S^ «//A* Panama Canal Museum ^ ^

Vol. 3, No. 6 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, JANUARY 2, 1953 5 cents PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR PREMIUM GRADE GASOLINE

TO BE SOLD AT ZONE RETAIL SERVICE STATIONS

EVENTFUL 1952

A HIGHLIGHT ot the past year was the arrival of Governor Seybold to begin his tenn of office There have been few years in the Canal's

history to match 1952for the constant stream

of news of more than passing interest to employees and their families. There was

scarcely a ireek of the past 52 which was not productive of one or more major news

stories. Personnel changes, Canal traffic, rents, and the quarters construction program

all made big news during the year. There

were many other items of lesser general

interest. A brief summary of the monthby-month Canal riews is given beloic as a

reminder of eventful 1952. JANUARY

Transfer of the town of Cocoli to the

U. S. Navy, merger of the Municipal and

Building Divisions to form the Maintenance Division, and adoption of cash

sales in all U. S.-rate Commissaries took

place at the opening of the New Year. Most important news of the month

was the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company

in the Board Room of the Administration Building. It was the first to be

held on the Isthmus and eight members

attended. Karl D. Bendetsen, Chairman

of the Board, and then Assistant Secre- tary of the Army, spent the first two

weeks of January in the Canal Zone to make a first-hand study of Canal oper- ations and prepare for the Board

meeting.

Personnel news: W. H. Dunlop was

elected Finance Director. Marc P. Ouinn was appointed Chief of the Management Division, and Stanton Brown resigned as Chief of the Civil Intelligence Branch. FEBRUARY

Contracts for §8,500,000 were awarded

for quarters construction and site preparation in Ancon, Balboa, Diablo Heights,

Paraiso, Cardenas, Silver City, and Margarita. In addition the Maintenance Division was assigned quarters construction work

totaling over SI,000, 000 and bids were awarded for $325,000 worth of native lumber for the building program. The bids for the Summit townsite development were

rejected. Other news of the month: Announcement

was made that the Locks Security Force would be organized to replace military guards at all Locks; Thatcher Ferry hauled

its 50,000,000th passenger; the old Ancon

Theater building was sold; and the fluorida- tion of water was begun. MARCH

The month started with rate in- creases on stevedoring, marine bunkering, and cargo handling, and a twocent increase in the retail prices of cigarettes and gasoline.

Visitor of the month was Secretary of the Army Frank Pace who got his first view of the Canal during a three-day

visit. The townsite work at Summit, being done by the Maintenance Division, was

suspended and a committee appointed

by Secretary Pace, consisting of Peter

Beasley, Col. Jess A. Radnor, and Col.

E. F. Cardwell, arrived to arrange for the transfer of a tract of land at Corozal

for the Canal's quarters construction program. Considerable anxiety was

created by a Zone-wide air raid alert which was sounded on the last Sundaj'

in the month. W. H. Esslinger was appointed Chief Hydrographer upon the retirement of George E. Matthew. New Panama

Canal traffic records were set in March. APRIL

President Truman nominated Brig. Gen. John S. Seybold to be (.See page T)

Various Alterations

Needed For Handling

Sale Of Two Grades

The sale of high-test gasoHne

will be started at the Canal's

retail gas stations as soon as the necessary arrangements can be

made and a supply of premium

gasoline can be obtained. An interval of about three months may elapse before the

first premium gi-ade gas is available since about 60 days

are required for deliveries after orders are placed and minor

alterations are required at the tank farms and at the service

stations. The high-test gas will be on sale at all retail stations except at Gatun and Pedro

Miguel where additional \See page m

New Policy Is Announced

On Quarters Applications

Applications for assignments to U. S.- rate quarters will be limited to three

choices of units by house number, type, or limited areas, after March 1, and all applications on file not conforming with

these limitations will be canceled on

that date. Employees who have applications not

in conformity with the new rule will be

notified by the various Housing Division

offices about February 15 to replace their applications by March L

The change in the rule about assign- ment applications is being made to ex- pedite work in the Housing Offices in filling vacancies and to avoid long delays and fre- quent inconvenience to employees desiring

specific assignments because of "blanket"

requests which must be circularized when

any house of a particular type or group becomes vacant. Examples of acceptable wording of applications for quarters under the new

system are: Houses 108, 562, or 834; any

cottage on Davis Street, Endicott Street, or Sibert Street, Diablo Heights; and any

duplex on First, Fourth, or Sixth Streets, Margarita. "Blanket" applications such as the fol- lowing will not be acceptable: Any cot- tage in Gamboa, any duplex in Margarita,

or any three-bedroom house in the Balboa

school district.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953 Twin Pilots Could Cause

Confusion In Panama Canal

YOU FIGURE them out. One is Panama Canal Pilot Arthur T. Wilder; the other is bis identical twin, Albert

L. Wilder, Pilot^in-Training. Both are based on the Atlantic side and live close together in Cristobal. Panama Canal Pilot Arthur T. Wilder

isn't snubbing his friends these days. If he's accused of looking the other way,

he blames it on his brother. The brother is an identical twin, Albert L. Wilder, Pilot-in-Training, who

let the Canal in for a bit of confusion when he was employed October 15. The mixups have been few so far—such

as Arthur's friends finding Albert un- friendly—but there might be more since both are pilots with similar haunts and

habits who live within two blocks of each

other near the Inter-American Woman's

Club in Cristobal. The appearance of Albert on the Pan- ama Canal scene is just the last of a series of events and coincidences that have kept

the Wilders, man and boy, together most

of the time. On one occasion durmg the war they were on different ships in the same convoy. Arthur's ship was torpedoed on

July 4; Albert's went down the next day. One was picked up by a rescue ship; the other by a tanker. Both wound up in a Russian camp in the timber town of Archangel. Their trusty guitar and mandolin, with which they had entertained themselves and other people since their high school days (their repertory then also included

acrobatic acts), went down with the ships and were replaced while they were in Russia. Music Makers Some of the ditties they sang for fun

while they were in Archangel were re- corded and later were rebroadcast over

stations in Moscow. Others they did while they were in Scotland also were

recorded. The twins heard records they made in Scotland rebroadcast over the

British Broadcasting Corporation when

they were back home in Massachusetts. One of the Wilder wives recalls that

after several wartime months, with no word from the twins, they appeared at the door, mandolin and guitar in hand, and spent most of the day making music

together. Besides being born (in Dorchester,

Mass.), and growing up together (in

Mexico, Texas, and Massachusetts), their choice of vocation and sea-going careers have paralleled each other. They attended the Massachusetts Nautical School in Nantucket, then served as

able seamen on the same ship. Their

sul).se(|uent promotions ran close together but pi'evcntcd them from serving together. Both worked for the Fai'rell Lines for eight years on runs between New York

and South Africa. Both served six years as captain. The team broke up when Arthur came

to the Canal Zone in February 1951, and

Albert went into the Navy. Arthur's

interest in the Canal was aroused by a

Farrell Line passenger who showed the twin the application he was sending for employment. Then and there the pilot borrowed from the passenger the application form which led to his eventual employment in the Canal Zone. Lived In Mexico

Both of the twins had been through the Canal before they were employed as pilots and both knew something of Latin America as a result of the six years they lived

in Mexico as children. Captain Arthur

Wilder's Spanish recently prompted a Peruvian captain, whose ship he was

piloting through the Canal, to ask if the

pilot were Panamanian. Other Spanish- speaking ship captains have remarked

about the pilot's excellent accent but have

politely questioned (and rightly so, the

pilot says) his degree of understanding. The confusions ordinarily caused by

identical twins were more common when

the Wilders were younger. One wife says

she used to get them mixed up and say

the wrong thing to the wrong brother. Other twins supposedly change places

in class, particularly at examination

time. The Wilders tried it only once

while they were in Nautical School. The one who was in class answered to the wrong name and they never tried it again. Attempts to misappropriate girl friends caused the Wilders no trouble, either. Their tastes in that department were

never enough alike.

Variety Of Subjects

Under Discussion At

December Conference

Extended round-table discussions of a variety of subjects featured the Governor- Employee Conference in December.

Lt. Gov. H. 0. Paxson presided at the

"shirtsleeve" meeting between Canal oflS- cials and employee representatives in the absence of Governor Seybold who was

unable to attend. The conference was

one of the longest of recent months and was highlighted by the range of topics of community and employee interest. The Rev. P. H. Havener, of the Cristo- bal-Margarita Civic Council, expressed

the thanks of his group for an opportunity

to discuss plans and possible location of the future school at Margarita. He said the invitation to the Civic Council to participate in a decision on the school's location had been well received, and he

expressed the hope that this practice would be continued. The Lieutenant Governor said he was

very pleased to have the report and said

it was the view of the Canal administration that such exchanges were helpful in arriving at proper decisions. He said an

effort will be made to get the view of those utilizing facilities or S3rvices prior to their installation. Identification System A subject which was discussed at length was the possibility of improving the sys- tem of identification used in the Commissaries. H. J. Chenevert, of the Central Labor Union, started the discus- sion by askmg why it would not be

possible to have employees identified on

entering the retail commissary stores rather than being required to show identification at all sales' counters. Lieutenant Governor Paxson said the suggestion has many merits and will be

fully investigated. He promised a report

at a later meeting on the result of the

study. The subject of housing at Pedro Miguel was again brought before the monthly

conference and the Lieutenant Govei-nor

told representatives from Pedro Miguel

that the long-range plans presently pro- vide for rebuilding at the Locks town at the end of the program. He said the extent of the building program there is still in a somewhat uncertain state and

he was unable to say how many houses

will be built there. The number will depend, he continued, on the force level and the housing units available in other

Pacific side communities at the time the

existing houses in Pedro Miguel are abandoned. The Lieutenant Governor acc'cpted an

invitation of C. W. Hammond and other Pedro Miguel representatives to make a personal inspection of various houses in the town. Standard Labels To Be Used

Labor and employee representatives at the December meeting were informed

that the standard labeling program of the Commissary Division will be in full effect within another 2 weeks. This was indi- cated during a review of questions arismg

at previous meetmgs. The {See page is)
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW Announcement Expected Soon On Rents

Current Building Program Will Provide

Many Quarters For Large-Sized Families

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

A NEW TYPE of two-family masonry quarters

will make its appearance in the 1953 fiscal year construction program. The same general floor plan as shown here will be used for both four-bedroom and

three-bedroom apartments. The floor plan of the

upstairs area of one of the four-bedroom apart- ments is shown at the right. Nine of the duple.\ buildings—18 apartments—will be built, two on Empire Street and 7 at Corozal. The 1953 building program also provides for the construction of IS duplexes—36 units—with three bedrooms, all to be

built at Corozal.

The current shortage of quarters for U. S.-rate employees with families of more than average size will be greatly

alleviated upon the completion of the quarters construction programs for the

fiscal years 1952 and 1953. Nearly 200 sets of quarters with three

or four bedrooms each are included in the

building schedule for these 2 years. While

the completion of these will by no means

eliminate the need for large family quarters it will be a long step forward in the

overall program designed to provide adequate housing for employees in all categories. The long range quarters construction program provides for about 10 percent of the units to be four-bedroom apartments.

E.xcept for a few scattered units thsre are no four-bedroom apartments available

for special large-family assignments. The 1953 fiscal year building program

includes, for the first time, a group of four-bedroom apartments specially de- signed for employees of moderate income. A total of 18 apartments of this type and

size are to be built, 4 on Empire Street and 14 at Corozal. The floor plan of this new type of building, a two-story duple.x masonry structure, is shown above. All

of these are to be reserved for special large-family assignments.

