off-duty study—either night

classes or bv correspondence—will help

him in his work. To qualify for the program, the employee's bureau director and the Personnel Director both must

certify that the proposed study is directlv related to the present work of the employee and will contribute to more

effective job performance.

Application must be made on Form

9S4, "Agreement for Tuition Refund."

The signatures of the two directors must

16 Ff.hritahy 2, 1962
Knowing

be obtained in advance of the first instructional session of a resident class or before the employee orders a cor- respondence course or signs a contract

or pays any money for it.

If these requirements are met, refund

of full tuition and registration fees, together with laboratory fees, if any, ma}' be made after the employee completes the course satisfactorily and pro- vides proof of grade and payment of the original fees. Satisfactory completion in most schools is represented by

a final grade of A, B, or C.

Carnival Jlag Jlging

THE BLUE-AND-WHITE Carnival

flag is flying in the Canal Zone, symbolic

of the festivities planned for the celebration of the Carnival of the Americas on March 3, 4, 5, and 6. Among those participating in the

Carnival flag raising in Balboa on Jan- uary 19 were Governor Carter, Governordesignate Bobert J. Fleming, Jr., Pan- ama Canal Company Board Chairman

Stephen Ailes, and a distinguished company of Carnival queens, the Carnival

junta, and musicians.

Special Jund Jbrive

FEBBUABY 12 through April 2 is the period set for on-the-job solicitation of funds for National Health Agencies and

International Voluntary Agencies in the Canal Zone, it has been jointly announced

bv the civilian and military organizations of the Federal Government in the Zone. No goal has been established for any

participating agency or for the group,

the announcement said, and each

agency seeking funds through the campaign is to supplv its own campaign

material. The Keymvn of the Governor's Council for Voluntary Giving

will conduct the campaign within the Company Government.

Uoo J3ig, Uoo (Big

LAUNCHING of the largest merchant

ship ever built in the United States has added another vessel to the growing

list of those unable to transit the Isth- mian waterway. The tanker Manhattan,

christened in the Bethlehem Steel Co.'s East Boston yard on January 10, is 940 feet long and has a beam of 132 feet, 22 feet more than the width of the Panama Canal locks. With a deep loaded

draft of 49 feet, sh? will be unable to go through the Suez Canal with a full cargo, but will be able to use that waterway when only partially loaded.

J\few J^pcomotiveA ZJedted at Qatun

THE OLD and the new Panama Canal

towing locomotives are shown standing

end-to-end on the east wall of Gatun

Locks as tests were begun on the first

six of the new Japanese-built machines

received during January by the Panama

Canal Company. Checking the new

"mules" through their paces are two

representatives of Mitsubishi Shiji

Kaisha, Ltd., of Tokyo. Keisaku Sugi

and Mitsuo Kubota came to the Isthmus

from Tokyo and will remain here during

the testing period.

The first three of the six machines were shipped here aboard the Pioneer

Myth and unloaded directly onto the

east wall return tracks at Gatun Locks. The second three arrived here aboard

the Pioneer Main 2 weeks later and were set up on the center wall at Gatun. While the engineers and Japanese

inspectors prepared the new locomotives for their task of towing ships

through the locks, a training program

was started for all those who will have

anything to do with operating and

maintining the new "mules." Bobert

Blair, wireman lock operator, and Felix Karpinski, machinist lock operator, who

received instruction on the maintenance

and operation of the machines in Japan,

are taking part in this program.

Mew Port Captain on Jbutg

THE NEW CAPTAIN of the Port of

Cristobal, Capt. E. D. Ring, USN.,

arrived on the Isthmus during January

and assumed his new duties. A native of Passport, 111., Captain

Ring has been a U.S. Navy officer since 1941. He is a veteran of World War II, widi service in both the Adantic and

Pacific Theaters and came to the Isth- mus from the Atlantic Fleet, where he

had been on duty as Commander of Destrover Division 162. The new port captain is a graduate

of Illinois State Normal University and

completed naval officers training at Northwest. in University. In addition to his duties as port captain he also wi'l serve as a member of the Board of Local Inspectors.

