Gifi ofthe Panama Canal Museum m^

Vol. 5, No. 4 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE NOVEMBER 5, 1954 5 cents Thanksgiving, Canal Zone Style

THANKSGIVING'S Thanksgivina, even if the Pilgrims are wearing Guatemalan shirts and saddle

oxfords. And Indians can be just as fierce in khaki pants as they can in buckskins. If the background

looks suspiciously like the Balboa elementary school, that's because it is.

Answers Now Available To Some Of Queries

Asked By Employees About Vacation Travel

Answers on the vacation transportation

questionnaires distributed throughout the Company-Government by the Personnel Bureau indicate that there are many

questions among employees concerning

application in their own individual cases

of the recently-enacted legislation. Late

in October, about 2,400 questionnaires

had been returned to the Personnel Bureau. The questions asked by employees set a general pattern falling into certain

categories. Many of the questions can

be answered; the answers to some, however, still await a directive from the Bureau of the Budget. Meanwhile the Transportation Section is operating on an interim Company-Government plan

and answering specific questions for employees who are about to go on leave. The transportation legislation, which

is an amendment to section 7 of the Administrative Expense Act of 1946 (commonly known as Public Law 600), was designed to make it possible for and

encourage employees outside the conti- nental United States to return to the United States at frequent mtervals; and

to treat overseas employees more uni- formly for vacation purposes. The most frequently asked questions

and their answers follow; they are divided

by topics and put into question-and- answer form. ELIGIBILITY:

Q. Who will be eligible? A. Any United States citizen employee who has completed two years of service as a civilian employee in the Canal Zone or who will have completed two

years of service when he is granted leave, and the immediate members of his family.

A dependent parent is considered an immediate member; a dependent parentin-law is not. All employees accepting

the transportation must sign an agree- ment to return to their jobs.

Q. Are locally-hired employees eligible? A. Yes.

Q. My wife is a Panamanian citizen ; is she eligible? A. Yes.

Q. I am about to retire; am I eligible? A. Employees must have more than one year to serve after return from leave

before their retirement to be eligible for the vacation transportation.

Q. Is my son who is attending college

in the United States eligible for P. L. 600

transportation?

-4. Yes, if he is accompanied to or from

the United States by the employee. (If he is traveling unaccompanied he is entitled to one round trip (.s'«e me 20)

CANAL ZONE CENSUS

TO BE TAKEN SOON

BY QUESTIONNAIRES

A census of all residents of

the Canal Zone, similar to but

more inclusive than the annual

census of the Canal Zone which

has been taken since early construction days, will get underway next week. The census is expected to cover 75,000 to

100,000 persons.

The census is designed not only to count the population of the Canal Zone

but also to provide data, for staffing ant^ budget purposes, to indicate the load which such Canal Zone facilities as hospitals and schools will be called on to carry. Although Canal Zone residents and

employees will be asked, through questionnaires, to provide more answers than- the annual police census has called for,

all of the questions will be of an impersonal nature, rather than the somewhat

personal nature of the questions asked in the Federal census taken each 10 years^

Wide Distribution

The questionnaires, printed in different colored inks for different categories and

for easier sorting, will be distributed to every employee of the United States Government in the Canal Zone; to every employee of the United States Govern- ment in Panama—Embassy employees,

for example; to the dependents of all mili- tary personnel; and to all persons who

live in the Canal Zone or have access to Canal Zone facilities in any way. This

last category will include employees of private firms, like oil companies and shipping lines, retired employees, and religious workers. Government employees who live in Panama and work in the Canal Zone will also be included in this year's census. The census to be taken next month will be handled by the Personnel Bureau of the Panama Canal Company. The forms

which each employee, and those in other

categories, will be asked to fill out have

been worked up by a committee headed

by Mrs. Eula DriscoU, Assistant to the Personnel Director. The Canal Zone Police will assist in taking the census among the land licensees and the employees of private firms in the Canal Zone, and the United States Embassy will handle the csnsus for U. S. citizens working in the Republic of Panama who have Canal Zone privileges.

The distribution in military agencies will be handled by military authorities. One Per Household

In the Company-Government organization, the census forms {See page 18)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

COMMUNITY CHEST CAMPAIGN AIMS FOR LARGEST GOAL

AND HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION

COMMrXIT'i' L'llKST Board of Directors met recently at the Jewish

Welfare Board-l'SO to complete last details of this year's drive for funds. Twelve of the directors are elected from the community at large, three are appointed representatives of the Armed Sen'ices, and the others are appointed

l)y the various Canal Zone civic councils. Left to right they are, front row: Beresford Gittens, Mary Brigham, Russell

T. Wise, Mrs. .\rnold Hodgson, Campaign Secretary; W. G. .\rey, -Ir., Board Chairman; Mrs. I. F. Mcllhenny, P. A. White, Campaign Chairman; Stanley Loney; back row: Brodie Burnham, Glenville Davis, Elvin Butcher, C. W.

Hoffmeyer, Lt. Col. William Drake, W. R. Price, Lt. Col. W'alter Gerdau,

Lt. Comdr.Jones W. Purcell, and Roger W. Adams. Other members of the Board

are: Eugene I. Askew, Mrs. Cleo Burns, William .Jump, and Nelson Maper.

With two record goals —a larger employee participation than ever before, and a larger quota, $50,000, than in past

years — the Canal Zone Community

Chest's annual drive for funds got under

way late last month.

Community Chest Sunday was observed

(Jctober 24 in churches throughout the Canal Zone. The following day Company-Government representatives who

will handle the actual solicitation for funds in their respective divisions met

for "kick-off" meetings on both sides of the Isthmus. Govenior Seybold addressed the employee representatives at the Pacific side meeting and was scheduled to make a

similar talk on the Atlantic side, but a

last minute change in his official plans

forced him to cancel his Atlantic side appearance. Although the $50,000 goal is the highest

which the Community Chest has been

called on to raise since the Chest was

started several years ago, the Governor

expressed his confidence that the resi- dents of the Canal Zone would accept

their community responsibility and pro- vide the necessary funds for the Chest's dozen participating agencies. Governor Seybold pointed out that the Community Chest was the one annual

opportunity to give to many organizations through one and expressed the hope

that all employees would give generously, not because they felt that they had to but

lii'cause they felt that they wanted to. Meanwhile an intensified effort w-as being made to reach all Company-Government employees in order that they

may have an opportunity to make their Chest contributions. Over 300 solicitors are approaching or have approached

their co-workers, with cards which

will enable them t.i make cash or payrolldeduction contributions. This year payroll deductions may be spread over a six-month period.

P. A. White, Chief of the Dredging

Division and Vice Chairman of the Community Chest's Board of Directors,

heads this year's campaign committee.

He is assisted by Mrs. Arnold Hodgson,

as Campaign Secretary, and by all members of the Board. A. E. Beck, Chief

of the Terminals Division, is working

with Mr. White oiTtBe ^lantic side, and

Robert J. Boyd is in charge of the solicita- tion in Panama. The Community Chest campaign will continue until November 15. Agencies w^hich will receive funds from

the Community Chest are: Boy Scouts

of America; Girl Scouts of America;

International Boy Scouts; International

Girl Scouts; Jewish Welfare Board-USO;

Armed Services YMCA-USO, Balboa;

Armed Services YMCA-USO Cristobal; Salvation Army; Summer Recreation

Board, U. S.-rate; Summer Recreation

Board local-rate; Congress of Civic CouncOs, local-rate, and Cristobal-Margarita Civic Coimcil.

Bids For First Large 60-Cycle

Generators To Be Opened Dec. 1

Bids will be opened December 1 at Balboa Heights for furnishing and instal- ling four new generator units and a control board in the Gatun Hydroelectric

Station. This is one of the first major

steps in the conversion from 2.5-cycle to 60-cycle current in the Canal Zone. The four vertical-shaft, hydraulic- turbine-driven 60-cycle generators and

governors will replace part of the 25-

cycle equipment at the Gatun station. They will work in parallel with two other

units which will be converted to 60

cycles later. Other developments in the conversion

program are the 10-day visit to Toronto,

Ontario, last month, by Col. Hugh M.

Arnold, Engineering and Construction

Director, and the continuation of the house-to-house survey on the Atlantic

side of the Canal Zone. Colonel Arnold visited the offices and

plants of the Hydroelectric Power Commission of Ontario where a similar conversion is presently being carried out on a large scale and discussed, generally, the problem of the conversion of the Canal's power systern. The domestic survey has been completed in Gatun and the team of five engineers is now working in Margarita.

From Margarita they will move to other

Atlantic side communities. A survey

of Pacific side homes will be made later.

One of the engineers first makes an appointment with the householder for a date on which his personally-owned

equipment may be surveyed. Later a survey team of two men visits each home

and inspects the household equipment

to obtain the technical data necessary

for conversion. Each householder is tald that such equipment as refrigerators, washing machines, or fans will have to be modified

in order that it will operate on 60-cycle current and that the Panama Canal Company will pay the cost of these changes,

provided the equipment is in regular use and in operating condition. After the survey is finished, an inventory of the equipment in his home which

will have to be converted is mailed to each householder, together with an

explanatory memorandum. He is asked

to check this list and report any omitted

item or coirection to be made.

Householders whose equipment has been inventoried are also asked to report

in w'riting if they acquire any new

frequency-sensitive ecjuipment or dispose

of any which has been listed. The cooperation of householders in this, as in the

siu-vey in general, is necessary for the

success of the program.

This latter is stressed since new equipment which has not been reported cannot

be scheduled for conversion.
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Fish People Meet Monthly To Discuss

How's And Why's Of Tropical Small Fry

AQUARIUMS are ntner-failing intei'est tu fi^h |«'(i|.|r, likr [hv-v Mlticers uf the Canal Zone Aquarium

Society. The Society's president, Capt. W. E. Jones, is standing, far right. Other officers are: Paul Mohl,

secretary; James Mardiucic, vice president, and Miss Mildred Watson, treasurer.

Molly has a bad case of the ick. Double-talk? No! That makes per- pectly good sense to a member of the Canal Zone Aquarium Society or to other

fish people. It means, translated: One of my Black Mollienisias has a bad case of Ichthyophthirius.

Once informed of Molly's condition,

fish people immediately begin a discus- sion as to whether the best treatment for

this parasitic fishy ailment is quinine sul- phate, one-half grain to each gallon of aquarium water, or merchurochrome,

which may have a delayed after-effect on Molly.

Members of the Aquarium Society are much concerned with the How-to's: How

to treat sick fish, how to breed them, how

to feed them, how to plant their aquar- iums and how to aerate the water in them.

Membership Tripled

Organized last January "for the ex- change of ideas and advancement of the hobby in the Canal Zone," its Constitution says, the Canal Zone Aquarium Society has already tripled its membership.

Sixteen fish fanciers attended the first meeting January 9; 48 members are now

paying their 25-c?nt monthly dues. The

only requirement for membership is that an individual b? a Government employee;

it is assumed that he is interested in fish. Meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month, usually at the Jewish Welfare Board-USO on La Boca Road.

The avocation of all members is the same: Fish. Their vocations varj^ widely.

The Society's president is Capt. W. E. Jones who is in charge of the Balboa District of the Fire Division; James Marchuck, vice president, is a policeman

working out of the Balboa station. The

treasurer. Miss Mildred Watson, is Shipping Clerk for Ai-niy Transportation, and

Paul Mohl, the secretary, works at Sosa

Hill quarry as a general operator.

There are any number of reasons why

they are fish people. Captain Jones, who

has been raising fish for the past 20 years, says: "It's a nice quiet hobby which

doesn't annoy the neighbors." The

Mohls, who are comparatively new addicts but now have one of the largest

local collections, wanted a pet. Their son was allergic to dogs and cats so fish seemed to be the answer. Tropicals Only

All of the members of the Aquarium

Society are devotees of tropical fish —no

goldfish for them. As one tropicalist says, goldfish are dirty, they don't get

along with other fish, and they spend most of their time trying to eat each

other. Almost all of the local collectors have

started with Guppies, tiny South American members of the tooth-carp family.

Guppies have a number of points in their

favor. They are small, seldom over two

inches long; an aquarium which will hold 50 guppies will accommodate only 25

other tropicals. They arc pretty; the

brilliance of the males compjnsates for the drabness of the females. And above

all, they are hardy, or beginner-proof.

Most of the collectors have six to eight

species in their aquariums.

Guppies are live-bearers, as opposed to egg-layers. A female guppy will produce an average of 40 to 50 young at a time,

and will give birth to a new -and oversized—family about every four weeks. From Guppies, or Rainbows, the Soci- ety members usually move on to other

viviparous, or live-bearing, tropicals, the

Platies (pronounced as if it had two t's), or the striking Swordtails which have an

almost overwhelming scientific name:

XiphorphoTus hellerii. Oviparous, or egg-laying tropicals, are harder to raise and they usually come a

little later, chronologically speaking, as

the collector becomes more sure of himself. Egg-layers range from the tiny Neon-tctra from the Amazon, just as

startlingly colored as a neon tube, to the comparatively large Angel fish, technically known as Pteroplu/llum cimekei and

by the less fearsome name of Scalare. Consistent breeding of the Neon-tetras

has baffled collectors ever since the tiny

fish were first introduced in 1!)36; Aquarium Magazine, the bible of fish people, has a standing offer of $100 for the col- lector who can breed neon-tetras and explain his methods so that others can fol- low the procedure.

A good many of the egg-laying fish are overwhelmingly fond of roe, especially

their own, and if a collector wants to Iweed his ti-opicals he must save the young

from their own parents. The Ramiresi,

for instance, spawn on a piece of slate which the collector has placed in the tank. The slate, eggs attached, is then removed

to a hatching tank. The orange and

black-barred Tetrazona are tricked into laying their eggs on heavy nylon yarn which is covered with greenery to camouflage the yam.

Occasional Exception

The Mohls, however, have a pair of Angel fish who are exemplary parents.