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

Canal regulations provide that special "large-family" assignments can be made

to employees with four or more dependents, or to an employee with a family of four persons, consisting of himself, his

wife, and two children of opposite sex of 12 years of age. Applications for these

are grouped separately and assignments

are made on a seniority basis within the group. A limited number of family quarters

are reserved for these special assignments

in all towns, but practically all of these now are three-bedroom units. The need

for quarters suitable for large-family assignments is presently more acute on

the Pacific side than on the Atlantic side. At present practically all of the three- bedroom apartments in the masonry

quarters in Balboa are reserved for these assignments. There are only a few scattered four- bedroom units presently avaUable for large-family assignments in the Canal

Zone. Two duplex masonry buildings with four-bedroom apartments were built on a experimental basis in Diablo Heights and Margarita during the Special Engineering Division's Canal studies. In addition, one of the twelve-family apartment

buildings at Diablo Heights was conMuch Detail Work

Required To Compute

New Rent Schedule

An announcement of the new schedule

of rents for quarters of U. S.-rate employees in accordance with adjustments

authorized at the December meeting of the Board of Directors is expected to be made within the next few days.

• A complete recomputation of rents has been required and the effective date for the new schedule had not been set when

this edition of The Canal Review went

to press. Because of the detailed work

involved in computing rents on the new

basis, little, if any advance notice will be

possible before the new rates become

effective. The announcement of the rents will be made at the earliest possible date, however, and employees will be notified indi- vidually of the rents they will pay as was

done when the raises were announced in October. New Rent Basis The new rent schedule is being based on

the three recommendations of the Rent

Panel which were accepted by the Board

of Directors. These are: (1) The defer- ment of interest until July 1, 1953; (2) reduction of the proposed rent increases on the least desirable housing; and (3) distribution of the vacancy factor evenly. The Board did not accept the Rent

Panel's fourth recommendation which was to give consideration to the exclusion

of all or part of the special charges in- cluded in the rental base imposed princi- pally because of geographical Ideation. In an announcement following the Director's meeting, it was stated that the Board carefully reviewed and considered

the Panel's findings and recommendations and other important aspects of the rent problem, such as the depreciation periods

for various types of structures and the

possibility of further writeoffs for obsolete

buildings. The extent of the rental decreases from

the schedule announced in October is expected to vary widely since the Board

of Directors authorized a direct cut in the

rates for the least desirable houses. The

houses in this group will be those slated

for demolition during the long-range

quarters construction program. The biggest increases over the old rates are expected to be in rents for those houses built prior to about 194S which

are to be retained in the permanent

quarters program.

verted about 3 years ago into a three-unit four-bedroom buildmg. The quarters

construction program of 1952, now nearing completion, includes 10 "breezeway"

units of 4 bedrooms. All of these, with

the exception of two or three to be re- served for official assignment, will be

placed on the special large-family list. Except for these few units, the Canal

has never built four-bedroom units for regular assignment. Most of the houses now in use with more than three bedrooms

are old frame structures built during the Canal construction (See next page)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953 Pearline Carter, 26, Is Youngest

Principal In Canal Zone Schools

YOUNGEST PRINCIP.^L in any of the Canal Zone schools and one of two women prmcipals in the colored schools is Pearlme Carter, 26, shown here with

two young students, Cai'los Archibald and Donna

Gibbs. Miss Carter heads the faculty of the Chagi-es School at Gatuu.

Although she is only 26 years old, Pearlme Carter holds a double distinction. She is not only the youngest principal in the Canal Zone schools but she is also one

of only two women principals in the

colored schools. The other woman principal is Juliette Carrington of the Paraiso

school. Tradition was upset at the begmning

of the school year when the two women

were appointed to positions which had

always been held by men, except for a

brief period some years ago. Miss Carter, in addition to handling a

job new to her sex, is also having to adjust to an entirely new community. Born in Panama City, she had spent her entire—if not very long—life on the

Pacific side. Normal School Graduate

She went through school in La Boca

and was graduated from the La Boca Normal Training School in 1947. Until the recent retirement of her father, Clifford Carter, who worked for the Municipal Division for 40 years, her parents had lived in La Boca. She started teach- ing there and was a third grade teacher

at La Boca until her promotion to a teachmg principalship this year. Now workmg in Gatun where she heads

the faculty of nine at the Chagres school, she finds the two towns very different. La Bocans are diversified in their interests and heads of families work for many dif- ferent Canal divisions. Gatun is a onedivision town; the fathers of almost all her students are Locks employees. Her new school and geographical posi- tions keep her daytimes and evenings

busy. Miss Carter teaches English, mathematics and social studies in the seventh and eighth grades and spends the remaining two hours of the school day in administrative work. Evenings are de- voted to Parent-Teacher meetings or to

calls on the families of the Chagres

School pupils, to find out what and how

Gatun thinks.

One Wednesday evening recently, Miss

Carter and some of her teachers met with

a group of parents to work out plans for the Christmas pageant. This was similar

to the highly successful "Christmas in Other Lands" which she du'ected the year before in La Boca. About 100 of the school's 260 kinder- garten through eighth grade students participated in the pageant, half as actors and

half in a choral group. They presented

typical Christmas scenes from England,

France, Germany, the Scandmavian countries, Italy, Holland, and America, with Christmas music from each coimtry. A narrator explained each country's

traditions and provided a running account

while the actors moved from one scene to another. For several weeks m advance of the presentation the Chagres students did

the necessary research and background

for this program. Costumes Cost 40 Cents Gatun parents played an important

part in providing costumes for the pageant. The cost of the costumes was kept

to a minimum by the use of such materials as dyed cheesecloth, crepe paper, which makes fine fur collars when properly handled, and old garments, which showed up fine under the artificial light outdoors at night. By such economies,

she managed to hold costume costs to between 24 and 40 cents a child. Other projects at Chagres this year will be a Music Week celebration in May and

an arts and handicraft exhibition. Last

year at La Boca, Miss Carter's students

presented a Music Week program of dances interpreting music, a project known technically as "creative, rhythmic

activity." So far, Miss Carter has found neither her youth nor femminity drawbacks in her new job. On the contrary she has met

friendliness and helping hands and, especially, interest from the older girl students.

New House Assignments

to be Made January 16

Assignments to eight new houses under

construction in Margarita and those in Ancon which have not already been as- signed will be made January 16 on the

basis of applications recei\^ed by the

closing hour of 4:15 on that date. The assignments will be made some

time before many of the houses are completed to permit the assignees to move

into the new quarters as soon as they are ready for occupancy. » After January 16, there wDl be no

further special assignments on the basis of applications received before that date. There are 36 apartments in the group to be assigned in Ancon, including 22 cot^ tages and 7 duplex houses. They will be ready for occupancy as they are completed starting about the first of January. Eight new houses in the Ancon develop- ment have been occupied and eight others have been assigned. There are foiu' cottages and four duplexes in the group to be assigned in Margarita, all of which are located on

First Street. It is expected that they will be ready for occupancy starting about

the first of February.

Current Building Program Provides Quarters

{Continued from page 3) period and are re- served for official assignments. The present shortage of family tjuarters suitable for families of above aveiage size has been induced to a great extent by the construction a large number of small

units during the expansion program at the beginning of the war. During that time

the need for housuig of a large number of employees was so acute the emphasis of the construction program was on numbers

rather than size. Consequently, the number of twelve-family and four-family apartment buildings with one or two bedrooms to an apartment is completely

out of proportion to the requirements. This condition will be gradually adjusted as the long-range quarters construction program progresses. While the number of apartments available for special large-family assignments will not be adequate until near the end of the pro- gram, it is anticipated that the present shortage of quarters a\'ailable for families of above average size wi'l be alleviated within about a year. In addition to the new type of duplex,, four-bedroom buildings, the 1053 fiscal- year program also calls for the construction of 19 builduigs, or 38 apartments, of

this type with 3 bedrooms to be built at Corozal. The floor plans of the three- bedroom apartments will follow the general plans for the four-bedroom apart- ments. The amount of floor space in the smaller apartments will be 1,510 square feet, as compared with 1,891

in the four-bedroom apartments. Only one four-bedroom "breezeway"

hou.se is on this year's building schedule and this will be built at Corozal.

\\'hile it will be several months yet

before the unit costs of the new duplex four-bedroom apartments can be deter- mined, it is estimated that the cost will be substantially lower than the four- bedroom breezeway houses which will bring the rental figures low enough for the apartments to be available for special large-family assignments to employees of moderate salaries.
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

FOR YOUR INTEREST AND GUIDANCE IN ACCIDENT PREVENTION

, #.. .^W^ M.-.M —%^^^ - - _ THE SAFETY ENGINEER AND SAFETY

The National Safety Council has

pointed out in a series of articles that the key man in the pre\'ention of accidents is the boss. In the case of the Panama

Canal Company that person is usually a U. S.-rat<» foreman, an assistant manager,

a leadingman, or a local-rate sub-foreman. Though the key men are these bosses, they must have help from others in order

to put over a successful safet>' program. The importance that management plays

in this help has already been pointed out

in a previous article. The necessity for being a good boss and knowing how to handle the worker has also been discussed. Next most important person is the safety engineer and inspector. The profession of safety engineering is comparatively new to industry, and only

lately has it been possible to obtain formal

education leading to a college degree in the field. Thus, at present, most safety personnel are se'f-made men, having

started in some other profession or trade. Then through humanitarian interest, per- sonal experience and application have

acquired the knowledge and know-how to do safety engineering.

Often, they have themselves been

workers, then the bosses in the very field HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

November

INDUSTRIAL BUREAU AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Community Services 5 Industrial 4

Civil Affairs 3 Engineering and Construction 3 Health 1 Marine

Railroad and Terminals

Supply and Service

Division Awards For NO DISABLING INJURIES

November COMMISSARY DIVISION HOSPITALIZATION AND CLINICS ELECTRICAL DIVISION RAILROAD DIVISION MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DIVISION AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Grounds Maintenance 8 Motor Transportation 7 Clubhouses. 6 Electrical 6 Dredging 4 Hospitalization and Clinics 4 Maintenance 3 Railroad 3 Sanitation 3 Storehouses 3 Commissary 1 Navigation 1 Locks Terminals

that you, as a boss, are engaged in now.

It cannot be .said of them, as is said ofti'n of newly graduated engineers, that their knowledge has all come from books. Let

us rather say that their safety work is the

practical application of the book knowledge in safety that they have been able

to acquire. However, the different slant in accident prevention that the Panama Canal Company's safety personnel are able to give the boss and the worker is sure to help them to work more safely and efficiently, no matter how little their formal education in safety may have been. The National Safety Council points out

that too often management appoints a safety engineer, inspector, or assistant and

then forgets about safety'. They can no more do this and expect to lower their accident rat-e, than they can give a mechanic a picture with no steel and hope

that he will build machines.

Responsibility for safety cannot be dele- gated in this way any more than the

responsibility for production would be. Safety engineers and inspectors are employed to advise and make recommendations for the safety of the employees and

property of the Panama Canal Company.

This also may involve procedures in operations and production if the methods

being used are not as safe as they should be. Accident prevention is the work done

before the accident occurs. Prevention is the process of knowing the probable cause

of accidents, recognizing their possibility and actually doing something to eliminate

the hazard. The work done after an accident has

occurred is not prevention and is not the main purpose of safety work. It is only an

attempt to derive some good from the loss that has occurred by definitely establishing the cause of the accident. Then, with the cooperation of the boss and his workers,

the unsafe conditions and procedures can be eliminated m order that no accident

will occur in similar future work. The safety engineer and inspector do

not consider it their job to "put the

finger" on some boss, or worker, for

lap.ses in safety precautions or negligence

in accident prevention. It is for manage- ment to decide the merits of the case and the disciplinary action to be taken. The good safety engineer and inspector

strive at all times to gain the good will of the boss and his workers in order that they will cooperate with him in the constant job of finding safer and more effi- cient waj'S to do the work.

If the boss has rightfully assumed the

responsibility for the safety of all employees and property under his supervision, if he has properly trained and in- structed his workers and sees that they work safely at all times, then neither he nor the safety inspector has to be at the scene of a probable accident to carry on

effective work in accident prevention. In order for this work to be done well,

it is agreed that all safety personnel and

bosses must have the full support and

interest of management from the top on down. It is an established axiom in safety work that the attitude of the boss toward

safety determines the attitude of the employees under him toward accident

prevention. The prime effort of all safety personnel, which includes the Safety Branch, all safety engineers, inspectors, and assist- ants, is to make their safety activities the foundation for the building of a great deal

of good wiU, by approaching safety al- ways with the idea that it is for the welfare of the employee.