The Panama Canal Beview 17
SAFETY

The Quick

and

The Dead

THERE IS an all-important difference between the quick and the dead, and

very often what makes the difference is a seat belt. The findings of Cornell

University's Automotive Crash Injury

Research confirm this. Two groups of accidents were compared.

In the group without belts, the fre- quency of serious injury was high, while

among those with seat belts it was low. The study shows that people with seat

belts are 35 to 60 percent safer than

people without seat belts. What does this mean in terms of human life? Cornell University scientists estimate that seat belts, if widely

used by the motoring public, could

save 5,000 lives each year merely by

holding people inside the car in case

of an accident. To assist in bringing these facts to the attention of employees and their

families, the Safety Branch of the Company/Government has arranged for

local showing to the general public a motion picture made by the University of Southern California of actual

test crashes using dummy passengers wired up to sensitive electronic recording devices to indicate injuries sustained

or avoided, depending upon whether or not the dummy passengers were held

in the cars by safety belts. The first showing of the film was at the Balboa

Theater over the January 13-15 weekend. It will be shown elsewhere as

facilities and opportunities permit. At present, all Motor Transportation

Division sedans regularly assigned to transisthmian travel are equipped with

seat belts, as are all Police Division

patrol cars. Since the installation in these vehicles, several instances have

been reported in which injury to pas- sengers has been avoided because seat

belts held passengers in place during

sudden crash stops. In cooperation with the Supply and

Community Service Bureau and the Motor Transportation Division, arrange- ments have been made to make seat

belts in various colors available for pur- chase al retail stores and, if desired,

installed by Motor Transportation Division at minimum cost both for purchase

and installation.

LOVING CARE IS NEEDED

when you're driving, too!

There are so many ways to express your love

for a child— amuse him. caress him. understand

him. protect him from hurt and harm

Because drivers kill and cripple more children than any disease, a car is potentially one of the most dangerous places your child can ever be. So

protect him whenever he is in the car— with a

seat belt.

If everv car owner in America had seat belts in

his car — and used them— we could reduce severe

i njuries by one-third, deaths by 5.000 a year !

It's terribly important to drive with loving

care, always. And to support strict law endorce- ment in your town, for where laws are strictly enforced, accidents and deaths go down. But for a parent, it's most important of all to protect your loved ones — and yourself — by relying on

seat belts.

I'uhlnhrd In *me tires, in cooperation with The Advertising Council and the Xatmnal Safety Council —ACCIDENTSFOR

THIS MONTH

AND

THIS YEAR

DECEMBER

ALU UNITS

YEAR TO DATE

FIRST AID

CASES

*61 "60 259 250

3547(397) 2909

DISABLING

INJURIES

'61 '60 4 II

131(4) 142

DAYS

LOST

•61 '60 410 262

13299(58)15291

( ) Locks Overhaul Injuries included In total.

18 February 2, 1962
ANNIVERSARIES

(On the basis of total Federal Service)

ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

Samuel A. Muir

Laborer Cleaner SUPPLY AND COMMU,

SERVICE BUREA

John C. DeYoung

Inspector, Gas Plant Products George P. Hinds

Retail Store Supervisor Ivan S. Brown

Meat Cutter

Fitz O. Jordan Laborer Cleaner MARINE BUREA1

Enrique E. Dudlev

Clerk Edgar R. Lawrence

Leader Boatman

OFFICE OF THE

COMPTROLLER

Florence M. Peterson Accounting Assistant ENGINEERING AND

CONSTRUCTION BUREAU

cas Landecho

Surveying Aid

'ertram M. Ramsey

Clerk Daniel Orozco Toolroom Attendant TRANSPOBTATION AND

TERMINALS BUREAU

James A. Brooks

Supervisory Cargo Officer

INTERNAL SECURITY

OFFICE

Frank Wilder

Security Specialist

SAFETY BRANCH

Warren H. Smith

Chief EXECUTIVE PLANNING

STAFF

Thelma H. Bull

Statistical Assistant ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

George G. Graffman

Passenger Traffic Clerk

Sylvia McKayBindery Worker

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Frank Koenig

Window Clerk

Clara O. Wattley

Teacher, Junior High, Latin American Schools ENGINEEBING AND

CONSTRUCTION BUREAU

Howard B. Harrison Lead Foreman, Barge

Maintenance

Tomas A. Molleda

Civil Engineering Draftsman

Jack W. Rocker

Floating Crane Engineer

Alfred T. Marsh

Electrician Vicente Acosta

YVharfbuilder Manuel Gonzalez

Heavy Laborer

Silvestre Aviles Boatman

Walter Sinckler General Helper

Jesus Argueta

Seaman

Simon B. Jones

Electrician E. A. Jorgensen

Clerk Typist

Jacinto Sanchez

Floating Plant Oiler HEALTH BUREAU

Agnes C. Meade

Clerk Theophilus N. Shaw

Cook

A. M. McCormack

Dental Laboratory

Technician

Federico MurrayMedical Technician

Jose Bermiidez

Pharmacy Helper

Eric W. McDonald

Medical Aid, Orthopedics

George M. Williamson

Patient Food Service Attendant

Teresa Lawrence Cook

MABINE BUREAU

Harry T. Lacy

Master, Towboat or Ferry- James W. Johnson

Launch Operator

Clyde W. Archer Deckhand

Robert J. Roy

Lock Operator Machinist Bernabe Garay

Operator

Edward J. Lucas

Accountant

Adelaide M. Seldon Accounting Assistant A. B. Hendricks

Systems Accountant Rolando Nisbeth Bookeeping Machine

Operator

SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY

SERVICE BUREAU

Norman N. Bonnick

Lead Foreman, Grounds

Oswald A. Smith

Stock Control Clerk

Buster Brown

Dry Cleaning Presser

Eliza W. Robinson Counter Attendant

Gifford Holmes

Stockman

Harold Johnson

Clerk Ruth Williams

Sales Section, Retail Store Zacarias Garibaldi Heavy Laborer

Fredrico B. Jones Dry Cleaning Presser Wilford N. Mitchell Cook

Olive Archer Counter Attendant

Geraldine L. Watson

Storekeeping Clerk Verona M. Pascal

Utility Worker

Teodoro Luna

Gardener

George S. McCullough

Lead Foreman

Maintenanceman

Calvin A. Waterman

Clerk Gregoria Basquez

Counter Attendant Richard Hogan

Cook

Gladvs M. Duncan

Sales Clerk Elwood G. Bissett Supervisory Merchandise

Management Officer Jorge Lugardo

Laborer Cleaner Marcus J. Williams

Storekeeping Clerk TRANSPORTATION AND

TERMINALS BUREAU

M. L. Canavaggio

Cargo Control Clerk Kenneth E. Licorish Automotive Equipment

Serviceman

Pedro Aguilar

Truck Driver

Jorge Campbell

Helper Automotive Machinist William H. Foster

Clerk- Edwin Paul Carson

Clerk

Julio H. Ortega

Heavy Laborer Leroy P. Marsh

Liquid Fuels Dispatcher

The Panama Canal Review 19
PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

December 5 through January 5

EMPLOYEES who were promoted or transferred between December 10 and

January 10 are listed below. Withingrade promotions and job reclassifica- tions are not listed. OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL

Grayce L. Nadeau, from Legal Clerk. Stenography, to Legal Clerical Assistant, Stenography.

Thora S. Mahoney, from Clerk-Stenographer, to Legal Clerical Assistant. ADMINISTRATIVE RRANCH

Stanley J. Crossman, from Printing and

Publications Clerk, to Hand Compositor,

Printing Plant, Mount Hope.

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Lew C. Hilzinger, from Window Clerk, to Clerk-in-Charge, Window Services, Cristobal, Postal Division. Police Division Russel T. Billison, Alexander R. Geddie,

Ralph C. Stone, from Police Private to Police Sergeant. Paul V. Rozmeski, from Guard, Locks Division, to Police Private. Walton S. Wilson, from Sales Clerk, Supply

Division, to Police Private. Division of Schools Helen M. Adams, from Substitute Teacher,

to Elementary and Secondary School

Teacher. Ruth H. Amedee, from Substitute Teacher,

Latin American Schools, to Elementary

Teacher, Latin American Schools. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Stanley E. Hall, from Clerk Checker, Terminals Division, to Mail and File Clerk, General Audit Division. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Victor M. Lopez, from Mechanical Engineering Draftsman to General Engineering Draftsman, Engineering Division. Shirley K. Finlason, from Supervisory

Clerk, Stenography, to Clerical Assistant, Contract and Inspection Division. Dredging Division Norval E. McGregor, from Dipper Dredge

Engineer, to Chief Engineer, Towboat

or Ferry. George W. Thompson, Jr., from Dipper

Dredge Engineer, to Salvage Towboat

Engineer.