Once the eggs are laid on a leaf in the

special breeding tank, the parent fish take

turns fanning them with the pectoral fins, to keep the water circulating. Each day

the eggs are moved, and cleaned in the

process, to another leaf. When the little Angels appear they are also moved until they can swim by themselves. If frightened, however, the parent Angels will eat

either eggs or small fry. Beside being protective parents, this particular pair of Angels apparently are

strict disciplinarians. When the babies begin to "free swim" they are expected

to travel in schools, and well-behaved

schools at that. Stragglers are gobbled

up, which should teach them a lesson. Babies Eat Pablum

The feeding of babies and adults is a

far trickier problem than the novice expects. He soon learns. Fish babies are

fed Pablum, just like human babies, but

the fish pablum is mixed into a culture with yeast and "Mikro" worms, which

are so minute they are hardly visible to the naked eye. A small bit of this culture

is scraped from the side of the dish in which it has grown and dropped into the

tank, several times a day.

Brine shrimp, which are small marine

shrimp, are also fed to the babies, and

another fish baby food is "green water,"

ordinary tap water which has been ex- posed to a tremendous amount of sunlight. It is filled with sub-microscopic life and is fed into the aquarium with an eye

dropper.

Tanks And Plants

Grown fish enjoy fresh or canned roe, chopped shrimp or liver, alone or mixed

with pablum, and Angel fish thrive on an

unappetizing sounding mixture of finelychopped liver, strained spinach, and pablum.Feeding and breeding are only two of the problems which fish people have to consider. The size, type, lighting, and

aeration of the aquariums (See page iS)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

Civil Defense Duties Are Assigned

To Major Company-Government Units

Each unit of th ' Paiama Canal Company-Canal Zone (lovernment will have

a duty to perform in case of enemy

attack or a natural disaster such as a

large-scale fire, flood, or similar occurrence, according to an overall plan which was approved rec3ntly by Cov. John S. Seybold.

Should such a disaster occur, the Canal

organization under Governor Seybold

will be responsible for all areas of th? Canal Zone outside military reservations; military forces under Lt. Gen. William

K. Harrison will be responsible for the

military areas. Each will support the

other; an agreement to this effect has been

signed by the Governor and General

Harrison. Henry L. Donovan, Civil Affairs Director, is the Company-Government

Civil Defense Director. His deputies are

F. R. Johnson on the Pacific side, and

B. I. Everson on the Atlantic side. Mr.

Everson is assisted by A. E. Beck. Technical Service For planning purpos3S, each Company-

(lovernment Bureau Director and inde- pendent branch chief is considered as the head of a tech'iical service, comparable

to the service his unit provides during

normal operations. In most eases, the Director or Chief has assigned a repre- sentative of his office to prepare plans for the service his unit would be called on

to perform.

The Civil Affairs Bureau, for instance,

for which Capt. W. E. Jones and Capt.

B. A. Darden are Technical Staff Chiefs,

will be responsible for the Fire Service and

Police Service in civilian communities.

In addition to its normal duties, the Fire Service will train auxiliary firemen to be

called on in time of disaster. The Police

Service, assisted by auxiliary personnel

who have been specially trained, will be

responsiblefortraffic and highway control. A highly important part of the handling of any disaster will fall on the medical

service of the Health Bureau, whose

Technical Staff Chief is Col. W. C. Doan. The handling of a'l casualties, other than those of the most minor nature, will he the responsibility of this Bureau. It

will be called on for first-aid service, to

set up emergency hospitals if necessary, supply medicines and medical and surgical

equipment, blood bank and laboratory

services. In addition, the Health Bureau

will deal with sanitation problems.

Refugee Centers

Just as the Health Bureau is responsible

for care of casualties, the Community

Services Bureau, represented bv Douglas

Johnston as Technical Staff Chief, will handle refugees and their problems.

Refugee centers will be set up by the Community Services Bureau and emergency

housing provided, through coordination with the Supply Bureau. The Community Service Bureau will also an-ange for the mass fe'>ding of refugees and of civil defense workers, and set up a registration

and information service on those who

may have been made homeless.

All of th" community utilities services and of the highways wall be the responsibility of the Engineering and Construction Bureau whose Technical Staff Chiefs, to date, are Nelson Wise, R. M. Howe,

and B. J. Brown. This Bureau will build whatever temporary shelter may

be needed, restore port facilities and do

what demolition and clearing of debris that may be needed. A highly important part of its responsibilities would be the release of any

persons who might be trapped in damaged

buildings or under debris. Engineering

and Construction forces will also deter- mine the extent of radiation contamination in case of an A-bomb burst, will screen refugees, casualties, and civil defense workers for contamination, and

do any necessary decontamination.

Food and Clotliing In any disaster, just as it is day by day, the Supply Bureau will be the source of food and clothing. Its Technical Staff Chief, W. C. Bain, will decide what supplies and e(iuipment would be needed and

see what warehouses and storage facilities are available. The Supply Bureau will probably work more closely with all other bureaus than any other single unit, as it

will be called on to provide food for the

hospitals and clothing for the refugees, in case of a major disaster of any sort. The Personnel Bureau, represented by

DUCK AND COVER, and Canal Zone school children are under their desks in a matter of seconds when atomic drills are called. The drills are part of the overall Civil Defense planiiini; for the Canal Zone.

George Welsh as Technical Staff Chief,

will notify Civil Defen.se which employees

would be needed for essential operations

and which could be spared for other

service in time of any great crisis. The Transportation and Terminals

Bureau, for which R. W. Adams is Technical Staff Chief, will provide trans- portation for civil defen.se teams and their equipment, for supplies and equipment

in general, and for refugees and casualties. The Marine Bureau will work dosel}-

with the Civil Affairs Bureau on any

marine fire fighting and with the Engineering and Construction Bureau on radio communications. These tasks will be handled bv Capt. Horatio Lincoln, as Technical Staff Chief. Security and Information

Two other Canal units, Internal Security and the Information Office, although not Bureaus, have been as-igned tasks in the overall program. For Internal Security, Frank Wilder is Technical Staff Chief, while J. Rufus Hardy will perform

a similar duty for the Information Office. Internal Security will direct the Technical Staff and physical security and plant

protection activities as well as handling

all other matters which would affect the

security of the Company-Government.

In case of an emergency, the Information Office will issue instructions and

other information to the public, and before any emergency it will keep the public

informed on civil defense activities and

its program.

Official services for the Canal will be performed by the bureaus listed earlier

in this story. Volunteer services will be handled through the Warden Service.

Distinguished Visitors

See Zone Late Last Month

Late October brought a small fliood of distinguished visitors to the Canal

Zone. Heading the list were Theodore H. Maenner, a construction-day

Isthmian and now a member of the

Canal Company's Board of Directors;

Edward A. Bacon who, as Assistant

to the Secretary of the Army, is in charge of Panama Canal affairs ; and

W. M. Whitman, another former

Isthmian and now Secretary of the

Panama Canal Company.

They arrived October 22 and spent

almost a week inspecting Canal operations and talking to Canal officials. Also here at the same time was

Miss Helen M. Gibbs, a staff member of the House of Representatives

Merchant Marine and Fisheries committee. Miss Gibbs inspected vari- ous Canal Zone facilities, talked with

Canal officials and with representatives of various employee groups. Other visitors the end of October

included Miss Beatrice Cobb, North

Carolina newspaper publisher; Roland T. Huson, Editor and Publisher

of "The Plainsman," of Zackary,

La.; Wayne C. Smith, of the "Meriden Record," Meriden^ Conn.; and

Frank S. Baker, publisher of the

Tacoma, Wash., "News Tribune."

Miss Cobb was en route to South

America; the others were returning

to the United States from the Inter- American Press Association meeting

in Rio de Janeiro.
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Commissary Customers And Officials

Exchange I deas At Semi-Annual Forums

retail stores within the next few months.

Sizing Policies Much of the time of the U. S.-rate forum was devoted to commissary sizing

policies. Customers' representatives

criticized the commissaries for buying on

the l)asis of what was sold—;, p., s^ many

size 14 dressps, medium-sized shirts, or 7-A shoes—rather than on the basis of the number of requests which were received

for these and which could not be filled. Mr. Johnson told the group that sales clerks will be instructed to record the requests they receive for items and sizes which they are unable to fill, and that

future buying will be guided by these

reports. John Brown, the commissary's shoe

buyer, and E. E. Eder, of the wholesale housewares section, displayed some of

their new items and described others which would be appearing in the retail stores in the near futui-e. Shoes For Nurses Mr. Brown told his audience that the commissaries are now carrying more

large-size shoes than they formally did

this had be^n a customers' request—and

that they are adding wider widths in 'teen-age sizes for girls. He described

the special shoes for nurses which are

carried by the commis aries; du'-ing the meeting he received a recommendation

from the Nui'ses' Association as to the type of shoes thev require and want. Other items discussed at less length

included: Handling of meat and the packaging—W. G. Bain, Superintendent

of Refrigerated Products Storage, said that as the group suggested he would have

pliofilm inserted between meat and the cardboard on which it is laid before wrapping; availability of ham hocks and

a good "rat" cheese; stocking of better cabbage; the general desire that U. S. sugar be made available in five-pound

packages; different styles in men's trousers; more medium sized chthing of all types for men; grading of eggs; and a request that the newer synthetic fabrics and weaves be provided as yard goods. Local Rate Forum

At the forum for customers of local- rate commissaries, five days later, much

of the discussion centered (See page n)

SHOES AND samples of other commissary merchandise were displayed during the forum held last month for customers of the U. S.-rate commissaries. Clockwise, beginning with F. R. Johnson, Supply

Director, who i^ standing, are: Lester Ferguson. E. E. Eder, R. L. Sullivan, Mrs. Grayce Gravatt, Mrs. Thelma Bull, Mrs. Eleanor Becker. Xorman .Johnson, Mrs. Jean Bleakley, John M. Bromi, Mrs. Robert

Medinger, Mrs. Preston Minton. W. C. Bain, and Miss Mary Orr.

Walruses and carpenters talk of many

things: Shoes—and ships—and sealing wax—of cabbages—and kings.

People at last month's Commissary

forums didn't ha\'e much to say about

sealing wax or kings, but shoes and ships

and cabbages - and dozens of other

things—came in for their full share of discussion. When the two forums had ended, the people who do the supph'ing had a better

idea of what commissary customers want;

people who run the commissaries had theii' notebooks full of suggestions for improving their stock, service and stores; and

people who are the customers had learned what is being done about their suggestions

and requests. A total of 40 representatives of the various Canal Zone communities and

certain groups, such as the Nurses'

Association, the Civic Councils, and the

labor organizations, attended the two

forums. The October forum was the

third for customers of the U. S.-rate stores and the s?c,ind for those who do

their buying in local-rate commissaries. Twenty Sugg ?stions Adopted

F. R. Johnson, Supply Director, who

presided over both meetings and acted as moderator for the questiors and answers, reported that of the 40 suggestions sub- mitted at previou'i forums, 20 had been

adopted almost entirely, 15 were still under study, and five had been found to be impractical.

Some of the suggestions which have

been adopted include: The addition of a number of new items in the food and

grocery line; marking of canned fruits and

vegetables to indie ite grades—the actual accomplishment of this is waiting new

numbered tabs; the addition of packers at checkout stands at the local-rate commissaries during rush periods; and emphasis on courtesy in the training program which was begun for commissary personnel

about five months ago. Both groups learned, at length, of the attempts being made by the commissaries to provide better potatoes. Lester Ferguson, Procurement Officer for the

Supply Department in New York, told those attending both meetings that much

of the difficulty with potatoes appears to be packing and shipping and handling

after they leave the United States. Shipping Potatoes He outlined the efi'orts to find potatoes

which would ship well and to locate growers who would be willing to pack

their potatoes for overseas shipment.

All potatoes sent to the commissaries

must meet high standards, he said; like

all perishable goods they are inspected twice by Department of Agriculture

inspectors before the potatoes leave the United States. Both refrigerated and non-refrigerated

shipments had been tried, he continued. Refrigerated potatoes had less spoilage

but became wet when they were removed

from storage. At both meetings, Mr.

Ferguson showed potatoes in a new

ventilated crate which had been shipped

to the Canal Zone with considerable

success. He also announced that a new potato,

growTi in Maine and especially suitable

for baking, v/ould be put on sale in the

CL'STOMERS OF the local-rate commissaries talked over some of their problems at a forum held

last month. Si^e of those attending appear above, left to right: C. Haywood, Cleveland Roberts. Marcus Grannum. Richard Burns, Mrs. Hilda Butcher, Mrs. Xorma E. Hamilton. Xorman Johnson.

Lester Ferguson, F. R. Johnson, and, with their backs to the camera, left to right: George N. Engelke.

C. R. Shay, John Manning, and Bj J. Elich.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

FOR YOUR INTEREST.AND GUIDANCE IN^^CCIDENT PREVENTION

ACCIDENTS DON'T JUST HAPPEN

One of the hardest things in the world

to explain is how accidents happen.

Many people think accidentsj!is( happen,

as though they were in the same category

as an earthquake or a falling meteor. Workers still do not comprehend that

accidents have clearly discernible causes—

and that they can be prevented.

If you ever have bumped into the problem of convincing your men, or fore-

"Kennedy, you've been going to

the stock car races again!" NAnONAl SAfETf COUNCH HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

SEPTEMBER

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Community Services 6

Civil Affairs 3 Health 2 Engineering and Construction 1 Supply 1 Marine

Transportation and Terminals

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

SEPTEMBER

MAINTENANCE DIVISION

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION

DREDGING DIVISION

INDUSTRIAL DIVISION

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

SANITATION DIVISION

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Aids to Navigation 7 Sanitation 7 Service Center 7 Motor Transportation 6 Dredging 4 Electrical 4 Grounds Maintenance _ - 4 Hospitalization and Clinics i Industrial 3 Maintenance 2 Railroad- -- 2 Storehouses 2 Locks 1 Navigation I Commissary

Terminals

men, that accidents are preventable, then you will be iaterested in this discussion of accident causes printed below. It is a somewhat condensed version of one of the talks that appears in the brand new

book of Five Minute Talks (Book four) which the National Safety Council has

published.

