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Vol. 5, No. 7 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, FEBRUARY 4, 1955 5 cents

Panama Railroad

Marks Completion

Of First Century

A century ended, a monument was

dedicated, and a great event was fittingly observed. Isthmians will not soon forget

January 28. This week, Governor J. S. Seybold said "Thanks" to the men and women of the Canal organization who had pitched in to make the hundredth anniversary of the completion of the first railroad across the Americas a day long to be remembered.

The men who planned and executed

the Old 299 memorial, those who planned

and carried out the program, the railroad people who helped make it possible, in fact everyone who had anything to do

with making the day's celebration memorable received a figurative pat on the back and a "well-done" from the Governor. And it WAS a memorable day. From

soon after the sun rose over the shoulder

of Ancon Hill until long after it disappeared behind Sosa Hill, January 28 was Panama Railroad Day.

From the time when a dozen Boy and

Girl Scouts raised a flag near Old 299, there was scarcely a moment when something wasn't going on. Lines of people stood in front of post

office windows all day to buy the commemorative stamps. Every passenger who rode a PRR train was given a special souvenir pass. So many passengers [See page is)

Welcome In Zone Planned

For Vice President Nixon

RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON

Vice President of the United States

When the Vice President of the United

States and Mrs. Richard M. Nixon arrive

late this month for a visit to the Isthmus

it will mark the completion of a trip

begun more than six years ago by the Vice President,

His three-day visit will also mark the second time that a Vice President of the United States has visited the Canal Zone

while holding office. The other visit was made by former Vice President Henry A. Wallace in March 1943. The unusual circumstances of Vice

President Nixon completing a trip here

six years late are briefly:

While a member of Congress, he and

Mrs. Nixon left New York early in December 1948 aboard the Panama liner Panama for a four-day visit to the Isth- mus. He was then a member of the House

Un-American Activities Committee.

When the ship was off the Coast of Florida, he received an urgent message

to return immediately to Washington for special hearirgs. He left the ship by

Coast Guard plane and returned. It later developed that the hurried call was

the result of the discovery of the famous

"pumpkin papers" in the Alger Hiss case. Mrs. Nixon continued the trip and

spent four days here. Thus it will be

her second visit. The Vice President and his party, making a general tcur of the Caribbean

area, are scheduled to arrive by a special

MATS plane at Tocumen Airport on Wednesday, February 23, leaving the

following Saturday to continue the tour. The party will include the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American

Affairs and Mrs. Henry Holland, Robert

Newbegin, State Department officer, and three members of the Vice President's

staff. In addition to the Vice President's

official visits and other activities in Panama, tentative arrangements have

been made to give him ample opportunity to see the Panama Canal operations on both sides of the Isthmus and to

inspect various facilities and installations throughout the Canal Zone. He and Mrs. Nixon will be honor guests

at a reception to be given by Governor and Mrs. Seybold at the Governor's Mansion.

While the plans for the Vice President and his party are still tentative, arrange- ments are being made for a visit to Miraflores Locks on Thursday morning,

the day after his arrival. This will be

followed bv a launch trip through

Gaillard Cut. The afternoon of the second day will be devoted to a plane trip to the Atlantic- side to visit Colon and the Free Zone. He will return to the Pacific side by

Panama Railroad train and it is presently

planned to have the special train make

15-minute stops at Gatun, Gamboa, and

the Balboa Heights railroad stations. At each cf these stops he would make a

brief talk and would personally meet

representatives from the various Civic

Councils.

It is expected that the entire day on

Friday will be spent by Vice President Nixon and his party in Panama.

OLD 299, a monument to a railroad, was dedicated

In This Issue

# For more centennial pictures, see page 20. What's doing with Contractors Hill, see page 3. # New type paychecks, see page 4. # Fernie & Co., a busy agency, see page 10.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

Company Board Of Directors Studies Fiscal Policy

In January Meeting, Takes Action Affecting Employees

MEMBERS of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company met last month at Balboa Heights. The Board will meet in the Canal Zone each January.

Left to right are: Theodore H. Maenner; W. M. Whitman, Secretary of the Panama Canal Company; Maj. Gen. Cden E. Edgerton; Charles S. Reed; Howard C.

Petersen; Gov. J. S. Seybold, President of the Panama Canal Company; Robert T. Stevens, Secretary of the Army and Stockholder of the Panama Canal Company;

George H. Roderick, Assistant Secretary of the Army and Chairman of the Board of the Panama Canal Company; John W. Martyn; Lindsley H. Noble,

Comptroller; and Maj. Gen. Julian L. Schley. General Edgerton and General Schley are former Governors.

While the major part of the January

meeting of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company, held at Balboa

Heights, was devoted to fiscal policies

and general operations of the Company,

several actions of major interest to Canal

employees and their families were taken. The meeting was significant in many

respects. It was the first held on the Isthmus since the Board voted last year

to hold at least one of its quarterly meetings in the Canal Zone. The January meeting was also the first held in the Canal Zone which was

attended by the Stockholder of the Company. Both Robert T. Stevens, Secre- tary of the Army and Stockholder of the Company, and George H. Roderick,

Assistant Secretary of the Army and

Chairman of the Board of Directors, were present for the meeting.