Ceorge A. McArthur, from Mechanical Engineer, to General Mechanical Engineer. Ricardo A. Honeywell, from Mess Attendant, to Clerk. Gladstone C. Bellamy, from Seaman, to Floating Plant Oiler. Ines Albeo, from Debris Control Winchman, to Debris Control Leader. DaCosta Mahon, from Floating Plant Fire- man, to Floating Plant Water Tender. Watford N. Warren, from Floating Plant Winer, to Floating Plant Water Tender.

Alfred Worrell, from Floating Plant Wiper,

to Floating Plant Fireman.

William II. Fergus, from Seaman, to Float- Plant-Boom Oiler. Edward Shuffler, from Launch Seaman, to Launch Operator.

Joseph N. Goddard, from Seaman, to

tder Seaman.

Santiago Lopez, from Floating Plant- Boom Oiler, to Leader Seaman.

Narciso Gomez, from Boatman, to Launch

Seaman. Venancio Arauz, from Boatman, to Seaman. George W. Lambert, from Heavy Laborer,

to Seaman.

Juan S. Diaz, from General Helper, to Navigational Aid Worker.

Sotero Garcia, from Laborer, to Boatman.

Julian Martinez, from Grounds Mainte- nance Equipment Operator, Community

Services Division, to Boatman.

Ernesto F. Scott, from Utility Worker,

Supply Division, to Mess Attendant.

Delfin Saavedra, from Railroad Trackman,

Railroad Division, to Heavy Laborer.

Electrical Division Carl R. Newhard, from Lead Foreman

Central Office Repairman, to Communications Management Officer. Theodore J. Wilber, from Supervisory

Administrative Services Assistant, to Administrative Services Assistant. Glenn H. Burdick, from Office Services Supervisor, to Supervisory Administrative Services Assistant. Joseph F. Green, Domingo D. Hinds, Paul W. Kramer, Jr., Earl H. Turner, from

Marine Machinist, Industrial Division,

to Shift Engineer, Mechanical.

Jack Saltzman, from Electrician, to Electrical Test Operator-Foreman. Walter E. Blenman, from Nursing Assistant, Gorgas Hospital, to Meteorological

Aid. William Powell, Henry J. Wallace, from

Helper Machinist, Industrial Division, to Helper Maintenance Machinist. George Griffith, from Heavy Laborer, to Helper Electrician. Maintenance Division Robert B. Grier, from Lock Operator

Machinist, Locks Division, to Mainte- nance Machinist. Guillermo C. Morales, Rupert L. White,

Maintenance Painter, from Industrial Division. Luis Cuentas, from General Helper, to Cement Finisher. Carlos Cedeiio, from Laborer, Community

Services Division, to Heavy Laborer. HEALTH BUREAU

Gorgas Hospital

Maxine M. Ince, Shirley C. Truitt, Sue W.

Warner, from Staff Nurse, to Staff Nurse, Medicine and Surgery. Carlos Ramirez, from Latoratory Helper,

to Autopsy Assistant. Pablo E. Perez, from Hospital Laborer, to Laboratory Helper. Corozal Hospital Marva L. Carter, from Sales Clerk, Supply

Division, to Nursing Assistant, Psychiatry.

Leroy A. Alleyne, from Laborer, Supply

Division, to Nursing Assistant, Psychiatry. Constance E. Skeete, from Clerk, to Nursing Assistant, Psychiatry. Louis E. Sprauve, from Clerk Checker,

Terminals Division, to Nursing Assistant, Psychiatry.