* * *

by Fred Lubet, Staff Representative

Accidents don't just happen. They are always caused. And the cause is almost

always that same person, or persons, fell down on the job somewhere along the line. Suppose you fell on a stairs, no demon

tripped you. Something made you fall. That something was the result of an act

of a person, or a failure of a person to act. Chances are the fall was your own fault. Maybe you were taking the stairs too

fast. Maybe you had had a few beers. Maybe you were carrying something too

big and bulky. Maybe your eyesight

is bad. But maybe somebody else did something to cause your fall. Maybe Junior

left his skates on the stairs. Maybe

Mom left a mop bucket there. Maybe

the bannister was broken or the carpet

torn. Maybe the light was poor. Maybe

the whole blooming stairs just collapsed because it was rotten. Probably, though, your fall was the

result of a combination of these things.

Now let's take an example here at work.

Here's one that involves fire, although it could just as easily be machine operation,

using ladders, or anything else. Here's a cigarette. Suppose I light

it and throw it on the floor. It burns a while and then goes out. Nothing happens. Suppose I throw the cigarette in a pile of scrap paper. Now the smoldering cigarette starts a fire. A lot of fires start this way. Whose

fault are they? The guy who carelessly

throws away a lighted cigarette, or the guys who leave a mess of burnable stuff into which it can fall and start a fire? The answer, of course, is both parties—

a combination.

That's how it is with most accidents. Someone breaks a safety rule in a situa- tion where there is an accident-combination ready and waiting to turn the unsafe

act into a disaster. Not everv dangerous

act produces an accident. But no acci- dent is ever produced unless one or more

dangerous acts are committed.

Sometimes you kid yourself into thinking, "Well, everything is just right, so I can break a rule because it won't produce an accident in this case." That kind of thinking is just the type

that produces all those deaths you hear about from so-called unloaded guns. A

guy thinks he knows the gun is unloaded,

so he can pull the trigger, because an unloaded gun never goes off. But he is WTong and there is a tragic accident.

It doesn't ever pay to violate the

safety rule, "Never point a gun at anything you don't want to shoot." And

it's the same in your daily work—it doesn't ever pay to violate a safety

regulation. That's just like pointing an

unloaded gun at someone. Remember that there is a cause or causes for every accident. If everyone would do his part to make working here

safe, there would be no accidents. Make

sure you do your share for safety.

' * * * There is never any excuse for an acci- dent, there is only a reason. Hindsight can usuallv explain an acci- dent that foresight should have prevented.

SEPTEMBER 1954

Engineering and Conslruction Bureau

Community Services Bureau

Civil Affairs Bureau

Marine Bureau

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

)

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

Supply Bureau

Health Bureau

Transportation and Terminals Bureau

Number of Disabling Injuries 26

Disabling Injuries per 1,000.000 Man-Hours Worked

( Frequency Rale)

1 1 1 .,.. .._ —

^

p!^^

EoT:Tx-:;:( wwwz::^

'mmm^

:]^

|: J

I—-t— 1

£C 7,0 40 bO

Man-Hours Worked 2,285,102 LEGEND

I I Amount Better Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Last 3-^'ear Average

I I .\mount Worse Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Last 3- Year Average

ffUjiy^ Accumulative Frequency Rata This Year
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Official Panama Canal Company Publication

Published Monthly at BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE

Printed by [he Printing Plant Mount Hopf, Canal Zone

John' S. Seybold, Governor-President

H. (). Paxson, Lieutenant Governor

William G. Arey, Jr. Public Information Officer

J. RuFUS Hardy, Editor

Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Editorial Assistant

SUBSCRIPTION—$1.00 a year SINGLE COPIES -5 cents each

On sale at all Panama Canal Service Centers, Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days

after publication date.

SINGLE COPIES BYMAIL—10 cents each

B.^CK COPIES—10 cents each

On sale when available, from the Vault

Clerk, Third Floor, .'-\dministration Building, Balboa Heights.

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

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z.

Retired Last Month

Mrs. KATHEKI.XE M. t^WAIX (known as "Katie Mary") retired from Canal service at the end

of October after more than 20 years of being District Nurse and one-woman Well Baby Clinic for the

Pacific Side of the Isthmus. For years Katie Mary has gotten along wonderfully with the younger generation, whom she considers adults in miniature and treats as such. Each

year she has met and inquired into the health of some 1,000 new babies—even more during the war

years. She is showii above with one of the many

she has helped usher through babyhood

OF CURRENT INTEREST

f^SSk^m

^'I'AK UF the show during fire prevention wee'-c was Chief .Sparky, the fire prevention dog who, as mascot for the Canal Zone Fire Division, rode through the street."; of Panama and the Canal Zone on a Balboa Fire Truck during the fire prevention parade. In private life. Sparky is a lady Dalmatian named

Dagmar, who was loaned for the occasion by Mr. and Mrs. .John E. Schmidt of .\ncon. Shown above, Sparky, nee Dagmar, sits at attention beside Sgt-. Edward E. .Mbin of the Balboa Fire Station.

There is a new look to the Board Room

in the Administration Building at Balboa Heights these days.

The change, engineered by John D. Hollen, Chief of the Executive Planning

Staff, was brought about mostly by the addition of six new giant-size photographs of various scenes in the Canal

Zone taken by C. S. LaCIair, Panama

Canal official photographer. They re- place the Pennell lithographs which

have been in the Board Room for many years. Enlarged and mounted on wooden

mounting blocks, the scenes include

black and white photographs of the

locks at Pedro Miguel, the Goethals

Memorial in Balboa, a view of the Cris- tobal Docks, Gaillard Cut, the Dredging Division at work in Gamboa and a picture of the SS "Gothic," the ship on which Qu'^'^n Elizabeth visited the Canal, passing through Pedro Miguel

Locks. The conference table and several pieces of furniture have been re-ar- ranged to give the Board Room a more

spacious appearance, and several potted plants add a green touch.

The Board Room was designated as such in the original plans of the Administration Building and is one of the few rooms in the building which is still being used for its original purpose.

on this type of mail is December 10. Christmas air mail for the States should be

sent out of here by December 18 at the

latest if there is to be any guarantee of delixery before December 25. In any case, mail early and avoid the rush both in the Canal Zone and in the United States, postal authorities advise.

Canal Zone postal officials, anticipating

the Christmas rush, have come out with

their annual appeal to Canal Zone residents

to mail their Christmas packages and

letters early. One of the lirst Christmas mail deadlines

is less than two weeks away, they have

pointed out.

.\11 packages and first class mail to be

sent to the members of the armed forces

ox'erseas or to friends and relatives any- where in the world except the United States should be mailed from the Canal Zone by

November 15. More time is given to those sending

ordinary parcels and first class mail to the United States and air-mail parcels and

letters to foreign destinations. The deadline

The home fire safety questionnaire

sent out during Fire Prevention Week by

the Canal Zone Fire Division to Canal

Zone families, through the children in the elementary grades, was an out- standing success this year. Fire Divi- sion officials have reported.

The questions, answered in a joint session by the entire family, showed

that most Canal Zone families made a sincere effort to keep their homes safe from fire. In most cases, however,

there was nothing they could do about

multiple attachment plugs which are used to supplement the number of outlets in the home, and the matter of special circuits for heavy duty appli- ances was left strictly to the Electrical Division. Most Canal Zone families, according

to the questionnaire, have no base- ments or cellars, no oil mops nor baby

sitters, do not repair their own cars and had nothing to do with installing the fuses in their quarters. \ suprising majority do not smoke and since they have electric stoves in the kitchen,

they have no use for the matches they

have been advised to keep out of the

reach of the children. During Fire Prevention Week, the children of the first three elementary

grades were taken on a tour of the Canal Zone fire stations, the others were witnesses to fire fighting demonstations. Each child who turned in a completed questionnaire was made a Junior Fire Chief in good standing and

given a certificate signed by .Sparky, the fire prevention dog, to prove it. Four thousand of these Junior Fire Chief certificates (in Spanish) were

given to the Panama Bomberos for the junior fire fighters in the Panama

elementarv schools.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

Up And Down The Banks Of The Canal

Marine Bureau

It i)robably wasn't Hurricane Hazel, but just regular October weather which

kicl<ed up heavy seas outside of Balboa

last month. At any rate, whatever the

reason, boarding parties had to use towboats at the anchorage for about four days

to make their routine calls on ships about

to start the Canal transit. The s?as were

too rough for the launches on which the boarding parties usually travel, to make

the trip "outside." And then, for three days, the waves were still so high that

the waiting ships moved up into Balboa

harbor and the boarding was done

"inside."

• • • Waiter Gorman, former emphyee of the

III! Mechanical Divismi, ivas a Canal Zone

rkitfir laxt month; he arrived on the 68-foot yacht E.xplorer, of which he is captain.

The Explorer, which is used for scientific expeditions hy the University of Miami

liad been working off the South American

west coad. At a west coast port it was

loaded onto the deck of the Grace Line's

i5anta Barbara and brought to Cristobal. Unloaded there, it returned through th' Canal to Balboa where Captain Gorman

tied up at the Balboa Yacht Club. With the beginning of the dry season,

sci3ntists will fly here to rejoin the Explorer

and remw their work.

• • • Balboa Harbor haii two unusually

inter^^sting visitors in October: the Navy hospital ship "Haven" and the

four-masted Brazilian traininji ship

"Almirante Saldanha.

The "Haven," true to her name, had

been involved in a mercy mission just before she arrived in Canal waters. A

sick crewman was transferred from the Swedish freighter "Soya Maria" to the

"Haven" in the Caribbean when the

freighter radioed that he was ill and

the ship had no doctor aboard. An

emergency appendectomy put the crew- man back on his feet in no time at all. Tne Brazilian four-master caused

considerable curiosity among Zone resi- dents, many of whom telephoned the Halboa Port Captain's office to ask its iuentity.

The training ship was making its second Canal Zone call this year. In

July, it had stopped in Balboa en route from Rio de Janeiro via Port of Spain,

Trinidad, to San Francisco, via Balboa,

Acapulco, San Diego, Honolulu, and

Guam. In October it was on its way

from San Francisco, via Los Angeles,

Manzanillo, Balboa, Cartagena, La

Guaira, Belem, and Recife.

Governor-President's Office Health Bureau

Supply Bureau

John .U. Brown, Commissary Shoe

Buyer, flew to New York October 22 on his second buying trip of the year. While in

the United States he will visit the National

Shoe Fair in Chicago and the Popular

Price Shoe Show in Boston. During his trip he will see the new

iifferings that will he manufactured later

for the 1955 Spring and Summer seasons. The shoes will not be ready for delivery for four to six months after the variojis showings.

• • • Henry M. tiatherwood had been

appointed to the Mount Hope Guard

Force. His appointment completes

the unit.

• • • Frank Chollar, of the Mount Hope

Printing Plant, has been assigned temporarily to the Duplicating Unit of the

Printing Plant at Balboa Heights. He is relieving George Sanford, who is on

vacation in the United States.

DWIGHT MfKABXEY

Dwight A. McKabney: a former Canal

employee is back on the Isthmus unth a degree in law. He joined the staff of the

Office of the General Counsel early last month. He had worked with various units

of the Canal organization from 19^0 until 1943, when he resigned to enter the Navy.

From 1947 to 1951 he was employed by the Accounting Division, leturning to the United States to enter law school at the University of Hlinois. He is a member of

the Hlinois State Bar.

• • • G. 0. Kellar, Chief of the Safety Branch,

left for the United States about mid-October. He attended the National Safety Congress which was held in Chicago, October 18-22.

• • • Oid timers in the Governor's Office and elsewhere in the Canal Zone wel- come J an old friend last month. He was

Brig. Gen. James A. Steese, one-time

assistant to the Governor of the Canal

Zone. General Steese, who is an inveterate

traveler, arrived from Australia on the

last lap of a trip around the world. He

spent about two weeks here, seeing

what had happened in the three years

since his previous visit.

Personnel Bureau

Mrs. Barbara B. Story and Mrs.

Katharine T. Purdy are new employees

in the Wage and Classification Division. Mrs. Story, who previously worked as a Position Classifier for the Weather

Biu-eau in Washington, holds a similar

position with the Canal organization. Mrs. Purdy, who was em])loyed by the United States Embassy in Manila, is a clerk-stenographer.

• • • The Central Labor Office, Building

69, is having squirrel trouble. For several years a family of squirrels had

made its home around the vine-covered

building on Roosevelt Ave. Office workers say the squirrels are interesting and

cute but deplore their habit of dropping

half-eaten green almonds on freshlywashed automobiles.

• • • Several personnel changes have taken place

in the Peisonnel Bureau. Mrs. .Jolie Ann

Seeley resigned her position as Clerk-Sten- ographer in the Employment and Utilization Division early last month. Doris .May

Capptll Bussey is taking hei place. Another resignation was that of .Mrs. Jean J. Jacobson, of the Central Labor

Office Division. Her husband, an Army

wan ant officer, was transferred to the Pentagon in Washington.

Dr. Evganie P. Shirokov, of the Surgi,al

Service at Gorgas Hospital, left recently to aiiend a course on the medical treatment of atomic casualties. The course was given

at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington between October 18 and October 27. While in the United States, he plans tu attend the 1954 Clinical Cotigress of the American College of Surgeons. This will be held at Atlantic City, N. J.

• • • Dr. Robert D. Wallace is a new veteri- narian with the Health Bureau, .'stationed at the Corozal Clinic. A native of .Mitchell, Nebr., he is a graduate in Veterinary

Medicine from the University of Missouri

with the class of 1954. He has been in general practice in St. Paul, Minn.

Dr. Henry W. Harper, formerly veteri- narian at the Corozal Clinic, ;s- now on duly in the Health Office in Panama City.

• • • Dr. James R. West recently joined the

Pediatrics Section of Gorgas Hospital

A gi-aduate of the University of Ohio, he

has served as a medical officer in the Army. At the time of his appointment

to Gorgas Hospital he had just completed

his residency at Childrens' Hospital in Akron, Ohio. Dr. West's wife and three young daughters reside with him in Ancon's "Fishbowl" section.

Civil Affairs Bureau

The annual public drawing for low

numbers for 1955 automobile license plates will be held Saturday morning,

November 20. The drawing will take

place in the office of the License Section

of the Civil Affairs Building on Gaillard Highway and will begin at 8 a. m. Numbers will be assigned in order of drawing for the first thousand applications

received. Applications will be available beginning tomorrow, November 6, at all Canal Zone Gasoline stations, at the License

Section Office, and at the Drivers Examiners office in Building 1029, Cristobal. The drawing for low license numbers

will be conducted by L. R. Evans, Chief

of the License Section, and E. L. Farlow

of the Civil Affairs Director's Office. It

will be witnessed and supervised by

representatives of U. S.- and local-rate

civic councOs; the public is invited to attend. Zonians who would like low license numbers should get their applications

ill early.