It is felt that this spirit will be appreciated and the employee will return the

effort in their behalf by becoming more

safety-conscious and promoting safety on

the job for themselves.

Therefore, give your safety engineers,

inspectors, and assistants a hand. They

are here to work with you and for you in any way which will prevent future acci- dents, with the consequent loss to the boss of your services, and to you and your

family of your future earnings.

NOVEMBER 1952

Industrial Bureau

Supply and Service Bureau

Engineering and Conslruclion Bureau Community Services Bureau

Health Bureau

C. Z. Govt.—Panama Canal Co. iThis month i

Civil Affairs Bureau

C. Z. Govt.—Panama Canal Co. i To Date <

C. Z. Govt.—Panama Canal Co. ( Best Year

)

Marine Bureau

Railroad and Terminals Bureau

Number of Disabling Injuries 28

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

iFrequency Rale)

Mac-Hours Worked .2,504,534 LEGEND

.\mount Better Than Panama Canal Company—Canal Zone Government Best Year

.Amount Worse Than Panama Canal Company—Canal Zone Government Best Tear
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953 Panama Railroad Employees Organized

in Six Unions With Membership of 75

T. M. GOODING, General Chairman, Division

107, Order of Railroad Telegraphers The 100 U. S.-Rate employees of the

50-mile transcontinental Panama Rail- road are organized into six railroad unions, with a total membership of about 75. By far the oldest unit of the present Canal organization, the Panama Railroad

also has two of the oldest local labor

organizations. Tropical Lodge 158 of the Brotherhood

of Railway Carmen of America and Division 107 of the Order of Railroad Tele- graphers both were organized in the Canal Zone in 1913, a year before the Panama

Canal was opened to world commerce. One of the railroad unions is the smallest in the Canal Zone, Local 133 of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen

of America, which has two members. The largest of the local railroad unions

is Diablo Division 49 of the Brotherhood

of Locomotive Engineers, in which there

are 25 members.

Second and third largest are Division No. 690 of the Order of Railway Conductors of America, with a membership of about 15, and Lodge 2741 of the Brother- hood of Maintenance of Way Employees

which has 14 members.

All the unions except the Locomotive

Engineers and the Railway Conductors

are affiliated in the Canal Zone with the Central Labor Union and Metal Trades

Council. TROPICAL LODGE No. 158, BROTHER- HOOD OF RAILWAY CARMEN

There are 17 U. S.-Rate employees in the car department of the Panama Rail- road who are responsible for the building and repairing of wood and steel passenger and freight equipment as well as the

cleaning and servicing of the passenger

coaches. Six of the carmen are inspectors, three in Panama and three in Cristobal. The rolling stock for which they are responsible are the Railroad's 679 freight and 45 passenger cars, which include S baggage cars, 1 paycar, 22 first-class, and

14 second-class passenger coaches. Tropical Lodge was first organized in 1913 when the car shop was located in Gorgona. Its first meeting was held in the former Canal town of Empire. The

union is afliliated with the American

Federation of Labor. Carmen must have had at least 4 years

experience as journeymen. Elsewhere,

.JESSEE CRAWFORD, President, Lodge 2741, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees

S. J. DEAVOLIRS, Chief Engineer, Diablo Division

49, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers

F. A. McGUINNESS, Chief Conductor, Division No. 690, Order of Railway Conductors DOUGLAS SHELTON, President, Local 158, Brotherhood of Railway Carmen carmen are often specialists in certain phases of work but on the Panama Rail- road, which has comparatively few employees, a carman and his helper must be

able, if necessary, to build a car from the

rails up. The Lodge is now headed by Douglas

Shelton, President, and Robert Ward,

Secretary-Treasurer, both of whom are car inspectors in the Panama yard. Mr. Shelton was employed in the Municipal Division in 1939 and later served

for 9 years as carman in the Mechanical

Division before becoming a car inspector

in December 1948. Mr. Ward was eniploy(>d in 1937 as a carman in the Mechanical Division. He

was transferred to the Panama Railroad shops in February 1950 and has been a car inspector since December 1951. DIVISION No. 107, ORDER OF RAILROAD TELEGRAPHERS

Division 107 received its charter from

the national organization July 21, 1913. Two of those who were charter members

still live on the Isthmus, George M. Nolte, who retired in 1943 as Yardmaster and now lives in Panama City, and T. V.

Farrell of Balboa who retired as Agent- Operator in September 1949. Peak membership was about 25 in 1941 but has now dropped to eight which is the smallest number the Division has had since the charter was issued. Four are station operators, two serve

also as dispatchers and the others are

retired. Thomas M. Gooding, Agent Operator and Train Dispatcher at the Panama City

passenger station, is General Chairman of the Local. He was employed in July 1941

as a telegraph operator for the Railroad. He has held his present position since August 1949.

Ollie B. Welch, General Secretary and

Treaurer of Division 107, also holds the

title Agent Operator and Train Dispatcher, working alternate weeks at Colon and Panama City and as relief dispatcher when needed. He was also employed as telegraph operator in 1941 and has held his present position since August 1947. DIABLO DIVISION No. 49, BROTHER- HOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS

Diablo Division 49 received its charter

in SeptemluT 194(1 from the Crand Office of the Brotherhood in Cleveland, Ohio, and since that time has held regular meetings once or twice a month.

During the war years the member.ship climbed to as high as about (iO but now,

because of transfers, retiremcmts, and

curtailments of service, the local has

25 members, 8 of whom are inactive. There are 18 engineers on the Panama

Railroad. Railroad conditions in the Canal Zone

as well as those in the United States are discussed at the regular meetings, the

local Chairman of Adjustment (SeepiKjeiS)
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW EVENTFUL 1952

(Continirdfrom page I) Governor of ilio Canal Zone. The General Coniniiltee ol Civic Councils voted to establish the Canal Zone Community Chest as an aiitonomoiis

organization. Formal transfer of the Corozal area was effected ami the Maintenance

Division moved into the area to begin

clearing and grading. Col. Herbert 1). \ogel, Lieiilenanl Governor, received notice

of his assignment as Division Engineer of the Soiithwesl Engineer Division. Edward

R. Japs was appointed Stiperititendent of Storchotises to succeed Jerome F. Prager who retired in .April. Edward H. Halsall was appointed Chief of the new Locks

Security Force. In a popular election sponsore 1 by Thic P.\n.\i\i.\ C.wal 1<f.vii:\v the

residents of Silver City and Camp Coiner

voted overwhelmingly to change the name

of their towii to Rainbow City, and Gov.

Francis K. Newcomer issued the necessary

order. MAY

More changes among top administrative officials of the Canal organization were made or announced during May

than in any similar period in more than

40 years. The list of changes included

the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Finance Director, Health Director, Marine Director, Secretary of the Panama

Canal Company, Superintendent of Corozal Hospital, Chief Quarantine

Officer, Military Assistant to the Governor, and Chief of the Civil Intelligence Branch. Governor and Mrs. Newcomer

sailed for the States early in the month

for retirement in San Antonio, Tex.,

after completing his 4-year term of

office during one of the most critical periods in the Canal's history. Colonel

V'ogel was Acting Governor for two

weeks before his departure for his new

assignment. Capt. Robert M. Peacher became Acting Governor May 23 and

served until the arrival of Governor

Seybold early in June. Governor Seybold took the oath of office as Governor

in the office of the Secretary of the Army in Washington. The oath was

administered by Secretary Pace. It was

a precedent-making ceremony since he

A^ir^^L

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

Printed by the Prinling Plant Mount Hope, Canal Zone John S. Seybold, Governor-President H. 0. Paxson, Lieutenant Governor

E. C. Lombard, Executive Secretary

J. RuFus Hardy, Editor Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Oleva Hastings

Editorial Assistants LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters containing inquiries, suggestions,

criticisms, or opinions of a general nature

will be welcomed. Those of sufficient interest

will be published but signatures will not be

used unless desired. SUBSCRIPTIONS—$1.00 a year SINGLE COPIES—5 cents each On sale at all Panama Canal Clubhouses, Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days after publication date. SINGLE COPIES BY MAIL-10 cents each BACK COPIES—10 cents each On sale when available, from the Valut

Clerk, Third Floor, .Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

Postal money orders should be made payable to the Treasurer, Panama Canal Company, and mailed to Editor, The Panam.\ Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z.

was the first to take office while outside the Canal Zone. The appointment of Lindsley II. Noble as Comptroller of the Panama Canal Company was annoimceil. Robert C. Walker arrived to begin his new duties

as Chief of the Civil Inlelligence Branch

succeeding Earl J. Williamson who re- signed to accept a position with another Government agency. The appointment

of Dr. Walter C. Nelson to succeed Dr. W. F. Ossenfort as Chief Quarantine

Officer was announced. James C. Hughes resigned as Secretary of the Panama Canal Company to accept a

position with the Atomic Energy Commission and his place was taken by W. M. Whitman, Assistant Chief of the Canal's Washington Office. The ap- pointment of Brig. Gen. Don Longfellow as Health Director at the conclusion of Ma.j. Cien. George W. Rice's duty with the Canal was announced. Another important change in the Health Bureau was the retirement of Col. George E. Hessner as .Superin- tendent of Corozal Hospital. William

H. Dunlop retired as Finance Director

at the end of the month and Ira L. Wright was appointed Acting Finance

Director. JUNE

Governor Seybold arrived with Mrs. Seybold on the Panama liner Panama early Monday morning, June 9, for a busy first day in the Canal Zone. They were given a

public welcoine that night at the Balboa Stadium which was attended by a capacity crowd from all walks of life and from all over the Isthmus. Within a few days after

his arrival the new Governor began a round

of visits to Canal installations to become

acquainted with personnel and operations. The appointment of Col. Harry O. Paxson

as Lieutenant Governor was announced.

Col. George K. Withers received news of his transfer to another assignment with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the appointment of his successor, Col. Craig Smyser, as Engineering and Construction

Director, was announced a few days later. Captain Peacher left for the States and was

succeeded as Marine Director by Capt. Marvin J. West, then Balboa Port Captain. Capt. Horatio A. Lincoln was appointed Balboa Port Captain. Capt. Earl J. Wilson

succeeded Maj. Charles Bart as head of the ROTC in the Canal Zone. JULY

July 4th was celebrated in grand style and Governor Seybold made the princi- pal address at the patriotic exercises held that afternoon in Balboa Stadium.

Lieutenant Governor Paxson, General

Longfellow and Colonel Smyser all arrived with their families on the mili- tary transport Gibbons on July 10. They

were met at shipside by the Governor and other Canal officials. Corozal Post Office was closed at the end of the month. John A. Schneider

retired after 2i years of service, of which

the last ten were as Secretary to the Governor. Mrs. Joyce Sebastian was

selected to take his place and is the

first woman to hold that job. AUGUST

More important personnel changes were made in August. Judge Guthrie F. Crowe

arrived to begin his duties as United States

District Judge for the Canal Zone. Capt. William J. Steflfens succeeded Capt. David

Swinson who retired as skipper of the Panama liner Ancon. Lt. Col. David S. Parker was nained Military .Assistant to the Governor. Lt. Gen. Lewis A. Pick and Matthew Robinson, of New York, were

appointed members of the Canal's Board of Directors. Lt. Col. Richard F. Mulholland became Superintendent of Corozal Hospital.

J. Wendell Greene retired as Treasurer and

was succeeded in that position by Joseph

C. Turner. SEPTEMBER

Schools opened in the Canal Zone

with a record enrollment. The Board of Directors gathered for the September

meeting which was held in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Nine Directors attended. Following the meeting Under Secretary of the Army

Karl R. Bendetsen, Chairman of the Board, held a press conference in which

he announced the principal actions of the Board, the most important for employees being approval of an in- crease in rents. The concerted fight by employees for lower rents began in earnest at the end of the month when

individual notices of their new rents were mailed to employees.