Joseph Rochester, from Nursing Assistant, Psychiatry, to Occupational Therapy

Assistant. Enrique R. Richards, from Nursing Assistant, Psychiatry, to Recreation Assistant. Palo Seco Leprosarium

John R. Thomson, from Office Services

Clerk, to Hospital Administrative Officer.

Marie V. Weber, from Staff Nurse, Leprosy,

to Nurse Supervisor, Leprosy.

Victor Smith, from Laborer Cleaner, Supply

Division, to Nursing Assistant, Leprosy. Jerome A. Phillips, from Laborer Cleaner,

Supply Division, to Kitchen Attendant. MARINE BUREAU

Norman J. Clarke, from Laborer Cleaner,

to Helper Shipwright, Industrial Division. Beresford F. Baxter, Alfred E. Bowen,

Lincoln B. Boyce, Larry L. Dick, Wilfred

E. Lindo, Adrington R. Morrison, Sebastian R. Navarro, Ruben A. Padmore,

Edgard U. Petit, Elton H. Sealey, Edgar

E. Taylor, from Teletypist, to Marine

Traffic Clerk, Navigation Division. Locks Division June A. Stevenson, from Clerk-Typist, to Typing Secretary, Office of the Chief. Magin L. Navarrete, from Helper Lock

Operator, to Leader Boatman. John E. Winklosky II, from Signalman, to Guard. SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY

SERVICE BUREAU

Supply Division

Lucille Abernathy, from Retail Store Supervisor, to Commissary Store Department

Manager.

William D. McGowin, from Retail Store Supervisor, to Commissary Store Depart- ment Manager.

Louis H. Schmidt, Jr., from Lead Foreman

Service Station Attendant, to Retail Store Supervisor.

Magdalena L. Bushell, from Timekeeper,

to General Personnel Clerk. Albeit A. Roach, from Sales Clerk, to Sales Section Head.

Albert DaCosta, from Service Station Operator, to Sales Section Head.

Francisco Brito, from Stockman, to Leader

High Lift Truck Operator.

Ruperto Jemmott, from Timekeeper, to Clerk. Constance V. Dudley, from Counter

Attendant, to Sales Clerk. Marion Wason, from Utility Worker, to Retail Store Sales Checker. Rupert Ranger, from Food Services Sales Checker, to Storekeeping Clerk. Verona C. Jackman. from Counter Attendant, to Food Service Sales Checker.

Francis A. Cadogan, from Utility Worker,

to Counter Attendant. George S. Goode, from Utility Worker, to Truck Driver.

Irvin V. DeSousa, Vincent George, from

Pinsetter, to Utility Worker.

Victoria B. De Cervinio, from Laborer

Cleaner, to Utility Worker.

Jorge A. Hinds, from Waiter, to Food

Service Sales Checker. Walton J. Davy, from Meat Cutter Assist- ant, to Meat Cutter. Lester L. Ferraro, from Pinsetter, to Package Boy.

Community Services Division Elda M. Mendoza, from Clerk-Tvpist, to Clerk. Luther E. Gray, from Laborer Cleaner, to Heavy Laborer. TRANSPORTATION AND

TERMINALS BUREAU

Terminals Division

Colbert A. Sollas, from Supervisory Cargo

20 February 2, 1962
Assistant, to Supervisory Clerical Assistant. Carmen F. Ender, from Bill-of-Lading

Clerk, to Cargo Clerk. Wilmoth L. Raymond, from Ship Worker,

to Winchman.

Alexander A. Cox, from Ship Worker, to High Lift Truck Operator.

Dionisio Almengor, Andres Jimenez, Narciso Kelly, Nolberto Marin, Felieiano Mercado, Ramon M. Reyes, Luis Riascos, from Dock Worker, to High Lift Truck Operator.

Samuel Bryan, from Helper Liquid Fuels Wharfman, to Dock Worker.

Juvenal Arias, from Laborer Cleaner, to Dock Worker.

Luis H. Nunez, from Ship Worker, to Helper Liquid Fuel Wharfman.

Robert J. Arthur, from Ship Worker, to Winchman.

Orman B. Inniss, Francisco Delgado, from

Dock Worker, to Heavy Laborer.