New Director

Other Board members attending were: Governor Seybold, President of the Company, Maj. Gen. Glen E. Edgerton,

Howard C. Petersen, Charles S. Reed,

Maj. Gen. Julian L. Schley, Theodore H. Maenner, John W. Martyn, and Robert

P. Burroughs. Other Company officials attending were Lt. Gov. Harry 0. Paxson,

Vice President, \Y. M. Whitman, Secretary, and Lindsley H. Noble, Comptroller.

This was the first meeting attended by

Mr. Burroughs, who was appointed to the Board last month to fill the vacancy

id by the resignation of Karl R. Bendetsen. Reduced Rates Among the actions taken by the Board

of sp 'i-ial intsrest to employees were:

1. It was voted to restore reduced rates on the Panama Line for employees and

their dependents not receiving benefits mder the recent home leave travel law. Under this action employees will have

n option as to which travel plan they use

[though they will not be permitted to

H' travel leave benefits and

reduced steamship rates during any given

period. There are many administrative and legal problems involved in this ruling

and these were under study at the time

of this issue of The Canal Review.

Regulations governing the provision for reduced steamship rates will be announced

as soon as they have been formulated

and approved.

Albrook Field

2. A resolution was adopted urging

that the use of Albrook Field be discon- tinued for regular aircraft flights. The resolution calls attention to the hazards to the schools and civilian population in the vicinity from aircraft leaving

and approaching the field, and to the

disruptions caused to Company-Government operations in the vicinity of the

field. It "urgently" recommended to the competent authorities of the United

States Government "that further use of Albrook Air Force Base for regular

ROBERT P. BURROUGHS of Manchester, \. II.

is the newest member of the Panama Canal Company

Board of Directors. He attended the meeting held here last month.

flights of aircraft of any type be dis- continued."

3. An increase in pensions was authorized for certain former employees of the Panama Railroad Company.

This action by the Board authorizes

additional benefits to a number of non- U. S. citizens, formerly employed by the Panama Railroad Company, who are not

receiving payments under the disability cash relief plan as are other CompanyGovernment employees.

Tribute Paid At the conclusion of the meeting the

entire membership of the Board and

Company officials attending paid special tribute to the memory of Panama's Presi- dent Jose Antonio Remon Cantera whose

assassination occured only two weeks

before. At the close of the meeting

they went as a group to the cemetery in Panama City and laid a wreath at the tomb, the wreath being placed by

Secretary Stevens. The visit of the Directors to the Isthmus provided an opportunity to inspect Canal facilities and see its major

operations. The Secretary of the Army

spent most of his time, except for the Board meeting, on inspection trips.

Visit To Hill He arrived by plane in the afternoon

of January 11 and left early in the morning of January 14. In addition to his inspection of Army installations, the Secretary visited the Contractors Hill projects which was explained to him in detail by Canal officials. Later he visited the scale models of the proposed sea-level Canal at Diablo Heights.

He spent some time at Miraflores Locks,

following which he and Assistant Secretary Roderick boarded a launch with Governor Seybold and other officials at Pedro Miguel Locks for a trip through

Gaillard Cut. During this trip they

inspected the Contractors Hill work from

the Canal side.
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Million-Yard Mark On Contractors Hill

Project To Be Reached Early This Month

Both in time and amount of excavation

the Contractors Hill project is nearing

the halfway mark.

The work is well ahead of schedule at present and the Tecon Corporation, Texas firm which was awarded the 15- month contract late last May, is expected

to pass the million-mark in cubic yards

of material excavated early this month.

This is approximately half of the total to be removed.

The face of Contractors Hill is also showing the effects of the many months

of blasting and excavating and the hill is beginning to assume some of the appear- ance it will have when the work is completed.

Army Secretary A Visitor The work of removing the slide hazard

at Contractors Hill was spotlighted last month by the visit of two of the Canal

Company's top officials, Robert T. Stevens, Secretary of the Army and

Stockholder of the Panama Canal Company, and George H. Roderick, Assistant Secretary of the Army and Chairman

of the Canal Company's Board of Directors. Both made field inspection trips

during the course of their visits to the Isthmus in mid-January to attend the Board of Directors meeting.

The project and work in progress were

explained in detail to Secretary Stevens and Mr. Roderick by Col. Hugh M.

Arnold, Engineering and Construction

Director who is contracting officer; Lt. Col. Edwin B. Jennings, Project Manager; and L. F. Ramer, Tecon's Superintendent of the project.

The two officials also had an opportunity to view the work from the Canal side on a launch trip through Gaillard Cut

with Governor Seybold on the day after the Board meeting.