• • • The Office of the Contraband Control

Section, of which P. L. Dade is Chief,

moved the end of last month from the

Civil Affairs Building to Building 721 —

the old Balboa Dispensary Building —

on Balboa Prado.

• • • An informal farewell party was held one Friday afternoon last month in room 208

of the Civil Affairs Building, honoring

.Mrs. Marie M. Gore on her last day at work with the Police Division. Mrs. Gore, who has been arrest clerk of

the Police Division for the past five years, has gone to Marianna, Fla., to join her husband. He is with the Civil Aero- na u t ics .4 dm i n isir at io n

.

Thirty-five of her fellow workers xcished Mrs. Gore goodbye and presented her with
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

a tan alligator handbag and a pair of

gold earrings. Maj. George Herman,

Chief of the Police Division, made the presentation speech.

A highlight of the affairs was a heauti- fully decorated cake, on which icing letters said, "Hasta la Vista, Marie." The Balboa Police Station got in on the parly,

indirectly; what was left of the cake teas sent to the station.

• • • The annual enrollment drive of the Canal Zone Chapter of the Junior Red

Cross will be held from November 8-24

under the sponsorship of Mrs. Jean A. Karch, Chaii-man, and Mrs. Doris C. Etchberer, Assistant Chairman. Both

are with the Schools Division. The Junior Red Cross, which is sup- ported by the children of the Canal Zone,

does a great amount of work for children on the Isthmus and abroad. Money contributed by the children is placed in a service fund and used for helping less fortunate children. For in- stance, eyeglasses are purchased for children who cannot otherwise afford them; medicine and other help is given to children in the Republic of Panama; and

packages are sent to children in Europe.

Among other things, the Junior Red

Cross during the Christmas holiday sea- son sometimes presents fruits, candy and

toys to children passmg through the Canal on ships, and bound for such far away places as Australia and New Zealand

• • • Richard H. Whitehead, a member of the Goethals Memorial commission and an expert on Isthmian history, has

presented two sets of books to the Canal

Zone Library. They are: Hakluyt's

"Navigation and Voyages," a reprint of the 1598-1600 edition, in 12 volumes,

and Damier's "Voyages," a second

edition printed in 1709 in London. The

latter is in three volumes.

The two sets will be stored in the

rare-book vault of the Library's Pana- ma Collection and will be used for an

exhibit in the near future.

• • • Former Zonians get around. Friends at the Civil Affairs Bureau have received word

recently of two of their former colleagues, W. H. Drake and J. W. Tannehill. Mr. Drake is Chief of Police for Las

Vegas, N. Mex., and recently was the recipient on behalf of the city of a special

citation, presented by the New Mexico

AAA Club. The citation was given for

the city's part in the 1953 National Pedestrian Protection contest. Chief Drake was

with the Canal organization from 1925

until 1947. The other former Zonian, Mr. Tannehill, was with the post offices here during construction days. He served as postmaster

at Ancon and Station A for about seven years and was at the old Maiachin Post

Office for about seven months. He also served temporarily as postal inspector. He

is now a distributor of auto specialities in Pasadena, Calif.

Office of the Comptroller

James L. Fulton is acting Chief of the Fiscal Division during the absence on leave of Floyd H. Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin left October 28 for a six-week vacation in the United States.

• * • Richard H. Egolf, Supervisor of the Machine Accounting Unit of the Account

ing Division, now on leave in the United

States, will spend about a week on official duty at the National Cash Register Company plant in Da}i;on, Ohio. He will

observe and study accounting machine

techniques there.

• • • Donald Luke, an employee of the Accounting Division, returned to the Canal Zone

last ynonth after five months official duty

at the Panama Canal Company's New

York Office. He icorked icith personnel of

the Finance Department and had charge of

the development and installation of revisions of the Accounting System.

• • • Members of the Tabulating Machine

Section of the Payroll Branch got

together last month for cocktails and

a buffet dinner. The affair was so successful that they plan to have

similar gatherings each month.

Community Services Bureau

RAOUL 0. THERIAULT

Raoul 0. Theriault, new Administrative

Assistant in the Office of the Coinmunify

Services Director, has become a Pacific side

resident for the first time in his career. Born in Massachusetts, he joined the Canal

organization in 1940 as a commissary

assistant. All of his work, heretofore, has

been on the Atlantic side. At the time of

his transfer to the Community Services Bureau, he was Supervisary Accountant in the Commissary Division at Mount Hope.

Incidentally, he pronounces his name as

if it were spelled "tarry-oh."

• • • The last of the 33 families who have

chosen the new Diablo two-family

masonry quarters for their residences

moved into their new houses on October

7. The first family had moved into the new quarters two months to a day- earlier. Assignments to the Diablo quarters

varied widely as to service. The earli- est service date was May 12, 1934; the

latest, January 5 of this year.

• • • Emmett Zemer and John W. Hare,

Realty Inspectors, were subjected to a

thorough razzing by their fellmc workers

last month. Both former Safety Inspectors, they were in the field near Pedro Miguel on

business connected icith land licenses, when

they came to a small stream which could be crossed only by a log brid-ge. Whether they

tested its sturdiness or not, they aren't saying. At any rate the log broke and

spilled them both; Mr. Zemer icas completely soaked and Mr. Hare got off with

a little less thorough drenching.

Engineering and Construction

U iUl liorses would seem to be an

unlikely element to associate with a project such as the Contractors Hill excavation where some of the most

modern and powerful machines are presently tearing the living rock

asunder in huge chunks and hauling it swiftly to the dumping area.

However one of the minor nuisances

encountered by the personnel working

at Contractors Hill was the sudden

appearance of several stray "caballos"

who, despite noise and threats, persisted in hanging around.

Their presence, and the flies which

followed, could have been tolerated,

but the early morning and night shift driver going to and from the job was

often startled at the ghostly appear- ance of a horse suddenly looming

through the mists and fog which hang

over the hill. Since no one wanted to injure one of the animals. Zone Police were asked to remove to safer pasturage these unusual menaces to modern construction.

• • • Philip T Greene, Industrial Training

Coordinator for the Appi entice School,

recently returned from the United States where he completed several courses. One of

these ioas. at . MassachuscMs. Jjistitute of

-

Technology where a special one-wcek course was given on corrosion. Another was a

two-iceek course, given in New York

City by the Texas Oil Company, on

lubrication. These were followed by another two weeks

at MIT, this time on Transitors and

Physics of Gaseous Electronic Devices, and

by two weeks at the General Electric Company at Schenectady, N. Y., on Ignitron

Rectifiers. While some of the training was at Company expensefor use in the Apprentice

School, the remainder was for additional personal training.• • • The Engineering Division recently issued a building permit to the Sectional

Officer of the Salvation Army, authorizing the construction of a combination

chapel and living quarters in Paraiso.

• • • J. B. Smith, Electrical Engineer of the Panama Canal Company, returned from the United States October 12 after a short

leave. He accompanied his elder son, Paul,

to Albuquerque, N. Mex., where Paul

entered the University of New Mexico.

Paul recently won a four-year Naval

ROTC scholarship, and, despite a subse- quent appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, chose the University of New Mexico for his studies.

• • • Responsibility for the maintenance of Gorgas Hospital and for the operation

and maintenance of the hospital's steam

plant has been assumed by the Maintenance Division.

• • • Clearing for the relocated Aids to Navigation power lines by the Electricial Division now provides a wide,

clear view of the back of Contractors

Hill. Motorists can see much of the grading activity on the hill, without

having to enter the restricted area and

without encountering the dirt, mud,

and dust of the heavy grading work.

They may even be fortunate enough

to witness a blast and still be safe from

flying rock. The ride along Borinquen Highway

is spectacular and unusual and the gorge of the Rio Grande, like its Statesside namesake, is impressive now that the vegetation which formerly hid it

is removed.

• • • Contractors Hill continues to draw

interested visitors from military, professional, and business fields. During

the past 30 days they included two

officers from the Corps of Engineers

and two from the Navy's Engineers; two representatives of Macco PanPacific; a representative of the Hercules

Powder Company; two officers from the

Inter-American Geodetic Survey; a

representative from Standard Oil Company, and a number of CompanyGovernment officials.
Digitized by tine Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

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http://www.archive.org/details/panamacanalr5419545pana
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

('OLON HOSPITAI, a(l?nitte(l its first patients in May iniO, its last on October 26, 1954.

FIRST STOP for hospital patients is the desk in the main lobby, above. BeKus is a ^ ir« ..f tin- Cocn

Solo Hospital's large, well-equipped kitchen. The hospital has a normal capacity of 200 patients.

10

\V1LL1.\M GRADY and ROBERT COLE take

look at the pharmacy.

It Takes A Lot Of Doing

To Move A Hospital

Any householder who has ever moved

and who hasn't—can understand a little of what was involved in transferring an entire

hospital, A certain ainoimt of linen, beds, dishes, food, medicine and equipment are needed

for a family of five; a hospital whose normal

capacity is 200 beds, and its emergency

capacity half again as large, has all of those, and many other items,

too.Just as any family plans,

in its collective mind, what

alterations to make and where

to place furniture, "if we get

the house," the Colon Hospital staff had done some theoretical planning before the Coco Solo Hospital was actually transferred to the Canal Zone Government by the Navy September 1. Built as a service hospital, Coco Solo needed a number

of changes to fit it to the peculiar requirements of a consolidated hospital for the

Atlantic side. Many of these changes has been worked out on paper but others had to be

decided "on the 'groitnd." By the time the work was

completed in mid-October and the hospital stafl^ could

begin to stock shelves, make

beds, provision pharmacy and

kitchens, a large percentage

of the Canal's divisions had

had some part in the remodeling of the Coco Solo building, Leo C. Page,

Chief of the Architectural Branch, and

Rubelio Quintero of the Electrical-Mechanical Branch, Virtually "lived on the job"

working out the needed changes with Dr.

J. M. Wilkerson and his right-hand man,

Robert Cole. Maintenance Division forces, directed by Nelson Magner, until he became

ill, and with Henry T. Carpsnter as fore- man in charge, worked six days a week,

tearing down walls, rebuilding partitions, tearing up concrete, laying tile, and doing

a multitude of other things.

Electrical and mechanical engineers from

the Engineering Division made the neces- sary changes in layout, and wiremen and

telephone men, like Carl Newhard and Harvey Smith, of the Electrical Division spent long hoiu's at the hospital and making

cable connections in the field.

DR. JOHN M. WILKERSON, Coco Solo Hospital

superintendent, stops for a minute in the yellow-tiled operating room. ^^^^^^^

The remodeling was completed, on schedule, in six weeks. It brought the following

commendation from the Governor's Office to the Directors of the Engineering and

Construction, Health, Community Services (which is installing a snack bar), and

Civil Affairs (whose foreman had checked

for fire hazards and like jobs) Bureaus: "A personal inspection this morning of the Coco Solo Hospital for- cibly brought to my attention

the fine job that has been done by our forces in the conversion of the hospital. "I would appreciate it if you will pass on to all the employees who have worked

on this project my commendation for their cooperation, and

a job well done under emer- gency and deadline require- ments.

"I particularly want to mention the superior per- formances of Mr. Nelson W.

Magner, Mr. Henry T. Carpenter, and Mr. Leo C. Page,

of the Engineering and Construction Bureau." A special note commended

the "constant, careful and

intelligent interest displayed

by the Superintendent-designate, Dr. Wilkerson, in seeing that he acquired a hospital of which the Canal Zone may

be proud."

When the remodeling was

completed, the hospital staff began to stock the storeroom and made the

hospital ready for patients. This job was

the special responsibility of David C. Mcllhenny, the hospital's supply chief, and

his assistant, Mrs. Mildred Frensley.

Finally moving day came. At 7 o'clock on a cloudy Wednesday morning, exactly

eight weeks to a day from the date when

the hospital was transferred, the first patients entered Coco Solo Hospital. Coco Solo Hospital's first baby, a girl, was bom at 8:10 a. m.

For the move, the hospital staff had

divided forces, some of them keeping Colon

Hospital operating until the transfer was

finished, the others putting Coco Solo into operation. The last of the 91 patients transferred left Colon Hospital at 11:07

a.m.

COCO SOLO HOSPITAL is set in 40 acres of beautifully landscaped pound,

just off the Boyd-Roosevelt Highway.

A LOT OF LINEN is needed to keep Ihiei' 4.'-bnl .vanL- lji,i Uiai dliown in the top picture -and the

other patient facilities of Coco Solo Hospital in operation. The linen room is shown below.

CLIMB-PROOF fencing keeps youngsters awa\' from the stairwells. 11
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

Rodriguez's And Smiths Outnumber

All Others On Panama Canal Rolls

FILE AFTER FILE in Balboa's Building 09 is

filled with records of people named Rodriguez. Mrs. Una Rigby is going to have a hard time finding Jcse. There are 299 Jose's listed.

What's in a name? Or should it be, how many to a name? Numerically, as

far as the Panama Canal Company-Canal

Zone Government rolls are concerned, the Rodriguez's and the Smiths have it, hands down.

Currently there are 112 people named

Rodriguez on the Canal rolls, and 56 Smiths; if one rang in such Smith nearrelatives as Schmidt (4), Schmitt (1), and

Smithson (1), the number would increase

to 62, although that would be a far cry from the Rodriguez total. In addition to the 112 Rodriguez's on

the rolls of the Canal organization proper, there are 171 others working for the Army, Air Force, Navy, or for contractors or miscellaneous agencies in the Canal

Zone, and their files are all in the custody

of the Canal's Personnel Bureau.

Jose Rodriguez

Down at Building 79, where the Per- sonnel Bureau keeps the files on local-rate employees working anywhere in the Canal

Zone, there are individual records of 3,331 persons named Rodriguez. Of this total, 3,331, there arc 209 whose first name is Jose. Eight standard four-drawer filing cabinets are needed to store the files of the people named Rodriguez.