Railroad Division Margaret M. Martin, from Clerk-Stenographer, to Secretary, Stenograph;

Nathan A. Thompson, from Deckhand,

Navigation Division, to Brakeman. Motor Transportation Division Evans N. Morrison, from Accounting Clerk,

to Timekeeper.

Hilarius B. Wilson, Jr., from Utility Worker, Supply Division, to Automotive

Equipment Serviceman. OTHER PROMOTIONS

PROMOTIONS which did not involve

changes of title follow: Whitney E. Smith, General Attorney,

Office of the General Counsel. Edward H. Halsall, Chief, Locks Security

Branch, Office of the Chief, Locks Division. Paul Kowalchik, Structural Engineer, Engineering Division. Corneilius J. O'Sullivan, Assistant Commissary' Store Manager, Supply Division. Robert H. Adams, Supervisory Storage

Officer, Supply Division. G. Leroy Koontz, Administrative Services

Assistant, Police Division. Robert M. Blakely, Jr., Hospital Administrative Officer, Corozal Hospital.

William J. Barrett, Dental Laboratory

Technician, Gorgas Hospital.

Evelyn S. Barrett, Margaret E. Orvis,

Accounting Clerk, Typing, Contract and

Inspection Division. Gertrude J. Connard, Peter Neblett, Prince A. Spencer, Retail Store Supervisor,

Supply Division. Frank R. Brown, Statistical Draftsman,

Accounting Division. Eric R. Townsend, Bookeeping Machine

Operator, Accounting Division. John E. Hogan, Clerk-Typist, Railroad

Division. James N. Miller, Supervisory Clerk, Supply

Division. Horace D. Cooper, Sales Section Head,

Supply Division. Fitzroy O. Best, Cargo Clerk, Terminals

Division. Vincent Steele, Clerk, Railroad Division. Agnes B. Whittingham, Clerk, Supply

Division. Margaret Mussa, Germaine I. Punnett,

Clerk-Typist, Supply Division. Dorothy C. Bushell, Clive A. Courtenay,

Cathaline P. Thompson, Nursing Assist- ant, Psychiatry, Corozal Hospital.

Anthony Jordan, Sales Clerk, Supply DiviCANAL

HISTORY

50 Years Ago

THE NEED for an Isthmian waterway was highlighted in February 1912 by

an announcement that the Canal organization was going to send the tug

Reliance and three 600-cubic yard

barges from the Atlantic side to Balboa

—by way of the Strait of Magellan. The

10,500-mile trip started from Colon on February 11, was expected to take until about June 20, and to cost approximately Sl.5,000.

The area to be occupied by the channel for the Canal through Miraflores Lake was being cleared of brush

and excavation of the channel had

been started. Total excavation for the channel between Pedro Miguel and

Miraflores Locks was expected to be

approximately 800,000 cubic yards, with

much of it to be used for backfilling

at the locks. While work was just getting underway on the channel between the two

Pacific-side sets of locks, it was reported

that excavation in the Cut through the Continental Divide was approximately

84 percent complete, with an estimated

14.525,000 cubic yards still to be

removed, including 4,300,000 resulting

from slides. Total excavation from

the entire Canal, through February was

163,182,086 cubic yards, leaving

32,141,293 cubic yards to be excavated

to complete the waterway.

25 Years Ago

NET INCOME of $1,127,340 was

earned by the Panama Railroad during

fiscal year 1936, it was revealed in February 1937 by President Roosevelt, who

quoted figures from the 87th Annual

Report of the Board of Directors of the Railroad. About the same time, Gov. Clarence

S. Ridlev announced that an amendment

to the Canal Zone Code, which would

affirm the authority of the President of the United States to make regulations

prescribing conditions of employment

for Panama Canal service, would be

included in the legislative program of the Canal administration. The amendment would, at the same time, protect the 40-hour week on the Canal Zone

and give the President authority over

matters pertaining to transportation,

medical care, and commutation of leave.