A. C. Medinger, Deputy .Marine Director, was appointed Railroad and

Terminals Director, and Edward N. Stokes was named Chief of the Rail- road Division.OCTOBER

.\ mass meeting lo protest the rent in- creases was held in Balboa Stadium and a committee composed of Civic Council and

Labor representatives was organized lo conduct the fight. Gasoline prices dropped and the Commissary Division annoimced price cuts on a ninnber of fast-selling items. The lower

prices were made possible by the realign- ment of Canal activities under which various

serxices for employees were relieved of any

cost of civil government. Governor Seybold aiuiounced late in the month that the effective date of the rental increases would be postponed six weeks and

that a public hearing would be held.

.A complete new set of monthly records

for ship traffic was made in October, which

included new figures for tolls, transits, cargo, and lockages. The Canal's Washington Office was moved to 101 Indiana .'Avenue, and B. F. Burdick retired after serving as Chief of Office since 1939. NOVEMBER

All Canal news for this month was

overshadowed by the Rent Panel

hearings which were held in the Fern Room of the Tivoli Guest House. The

story of the proceedings was told in eight-column banner headlines for a

full week by the daily press. End-of-the-year news began to show

up: The License Bureau began ac- cepting applications for new car li- censes and a drawing was held for the low numbers. Balboa High School de- feated Cristobal High for the football championship of the Canal Zone and

then beat the Lake Worth, Fla., team

to reach a new high in their sports calendar. Plans for handling traffic during the

Pacific Locks overhaul were announced

by the Marine Director. John D. HoUen arrived to head the Plant Inventory and Appraisal Staff of the Comptroller's Office which will make an inventory of the Canal's

capital assets. Lt. William G. Nolan,

of the Fire Division, was named to head Civil Defense work. DECEMBER

.An announcement at Balboa Heights brought the welcome news that studies were being resumed on conversion of the Canal Zone Power s>stem to 60-cycle current. Plans were also announced for two new school buildings at Paraiso. The Governor left for the December

meeting of the Board of Directors and the

following week came the news that the Board had accepted three of the Rent

Panel's suggestions for the adjustment of

rents. The last load of coal was sold from the

Cristobal Coaling Plant and the old plant was advertised for sale to the highest bidder.

.A minor slide occurred in Gaillard Cut.

part of the material moving into the Canal

prism. Real Christmas news was announced a few days before the holidays—that the Friday after Christmas Day would also be

a holiday in the Canal Zone. The low bid of $2,746,726 for the construction of houses in Corozal and on Empire

Street in Balboa, entered by the MaccoPanpacific Company, was accepted. Meanwhile the old houses along Empire Street had been sold and were being rapidly de- molished preparatory to the new construction work.

Several thousands of Canal employees and their families made whoopee on the

night of December 31st preparatory to 1953 and The Panama Canal Review said a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all

its readers and friends.
THEfPANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953

INTERSECTION OF LAS CRUCES TRAIL with Madden Highway

The lily pond at the CA^AL ZONE EXPERIMENT GARDENS AT SUMMIT

GKoiKii': w. (;i!i:i:.\ mi^mokiai. I'ark

FORT SAN L0R1':XZ0

Dry Season Days

Time To Explore

Now is • the time for outing-minded

Isthmians to take to their own outdoors. The weathermen's theoretical tropical front has followed the sun south of Pan- ama taking along the tropical rains that

fall in its vicinity and leaving the Isthmus swept by the trade winds that blow in search of the front. All of which only goes to show it's dry

season on the Isthmus—time for picnics, time for trips, and time to explore the outdoors. LAS CRUCES TRAIL

A large part of the Isthmus is centuries deep in the most dramatic kind of history, some of the most e.xciting of which re- volved around Las Cruces Trail. Present-day Isthmians who like jungle junkets frequently follow traces of the

trail's cobblestones, sometimes finding

relics along the route left by the Conquistadores or Forty-niners. For others, who prefer vicarious his- torical adventures in smaller and more

comfortable portions, there is a small

picnic area, with an oven and table, at the juncture of the trail with Madden

Highway. The spot is marked by the cannon and the sign shown in the picture above, left. Colonists, conquerors, exploiters, traders, and various shades of brigands traveled the trai' from the early 1,500's until the advent of the Panama Railroad in 1855. The lines of demarcation that classified the travelers as to their missions and

motives were so finely drawn historians have been hard put to label many of them

as belonging definitely to one group or the other.Panama A Transit Point The city of Panama, which served as a transit point for goods lietween Spain and her New World colonies, was founded by Spanish colonists from the Atlantic

side of the Isthmus 5 years after the

Pacific was first sighted by Balboa

in 1513. Further Spanish exploration, aimed

originally at finding a new route for the

profitable trade with the South Seas Spice

Islands, turned up rich treasures in Mexico, Peru, and Panama but failed to

find an easy water route between the

Pacific and Atlantic. As the hope of discovery of the "doubtful strait" became increasingly doubtful, attention was directed to land routes

across the Isthmus for the transport of supplies to the Spanish colonists and con-

(juerors and the movement of New World

riches back to Spain. El Camino Real (royal road) was an

overland route establi-shcd in 1540 after the founding of Nombre de Dios and Panama to connect these two Isthmian

ports. The main Atlantic terminus was

later transferred to Poitohelo liecause of the better harbor there. The development of another route making use of the Chagres River had first been discussed soon after the founding of Panama and became a fact in 1530. A

trading post was established at Venta de Cruces and a road was built by Indian

slave labor from there to Panama.
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW Are Outdoor DaysIsthmian Sights

Las Crufi's Trail was the overland portion of the route that led from the Atlantic

coast up the Chagres River to the settle- ment of Cruces (on the Chagres River about I5 miles above the present town

of Gamboa) or to Gorgona (almost 2 miles northwest of Gamboa on the present

line of the Canal), and IS miles overland

to Panama.Rainy Season Route

Las Cruces Trail was the rainy season

route, longer than El Camino Real but

cheaper and more generally used for the

transport of heavier commodities. The enormous quantities of gold and

silver that were transshiped at Panama

following Pizarro's conquests in Peru

starting in 1524 usually were transported on the Royal Road because of the timing

of the shipments. Depradations on treasure-laden Spanish galleons by English corsairs and "sea

rovers" of other nationalities resulted

in the establishment in 1537 of a convoy

system for vessels sent from Spain to pick up precious cargoes from the Isthmus and Mexico. The regular trips (usually semi-annual)

of the well guarded treasure fleets up to 1748 were timed to arrive during dry

season on the Isthmus to take advantage

of favorable trade winds.

In the wake of the Spanish and the

gold came a succession of marauders, many of whom used Las Cruces Trail in the course of their depradation.5.

First there were the corsairs of the 16th century, most notable of whom was

Sir Francis Drake w^ho followed the trail from Cruces for a bold but unsuccessful

strike at a treasure-laden pack train from Panama.

In the 17th Century there were the buccaneers, most famous of whom was Henry Morgan, who also chose the Las

Cruces route for the trans-Isthmian trek that ended in the destruction of Panama

City. 18th Century Pirates In the ISth Century there were pirates, another brand of sea rover, who claimed

allegiance only to themselves—like the robbers and bands of "untamed" escaped

slaves who infested Las Cruces Trail throughout most of its e.xistence. In the 19th Century more gold seekers followed Las Cruces trail to get across the Isthmus, this time Americans bent on the wealth to be found in the gold rush to

California.CANAL ZONE

EXPERIMENT GARDENS

The Canal Zone Experiment Gardens

at Summit serve the Isthmus as a showplace for plants, including many exotic

tropical imports unknown to other parts

of the Isthmus. The flowers and trees are at their best during the dry season months. There are the oddities, the cannonball

trees, that line part of the drive through

the Gardens. There are the brilliant browneas; cassias and lagerstroemias; the spectacular Honduran flame tree, whose

brilliant blooms are reflected in the lily pool shown in the picture; many teakwood

and rubber trees; (See page W)

AT SANTA CLARA, in the "interior" of Panama.

BEACH SCENE AT LA \'EXTA near Santa Clara on the National Highway

THE ISLAND OF TABOGA

RUINS OF THE CITY OF OLD PANAMA
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953 Tourist Visitors Like Canal Zone;

Guides Like To Tell Them About It

TOURIST SIGHTSEERS off the Sr Jamaica learn about the Panama Canal from Max R. Hart (shomi with megaphone) lecturer for tourist parties. The visitors are preparing to debark at Pedro Miguel after a trip through Gaillard Gut on the tug Culebra.

Tourists, they're wonderful, according

to Max R. Hart and Edward M. Barlow who have lectured to thousands of them. The long-time tour guides say the visitors think the Isthmus is pretty wonderful too. They believe one ocean is higher than

the other—otherwise why are there locks? They find it hard to understand that water runs downhill—at least insofar as that explains the operations of the Canal. So there are a practical joking few who

get the idea themselves and find for the

others a mythical pumphouse and keep

everyone satisfied. Some visitors expect to find lots of alligators swimming around in the Canal,

until they conclude from the price of hides that other tourists made off with them, in the form of wallets, bags, and

shoes from Central Avenue and Front

Street. They expect border barriers between

the Canal Zone and Panama and dismiss

as ignorance or subtle intrigue the fact that even long-time residents don't know

exactly where one jurisdiction stops and

the other begins. Some expect the Panama Canal to be

all lined with concrete; others think they

will find it fringed with overhanging trees

filled with snakes and monkeys. Then sometimes they stand on the lock

wall, and ask to see "the lock." "Quaint" Railroad Lights "How quaint!" they remark about the kerosene lamps in Panama Railroad

coaches, and "How beautiful!" they say when they learn that the coaches are made

of solid mahogany. But they love the Isthmus and want to absorb as much as they can about it and

the more interest the visitors display the more the lecturers like to talk to them.

Lecturers and tourists often find mutual friends and other points of common

interest and the lecturers frequently re- ceive cards and letters of appreciation when the visitors return to their homes.

The lecturers sum it all up this way:

"There are so many nice people among

tourists." This mutual admiration society flour- ishes best during the dry season when

there are the most tourists—sometimes up to as many as 500 off a single big

cruise ship. Mr. Barlow—everyone calls him "Bar- ney"—Control House Supervisor at Miraflores Locks, has been lecturing in off-duty hours to tourists and Isthmians for about

35 years. His talks are part of the package shore

excursions handled by Boyd Brothers and Panama Tours. He also talks to the passengers on the

big New Zealand Line ships that transit the Canal, circulating among the crowd,

being sociable and answering questions. Lectures To Armed Forces For many years he has given his time

freely as a lecturer for many Isthmian

groups, including large numbers of armed

forces personnel stationed in the Canal Zone as well as those that transit the Canal on big battleships and carriers. Mr. Hart, Safety Supervisor in the Motor Transportation Division, has lec- tured to tourist parties handled locally by the Persons Travel Ser\'icc for the last S years. Some time Ijeforc that he handled tourist parties and fishing expeditions

to the Darien country and San Bias

Islands. Women visitors ask the most intelli- gent questions, Mr. Hart and Mr. Barlow

agree. Why that should be so they do

not—or dare not—even venture to guess. Members of garden clubs and flower arrangement classes and a large proportion of all women visitors ask questions about the flowers and trees that probably

could be answered properly only by a

Ph. D. in botany.

Drivers Know Tlie Answers A lot of questions of that nature are disposed of simply and neatty by the

drivers of the cars that are used for shore

excursions for the tourist parties. According to some of them, there are three kinds

of blossoms to be seen on the Isthmus—

the Summer Flower, the Panama Rose, and the Shower Tree. Women also want to know where to shop but since the lecturers can show no

preferences, Mr. Hart, for instance, tells them:

"In my family we have an agreement.