And these are current figures, from per- sonnel records established since December

1939. Approximately 30,000 other files of former employees, including those re- cruited from El Salvador and Colombia,

are in dead storage and were not searched

for their Rodriguez's; Personnel people

will wager that there are also plenty of the Rodriguez clan listed in those files. Now The Smiths

Now as to the Smiths; There are 41 Smith men and 15 women named Smith

working for 22 Company-Government

units. The Locks Division heads the list with nine Smiths, two of whom are named

George. One is George A. and the other George W.; they are not related. The Electrical Division and the Hospital and Clinics Division tie for second

place, with seven Smiths each. Si.x Smiths

work for the Industrial Division, four

each for the Maintenance and Schools

Division; the Police and Railroad Divisions have two Smiths each, as has the

Office of the Comptroller.

Charles Smith

Thirty-one of the 56 Smiths live on the

Pacific side, including Gamboa. Three of the Atlantic side Smiths have the same

first name, Charles. Charles Samuel

Smith is a detective sergeant with the

Cristobal Police District. Charles Sidney

Smith is a guard with the Terminals Division. Charles Tallie Smith is a conductor

for the Railroad Division. There is also

a Pacific side Charles Smith, an apprentice shipfitter with the Industrial Division. Eight pairs of Smiths share the same

first name. There are the Arthurs—Arthur L., a lock operator machinist, and

Arthur W., administrative assistant in the Office of the Health Director. The

Davids are Maj. David H., military assist- ant to the Governor, and David S., a steam locomotive crane engineer for the

Industrial Division. Smiths By Pairs

Elsie H. Smith is a clerk-typist with

the Balboa Storehouse, and Mrs. Elsie N.

Smith an accounting clerk with the Accounts Branch. At Gatun Locks are the two Georges: George A., a lock operator

machinist leader, and George W., a clerk. Jack E. Smith is a police officer at Balboa,, and Dr. Jack I. Smith is the district physician at Gamboa.

John P. Smith is the chief of the SaniSMITH yPEAKINC, but which one? .J. Palmer

Smith, -Jr., Chief of the Sanitation Division, seated, and .Arthur W. Smith, .Administrative .Assistant, answer the same telephone in the Chief Health Office.

tation Division, and John R. Smith is general and transmission supervisor for the Electrical Division. Both Josephs are Atlantic siders; Joseph C. is a plumber

with the Maintenance Division, and Jos- eph F. a towing locomotive operator at Gatun Locks. The other pair of Smiths

is the Roberts, also both Atlantic siders. Robert C. is a filtration plant operator

for the Maintenance Division, and Robert W. works for the Industrial Division

as a crane operator.

Commissary Customers And Officials

Exchange I deas Al Semi-Annual Forums

{Cantinnei frun page 5) on provision

of more space at Santa Cruz, now crowded

because of the increase in population. G. N. Engelke, Assistant General Manager of the Commissary Division, told the group that during the Christmas

season the Santa Cruz Commissary's

second floor, which has not been used for some time, would be utilized as a sales room and that consideration would be

given to continued use of this space after the holidays.

Locks For Package Bins

Several customers suggested that the Gamboa commissaries be open on Wednesday evening instead of Thursday.

Since Wednesday is a payday on alter- nate weeks, it would be most convenient

to shop after the men return from work

with their pay checks. Another suggestion made during this forum was that some sort of check or guard system be established to prevent

the pilfering from lockers into which

customers put their purchases while they

are buying in other parts of the store. Commissary officials promised to look into

this and suggested that meanwhile, the customers use combination rather than

key locks on the bins. Commissary Calendars

Local-rate customers were told that a supply of complimentary calendars would

be made available this year in the commissaries. Methods for their distribution were discussed and a suggestion made

that commissary purchase authority cards be rubber stamped when an employee

receives his calendar, in order to assure an equitable distribution.

Vincent Huber, Assistant Manager of Wholesale Dry Goods, and John Manning

who heads the Wholesale Grocery Section, talked briefly to the customer

representatives. Mr. Huber showed a number of new

clothing items, includmg nylon and dacron

blouses for women, and two "leisure jackets" for men, one of which was made

in Panama.

Mr. Manning displayed several new

grocery items, including jams and marmalade, deviled ham, liver paste, and a cane syrup. Attending the two forums were: Mr. Johnson, Mr. Ferguson, B. J. Elich, Assistant to the Supply Director; Norman Johnson, Employee and Labor

Relations Officer; R. N. Sullivan, and

George N. Engelke, General Manager and

Assistant General Manager, respectively; Mr. Huber, Mr. Manning, Mr. Bain, Mr. Brown, Mr. Eder, and C. P. Shay,

all of the Commissary Division; and the

following customer representatives: C. W. Chase, W. H. Esslinger, Mrs.

Jean Bleakley, Mrs. Frances Longmore,

Mrs. Thelma Bull, J. D. McLean, J. T.

Dillon, Mrs. Walter Wagner, Mrs. C. L. Coate, Herschel Gandy, Mrs. Rae Ebdon,

Mrs. R. C. Meissner, Mrs. Elsa Bailey, Mrs. Q. M. Berger, Mrs. Jean Bailey, Mrs. Grayce Gravatt, Mrs. Eleanor

Becker, R. C. Daniel, Mrs. Robert

Medinger, Mrs. Faye Minton;

Cyril Atherly, Richard Burns, Mrs.

Hikia Butcher, Mrs. Anita Barnett, A. B. Dalby, Marcum Grannum, C. Haywood,

Miss' Gloria McFarlane, Mrs. Lulitta McFarquhar, Cleveland Roberts, Mrs.

Doris Alexis, W. N. Arthur, Harold A.

Josephs, Jefferson Josephs, and Mrs. Anacia McNish.
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13

Dipper Dredge "Cascadas"

Works On Canal Bank Break

The second major slide or bank break

to occur in ths Canal this year was sched- uled to be cleared up the first week in November after more than two weeks of night-time di-edging operations by the 15-cubic-yard dipper dredge C'ascarfas. The operation involved an estimated

45,000 cubic yards of material, mostly

rock, which broke away from the west bank of the Canal October 16 about four

miles north of Contractors Hill. Dredging in the area was carried on between the hours of three o'clock in the afternoon and seven o'clock in the morning so that regular traffic through the Canal was not inten-upted. One-way

traffic by that point was maintained until the material was cleared but at no time

did the slide present any danger^to

shipping. il "^The slide approached the size of the earth slide which occurred early in .July opposite the Cucaracha Signal Station north of Pedro Miguel Locks.

ANNIVERSARIES

Two Pacific side teachers sliared honors

last month, although the\- nia\ ha\e been unaware of the distinction. Miss Alice Candee, who teaches United States histor\- at Ballioa High School, and Miss Alvina

Freeman, fifth grade teacher at Balboa Kl- ementary School, joined the teaching staff of the Canal Zone schools October 1, 1924. They are, consequently, senior in service

of the six Canal employees who completed

30 years of government service in October. Their Canal service is continuous. Miss Candee comes from the Nutmeg

State, Connecticut; her travels have taken

hsr far from her birthplace and enabled her

to combine two hobbies—seeing new places

and photographv. She spoke last month at the JWB-l'SO,' illustrating her talk with

her own pictures, on a recent trip to New

Zealand. Miss Freeman, Wisconsin-born, has one

of the greenest thumbs her friends have

ever seen. The grounds of her Barnebe\

.Street apartment are a showplace for the neighborhood; some of her plants have been moved to her schoolroom and her students

are picking up her interest in growing things.

The four other employees who observed

their 30th anniversaries in October are: Mrs. Mabel D. Andrews, a clerk-typist at Gjrgas Hospital. Born iji Indiana she is a graduate nurse; her first assignment at Gorgas Hospital was nursing. Later she turned

to the clerical end of hospital work. Gertrude A. Smith, whose birthplace

is Ansonia, Conn., is also a nurse. She

trained at Griffii Hospital in Derby, Conn., and worked in several \"eterans Hospitals

before she came to the Isthmus. George A. Thibodeau is a Bay Stater; he was born in Chicopee Falls, Mass. Now

an auditor in the Internal Audits Staff, he has been in accounting work ever since he

joined the Canal organization. Jantes M. Thompson, whose home state

is Florida, is well-qualihed to head the Canal's Transportation Unit. When he is not arranging transportation professionally, so to speak, he is apt to be exploring old jungle trails across the Isthmus.

Three of the employees who completed

25 years of service in October have contin- uous Canal service: C. S. McCormack,

Maurice W Sherry, a id Harold J. Zierten, though most of Mr. McCormack's

service has been with other Go\ernment

units. He is a towboat master with the Navigation Division, stationed in Cristobal. Mr. Sherry worked as a postal clerk in Tulsa before he came (See page 11,)

A (jIRL ought to have a chance to be alone when

didn't give her a chance. She managed to give the

despite the audience.

she talks to Santa Claus, but Rebecca Fall's friends

old Saint a pretty good idea of what she wanted.

CHRISTMAS may be just around the corner, as anyone can plainly see (above), but Thanksgiving comes first. Bet you didn't know

that while it dates back to Pilgrim days, it's been observed regularly only since 1863. Now that we've shown off, let's go on to some

of the things the Commissaries have this year.

Let's start with food, like turkeys. The

Commissaries will hove a good stock of these, big-breasted ones in large sizes for Turkey the family of a dozen or so, or small Talk birds for the young couple having

their first Thanksgiving together. These turkeys come all ready for the oven, except for the stuffing, which you have to provide yourself. Here, little families get a break this year. The Commissaries have also ordered Swanson turkeys, already stuffed and frozen. Nothing to do but roast them These come in 5-7 pounds only. CRANBERRIES may be trite, but they're a

natural to go along with turkey. They come

fresh, so you can make your own variety of sauce, or in cans. Half slices of the canned

variety, alternated with half slice of fresh oranges, are an attractive turkey garnish. And getting back to that turkey stuffing, both

chestnuts and oysters will be available.

This year's Fruit Coke assortment, for Christmas or Thanksgiving, will represent a

selection from seven suppliers, Pudding including National Biscuit Comand Cake pany, Keebler Weyl, and FFV. They range in price from about 60 cents for a one-pound cake to $5.50 for the fancy five-pound gift-packed cakes. The

Commissary bakeries own Fruit Cake will also be available as usual. Plum Pudding from England has also been ordered, but dock

sirikes make its delivery uncertain. EXPERIMENTERS might like to try a peach

pie instead of the usual Thanksgiving desserts. The Commissary now has a peach-pie mix, of the Comstock line, which already includes pumpkin, cherry, and blueberry mixes. Menu-fillers now on Commissary shelves Include an excellent assortment of Heinz

pickles, several new items for Menu Fillers canapes—like the new Danish meal spreads, spiced olives, olives stuffed with anchovies, and, for a happy ending, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, walnuts, and filberts, ell in the shell. TO DRESS UP the Thanksgiving dinner table, the Commissaries have a variety of candles in the shapes of pumpkins, corn, or turkeys. The

first two ore 1 8 cents each,- the turkey candles

are 25 cents each. For the younger set, particularly, are paper cloths, napkins, plates.

favors, and cups which will hold something

hot without getting limp. The table covers, with a turkey design, are the 54- by 90-inch

siie, at 25 cents each. The other items run from 1 5 to 25 cents each.

If you re going to dress your table up for Thanksgiving, you might want to dress up

yourself. The shoe section

"Striking has come through with a numMatchsticks" ber called, of all things, "Striking Matchslicks," on

account of they're trimmed with gold or ebony tipped matchsticks. Won't light, though. Made by Delmanette, of calfskin, they come in white, blue, and black, with a medium heel, or graphite and red with high

heels; $12.95,

PEOPLE who get invited out to Thanksgiving

dinner might like to take a gilt to their hostesses. Maybe the hosts shouldn't be over- looked, either. How about some of the new

Coro costume jewelry, or the gift-boxed Coty, Helena Rubinstein, Mary Dunhill, Faberge,

Lentheric, or Prince Matchabelli toiletries to make a pretty lady look, and feel, prettier? For the host: Hickok's gift-boxed jewelry and

billfolds. And for the house, Cannon's

gift-boxed terry towel sets. The Housewares people always get huffy

if they are left out of this column. We don't care much—for a Thanksgiving

Horrid Column—for one item they sug- Thoughtl gest but here it Is: New bathroom

scales, in assorted colors, may be

had at the Balboa, Cristobal, Ancon, and

Margarita stores, at $5.85 each. They weigh

up to 250 pounds which should take care of anyone's Thanksgiving dinner. HANDY THINGS to have around the house,

especially for the holidays, are the new TwoTimers, which got their name because they

keep hot food hot and cold food cold. They

hove o capacity of three and a half quarts,

or, easier to understand, four trays of ice cubes. They are made with thick Fiberglas

Insulation between double walls; $3.75.

Where the writer of this column comes

from —Ohio—It was traditional after Thanksgiving dinner to relax and take After things easy. No one wanted much

Dinner to eat by evening time, but popcorn was exactly right. Of course, we

did It over the fireplace, but an electric stove

will do, for lack of fireplaces. All of which

IS leading up to soy that the Commissaries have corn-poppers, the old-fashioned kind with a wire basket, a sliding wire mesh lop, and a long handle. They hold two quarts of

fluffy white corn, 89 cents, and at all stores.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS OCTOBER RETIREMENTS

September 15 Through October 15

Employees who were promoted or traiisferreel l)etween September 15 and October

15 are listed below. Rcsradinfisaiid withiii- grade promotions are not listed. ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

George G. Graffman, from File Clerk, keeords Section, to I'assentjer Traffic Clerk, TransporLilion .Section. Mrs. Virginia D. Cunningham, from

File Clerk, Records Section, to ClerkStenoijrapher, Correspondence Section. CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Mrs. Joyce C. Hudson, from Clerk- Slenographer to Clerical .\ssistant, Postal, Cnsloms and Immigration DiNision. Mrs. Ruth R. Townsend, Mrs. Harriet K. Serger, from Snbstitnte Teacher.

I )i\ ision of Schools, to Library Assistant.