10 Years Ago

RATE INCREASES designed to place

designated commercial activities of the Panama Canal Company on a break- even basis were announced 10 years ago

at Balboa Heights. Main effects were on

such general services as marine bunkering, stevedoring, and the handling of cargo over the piers. A 2-cent increase on gasoline and cigarettes, a 50-cent

increase on residence telephones, and a 10-percent raise in Tivoli room rates also were announced. The charges for care of grounds around employees'

quarters were discontinued, however.

Fluoridation of the Canal Zone

water supply, which provides water

for all of the Canal Zone as well as Colon and Panama City and its suburbs, was started in February 1952 as a partial control of dental decay. The

chemical was introduced into the water at the Water and Laboratories

Branch filtration plants at Miraflores and

Mount Hope.

One Year Ago

A CONTRACT for installation of air conditioning in four Panama Canal

office buildings in Ancon and construction of a central chilled water plant to service the buildings was awarded to the W. B. Uhlhorn Construction Co. of Harlingen, Tex., on a low base bid of $224,500.

The Canal Zone joined in the "Carnival of Friendship" during th.> month,

with parade routes in the Zone on both

sides of the Isthmus bedecked with Carnival flags and gailv colored balloons on light standards.

RETIREMENTS

RETIREMENT certificates were pre- sented through January 5 to the follow- ing employees whose names were not

listed in the retirement list published

in the January issue. Osmond Green, Linehandler, Atlantic Branch, Locks Division; 18 years, 3

months, 14 days.

Amy LeCount, Seamstress, Corozal Hospital, Health Bureau; 33 years, 4 months,

25 days.

Manuel Perez, Shipworker, Cristobal

Branch, Terminals Division; 18 years, 3 months, 12 days.

Newton S. Walker, Painter, Maintenance

Division; 29 years, 1 month, 25 days.

The Panama Canal Review 21
TRAFFIC MOVEMENT OVER MAIN TRADE ROUTES

The following table shows the number of transits of large, commercial vessels (300 net

tons or over) segregated into eight main trade routes:

United States intercoastal East coast of United States and South America _ East coast of United States and Central America

East coast of United States and Far East United States/Canada east coast and Australasia Europe and west coast of United States/Canada

Europe and South America

Europe and Australasia

All other routes

Total traffic

Second Quarter, Fiscal Year
Israeli-flag ships Har Ramon and Har

Gilead, owned by Cargo Ships El-Yam,

Ltd., of Haifa and operated by the Maritime Overseas Corp. of New York. The Har Ramon passed northbound

through the Canal for the first time in October with a full load of Ecuadoran

bananas and has made several trips since. The Har Gilead started her run

about a month later. They average two to three trips through the Canal

each month.

The ships are 5,800 deadweight tons, have a speed of 19 knots and a bale capacity of 250,000 cubic feet. C. B. Fenton & Co. is agent for the operating

company-. Southbound Miami Service

A STOP at Miami for cargo is being

made by four ships of the Flota Mercante Grancolombiana S. A. which

operate between Canadian and eastern U.S. ports and the west coast of South

America.

According to Wilford & McKay, local agents for the line, the first ship on the new direct conference service from

Miami to South America passed through

the Canal on New Year's Day. The

Norwegian flagship Sygm, which started the service, will be followed at approximately monthly intervals by the Hong

Kong Clipper, the Strom Gunliild, and

another cargo vessel being chartered bv

Grancolombiana.

After leaving the Canal southbound,

the ships call at Buenaventura, Guayaquil, and Callao. On the northbound

voyage, the vessels will skip Miami and

call at Wilmington, Norfolk, Boston,

and Canadian ports. Powerful Tug

ONE OF the most powerful ocean- going tugs flying the U.S. flag, the M. Moran, arrived in Pusan, Korea, on

Christmas day, with the 30,000-kilowatt

floating generating plant Resistance in tow, according to word received by- Panama Agencies, agents for the tug

at the Canal. The big tug made the Canal transit October 11 and started on her long

journey to Korea shortly afterward. She

is expected to return to the U.S. east coast by way of the Panama Canal

within the next few months.

The voyage to Korea with the generating plant was the maiden voyage

for the M. Moran, which was built last year by the Gulfport Shipbuilding Corp.