I make the money and my wife spends it, so I know nothing about shopping." The English are the most serious in their quest of solid facts and also seem most appreciative of the Canal as an

engineering feat. "We consider the Canal the eighth wonder of the world and think the other seven don't count," a British traveler on

one of the New Zealand ships once told one of the lecturers. The age of the travelers determines

partly their interests in local sights, the

older groups generally displaying more

interest in historical features of the Isthmus. Average Age 58 Most tourists are middle aged or older. As a traveler off the Nieuw Ainsterdam

put it: "You have to be old to have enough money to take this kind of a trip." The

age of the passengers on his cruise averaged 58. The general character of the crowd

determines the lecture they receive. The

lecturers usually circulate among the

tourists on the train coming to the Pacific side and decide on the basis of the people they meet there, the type of talk they

will give. Mr. Barlow explains the difference in lectures as being either preponderantly

incidents or primarily facts. One of the incidents he relates, if he

has that kind of crowd, concerns the sign over Colonel Goethal's desk (Ses neit page)
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11

(I'lmliiiiifdfrom imiie im in construction days. According to the story, the

sign originally read, "Life is just one damned thing after another."

After one of the disastrous slides that plagued the work in Gaillard Cut, the word "thing" was changed to "slide" without the Colonel's knowledge. The

office messenger who perpetrated the deed—and the Colonel was not known for

le\'ity received, instead of a reprimand,

a two-cent an hour raise in pay. Another of the incidents sometimes

related as the tourists pass the slide area

of Gaillard Cut deals with the little island that appeared in the Canal after one of the pressure-type slides that pushed

earth up from below the Canal. A prankster planted the British flag on the little island, causing a bit of a hullabaloo if no

real international complications. Gold In Gold Hill Gold Hill, the lecturers sometimes tell the tourists, was so named because of the supposed vein of gold there that was

mentioned in a prospectus put out by

. French financiers to enlist financial backing for the French attempt to build the Canal. To illustrate the value of the Canal,

visitors are told about the construction- day trip of the tug Reliance which was

sent 10,500 miles around South America

to get it from the Atlantic to the Pacific

side of the Isthmus before the opening of the Canal.

Highlights concerning some of the

interesting ships that have transited the Canal are standard fare for most of the

lectures given by Mr. Hart and Mr.

Barlow. For instance, the 53,000-ton Bremen

was the biggest ship to transit and was,

incidentally, one of the many on which Mr. Barlow has lectured. The British battleship H. M. S. Hood paid the most

in tolls and Richard Halliburton paid 36

cents when he swam through the Canal. Note takers whip out pens and pencils about halfway through most lectures and

busily compile throughout the trip the

basis for what are assumed to be future Garden Club and Chamber of Commerce

lectures. About 10 percent of most tourist crowds take notes on what they see.

tienerally, the lecturers start their talks with the most important facts first, attempting to anticipate' the majority of ciuestions that would b(> asked by the

tourists. Auditors want to know about tolls, which interest everyone. Engineers, of course, want to know engineering details of the Canal and the Locks. The lecturers learn the facts they spiel from many different sources. Mr. Barlow

says if you live in the Canal Zone, as he

has, for more than 37 years, you just wouldn't be very bright if you didn't absorb a lot of lore. Mr. Hart has been around for awhile too; he came to the Isthmus in 1920. "Understudy" System

The lecturers also have an "under- study" system by which the most experi- enced lecturer talks from the front of the

ferry and the "understudies" with less experience are stationed on other corners

so that all the tourists in large groups can

hear one of them talking. Present lecturers acknowledge their debt to many lecturers who went before them. Starting in Canal construction days the waterway attracted so many

tourists that the Canal had its own official guide who handled special "rubberneck"

trains and gave regular lectures to the

visitors concerning the Canal and its surroundings.

Since that tune there have been a number of people who have lectured about the

Canal, most of whom were Canal employees who handled tourist parties in their off-duty hours. Among the well-known lecturers of recent years who learned about the Canal

while it was being built were R. T. Toone,

0. T. Marstrand, George A. Dryden,

L. L. Gilkey, and William E. Tragsdorf, some of whom continued to handle tourist parties in the Canal Zone after their retirement from Canal service. Although the lecturers try very hard to explain the Isthmus to visitors they never know just how much of what they say

soaks in. If they fail to make tourists understand some of the many details, it

is not surprising in view of the many

facts with which they can confuse their hearers.

Houses Termite Proofed

New houses in Canal communities are being termite-proofed by treating the

soil under building slabs and adjacent to the structures with anti-termite solutions. The termite proofing is being done for the first time this year in Canal houses

constructed by contractors. The Grounds

Maintenance Division is also giving the

anti-termite treatment to some other houses built within the past two or three

years. The termite proofing done before houses are built consists of using a sodium

arsenite and water solution under the

slabs to be enclosed by walls, and a DDT

and oil solution around adjacent slabs,

for carports, porches, and other covered

areas, as well as on a strip of topsoil three

feet wide around the perimeter of the

building. For houses that are already built, a DDT and oil solution is layered in an

area about a foot wide and a foot deep

immediately adjacent to the building. Termite proofing of this type has been done for several years in other areas and in some places on the Isthmus and

has proved effective in keeping termites out of buildings for a period of at least

five years. Ten Years Ago

In December

The luck of the Irish was with Pri\'ate James Alexander Finnel Hoey of Camp

Paraiso, originally from Belford on the Emerald Isle, when he became the first of more than 200 foreign-born soldiers in the U. S. Army on the Isthmus to acquire

citizenship here under provisions of the Second War Powers Act. The naturalization proceedings were

handled by Deputy Commissioner Thomas

B. Shoemaker, who visited the Isthmus in December 1942, granting citizenship to

eligible servicemen outside the jurisdic- tion of United States naturalization courts.

Australian pine branches fastened on

a bamboo framework, ingenious products of

the Canal Zon? Experiment Gardens, proved popular with Canal Zonians in lieu of more natural and conventional Christmas

trees. The "manufactured" variety was one of

the most sought-after items placed on sale when the Experiment Gardens opened a small sales store adjacent to the Balboa Commissary 10 years ago in December.

Panama City civic organizations,

schools, firemen, police, and plain citizens took part in a large parade and ceremony

to demonstrate hemispheric solidarity on

the first anniversary of the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor.

EDWARD M. "BARXEY" BARLOW explains the workings of Miraflores Locks, where he serves as Control House Supervisor, to Congressional

visitors. For 35 years he has lectured about the Canal to thousands of tourists and Isthmians.

Shown here with Mr. Barlow, pointing, are left to right, Alan Gross, Mrs. H. R. Gross, Representative Gross of Iowa, Mrs. \V. B. Widnall, wife of the United States Representative from New- Jersey, and Bill Widnall.

Delegates from the United States and

five Central American governments signed an agreement in San Salvador authorizing

the transit of war convoys over the Pan

American Highway. Officials said, however, that the final completion of the highway

across Central America for pleasure and

tourist purposes would be a matter of ike "some time distant future."
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953

The first really new development in men's

shoes in 20 years, according to long-time shoe buyers, is a new patented New process used in the manufacture Shoes of Bates Floaters, a new light- For Men weight casual that has cause i quite a stir in the shoe business. The Commissary Division is one of the first retail outlets to put the new shoe on sale. The new patented construction by Bate- brought crowds to their display rooms, the

likes of which are seldom or never occasioned by any kind of men's shoes, which ordinarily are purchased in a perfunctory manner befitting such a stable product that is usually the same from year to year. Although the new Bates shoes are comparatively inexpensive —about S8.95 in the Commissaries—they will turn up in the most

exclusive stores which ordinarily handle only

the best and at properly exclusive prices. Main difference in the new shoes is their amazing lightness which results from the elimination of considerable stitching and

extra pieces involved in fastening the uppers

to the thick foam rubber soles. The Bates Floaters in the Commissaries

are in white buckskin or in smoke, ambertone, or yellow chamois. A new style is also being added to the Commissary line of Stetson shoes for men

which are as fine in cjuality as almost any

men's shoes sold anyplace. The new style, called "Grenadier," is a medallion-tipped

oxford in har\'est tan calf skin. It will be in the stores starting in January and will cost about $16.95. Like the seven other st\les of Stetson shoes for men sold by the Commissaries, they will cost considerably less than

in United States retail stores. The Manager of the Wholesale Shoe Section at Mount Hope, who has just returned from a buying trip to the annual Shoe Fair

in Chicago and to New York and Boston,

sa>s heavy purchases of shoes were being made by buyers in anticipation of expected

price increases in the spring, expected to stem from increased labor costs and a steady

rise in leather prices. The supply of shoes purchased for the Commissaries—at the current prices—was

slightly larger than ordinary in anticipation

of the increases. Duncan Hines, far-famed guide to good

eating, helped develop and has given hi--' name to a new cake mix Duncan Hines which will be sold in the Cake Mix Commissaries starting in Januar>'. It was stocked as

a result of the rave ratings it was given by

Canal people who got acquainted with the new product while they were on vacation in the United States. The Commissaries will have yellow, white, and devil's food in the new Duncan Hines

cake mi.x which will cost about 40 cents. Lamb lovers will be glad to know that another 30,000 pounds of Australian lamb

has been ordered for the Commissaries. Budgeters can also take comfort in the fact that the prices will be about 20 to 25 percent lower than lamb from the United States. Spinning fishing tackle, a brand new idea,

is exciting the angling world. It does away

with the snags and snarls and backlash of conventional tackle because there is no

running spool involved when the line goes

out. The trouble-making spool is used only

to bring the line back in. The new spinning reels —they're in the Commissaries, of course —will cost about

$18. Rods for use with the new spinning

reels will cost about $13.50. The Commissaries also have lines and bait for use with

the new type tackle. Mushroom sauce will be no work and no

budget breaker if you buy it in cans as it will be sold in the Corn- Canned missaries starting some- Mushroom Sauce time in January. A can

of the sauce, ready lo put on steaks, will cost only about 12 cents. The grass will be greener on your side of the fence during the coming dr>' season if I'ou take advantage of some of the new

kinds of lawn equipment available in the commissaries. You can feed your lawns as you water them—and your plants and flowers too

with a really amazing little gadget, a Rieger Hose-Line Feeder to be attached to a hose

or sprinkler. You put \'italizer tablets (concentrated fertilizer) in the tubelike

device, attach it to your hose or sprinkler, and let the water do your fertilizing. A kit consisting of the Hose-Line Feeder and 500 tablets, enough to treat 10,000 square feet about five times, costs $3.40. A new automatic sprinkler is also avail- able which has a control with which >'Ou set the area, from 5 to 50 feet, For Lawns which you want to spray. And Gardens This Sunbeam Rain King

costs $7.15. Other sprinklers range in price from 58 cents to $5.65. The Commissaries also have garden hose:

of rubber in 25-foot length, $4.50, and 50-

foot length, $8.50; and plastic, which,

incidentally, shouldn't be used with hot

water, in 50-foot length for $7.60. Hose

accessories available in the stores include connectors, coupling clamps, and washers. There is also a new kind of hose nozzle in the stores with which you dial the kind of spray you want.

Children will want to get in the swim of things with new rubber swim masks and

fins which are new in the Commissaries. The masks, for underwater inspections, will cost about $2.00. The fins, which are ducky

appendages, will be about $5.95. Slazenger tennis balls, which have been

used for the championships at Wimbledon

since 1902, are now available Slazenger in the Commissaries. They

Tennis Balls were ordered from England,

at the request of local tennis

players, and are expressly manufactured

for tropical play. They come in pressure- packed, factory-fresh cans of four balls which cost 60 cents each. New men's trousers, of many kinds, will start arrix'ing in the stores this month and

will continue to come into the Commissaries

through February' and on into the spring. There will be Hollywood models, for the gay blade set, and many more conser\-ative

styles. All of them will be popularly priced. Materials for those now on order include combinations of dacron, rayon, and mohair; rayon and orlon; and rayon and nylon. There will also be trousers of all wool sheen

gabardine; Palm Beach cloth; acetate sharkskin; all wool flannel; rayon tropical and

rayon shantung; and even faded blue denim.

For bachelor girl cooks and busy housewives, there is a new frozen chicken pot pie

in the Commissaries. A package of 8 ounces

costs 49 cents and involves no more work

than heating.