I,il)rary. Ernest B. Wright, from Junior High

School Teacher to Senior High School

Teacher, Division of Schools. Mrs. Alfhild M. Maedl, from Substitute Teacher to Junior High School Teacher,

I )i\ ision of Schools. Mrs. Mary S. Hollowell, Clerk-Typist, from License Section to Police Division. Mrs. Miriam S. Hirschl, from Elementary School 'Teacher to Substitute Teacher,

Division of Schools. Mrs. Despa C. Ward, from Substitute Teacher to Elementar\- School Teacher,

1 )ivision of Schools. Ralph C. Stone, from Guard, Terminals

!)i\ision, to Policeman, Police Division. Auvie H. Byrd, from Administrative

.Assistant to Supervisory .Administrative

.Assistant, Division of Schools. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Mrs. Ruth J. Bain, from Commissary

.Assistant, Commissary Division, to ClerkTypist, General .Accounts Branch. Mrs. Jean G. Humble, from Clerk-

'Typist, Cost Accounts Branch, to Bookkeeping Machine Operator, Machine Knit Branch. Mrs. Jean de la Pena, Clerk-Typist,

friim Claims Branch, to Cost .Accounts Branch.COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

Raoul O. Theriault, from Supervisory Accountant, Commissary Division, to .Ad- ministrative .Assistant, Office of the Comnuniity Services Director. August I. Bauman, from Refuse Collection and Disposal Superintendent, to .\dministrative Assistant, Grounds Maintenance Division. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Gale A. O'Connell, .\rchitectural Engineer, from Maintenance Di\ision to Engineering Division. John A. Snodgrass, from Plumber to Quarters Maintenance Foreman, Maintenance Divisifjn. Joan M. Read, from Ticket Seller, Service Center Division, to Clerk-Typist,

Engineering Division. Mrs. Elizabeth I. Brown, from Clerk- Typist to Clerk (Typist), Engineering

Disision. Mrs. Dorothy H. Benny, from Clerk

(Typist) to Clerical .Assistant, Engineering

Division. Mrs. Mae B. Cross, Clerk, from Maintenance Division to Office of Engineering

and Construction Director. Armando de Sedda, from Cartographic

Survey .Aid to Cartographic Compilation

.\id. Surveys Branch. Mrs. Laura J. Nelson, from Clerk to Clerk-Typist, Electrical Division. William H. Edmondson, from Supervisory Electronics Engineer to Supervisory

Electronics Engineer (General), Electrical Division. OFFICE OF GOVERNOR-PRESIDENT

James G. E. Maguire, from Policeman,

Police Division, to Statistical .\ssistant, Executi\e Planning Staff. Mrs. Clay C. Dorey, frcjm Clerk- Typist to Clerk (Tvpist), Internal Securit\

Office. Mrs. Blanche A. Mclntire, from Clerk

(Typist), to File Clerk (Typist), Internal

Securit\- Office.HEALTH BUREAU

Ira N. C Read, from Supervisory .Ac- counting Clerk, Cost .Accounts Branch, to Snpcr\ isor\- .\cconnling .\ssistant, Gorgas

Hospital.

Daniel C. Zitzman, from Cash .Ac- counting Clerk (Teller), Treasury Branch,

to Supervisory .Accounting .Assistant, Colon

Hospital. Mrs. Ruthelma T. Zemer, Clerk- Stenographer, from Wage and Classificalion Di\ision lo Gorgas Hospital. Col. Henry S. Murphey, from Assist- ant Chief to Chief, Eye, Ear, Nose, and

Throat Service, Gorgas Hospital. Mrs. Hazel V. Welby, from Staff Nurse

to Head Nurse, Commmiicable Disease

Clinic. Margaret A. Cosgrove, Staff Nurse,

Ircjui Gorgas to Colon Hospital.

MARINE BUREAU

Charles J. Palles, from Sheetmetal Worker Leader, Maintenance Division, to Sheetmetal Worker, Industrial Division. John M. Stuart, Christian J. Gundersen, from Probationary Pilot to Qualified

Pilot, .\a\ igation Dixision. John L. McDermott, from Supervisor,

Maintenance Division, to Lock Operator

(Ironworker-Welder), .Atlantic Locks. Robert J. Hansen, from Tractor- BuUdozer-Operator, Maintenance Division,

to Towing Locomotive Operator, Pacific Locks. SUPPLY BUREAU

Mrs. Melba M. Heintz, from Commissary Checker to Commissary Assistant,

Commissary Di\ision.

Howard E. Walling, from Materials Engineer to Cieneral Engineer, Division of Storehouses. Harry A. Dockery, from Storekeeper

(Shipping), to Assistant Supply Officer (Groceries), Commissary Division. Mrs. Thelma A. Koenig, from Ticket

Seller, Service Center Division, to Commissary Checker, Commissary Division. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Mrs. Carol E. Wilford, from Cashier, Service Center Division, to Typist, Terminals Division.

Irl R. Sanders, Jr., from Maintenance Foreman to Dock and Pier Maintenance

Foreman, Terminals Division. Paul P. Desormeau, from Guard,

.Atlantic Locks, to Supervisor)- Storekeeper

(Checker), Terminals Di\ ision. Mrs. Helen E. Chisholm, from .SuperN'isory .Accomiting Clerk to .Accounting

.Assistant, Motor Transportation Division. Frank P. McLaughlin, Jr., from Crib- tender Foreman and .Steam Engineer to Cribtender Foreman. Marine Bunkering

Section. Ralph A. Nelson, from Ganger and

Cribtender Foreman lo Ganger and Crib- tender Foreman and Steam Engineer,

Marine Bunkering Section. Mrs. Gloria M. DeRaps, from .Ac- counting Clerk to Clerk-Stenographer,

Terminals Di\ision.

NOVEMBER SAILINGS

From Cristobal

Cristobal November 6 Pa nama November 1 .?

.-1 neon November 20

Cristobal. November 2 7 From New York

Panama November 4 A neon *November 1

2

Cristolml November 1

8

/'<; na ma *November 26

*Leave New York Friday because of holi- days (.Southbound the Haiti stop is from

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

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

Retirement certilicates were presented

the end of October to the following employees who are listed alphabetically, together with their birthplaces, titles, length of service, and future addresses: Beresford Cadogan, Barbados; Chauffeur, Motor Transportation Division; 20

years, 6 months, 9 days; Panama.

Capt. Ellis D. Carey, Ohio; .Senior Towboat Master, Ferry Service; 34 years, 9 months. 8 days; Patterson, N. J. Mrs. Ruth T. Getz, Michigan; ClerkTypist, Board of Health Laboratory; 12 years, 2 months, 15 da\s; Milledgeville, Ga.

Sgt. Sanford D. Mann, Te.xas; Sergeant

Cristobal Police; 26 years, 1 month, 2 days;

Paducah, Texas. Fred MuUer, New Jersey; Pipefitter, In- dustrial T)i\ision; 15 vears and 5 davs;

Balboa. Fred W. O'Rourke, Minnesota; Foreman

Marine Bunkering .Section, Terminals Division; 30 years, 5 months, 11 days; Los

.Angeles, Calif. Edward C. Stroop, Pennsylvania; .Ad- ministrati\'e .\ssistant. Terminals Division;

31 years, 5 months, 3 days; Circleville, Ohio. Mrs. Katherine M. Swain, Kentucky;

Public Health Xurse; 24 \e.irs, 9 months,

3 da\'s; Lexington, Ky.

ANNIVERSARIES

iContimtefrom iiage IS) to the Canal Zone, where he is also a postal clerk. He is on duty at the Cristobal post office. Mr. Zierten, once of St. Cloud, Minn.,

forsook his career as a teacher of mechanical drawing se\'eral years ago to become

assistant principal of Balboa High Schcjol, where he is affectionately but "Orwellishly"

known as "Big Brother." Mrs. Anna M. Jones, another Minnesotan—she comes from St. Peter—is the

fourth 25-year employee. She is a postal

clerk, working in the money order section

at the Civil Affairs Building.

Seven employees, only two of whom work

for the same Bureau, had twentieth anniversaries in October. Tho.se with unbroken

Canal service are: Denton W. Broad, lock operator wire- man leader at the Pacific Locks; Florence

H. Edbrooke, director of nurses at Colon

Hospital; Michael F. Greene, a customs

inspector at Balboa; Frank D. Naughton,

employee relations officer with the Per- sonnel Bureau; and Edward B. O'Brien,

Jr., .Assistant Superintendent of the Terminals Division. Twenty-year employees whose ser\ice is broken are: Mrs. Barbara K. Hutchings,

clerk-typist in the Steamship Ticket .Agency

at Balboa; and Robert Ward, wood and

steel carman tor the Railroad T^ixision.

October's 18 employees with 15 years government service are evenly split; nine with continuous service and nine whose

service has been broken. Those with continuous service are: James F. Ahearn, plumbing inspector with the Contract and Inspection Division; Mrs. Carmen Casey, a cash accounting

clerk for the Electrical Division; Louis H.

Charles, a painter foreman with the Maintenance Di\-ision; J. B. Clemmons, .Assist- ant Chief, Customs and Immigration Division; Jessee Crawford, track foreman.

Railroad Division; Emmett O. Kiernan,

control house operator. Pacific Locks; Elmer J. Nordstrom, rates anahst, Office

of the Comptroller; Howard H. Sprague,

super\isorN' auditor, Internal .Audit Stall; and Benjamin L. Thomas, Pilot. Those whose service is broken are: George J. Booth, lock operator-blacksmith. Pacific Locks; Jesse Y. Bunker,

policeman, Balboa station; Robert D.

Kelly, retirement clerk, Personnel Bureau; George E. Love, lock operator machinist,

Pacilic Locks; Robert R. McCoy, electri- cian operator foreman, Power Branch; Henry C. Poole, customs inspector, Cris- tobal; Harold I. Perantie, Chief, .Administrative Branch; Fred L. Raybourn, auto

repair machinist. Motor Transportation

Division; and Robert L. Robinson, car- penter foreman, Maintenance Di\ision.
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

THE l''REXC'H LINE office building was built in Old Cristobal in 191S. Living quarters for the General Agent and his family are located on the second floor.

History Of French Line Antedates

Beginning Of Canal's Construction

The French, who played a vital role in the construction of the Panama Canal

and who have left an indelible mark on

the culture and history of Panama itself, have always be?n well represented by the shipping which has passed through the waterway since it was opened in 1914. Before the Second World War, the French Line, which handles most vessels of French registry passing through the Canal as well as its own, took care of nearly 30 ships each month. Traffic was

resumed shortly after the war and during

the past fiscal year a total of 136 French

vessels used the Canal and a number of others, such as cruise vessels, called at

either Balboa or Cristobal without making the transit. The cruise ships included

the SS lie deFmnce, fifth largest passenger

liner in the world and the SS Flandre,

which was built since the war for the

trans-Atlantic trade. Like several other major shipping

companies which were in the Caribbean

and West Coast of South America trade, before the Canal was built, French Lint- ships were frequent visitors at both Colon

and Panama before 1914. In fact, the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique,

better known all over the world as the French Line, had agents on the Isthmus

as early as 1861 when the line opened a

service between Saint Nazaire, Martinique, Cartagena, and Panama.

This service was started shortly after the line, by decree of Emperor Napoleon

III, had changed its name from Compagnie Generale Maritime to Compagnie

Generale Transatlantique and entered

the trans-Atlantic trade with ships run- ning to New York as well as to the French

West Indies and Panama. Company Centennial

The original Company, which dates back to 1S55 and which will celebrate its centennial next year, had formerly been engaged exclusively in the Mediterranean

trade. The first French Line ships, according

to available records, called only at Colon

but by 1870 there was an additional service between Valparaiso and Panama

which connected, by means of the Panama

Railroad, with French Line ships calling at Colon. This was nine years before Count

Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal and promoter of the original

French effort to build the Panama Canal,

paid his first visit to Panama in 1879

to inaugurate the beginning of the work

by the French Company. There is no

record that de Lesseps ever traveled to Panama on a French Line ship but there

is ample evidence that in later years, ships

of the Ime brought thousands of French

and British West Indian laborers to work

on the project.

During the time that the French were making a heroic struggle against odds of climate, disease, jungle, mountains and

finance, the yellow fever death rate was

high and there are reports of crew members as well as passengers dying aboard

French Line and other ships anchored in Colon harbor. As far back as 1865 the Compagnie

Generale Transatlantique nearly became

involved in financing one of the early

attempts of the French to build a canal through the Isthmus of Panama. They

were discouraged, however by the reports

of a company engineer who siu'veyed the proposed route and came to the conclusion

that a canal without locks would be

impossible or if possible at all would cost at least $120,000,000 and take 20 years

to build. Five Ships In 1878 By 1878, the French Line had five ships, one of them called the Ferdinand

de Lesseps, calling regularly at the port

of Colon from European ports with

passengers and cargo. The first offices of the French Line on

the Atlantic Side were at Battery Beach

near the Hotel Washington. Thev were moved to their present location in Old

Cristobal in 1918. The land on which

the office was built had been occupied by

a building used as quarters for one of the World War I censors, employed in the

Cristobal Post Office. One of the early French Line ships to

visit the Isthmus after the Canal was

opened was the SS Flandre, a 11,350-ton

M. \. GRIX(jOIIiE. who has been General .\gent

for the French Line in Cristobal since 1947.

passenger ship which came into Cristobal

in June 1916 for the first time and took on coal. The Flandre, which was built

in 1913 in Saint Nazaire, saw military

service in both World Wai's and has

since been replaced by the trans-Atlantic luxury liner Flandre which paid several

visits to Cristobal last winter with cruise passengers from New York.

The French'iLine office m Cristobal was

agent for the SS Saint Andre of the Compagnie Navale de L'Oceanie, the first French ship to make use of the Canal.

It entered the Canal on the morning of March 16, 1915, en route from Tahiti to Glasgow with a cargo of 6,800 tons of ore. According to The Pan-^ma Canai^

Record account of the transit, "no official recognition was taken of the passage of the vessel just as none was taken of first vessels of other foreign nations making

use of the Canal but at points along the way individuals gave indications of their appreciation of the nation which had

performed such important work in Ijuilding the Canal."