With a light running potential of"l 1,000

nautical miles and a bollard pull of 95,000 pounds and a high maneuverability, the tug is suitable for harbor

sen-ice as well as being capable of handling towing assignments anywhere

in the world.

CANAL TRANSITS — COMMERCIAL AND U. S. GOVERNMENT
SHIPPING

THE CONTINUING Japanese industrial boom remained a major factor in the record movement of cargo which passed

through the Panama Canal to the Far

East during the first 6 months of the 1962 fiscal year, just as it has for the

past several years.

Official statistics compiled by the Canal enterprise show that the move- ment of such items as scrap iron, coal, and phosphates to feed the expanding

Japanese industrial machine were at a record level in the 6-month period

beginning July 1, 1961. At the same

time, cargo movements to the east coast

of United States increased, reversing the drop in these movements which occurred

during the recent business recession. Trade to the Far East accounted for more than one-third of all cargo being

carried through the waterway during

the half-year period, with a record high

of 41.2 percent of all Canal cargo being

credited to that area during the month

of July. The average amount of cargo moving to and from Asia since July was

36.7 percent of all shipments through

the waterway. Scrap iron shipments,

which have been climbing steadily for several years, increased by more than

a million long tons during the Julythrough-December period, compared

with the similar period of 1960. Meanwhile, trade with the west coast

of South America was on an upward

trend at the end of the 6-month period,

after showing a decline in the preceding

fiscal year. Cargo movements through

the Canal from western South America

during December 1961 came to 127,000 long tons more than during

December 1960. The increase in cargo movements

from the west coast of South America,

long a major source of Canal traffic, occurred despite a drop in the tradi- tionally large shipments of iron ore from

Peru and Chile, which normally account

for a major part of this business. Sodium nitrate from Chile and fish meal from Peru are two major commodities which have helped push the South

American west coast cargo movements

upward, despite the drop in ore ship- ments. Although Peru during recent

has become one of the leading

producers of fish meal, the Chilean

nitrate trade has suffered since the last war because of the production in former

purchasing countries of cheap synthetic

fertilizers. Fish meal, meanwhile, has

moved into prominence as its use as a

TRANSITS BY OCEAN-GOING

VESSELS IN DECEMBER

I960 1961 Commercial 868 938

U.S. Government 16 8

Free transits 6 7

Total 890 953

TOLLS °

Commercial $4,388,109 $4,871,708

U.S. Government. 82,155 28,487

Total $4,470,264 $4,900,195

CARGO00

Commercial 5,046,493 5,901,604

U.S. Government. 79,716 20,914

Total 5,126,209 5,922,518

• Includes tolls on all vessels, oceangoing and small.

•* Cargo figures are in long tonsfood product for animals has increased

in many parts of the world. The gradual increase in the size of ocean-going vessels using the Panama

Canal has been a major factor involved

in planning the future of the waterway

for the past 10 years—and statistics for December 1961 show that the average

size of ships still is increasing. During

that final month of 1961, the average Panama Canal net tonnage of ships

using the waterwav was 5,921 tons, the

highest monthly average in the 47-year

history of the Canal. This average net tonnage was a siz- able increase over the 5,770 net ton average of December 1960 and the 5,672 net ton average recorded in December 1959. The worldwide trend toward construction of larger ships was

not limited to ore carriers and tankers,

but also extended to other commercial

ships and passenger vessels. Between 1938 and 1961, Canal statistics show, the size of ore ships using

the waterway increased from an average

of 4,822 Panama Canal net tons to 8,087. During the same span of time, tankers climbed from an average of 5,834 to 9,492 net tons, commercial

cargo ships from 4,722 to 5,088 net tons, and commercial passenger ships from

6,542 to 8,095 net tons. During the month of December, when

the big ships were setting a new record

for average size, ore ships transiting the waterway averaged 9,356 Panama Canal

net tons, cargo ships averaged 5,360,

and commercial passenger vessels aver- aged 8,361. The average size of tankers declined during the month, however,

falling to 9,114 net tons from the average net tonnage of 9,492 chalked

up by all tankers using the waterway

during the year.

OCEAN-GOING TRANSITS

THROUGH PANAMA CANAL




UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

3 1262 07150 0390

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