"Panama" is the name given by Red

Cross to a new spring line of women's shoes

in a new color (beige or sand, New Color in non-copywriter language) For Spring that will be "the thing" in all kinds of women's clothes

starting in the spring. Three of the new casual shoes in the new

kind of beige, to be featured in spring afl- vertising by Red Cross, will be available in the Commissaries, probably in January or February, possibly even before they are shown in national ads. Other new shoes in the new color, by

Penaljo, will be in the Commissaries when

they appear in national advertising.

"Injun Sneaks ' new for misses and teenagers, also will be in the stores starting this month. They're a new kind of moccasin made b>' Trimfoot and promoted b\' the manufacturer with a lot of "Injun"

advertising.

SOMETHING NEW IN LISTENING ENTERTAINMENT

Columbia records and RCA Victor

records have a neiv 45 r. p. m. method

of recording called "extended play." What it amounts to is that, instead of one popular or classical recording on

each side of the regular 7-inch 1)5

r. p. m. record, there are now two on

each side, total playing time from 6 to 8 minutes per side. This means that 10 extended-play 45 r. p. m. records on

your record player icill now give you an hour or more of uninterrupted music. The new extended play records are designed to fit every musical tast--, are claimed to he superior in desii/u to anything available, and a very important

item—one extended play record with four different tunes on it costs less than two regular records with the same number of tunes. The Cjlumhia ex- tended play will retail in Clubhouse

Record Sections at $1.50 each, ichile the RCA Victor will retail at $1.76. Extended play records just received include Columbia 45 r. p. m. album

B-310, "For your dancing party," by Sammy Kaye; while we have on order Columbia extended play featuring

"Cole Porter Hits" played by A.

Kostelanetz, also Tchaikovsky's "Waltz

of the Flowers." For those who enjoy dance music,

there w a brand-new dance orchestra recording for Victor these days under

the name Sauter-Finnegan Orchestra.

Not a very interesting name for the aggregation but, as for the band itself, the New York Times says of it: "An

exciting big band, especially created by

a major label, has been formed by the arrangers, Eddie Sauter and Bill Finnegan, ivith startling departures in rhythnvc and harmonic concepts." We

expect to have their first recordings

available soon. Watch for them at your

favorite Clubhouse Record Section. For those who are economy minded

(and who isn't, these days?), Columbia

has just made available a new 13-inch 3S r. p. m. record in the RIj-SOOO group

that will retail at $3.95, as against the usual $5.45 to $5.85 cost for such

records. We presently have on order: RL 3002. "Nutcracker Suite;" RL3007, "Symphony .\'o. 4 in D Minor;" RL 3008, "Si/mphony in C Major;"

and RL 3019, "Water Music Suite." Decca has made available a low-priced 10-inch S3 r. p. m. classical record (DL-4000 series) which retails at $3.50 in Clubhouses. We have already

stocked {and sold) some of these excellent classical recordings, but we have on order for early delivery: DL 4039, "Carmen, Suite 1 ;" DL-4030, Wagner,

"Ride of the Valkyries;" DL-4035,

"Overtures" by Mozart; and others. This is an excellent opportunity to build up your long-play classical library at a very moderate cost. PANAMA CANAL CLUBHOUSES

"YOLK ESTERTAIXME.XT CEXTERS"
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13

Plans Announced For Premium Grade

Gasaline To Be Sold in Zone Stations

(Continued from page I) stoi'.lgO tailks would be required. All other stations have duplicate storafje faeilities. New Pumps Needed

Three new pumps will be installed at the Balboa stiition and two in Cristobal. In addition to the instidlation of the new

pumps, some alterations in the pumping

facilities will be required at all stations. A recommendation for the capital ex- penditure required for the sale of high-test gas was submitted to the Board of Directors by Governor Seybold at the December meeting. Numerous requests have been received from Canal Zone motorists for the sale of high-test gasoline and the matter was

the subject of discussion at recent Gover- nor-Employee conferences held monthly.

GoN-ernor Seybold announced at the Sep- tember conference that he was willing to submit the matter to the Board of Directors. Shortly after that meeting a restudy of the question was made which resulted in the recommendation to authorize the necessary capital outlay.

It is expected that the retail price of the premium gasoline will be three or four

cents higher than motor grade gas. The

retail price will depend on the wholesale

price and the ocean freight charges. The Commissary and Storehouse Divisions have already initiated steps for the sale of high-test gas and will submit

reports on the alterations to equipment

which will be required as well as specifica- tions and estimates on the premium

gasoline.

Variety Of Subjects Discussed At Conference Last Month

(Continued from page 2) Governor

issued instructions after the October

meeting for standard labels with pertinent information on weight, size, and contents

to be used on all products produced by

the Commissary Division. Sam Roe, Jr., who was attending his

first conference as a representative of the

Pacific Civic Councils, asked if it would

be possible to combine the commissary,

clubhouse, and post office at Diablo Heights in one building. The Lieutenant Governor replied that such a plan has been under study but indicated that it is still in an indefinite stage because of the

fluctuation of the town's population during the building program. Among the many topics discussed at the December conference were: Pricing

policy and fluctuation in prices of Commissary items; cashing of salary checks, locaUy and in the United States; rates of pay; saving the trees on Empire Street; the Canal's overall labor policies; the new

rental schedules; motorcycle noises and

their operation in towns at night; and

several other subjects of a similar nature. Those attending the December conference were: Lieutenant Governor Paxson, E. A. Doolan, Personnel Director, and F. G. Dunsmoor, Administrative

Assistant to the Governor, for the Canal

administration; Walter Wagner, John J. Tobin, and Mr. Chenevert, Central Labor

Union; Bronson B. Powell, Carl N. Nix, M. J. Goodin, the Rev. Havener, Mr. Hammond, and Mr. Roe, Civic Councils;

Panama Railroad Emphyees Organized

In Six Unions With Membership Of 75

(Continued from page Cl keeping members informed on local issues. Cor- respondence with the Grand Lodge Office and a monthly journal provide the members information on happenings in the union in general. There are more than

80,000 members in the national union.

Oflicers are S. J. Deavours, Chief Engineer; T. V. Kelly, First Engineer;

F. H. Hodges, Chairman of the Local Committee of Adjustment; and J. F.

Frensley, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Deavours, Road and Yard Loco- motive Engineer, has worked for the Panama Railroad since September 1936 when he was employed as an inside engineer. He was formerly employed in 1912 in the Mechanical Division. He be- came a road engineer in September 1940. Mr. Kelly has been employed by the Railroad since April 1937 and has served throughout that period as a locomotive

engineer. Mr. Frensley has been a loco- motive engineer since January 1943 and

before that, worked in the railroad offices and as a train collector. Mr. Hodges has been an engineer for the Railroad since

1937. He has been employed in the Canal

organization since 1923. LODGE No. 2741, BROTHERHOOD OF MAINTENANCE OF WAY

EMPLOYEES

There were 20 charter members of Lodge 2741 when it was organized in December 1919. A. N. Stewart served as the first president of the local. There are now 14 members, 5 of whom

have retired from Railroad service but

maintain their membership m the Lodge. The membership includes all 7 of the

Raib-oad's track foremen. The local lodge is credited with winning

for its members great improvements in working conditions, particularly in the

early days when a trackman's working day sometimes stretched to 15 hours, workmg in all weather, night or day, with

regularly monthly pay. Working conditions were improved and

in 1930 the trackmen began to receive

o\'ertime pay. Soon after that, they went

on a Sl-day week and in September

Forty Years Ago

In December

So many tourists were expected in the 1913 dry season that the official guide for

sightseeing trips was training an assistant; and a second observation car was being fitted out in Ancon northwest of the Tivoli Hotel

near the railroad tracks. "The sightseeing business," The Record

explained with some resignation, "is a

necessity of the situation" which had there- fore been systematized and made a "regular

part of the work." The special "rubberneck" train made a

trip over the Pacific Division in the morning

on 3 days of the week and through Culebra Cut in the afternoon, going to "the work at Gatun" on three other mornings.

Daniel P. Kiley, Locks Employees Association; Rufus M. Lovelady, A. F. G. E.;

S. J. Garriel, Plumbers' Local No. 606; William S. McKee, International Association of Machinists; and F. H. Hodges, Brotherhood of Locomotive I^gineers.

1945, the 40-hour working week.

Jessee Crawford, President of Lodge

2741, has been a Track Foreman since he was employed by the Railroad in February 1940.' Paul Bidstrup, who is Vice President, has been a Stevedore Foreman since last November but before that served for 5 years as Carpenter Foreman and 2 years

as Assistant Carpenter Foreman for the Panama Railroad. He was a Track Fore- man from the time of his employment in November 1941 until July of the following

year. Otis M. Ramey, Secretary and Treasurer, has been a Yard Foreman since March 1950. He served as Track Fore- man from the time of his employment in March 1934 until he became Yard

Foreman. DIVISION No. 690, ORDER OF RAILWAY CONDUCTORS

Division No. 690 was organized in the Canal Zone on May 29, 1938, after negotiations had been in progress for several years to obtain a charter. Before that some of the Panama Railroad conductors

remitted their dues directly to the

national organization. There are 18 conductors on the Panama

Railroad and about 15 members of Division 690. The conductors liken their duties on a

train to those of a captain on a ship and

note that the Bureau of the Census has accorded to conductors the designation

as officials of the company for which they

work. The national order is the second oldest railroad labor organization in the United

States, having been organized in 1836 under the name Conductors Brotherhood. Conductors on the Panama Railroad have been qualified as conductors before

their employment in the Canal Zone or serve 4 years apprenticeship before assuming the position of conductor.

After passing the examination, the same

as those given in the United States as required by the Interstate Commerce

Commission, to qualify as conductors, they must have been in charge of a train

for 6 months to qualify for membership

in the union. Present oflicers are F. A. McGuinness,

Chief Conductor; R. L. Davis, Secretary and Treasurer; and R. C. Daniel, Local Chairman. Mr. McGuinness has been a Conductor

for the Panama Railroad since January

1940. Mr. Davis has been a Conductor since

1940. He was first employed as Probation- ary Inside Conductor in December 1939. Mr. Daniel been a Yard and Road

Conductor since 1940. LOCAL No. 133, BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY SIGNALMEN

Local 133 (which was featured in the August issue of The Panama Canal

Review) has only two members because

there are only two signalmen on the Railroad who are eligible for membership. They are Spencer B. Smith, who is Chaii'- man and Tracy P. White, SecretaryTreasurer. There were five members when it was

organized in 1927 but because of retire- ments, transfers, and promotions (supervisors are not eligible for membership)

membership has dropped to two, making

it the smallest union in the Canal Zone and in the Brotherhood of Railway

Signalmen.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953 THIS MONTH'S CALENDAR

JANUARY

3rd—Track Foremen No. 2741, B & B

Shops, Balboa. 4th—VFW Post 3857, Cristobal X'eteraris Club, 9 a. m. 5th—Postal Employees No. 23160, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7:30 p. m. Pedro Miguel Civic Council, Union

Church, 7 p. ni. Cristobal-Margarita Civic Council,

Margarita Clubhouse, 7:30 p. m. VFW Post 727, Fort Clayton, 7:30 p. m. VFW Post 3822, Curundu Road, 7:30

p. m. American Legion Post 3, Gatun Legion

Hall, 7:30 p. m. 6th—Teachers No. 228, Auditorium, Cris- tobal High School, 3:30 p. m. Gamboa Civic Council, Community

Center, 7:30 p. m. Meatcutters and Butchers No. 121,

Officer's Home, 7:30 p. m. Gatun Civic Council, Gatun Clubhouse, 7:30 p. m. Machinists No. 811, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7:30 p. m. 7th—VFW Post 40, Wirz Memorial, 7:30

p. m. 8th—Marine Engineers, Elks Club, Margarita, 7 p. m. 9th—Blacksmiths No. 400, Boilermakers

Nos. 463 and 471, K. of C. Hall, Margarita, 7:30 p. m.

11th Sheetmetal Workers No. 157, Balboa Clubhouse, 9:30 a. m. Plumbers No. 606, K. of C. Hall, Margarita, 9:30 a. m. 12th—Machinists No. 699, K. of C. Hall, Margarita, 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post 1, Legion Home,

7:30 p. m. 13th—Pipefitters, Margarita Clubhouse,

7:30 p. m.