Service To Tahiti

In 1923 the Compagnie de Messagerles

Maritimes, the second largest shipping

line in France, which is still represented

here by the French Line, inaugurated

a direct service from French ports to

Tahiti, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The fii-st steamer to pass through the Canal on this run was the SS El Kantara. Weekly sailings to the Pacific Coast from Europe were started in 1934 with the

operation of the Line's ten new steamers and motorships built especially for the express trade. There were the Wisconsin, San Jose, San Diego, Oregon, San

Francisco, San Antonio, Washington,

Wyoming, and Winnipeg, all well known

among local shipping circles. A coastal trade between Buenaventura

and Cristobal also was started during the

early 1930's with the two small coastal ships Nemours and Trois Ilets, both of which ran regularly through the Canal

until the beginning of World War II. By the time that the second World
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

War broke out in Europe in 1939, the French Line was handling approximately

30 ships each month; the majority of

these passed through the Canal en rout^

to South Pacific, West Coast of South

America, and North Pacific ports.

Closed For Duration

During the War, France lost many

ships in enemy action and the French

Line office in "Cristobal was closed for

the duration. The oflice was not reopened until 1946 when Max Chatron. former employee of

the line in Cristobal, arrived to take

charge of the interests of the company in

Cristobal. During fiscal year 1946, there were only eight vessels of French nationality passing through the Canal but this number steadily increased to 60 in 1947 and 99 in 194.s" until at present the companv handles nearly 200 each year. This number includes vessels of the Messageries Maritimes, which resumed

operation between French and West

Indian ports to Tahiti, New Caledonia

and Australia with two new ships and

one pre-war liner. The new vessels are

the SS TahiUan and the SS Caledonien. each of which carries approximately 480

passengers. Ships of the French Lme have resumed

operations between Eui-opean ports to

the West Coast of South American and

the North Pacific ports where they pick

up cargoes of fresh fruit and frozen food. Four new fast fruit express liners, which

carry passengers as well as freight, now

transit the Canal en route to the West

Coast of the United States. Present

plans call for more to be built. French Line Staff General Agent for the French Line

in Cristobal since 1947 is M. V. Gringoire, a veteran employee of the line. He first came to the Isthmus in 1926 and spent

several years in Cristobal as a boarding

officer before being transferred to Colombia and El Salvador. He was in Martinique when the World War II began.

Called into the French Marines as a

first lieutenant, Mr. Gringoire took his

training in Martinique and was sent to France in the spring of 1940. He landed

in the port of Brest just as the German

Army was breaking through the lowland

countries and the northern part of France. He recaUs that it was not necs^ssary for

Thousands Of Files To Be Moved

To New Records Storage Center

The transfer early last month of 1,000 cubic feet of out-of-service personnel

folders from files in the Administration

Building basement inaugurated a ne\\ Canal unit, the Records Storage Center,

operated bv the Administrative Branch. Housed in a fireproof warehouse-type

l)uilding in the Balboa Industrial area, the new center is prepared, at this time,

to accommodate approximately 6,000 cubic feet of noncurrent records - or, to put it in lavmun's language, the contents

of 1,090 standard file cabinets. Its facilities are available to all Compan.\'-

Government units. The need for a permanent records storage center has long been recognized

by the administration. Studies by the Administrative Branch have shown that the Canal has about 56,000 cubic fj-t of

records, of which at least 49,000 cubic

feet are estimated to be noncurrent. Saves Space

The greater part of these old files ari' kept in field offices, many of them stored

in filing cabinets. This represents a

costly waste of valuable office space and

expensive ecjuipment which can be avoided by use of records center storage.

him to go to the front because the front came to him with such speed that he was made prisoner of war a few days after landing in France. He was released from prison by General

Patton's Army at the end of the war

in Europe in" 1945 and from that time

until 1947 he served as War Shipping

Administrator in the port of Marseilles. Mr. Gringoire is assisted by a staff of

10 persons, most of whom are young

Frenchmen who have worked in offices of

the French Line in various parts of the world and all of whom speak English.

There is also one Frenchwoman on the

staff. She is Miss Louise Grimaud,

Secretary to the General Agent. She has been in "the Cristobal office for the past

four years. Before coming to the Isth- mus she worked for the French Govern- ment in Washington, D. C, and for the French Line in New York City.

STi-^CKiS OF cardboird cartons on steel shelving now hold the Canal's old files, consolidated in the new Records Storage Center in the Balboa Industrial

area. D. F. Mead, on the ladder, shows Mrs. Betty Thomas and Mrs. Marguerite Budreau how quickly

the (lid files can be located.

A check of sui-plus buildings, made by

the Administrative Branch last spring,

showed that Building 9-A, a structure erected duiing World War II, was suit- able and handy. It is located inside the

Industrial Area fence, behind the Instru- ment Repair Shop, and provides about

7,.500 feet of usable floor space.

Slielves And Cartons The building has been equipped \vith open metal shelving, especially designed

for use with "record center cartons." These cartons provide for efficient storage

of either letter size or legal size papers. A simple but eff'ective system of labeling

and cataloging will assure prompt service. David F. Mead, whom everyone calls Freddie, is supervisor of the Center. His

long experienc> in the Administrative

Branch is expected to stand him in good

stead in promoting the success of this new operation.

MR. CRIN'GOIRE with the members of his staff. Appearing in the picture .ire Lucien Mjchineau

and .Jasper Rowe of the Traffic Department; .Jean-Pierre Marquer, Passenger Agent; Henri Laigle, (. hiet

.\ccountant; .Allen Kelly. Accountant, and Eduardo \'ainqueur. Clerk.

Panama Line Schedule

Change Now Effective

The winter schedule of the Panama Line went into effect this week

with the sailing of the SS "Panama"

from New York yesterday.

Henceforth the Panama Line ships

will sail from New York on Thursday

afternoon and arrive in Cristobal the

following Wednesday. On the northbound voyages, the ships will sail from Cristobal at 3 p. m. Saturday,

arriving in New York the following

Friday. The Saturday sailing is

effective with the departure of the

"Panama" on November 13. The overnight stop in Haiti, which was planned for the northbound

ships, has been eliminated and the

ships will remain in Haiti for only

five hours.
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 17

STATISTICS ON CANAL TRAFFIC

For the purpose of comparison between pre-war and post-war traffic through the Panama Canal, statistics for the fiscal year 1938 are used in this section, as being more nearly normal for peace time than those for 1939.

TRANSITS, TOLLS AND CARGO TONNAGE DECREASE

IN FIRST THREE MONTHS OF PRESENT FISCAL YEAR

Although 62 moi-L' ocean-going commercial vessels transited the Panama

Canal during the finst quarter of the present fiscal year than during the cor- responding period in the previous fiscal year, the total number of transits, the amount of tolls collected and credited and the amount of cargo handled were all

less than the first quarter of fiscal year

1954. During the months of July, August, and

September, which constitute the first quarter of fiscal year 1955, a total of 2,435 vessels transited the Panama

Canal; total transits for the first quarter

of fiscal year 1954 were 2,694. Of this year's transits 1,952 were commercial

craft of 300 tons or over. Government Vessels Less The number of U. S. Government vessels during the first quarter this fiscal year is only about 27 percent of the number of government shipping which transited the Canal during the first three months of fiscal year 1954. Commercial

tolls for the first quarter of the present

fiscal year were approximately $8,154,000,

compared to .$8,186,000 for the first three months of fiscal year 1954. Cargo

decreased from 9,434,783 long tons during the first quarter of the past fiscal year to 9,308,165 for the first quarter of the present fiscal year. Trade Route Changes

Statistics on Canal shipping show a marked increase this past quarter

compared with a similar period a year ago—in the number of ships engaged in trade between the East Coast of the United States and South America. During the first quarter of fiscal year 1955, 502 transits were made on this trade route—an increase of 160 from the cor- responding period in the past fiscal year. This increase is attributed in part to the

increased production of South American

ore fields. Other trade routes showing increased shipping were: Between the U. S. east coast and Central America; the U. S. east coast and Australasia; Europe to the U. S.-Canadian west coast; Europe to South A.merica; and Europe to Australasia. U. S. Shipping Leads

The U. S. flag continued to be the most

frequently cairied through the Canal with

British shipping in second place, and

Norwegian ships third. Nationalities showing an increase in the number of vessels using the Canal

were: Chinese, Colombian, Costa Rican,

Danish, Greek, Honduran, Italian, Japanese, Liberian, Netherlands, Nicaraguan,

Norwegian, Panamanian, Spanish, and

Swedish.

Countries whose ships were less in number during the first quarter of the present fiscal year as compared to fiscal year 19.54, were: Great Britain, Chile,

Ecuador, France, (Jermany, Peru, Philippines, and the United States.

MONTHLY COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC AND TOLLS

Vessels of 300 tons net or over By fiscal years

M..iiih Transits

Tolls

(In thousands of dollars)

1955 1954 1938 1955 1954 1938

Jiih 640 638 457 $2,646 S2,817 $2,030

AuKU-l 652 640 505 2,751 2,778 2,195

SL-pti'iiilH-r 660 612 444 2,756 2,591 1 ,936

Octdlier 654 461 2,755 1,981

No\xMiil)c-r - 636 435 2,668 1,893

690 439 2,963 1,845

Jaiuiar>' 626 444 2,726 1,838

592 436 2,491 1.787

March _ - 693 506 2,934 2,016

-\pril 654 487 2,838 1,961

Ma\ 689 465 2,923 1,887

660 445 2,764 1 .801

'I'cilal^ for first ,5 iiicintlis of fiscal year 1,952 1,890 1.406 88,153 8,186 6,161

Totals for fiscal year __ 7,784 5,524 $33,248 $31,918

Canal commercial traffic by Nationality of vessels

Nalic ilit\-

Argentine

Belgian _ Hrazilian

British Chilean - Chinese- - Colombian

Costa Rican . _ Danish -- Eciiadorean.-. Estonian

Finnish . French . German

Greek - Hondnran

Htingarian

Israel

Irish Italian Japanese Korean

Liberian Mexican Moroccan

Netherlands Nicaraguan

Norwegian

Panamanian _ _ l'erii\ian_ Philippine

Spanish _ - Swedish

-

Swiss . . - - - I'nited States_ \'eneznelan

^'llg(>sl,l\ian

Total. _

First Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 Number of transits

16

1 298

17

7 51

16 96

19

•Ions

of cargo

3,331

317638

93

48

121

65

.?

34

10 217

138

231463

1. 672. 060

79,100 60.338

67.811 110,248

2.S(>,1<)2 22.458

1954 Number of transits

483

132,318

197.864 295,542

96 .711

1(1.050

249,423

740,027

422,401

10,981

173.509

11 .579 918.113

688,177

1 6 , 888 57,196

220,438

31120

3 46

.? 5540

Tons

of cargo

7,555 8.204

2 38

84M

73

1 4195

2 42

,841,255

87,063

14,420

49 , 739 18,155

216,964

22,357

14,828

157,760

180,876

297,093

145,980

1938 Number of transits

292

2

2

55

2

28

9131

9

2

1.650 208,640

639,025

8,467

280,486

2,795,410

1 I 29 : 5 214

134

(i7 57 ;

1 536

1.952 9,308,165 1,890 9,434,783 1,406

14,401

132,296

3,242 794.359 932,408

,U,7I2

28,069

23.677

173.387 8.800

,088,915

1375

Tons

of cargo

1 , 667 , 795 10,096

13,113

254,567

4,695

146,788

450,641

18! ,941 2,926

II ,176

39,933

522,490

60

15554

31

495

2

5

217,168

855,770

155,169

15.280 206.645

2,860,814

1,953

23,151

7,642,111
18 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

Canal Zone Census To Be Taken Soon

(Continued from page 1) will be distri- buted by the timekeepers. Only one

person in each household is to til! out the form. Workinfi wives or children living

with their parents who received the

questionnaires will he instructed to return

their questionnaire blanks, with a notation as to their status.

I'iach questionnaire occupies two sides

of a sheet of paper. The head of the

faniilv will be asked to report: His name,

th;' n'umbsr of his id.Mitification-privilege

card, his place of residence, by general

and by specific localities, and the number

of persons, including servants, who live

in his residence.

( )n the reverse side of the census form

he will list by name all persons living with him, including servants, and their

status. He will check in the appropriate blank as to their marital status, sex,

citizenship whether U. S., Panamanian, West Indian, or other; and the grade in Caial Zone Government or Canal Zone

private or parochiil schools which his

children attend. The birthdates, by

month and year, of each and the numbeiof the dependent's identification-privilege

card, if any, will also be included. Th» information obtained from the ceasus (luestionnaires will be listed on

cards and punched up by IBM machines.

After all of the questionnaires have been

returned and converted to punch-card

form, the information from these will be compiled in tables for statistical planning, and budget purposes.

First Census In 1908 For many years the annual census of the Canal Zone was taken by the police

in March of each year. Later the month

was shifted to June or .July. Neither of

these times of year has been satisfactorj' as many local-rate employees take leave

in the dry season while the favorite vacation season for U. S. rate employees is

in the summer months. In future years

the annual census will be taken in October. Although a per-head count of the Canal Zone population was taken during the

(earliest construction days, the first comprehensive Canal Zone census was that

of March 1908. In each "Administrative District"—

Ancon, Empire, Gorgona, and Cristobal—

the district tax collector was the census

tak(>r. These figures were combined with

those of the rural census, taken the previ- ous .July, to derive a total Canal Zone

population of .50,003.

Fish People Meet Monthly For Discussion

{Conl'nue't from page S) ar^' important.

Plants which go into the tanks have a good deal to do with the health and welfart^ of the fish. Scavengers, like snails or

catfish, keep the tanks clean. Any of these is a study in itself; several of the

soinety's members are experts on one or another of these fields, and speak, from

time to time, at the society's meetings.

In addition to its local experts, the Society goes afield for help. Aquarium Magazine answers queries from societies all over the world, and has recently made up

a 700-foot movie film on hatching and

breeding. The Canal Zone Society is ar- ranging to have the film sent here for

local showing to it.s members and other

fish people.

Canal Navigation Rules Translated

For Masters Of Foreign Shipping

WILLI.\M O'SULLIVAN, the Canal's Official Translator, is fluont in half a dozen languages. He just finished translating shipping regulations into Spanish. French, and Italian.

Non-English-speaking masters of a

quarter of the ships which ply through

the Panama Canal soon will have no

reason for misunderstanding the rules and regulations which govern its navigation.