Electrical Workers No. 397, Wirz

Memorial, 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post 7, Fort Clayton,

7:30 p. m. VFW Post 100, Old Boy Scout Building,

Cristobal, 7.30 p. m. American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1, Balboa Legion Home, 7:30 p. m.

14th—Carpenters and Joiners No. 913, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7:30 p. m.

Pacific Civic Council, Board Room,

.Administration Building, 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post 2, Legion Home,

Old Cristobal, 7:30 p. m. 15th—American Legion Auxiliary Unit

6, Gamboa Legion Hall, 7:30 p. m. 18th—CLU-MTC, Margarita Clubhouse,

8:30 a. m. 19th—Electrical Workers No. 677, Masonic Temple, Gatun, 7:30 p. m. Truckdrivers, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7:30

p. m. 20th—Operating Engineers No. 595, K. of C. Hall, Margarita, 7 p. m. Machinists No. 811, Balboa Lodge Hall. 7:30 p. m.

21st—AFGE No. 14, Balboa Clubhouse,

7:30 p. m. American Legion Auxiliary Unit 3, Legion Hall, Gatun, 7:30 p. m. 26th—Machinists No. 697, K. of C. Hall, Margarita, 7:30 p. m. VFW Auxiliary, Post 3822 Home, 7:30

p. m. 27th—Operating Engineers No. 595, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7 p. m. VFW Post 100, Old Boy Scout Building,

Cristobal, 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post 7, Fort Clavton,

7:.50 p. m. 28th—AFGE No. 88, Margarita Clubhouse, 7:30 p. m. Governor - Employee Conference,

Board Room, Administration Building,

2 p. m. FEBRUARY

1st—VFW Post 3857, Cristobal Veterans

Club, 9 a. m. 2d—Postal Employees No. 23160, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7:30 p. m. Pedro Miguel Civic Council, Union

Church, 7 p. m. Cristobal-Margarita Civic Council,

Margarita Clubhouse,' 7:30 p. m. VFW Post 727, Fort Clayton, 7:30 p. m. VFW Post 3822, Curundu Road, 7:30

p. m. American Legion Post 3, Gatun Legion

Hall, 7:30 p. m. 3d—Meatcutters and Butchers No. 121,

Officers Home, 7:30 p. m. Teachers No. 228, .Auditorium, Cristobal High School, 3:30 p. m. Gatun Civic Council, Gatun Clubhouse, 7:30 p. m. Machinists No. 811, Balboa Lodge Hall, 7:30 p. m. 4th—VFW Post 40, Wirz Memorial, 7:30

p. m. 5th—Carpenters and Joiners No. 667^ Margarita Clubhouse, 7:30 p. m. 6th—American Legion Post 6, Gamlioa

Legion Home, 7:30 p. m.

ANNIVERSARIES

January Sailings

From Cristobal Panama January 9

Cristobal January 16 Ancon January 23 Panama January 30

Cristobal February 6 From New York

Cristobal January 7 Ancon January 14 Panama January 21

Cristobal January 28 Ancon February 4

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

November 15 through December 15

The following list contains the names of those U. S.-rate employees who were transferred from one diyision to another (unless the change is administratiye) or from one

type of work to another. It does not contain within-grade promotions or regradings. ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

Mrs. Ellen E. Bailey from Clerk- Typist, Housing Diyision to Property and

Supply Clerk, Record Section, Administratiye Branch.

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Victor A. Herr from High School Teacher to High School Teacher and

Teacher, Extension Classes, Schools Diyision.Mrs. Clara Jorstad from Elementary

School Teacher to Elementary School Teacher and Teacher, Extension Classes, Schools Division. Frederick B. Hill, Jr., from Property and Supply Clerk, Commissary Division, to Postal Clerk, Postal, Customs, and

Immigration Division.

Mrs. Patricia H. Hussey from Substitute Teacher to Junior High School Teacher, Schools Diyision. Mrs. Harriet K. Serger from Substi- tute Teacher to Elementary School Teacher, Schools Diyision. Mrs. Margaret M. Ward from Substitute Teacher and Teacher Extension Classes

to High School Teacher and Teacher, Extension Classes, Schools Diyision. William G. Dolan from Fire Lieutenant,

Fire Diyision, to .Administrative Assistant

(Chief of Ciyil Defense), Civil Affairs Bureau.COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU James R. .Shirley from Housing Management .Aid to Housing Manager, Housing

Diyision.OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER

David A. Yerkes from General .Architect, Engineering Diyision, to \'aluation Engineer, Office of the Comptroller. Clarence H. True and Harold S. Kusner fram Structural Engineer, EnginEmplo\ecs who obseryed important anniversaries during the month of December are

listed alphabetically below. The number of years includes all Goyernment seryice with

the Canal or other agencies. Those with continuous seryice with the Canal are indicated with (*).42 YEARS

J. E. Schriftgiesser, Administratiye .As- sistant, Motor Transportation Diyision.

40 \t;ars *Arthur Morgan, Dipper Dredge Operator, Dredging Diyision.

35 YEARS

Paul Coles, Machinist, Commissary

r)iyision. Gilbert H. Furey, .Assistant Printer, Printing Plant.

30 YEARS

Donald R. Boyer, Postmaster, Cocoli. Noe E. Dillman, General Operator, Maintenance Diyision. William G. Frederick, Signalman, Nayigation Diyision.

25 YEARS

Robert W. Erickson, Shop Superintendent, Motor Transportation Diyision. Dave J. Madison, Machinist, Industrial Bureau. William G. Monroe, Locks Guard,

Pacific Locks.

Irl R. Sanders, Control House Operator,

-Atlantic Locks.

20 YEARS

Earl O. Dailey, Supervisor, Construction and Maintenance Branch, Southern District,

PLlectrical Diyision. Nathan Fleckner, .Accounting Clerk, Maintenance Diyision. Preston G. Gau, Tabulating Machine

Operation Superyisor, Finance Bureau. Samuel A. Genduse, Moving Picture

Projectionist, Clubhouse Diyision. George V. Kirkland, General Construction Inspector, Contracts and Inspection

Diyision. Howard L. Sampsell, Lock Operator

(Wirenian) Leader, Pacific Locks. Morris Weich, Guard Superyisor, .At- lantic Locks. James L. Williams, Ganger and Fore- man Cribtender, Terminals Divisio:).

15 YEARS

George P. AUgaier, Foreman Shop

Mechanic, Commissary Diyision. Richard G. Dinkgreve, Clerk, Electrical Diyision. Thomas W. Fels, Diesel EngineerMachinist, Electrical Division. Charles Hair, Heayy Truck Driver, Motor Transportation Division. Louis F. Harris, Locks Guard .Supervisor, Pacific Locks. Bernice A. Herring, Dipper Dredge

Operator, Dredging Division. Hubert W. Jarman, Head Stevedore Foreman, Terminals Division. Chester L. Lindgren, .Admeasurer, Navigation Division. Ralph E. Masters, Policeman, Police

l)ivi>i(»i. *Winnifred E. Seeley, Nurse, Gorgas

Hospital. Braxton W. Treadwell, Police Sergeant,

Police Division. Howard E. Walling, Materials Engineer,

I)i\ ision of Storehouses. John L. Whigam, W'ireman, Electrical Diyision. Mathew J. Wilder, Fireman, Fire Division.

eering Division, to Valuation Engineer,

Office of Comptroller. ENGI.NEERING AND CONSTRUCTION BUREAU

Peter T. Corrigan from Plumber to Plumber and Plumber Leader, Maintenance Division. Maxwell M. Melbye from Pumping

Plant Operator to Filtration Plant Operator, Water and Laboratories Branch, Maintenance Division. Ralph H. Graham from Operator- Foreman, Electrician, to Power Dispatcher,

Electrical Division. Ira M. Payne from Principal Foreman
January 2, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

(C<iii>lHHlioH ami M.iiiiU-ii.iiu v) lo li.ileli- iiiK I'lant Foreman, iMaintenaiicc Division. Gerald J. Fox from IVincipal Foreman

(Construction ami Maintenance) to Quarry

^laintenance Foreman, Maintenance Division. Gilbert C. Foster from Principal Fore- man (Construction and Maintenance) to Foreman, Crushing and Screening Plant, Maintenance Division. Nick M. Elich from General Foreman

Assistant, to General Foreman, Quarry, Maintenance Division. Albert B. Henning from Civil Engineer

to Snper\ isory Civil Engineer, Engineering

Division. Anthony F. Mann from Civil Engineer

to Civil Engineer (Soils Mechanics), Engineering Division. Robert R. McCoy from Wireman to Electrician Operator-Foreman, I'nuer Branch, Electrical Division. FIN.\NCE Bl'REAU

Oliver L. Riesch from Postal Clerk,

Postal, Customs and Immigration Di\ision,

to Governmental .\ccountant, Finance

Bureau. Mrs. Adelaide M. Seldon from Clerk- Typist to .\ccountiiig Clerk (typist), Fiscal Division. Mrs. Ethel B. Judd from Bookkeeping Machine Operator to Accounting Clerk,

Fiscal Division. William E. Lundy from Cash .Accounting Assistant (General) to Supervisory Cash Accounting Officer (Assistant Treasurer), Fiscal Division. Jean A. Libbey from Accounting Clerk

(Typist) to .Accounting Clerk, Accounting

Division. R. Trendon Vestal from Governmental System .Accountant to Supervisory Business

.Accountant, -Accounting Division. Gregory C. Cartotto from Accounting

Clerk to Business .Accountant, Accounting

Division. Mrs. Elna G. Montanye from Card Punch Operation Supervisor to Card Punch Supervisor, Accounting Division. Mrs. Janet N. Harness from Clerk- Typist to Accounting Clerk, Finance

Bureau. Mrs. Isabel M. Diaz from Typist to Clerk-Typist, Finance Bureau. Robert K. Hanna from Clerk to Cash

.Accounting .Assistant (General), Fiscal Division. John H. DeGrummond, Jr., from Cash Accounting Clerk (Teller) to .Ac- countant, .Accounting Division. Samuel R. Cunningham from Cash

.Accounting Clerk (Teller) to Supervisory Cash .Accounting .Assistant (General), Fiscal Division. Joseph C. Turner from Fiscal .Account- ant (.Assistant Treasurer) to Supervisory- Cash .Accounting Officer (Treasurer), Fiscal Division. MANAGEMENT DIVISION Howard M. Fuller, Warren Pitman,

and Leroy B. Magnuson from Budget

Specialist, Finance Bureau, to Budget

Specialist, Management Division. MARINE BUREAU Roy A. Hall, Jr., from Drill Barge

Engineer to Pipeline Suction Dredge

Engineer, Dredging Division. Glen W. Winberg from Dipper Dredge

Engineer to Chief Towboat Engineer, Dredging Division. Rialto M. Christensen from Steam

Engineer (Floating Crane) to Engineer

(Pipeline Suction Dredge), Dredging Division. Edward J. CuUen from Engineer

(Pipeline Suction Dredge) to Chief Engineer (Towboat), Dredging Division. Gerald Brennan from Engineer (Pipeline Suction Dredge) to Chief Engineer

(Towboat), Dredging Division. ^ Lawrence W. Jenkins froin General

Storekeeper to Guard, Locks Dixision,

Pacific Locks. Christopher Rau, Jr., from Guard,

.Atlantic Locks, to Storekeeper (General),

Pacific Locks. Abe L. Lincoln from Drill Runner

(Drill Barge), Dredging Division, to Rigger, Locks Division (Overhaul). Gilbert L. Fritts froiti Probationary Pilot to Qualified Pilot, Navigation Division. Howard L. Smith from Electric Welder,

Industrial Bureau, to Electric Welder, Locks Division (OverhauO. Frank G. McGilberry from Qualified

Pilot to Pilot, Navigation Division. Everette N. Clouse from Combination

Welder, Maintenance Division to CombinaliwH WcUkr, Lu.k> DIxiMun (tJscrJMul}. Leo Chester from Filtration Plant Operator, Water and Laboratories Branch,

to Lock Overhaul Foreman, L(x;ks Division (Overhaul). Curtis H. Frazier from Policeman,

Police Division, to Guard, Locks Division,

.Atlantic Locks. Alrick L. Nel.son fnim Shipwright,

Industrial Bureau, to Principal Lock

Overhaul Foreman, Locks Division. Millard M. Coleman from Steam

Engineer (Floating Crane) to Engineer

(Dipper Dredge), Dredging l)i\ision. Charles V. Scheidegg from Lock

Operator (Wireman) Leader to Electrical Coordinator, .Atlantic Locks, Locks Division. William E. Barber from Construction

Engineer, Maintenance Division, to .Ad- measurer, Navigation Division. David E. Emery, Oiler Floating Equipment, from Dredging Division to Oiler Floating Equipment, Ferry Service, Dredging Division. Claud M. Kreger from Junior Foreman

(Construction and Maintenance), Ferry

Service, Dredging Dixision to Principal Foreman (Construction and Maintenance), Dredging Division. RAILROAD AND TERMINALS BUREAU

Douglas Shelton from Wood and Steel Carman to Car Inspector, Railroad Dixision. Wallace F. Russon from Guard Supervisor to Safety Inspector, Terminals

Division. Royal J. Redmond from Foreman

Cribtender to Foreman Cribtender and Steam Engineer (Marine Bunkering Section), Terminals Division. Irvin E. Krappl from Foreman Crib- tender and Steam Engineer (Marine Bunkering Section) to .Assistant Foreman, Marine

Bunkering, Relief, Terminals Division. SUPPLY A.ND SERVICE BUREAU

Milton L. Turner from .Administratixe

.Assistant to Superx-isory .Administratixe

.Assistant, Hotel Tivoli. Philip S. Thornton from Manager,

Hotel Tix-oli (Manager, Hotels) to Administratix-e Officer (Manager, Hotels). Charles S. Hardy from Manager

Hotel Washington to .Administrative Officer, (Manager, Hotel Washington). Christian W. Wirtz from .Administrative .Assistant to Supervisory .Administrative Officer, Commissary Division. Mercedes A. Borrell from Clerk- Typist to Card Punch Superxisor, Dixision

of Storehouses. Norman B. Davison and Charles E. Reilly from Goxernmental .Accountant to Supervisory Business .Accountant, Commissary Dixision. Norman M. Schommer from Clerk to Procurement Officer, Commissary Division. Wallace E. Gibson from Accounting

Clerk to Property and Supply Clerk, Commissary Dixision. Mrs. Vera M. Aitken, Telephone

Operator, from Motor Transportation Division to Commissarv Division.

RETIREMENTS IN DECEMBER

Employees xvho retired at the end of December, their birthplaces, titles, length

of service at retirement and their future addresses are: Otto C. Frick, San .Antonio, Tex.; Leader Boilermaker, Dredging Division;

21 years, 10 months, and 21 days; San

.Antonio, Tex. Mrs. Ethel B. Judd, Boston, Mass.;

.Accounting Clerk, Finance Bureau; 19

years, 6 months, and 28 days; Manatee,

Fla.Capt. Glen Martin, Rochester, N. Y.; Panama Canal Pilot, Marine Bureau;

7 years, 10 months, and 24 days; New York

City. Mrs. Evelyn P. Matheney, Milwaukee,

Wis.; Dental Hygienist. Health Bureau;

6 years and 6 dax's; Canal Zone. Charles D. ' McConnell, Westfield, Mass.; Small Tug Operator, Dredging

Dixision; 13 years and 2 days; Canal Zone

for the present. Reese M. Ryan, Beaumont, Tex.; Dry

Cleaning Superintendent, Commissary Division; 6 years, 3 months, and 20 days; Beaumont, Tex.

January Brings Time

For Canal Employees

To File Tax Returns

Amateur mathematicians and accountants will spend many anxious hours

during the next few weelxs in computing what they owe Uncle Sam in income taxes

for the past year. Although the deadline for filing final income tax returns for 19.52 is March 15, many Canal employees will want to do

their figuring -and paying, when neces- sary—well before that time and avoid the

inevitable last-minute rush. The filing period opens today and returns may be

filed at any time up to the deadline. Income tax forms have been distributed

to Canal Zone Post Offices where they may be obtained upon request. They

also may be obtained from the Internal Revenue Office located on the second

floor of Balboa Clubhouse or from the branch banks in the Canal Zone. The distribution of the income tax forms and estimated tax declarations through the post offices is done as a matter of convenience to the general

public and it has been specifically re- quested that prospective tax payers not

ask for information concerning their tax problems at the post offices. All Canal employees who are required

to pay income taxes will be furnished with statements of their total pay and

the amount of money which has been

witfiheld for taxes during the past year. These are to be delivered by the Payroll Division with the pay checks due January 12. Furnish Withholding Statements The delivery of the withholding state- ments (Form W-2) will be in time for those employees required to file amended

tax declarations to file instead their final returns for 1952. Comparatively few employees are required to file amended

tax declarations. January 15 is the deadline for filing these. Many employees will be required to file estimated tax declarations for 1952. Generally, those required to do this are those whose income from wages exceed

$4,500 a year after subtracting all their exemptions at $600 each, and those with an outside income of more than $100 a

year. The estimated income tax decla- rations must be filed by March 15.

= Detailed instructions concerning in- come taxes are available in printed form

at the Internal Revenue Office. However those with complex tax problems

are advised to consult with personnel of that office before filing their returns. All payments of income taxes this year, as well as correspondence or forms to be

filed, should be addressed to the Director

of Internal Revenue instead of the Collector of Internal Revenue as in past

years, or to the Canal Zone Internal Revenue Agent. The first Governor of the Canal Zone was Maj. Gen. George W. Davis, U. S. Army, Retired, who served until May 9, 1905.

In 1905 there were 4,100 men engaged

in sanitation work which led to the elimi- nation of yellow fever from the Isthmus

of Panama.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW January 2, 1953

LAST SALE OF COAL MADE IN CRISTOBAL

THE END OF AN ];i: . ..I early last month by the last sale i^f cnai t" rie made at the

Crist«bal Coaling Plant to the Spanish cargo vessel Arraiz. The scene above shows the coal-burner taking on 500 tons of coal.

The Coaling Plant bus smn- l..vii cln*,! aii.l will be sold to the highest bidder. The Cristobal Coaling

Plant was a busy place during the Canal's early

history when coal-burning ships were the mainstay of the Canal's business.

725 Extras Are Hired

For Overhaul Project

Beginning This Month

Approximately 725 extra employees have been engaged for the overhaul of the

Pacific Locks which is scheduled to begin tomorrow when the east chamber of Pedro Miguel Locks is emptied. Of

these, about 600 will be local-rate workers

hired locally. The overhaul of the Panama Canal Locks is the biggest and most spectacular job done in the operation of the water- way. The last overhaul job was done on

the Gatun Locks during the 1951 dry

season and the Pacific Locks were over- hauled the year before. The work this year is expected to be completed by the middle of May. The

schedule, subject to variations depending on conditions encountered, provides for the work to be finished on the east Pedro

Miguel chamber by February 15, and the Pedro Miguel west chamber on March 26. The work at Miraflores wDl begin im- mediately after the west chamber at Pedro Miguel is placed in service. The

work to be done on the Miraflores east chambers is scheduled for completion by

April 22, and that on the west chambers

on May 15. Another 6 weeks will be

required for post-overhaul cleanup work and the transfer or storage of equipment. 24-Hour Schedule The overhaul project this year has added importance because of the heavy

flow of traffic through the Canal. The

Pacific Locks will be operated 24 hours a day and all shipping services on the Pacific side will also be provided on a 24-hour

basis. Every effort wiU be made to expedite shipping during the overhaul period but

it is expected that delays will occur. The

amoimt of traflSc during recent weeks has been at a level of the operating capacity with one lane of traffic out of service. Because of the fluctuation in the flow of

traffic it is probable that some delays of more than 24 hours may occur during peak periods. The work at Pedro Miguel Locks this year includes the removal and o\Trhaul

of sLx of the lock gates. Four of the gate

leaves at Pedi-o Miguel to be overhaided

are the lightest of any in the Canal Locks

but the job of lifting them off their pintles by hydraulic jacks will be a ticklish operation. It is not planned to unhinge any

of the gates at Miraflores Locks this year, although all gates will be cleaned and

repamted.

Preparations for the overhaul of a set

of the Panama Canal Locks are begun

several months in ad\'ance, since a vast amount of structural and other st«el used

for replacement is specially manufactured and machined. Much of the machine work is done at the Industrial Bureau

weeks in advance of the work. Recruiting Begun Early The main recruiting of the force neces- sary for the work at the Pacific Locks was

begun last September. The number of extra men engaged for the Pacific Locks

overhaul is much less than that required

at Gatun during overhaul since work is in progress in all three chambers at Gatun

simultaneously. There will be nearly 125 U. S.-rate employees hii-ed on a temporary basis for the overhaul this year. These will be in addition to members of the regular Locks

Division forces who will be assigned during the work. Most of these are skilled craftsmen, such as machinists, welders,

riggers, boilermakers, crane operators, and foremen, also some will be employed

on the U. S.-rate rolls for clerical and

helper duties. The 600 extra local-rate employees will be engaged in a variety of jobs. They

include mainly painters, carpenters,

'Continued from page S) ^^^ FORT SAN LORENZO "S^

Fort San Lorenzo has been looking out £^=t to sea from its high cliff at the mouth of o^^:

the Chagres River since about 1601, when o» ( it was set there at the direction of Philip 5i^=-

II to guard the back door to Panama. n, \ Unscalable precipices in three direc- ©^^i

tions, moat and drawbridge on the other, *" and artillery protection for all approaches ^^

made the fort seem almost impregnable. -~~

It fell for the first time in 1671 to a force of about 400 of Henry Morgan's

buccaneers led by a Col. Joseph Bradley,

sent to dispose of the sentinel of the Chagres before Morgan's full force advanced to Panama City. The story of the capture of the fort is one of the first told to most Isthmian

visitors— relating how a wounded buccaneer tore an arrow from his flesh, wrapped

it in cotton, and fired it from his musket,

starting the fire that ended in the fall of the mighty fortress of San Lorenzo. OLD PANAMA

The capture and sack of the old city

of Panama, leaving the ruins shown in the

picture on Page 9, is the second and

clunactic part of what is probably the best known story on the Isthmus. Morgan waited on the island of Santa

Catarina until he heard of the fall of Fort San Lorenzo, then advanced with a force

of 1,200 freebooters up the Chagres River, although it was January and most boats had to be deserted because of the shallow

water. In seven weary days, almost without

food, Morgan's forces reached the settle- ment of Cruces, abandoned and partly burned and stripped of all provisions. Two days later, they reached the savanna

in front of the city of Panama, where they were met the follo'n'ing day by 500 horse- men and 2,400 Spanish foot soldiers. The city was almost completely des- troyed by fire but no one knows who set it—retreating Spaniards, Morgan's men,

or possibly disaffected slaves. TABOGA

Peaceful, pretty Taboga, so-called "Island of Flowers," has a bustling, boisterous, and blood-soaked past that

belies its present quiet charm.

Pizarro set sail from its fine deepwater

anchorage on the trips that resulted in the discovery and conquest of Peru, as did hundreds of other later adventurers who exploited the wealth of the Incas. The California gold rush gave the

island a new economic importance when

the Pacific Navigation Company established shops, drydocks and offices on Morro Island, ruins of which can be seen

today.

helpers, locomotive crane firemen, and

laborers. Because of the type of work involved during the overhaul of the Locks, every

precaution is taken for the safety of the men engaged as well as other personnel in the area. For this reason, the general

public will not be permitted within the Locks enclosures whOe the work is in progress. Visiting schedules for tourist parties will be arranged so that such

parties will visit the Pacific Locks not under overhaul until the work is completed.