Almost half of the Canal transits are

British and JTnited States ships and many

of the masters of Scandinavian vessels—

1,.3.36 during the past fiscal year—have

a working knowledge of Engli-sh, as do

many German and Japanese ship captains -710 during fiscal year 1954. However there was a great ne.^d for regulations

which Spanish, Italian, French, and

Greek ship masters could read. A translation of extracts of the navigation regulations into Greek was made in Washington, but the translations into the other three languages were completed

here recently by William Francis O'Sulli- van, multilinguist who holds the unique

post of Official Translator for the Canal

Organization.

Precise Job

His translations of the navigation

regulations took him about 10 days and

was one of the most precise jobs he has

ever been called on to do. It involved

technical and nautical t^rms, legal phraseology, and other fine points and was.

necessarily, exact so that there could be no danger of misinterpretation.

His finished work is now in the hands

of the Marine Bureau which will have

the translations printed. They will then be distributed to ship masters whose

native tongues are Spanish, French,

Italian, or Greek. During fiscal year

19.54, they totaled 1,974, or about a fourth of the Canal transits. Mr. O'SuUivan's translation of the navigation regulations was only one of the many out of the ordinary jobs he has been called on to do since he joined the Canal force. Varied Duties

In a single day he may attend a meeting of the Canal Zone Pardon Board to

interpret a prisoner's request for commutation of sentence; translate a medical

document from Portuguese or French;

translate, from English to Spanish,

examination questions given to those applying for licenses as navigators or marine engineers; or sit in on an official

call in the Governor's office when the

visitor does not speak English.

Occasionally he has served as inter- preter in the District Court in an emergency when a regular translator was not

available, and quite frequently he is asked to accompany groups of Spanishor French-speaking visitors to the locks. Recently he gave a series of three orientation talks to a number of Latin American

officers attending school at Albrook Air Force Base on a tour of the Canal.

All official correspondence from Panama

to the Canal Zone is, of course, in Spanish. \r\ important part of his job is to make meticulous translations of all such

letters. When the Canal's Press Office issues a story or oflicial statement in Spanish to the Panama newspapers, he is asked to make this translation.

Born In The Philippines Born in the Philippines, he has lived in England, Spain, and China, and has attended school in more countries than most people see. His father was with Packard International and the family

moved frequently.

Bill O'Sullivan was working in California when World War II broke out. His father had died a few years before and his mother and two sisters were

interned in a prison camp. It was not

until 1945 that he learned that they had

been found, safe and as well as possible

under the circumstances, in the infamous

Santo Tomas prison camp in Manila. Mr. O'Sullivan has been the Canal's

Official Translator since March 1950. His desk is located in the Administrative Branch and although he comes under

that oflfice for payroll and leave purposes,

his job stands by itself. It is uni(|ue in the organization.
November 5, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 19

Oil, Coal, Ore, Lumber,

Lead List Of Canal's

Principal Commodities

Mineral oils, coal and coke, ores, and

lumber continued during the first quarter

of fiscal year 1955 as the principal commodities shipped through the Panama

Canal. These four commodities have

maintained top position since 1952; the

quantities of all four shipped during the

first three months of fiscal year 1955, however, were somewhat less than for the same period in fiscal year 1954.

Several commodities showed a marked

upswing in the amounts shipped through

the Canal in the first quarter this fiscal year, compared to the corresponding

period a year ago. In the Atlantic to

Pacific trade an increase was apparent in shipments of wheat, sulphur, and auto- mobUes.

Wheat shipments during the first quarter of fiscal year 1954 totaled only

•^,488 long tons. During the first quarter

of the present fiscal year 99,000 long tons

of wheat made the Atlantic to Pacific

transit. This increase was attributed to

relief shipments to the Far East and

increased shipments to South America.

Sulphur Shipments Up

Sulphur was another southbound commodity whose shipments increased. This

itsm rose from the seventh position on

the list of the most frequently shipped

commodities a year ago to fifth place this year, and shipments of automobiles moved

from twelfth to eleventh place. Several commodities carried in the

Atlantic-Pacific trade dropped in amount

as compared to the similar period a year

ago. Most marked of these were soy- beans; in the first quarter of fiscal year

1954, 82,204 long tons of soybeans were

reported as southbound cargo while during the first quarter of the present fiscal year there were only 21,076 long tons

carried in the same trade. Other commodities showing a decrease in the amount of tonnage were paper and paper

products and raw cotton.

Oils Increase

In the Pacific to Atlantic trade the most marked increase was in mineral oils;

oil tonnage for the first quarter of this

fiscal year was 211,324 long tons compared to only 45,781 long tons in the corresponding period in fiscal year 1954. Other commodities showing an increase

in the Pacific to Atlantic trade were

nitrates, bananas, metals, and dried fruit. Nitrate shipments, for instance rose from 160,457 to 288,459 tons; bananas

from 148,730 to 204,288 tons; metals from

154,824 to 195,312 tons; and dried fruit from 27,262 to 48,448 tons. Although wheat took the number four spot in the list of commodities carried in the largest quantities, the amount this past quarter was less than half of that

carried from the Pacific to Atlantic during

the first quarter of the past fiscal year. Other commodities showing a decline

in the Pacific to Atlantic trade were: Canned food products, sugar, refriger- ated food products, fresh fruit other than

bananas, iron and steel manufactures,

coffee, and copra.

Principal commodities shipped through the Canal

(All figures in long tons)

Fiu;ures in parenthesis in 1938 and 1949 columns indicate relative positions in those years. ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC

Commodity

First Quarter. Fiscal Years

1955

Mineral oils Coal and coke Manufactures of iron and steel Phosphates - - Sulphur

Sugar.

Wheat

Paper and paper products

Cement . - Machinery.

Automobiles

Raw cotton. . .\mnionia compounds.

Fertilizers, unclassified-. So\ beans and products. _ .Ml others

913.440

822,963 420.748

263.102

106.431 101.038 99.846

91.488 86.520

71 .491 63,579

61,310

58,585

40,484

21,076

1.002,277

1954

1.262,844 922.164

425,326

175,104 93.189

99.247

3.488

102.950

75.543

66.211

60 , 868 62,212

58,603 26.896

82 , 204

1 .021.652

1938

178.635 (3) 47.077 (14) 646,493 (1) 111 ,416 (6) 83,729 (7) 3,207(31)

343 (--) 132.018 (5)

.SO, 5.59 (11) 46,081 (10) 62.h66 (9) 23.877 (13)

53-! (-)

8.641 (41)

I 900 (—

)

il,592,8.?3

Total I 4.224.378 4.538.501 |2.989,009

PACIFIC TO ATLANTIC

Commodity

First Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 1954 1938

1,138,763

731,866

425,528

332,709

302,252 288.459

211,324

204,288

195,312

112,557

61,376

59,681 48.448

27,827

24,273

919,124

1,186.261 .541.685 (3) Lumber

Sugar

Wheat

Can lied food orodiicts

771. 3,W ! 877.574 (2) 438,499 ; 4,!9,129 (4) 723,665 40,87.? (7) 336,936 300,650 (0) Nitrate . - 160,547 222.7.56 (5) 45.781 1 978.129 (1) 148.7,?0 8.670(29)

Metiils various __ 154,824

115,142

63,435

70,009

27,262

66,805

27,504

559,552

173,726 (8) Refrigerated food products (except fresh fruit). Copra, - 45,205 (10) 35,092 (18) Coffee . _ - . 37,173 (16) Dried fruit Fresh fruit (except bananas)

Iron and steel manufactures .

52,0,?9(12) 26.622 (9) 5,966 (—)

\11 others 861,813

Total 5,083,787 4,896,282 4,653,102 CANAL TRANSITS—COMMERCIAL AND U. S. GOVERNMENT

First Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 1954 1938

Atlantic

to

Pacific

Pacific to Atlantic Total Total Total

Commercial vessels: 952 1,000 1,952 1,890 1,406

*SmalI --- - 167 152 319 311 211

1,119 1,152 2,271 2,201 1,617

**l'. S. Government vessels, ocean- eoinc 49 39 88 359

Small 31 45 76 134

Total commercial and U. S. Governnien t 1,199 1.236 2,435 2,694

'Vessels under 300 net tons or 500 displacement tons.

**\'essels on which tolls are credited. Prior to July 1. 1951. Government-operated

ships transited free. TRAFFIC MOVEMENT OVER MAIN TRADE ROUTES

The following table shows the number of transits of la net tons or over) segregated into eight main trade routes:

rge. commercial \'essels (300

First Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 1954 1938

149 156 349

East Coast of U. S. and South .\merica . . 502 342 97

East Coast of U. S. and Central .\merica 142 115 19

East Coast of U. S. and Far East- . ... 288 307 217 U S Canada East Coast and Australasia -- - _ - - 49 41 49

Europe and West Coast of U. S. Canada _ _ 172 156 194

Europe and South .America 162 124 137

95 77 44

393 572 300

1,952 1,890 1,406
20 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 5, 1954

Answers Now Available To Queries Asked

(Ciinlin'ied frum i>wji' I) per .vi'ar on the Panama Line at a 7") percent reduction of

fare, provided that if he utilizes one-way

home leave transportation l)enetits as a

nieniher of your family, the student dis- count rate tiiay be authorized in thi' same

calendar year for one-way transportation

onlv. I Q. Are retired employees eli^dble?

.•1. No. They are, however, eligible

for a 25 percent reduction on the Panama

Line. Q. Must I work two years after I return from vacation, or does the two-year period

hefjin when my vacation starts? A. This is still to be deti'rmined, on the

basis of Bureau of the Budget rulins;s. MODES OF TRAVEL:

Q. Will there be flexibility to permit

choice by employees concerning .shiptravel versus air-travel?

.1. Yes, if both are available. Q. Must travel be by the Panama

Line? By U. S. flag carrier?

.1. Ship travel by Panama Line is not mandatory; travel will be by U. S. flag

carrier whenever possible. Q. Will my car be transported free under P. L. (500, as amended.

A. No (however, a reduced rate for employees cars on Panama Line ships

remains in effect). Q. If an employee .should choose to

ship his own car and pick it up at a

caastal city, could he be paid mileage on

the car to his home town?

.4. Yes, provided this does not exceed

the cost of transportation by common

carrier by the most usually traveled route to his actual place of appointment.

TRAVELING SEPARATELY:

Q. My wife is also a Panama Canal

Company employee. Must we travel together?

A. The answer to this and other similar questions awaits the Bureau of the Budget directive; in the interim, the answer

is yes. ROUTE FOR LEAVE:

Q. My home is in California; would a

less expensive travel elsewhere in the United States be reimbursable?

.4. Yes.

Q. Do I have to go to my "place of

actual residence" in order to benefit under P. L. 600 as a ball player must

at least touch first base? A. No. You may go anywhere in the United States you wish, as long as the

cost of transportation does not exceed

that of first class transportation by the most usually traveled route to your

"place of actual residence." Q. Can I get an "equivalent" paid to a foreign country? A. No, this vacation leave transportation is for travel to the United St;\tes

only. However, stopovers are permitted en route to or from the United States by

many carriers. MISCELLANEOUS:

Q. Can I get free travel on a trip of

less than 30 days?

.4. Yes.

Q. What happens if I should quit before the two-year period expires after m>- return to work?

A. You probably would be required to repay transportation costs. This applies

to all voluntary separations, such as voluntary retirement, but does not apply

to reduction of force terminations or to these retired for disability.

Hazel, On A Rampage, Upsets

Schedule Of Panama Line Ships

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W. H. ESSLINGER. Chief llydrographcr. follottpd Hazel's course on his weather maps.

If the Panama Line and the Terminals

Division never again hear the name Hazel,

it will be quite all right with them.

From (Jctober 9, when the SS Ancnn

hove to in the Caribbean, until the after- noon two weeks to a day later when the SS Panama cleared from Cristobal for New York, Hazel was making her effect

felt, though in a different way from that

in which she swept across Haiti and up

the United States to Canada.

Oldtimers here could recall no other time when a tropical storm had upset the schedules of all three of the Panama Line

.ships, nor any hurricane of such duration. The AncoJi, which cleared Cristobal October 8, was the first to be affected by

Hazel. Radio reports warned the ship

that Haz:>l was picking up intensity and

beginning to rampage along a line which

would bring the Ancnn and Hazel much

"HEKE'8 WHERE we were," Capt. F, lieS. llmman, Master of the Panama Line's Crutubul, shows

B. I. Everson, Transportation and Terminals Director and A. E. Beck, when the CriMobal reached the Canal Zone after evading Hurricane Hazel. .\s Superintendent of the Terminals Division, Mr. Beck

is Canal Zone agent for the Panama Line ships. too close for anyone's comfort. Since

there was no way of stopping Hazel, the Ancnn followed the old principle of a bicycle confronted by a truck and neatly

put herself out of Hazel's way by heaving

to in the Caribbean for several hours. When Hazel had passed, the Ancon con- tinued her voyage to Port-au-Prince,

getting out of the Haitian port only a few hours before Hazel struck Haiti. The Cristnbal, meanwhile, was in Haiti when Hazel began her devastating race

across the .sea. The Cristobal, too, would

have had a head-on meeting with the windy lady, but e\-aded this by heading

down toward the South American Coast

in a wide detour which took her well off Hazel's course, and brought her into Cristobal hours late. That should have been enough for any

shipping line, but the Panama had to get

into the act, too. She was about to sail from New Y^ork when erratic Hazel

threatened the U. S. East Coast. .Just as large Na\'y ships along the coast put

out from their piers, the Panama left hers, anchoring in New Y'ork harbor until word came that Hazel had chosen an inland

course and the seaways were safe. This

oN'ernight delay put her se\'eral hours behind schedule. While Hazel was rampaging on her way, Panama Line oflicials were in close touch with the ships and with Hazel. While the .ships were in the Caribbean,

they kept the Cristobal office informed of their progress or, in the case of the .4 ncnn while she hove to, their lack of progress. For the leg from Haiti to New York, the New York office was the contacting agency. Me:Mitime, W. H. Esslinger, Chief of the Panama Canal Meteorology and

Hydrographic Branch, received regular

weather reports on Hazel's progress and

plotted the hurricane's course. o^-.?^-a^(l/}