The original contract for the project was on a unit price, based on the excavation of 2,000,000 cubic yards of hard rock and 350,000 cubic yards of soft rock or shale of the Cucaracha formation. This

amount of material will not necessarily be removed since the total yardage will depend upon the final slopes to be deter- mined as the work progresses. After the contract was signed and

final plans were completed it was esti- mated that 1,600,000 cubic yards of rock and 150,000 cubic yards of Cucaracha

formation would be removed. These

figures have since been increased, however, because of a revision of the slope

lines at the north and south ends of the

area. These revisions were necessary when it was found that the Cucaracha

formation reached a higher elevation at these two points than first estimated. Accordingly practically the entire north end of Contractors Hill will be cut down

to near the water level. Miles Of Drill Holes

The advent of the delayed dry season

this year is expected to speed up the excavation somewhat. Most of the work

up to now has been in hard rock. During

the present dry season, much of the excavation will be in Cucaracha shale which can be broken for hauling by light

blasting and is more easily handled in dry weather. The total yardage actually removed

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SECRETARY of the Army Robert P. Stevens inspected the Contractors Hill Project last month during

his visit to the Canal Zone. In the top photo, left to right, are Col. Hugh M. Arnold, Enginnering and

Construction Director, Secretary Stevens, Lt. Col. E. B. Jennings, Project Engineer, and L. F. Ramer,

Tecon superintendent. The lower photo shows the progress of the slope revision. up to Monday, January 24, was reported

at 770,000 cubic yards of rock and 57,000

cubic yards of Cucaracha. Up until that time the drills had bored a total of 55

miles of holes for blasting. For many weeks now Contractors Hill has presented a busy scene to the spectator. The work is being done on two

shifts a day of ten hours each. All of the drilling and blasting is being done by

day shift while all of the night work is in hauling operations.

Passengers aboard ships going through

Gaillard Cut can now get some idea of what is to be left of Contractors Hill when the project is completed. The plans

call for a series of gigantic berms or ledges stepping back from the Canal to the top of the hill. Two of the five big

steps have already been formed and work

is now in progress on the third, which is at the 270-foot elevation above the Canal. The work on this berm is expected to be

finished during the present month.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

\

PANAMA CANAL COMPANY

CANAL ZONE GOVERNMENT

MISCELLANEOUS DEDUCTION ADVICE

PAY PERIOD ENDING FEB 26 55 NO 18

ST06 JOHN J DOE

First New Checks Will Be Issued Feb. 10;

Changeover Will Be Completed By July

in i first group of employees of the Company-Government will begin receiving, this month, paychecks issued under

a new method of payroll operation. The

first new-type checks will be issued February H) ti> dock workers in the Terminals

Division. Gradually, the shift to the new-type

checks will be made throughout the

organization and by next July the changeover should be completed.

The changeover to the new-type checks and deduction slips will be coincident with the physical move of the Payroll

Hianch from Diablo to the old Ancon

Clubhouse building. The first group of payroll employees, those who handle the weekly dock rolls for the Terminals

Division, moved to their new Ancon

office the end of last month.

Other groups will move from Diablo to Ancon in April and June, with the entire move to be completed by July.

Checks And Advice New

The average employee, however, is more interested in the type of check he

will receive than in the move of those

payroll workers who handle his checks. The check itself, the "miscellaneous

deduction advice" which will accompany

the check, and the "fixed deduction

advice" are all new. The check itself has a stub on which

certain deduction information will be

listed; according to present plans, deductions will be standardized in the near

future so that the "deduction advice" can be eliminated and all deductions

placed on the stub of the check itself. The check stub is divided into four columns. One column shows the hours worked; the next, earnings; the third, deductions; and the fourth gives the balances for the calendar year to the date

of the check. A duplicate of the new

check is shown below. Coded By Letters The code letters which are used for each column are self explanatory. Letters "B" and "D" are concerned with leave. The figure to the left of the letter "B"

will indicate the leave units charged during the period covered by the check. The

figure to the left of the letter "D" will appear quarterly; it will indicate the employee's leave balance at the end of the previous pay period. In order to arrive at a current leave

balance, the employee may subtract the "leave charged" figure, shown opposite

letter "B" from the current leave balance shown opposite letter "D." This will give his leave balance at the end of the pay period indicated on the check. U. S.-rate employees, whose service date arrives during the period covered by

the check, will have to add this credit amount to the balance already computed.

Deductions under letter "J" are miscellaneous. They will be itemized on

a separate deduction form, shown here. Code letter "R" which is further described

as "F. E. G. L. 1." refers to deductions

made for the Federal Employees Group

Life Insurance Plan. Annual Balances Shown

All balances in the "Balances— Cal- endar year to date" column include those up to and including the pay period ending

the date which is shown on the check

stub. The miscellaneous deduction card, or advice as it is known technically, will itemize such miscellaneous deductions as

hospital charges, payroll deductions for Red Cross or Community Chest contributions, or similar, non-recurring payments.

The final balance in the total column will indicate the amount deducted; this total amount will appear on the check stub under the letter "J." The "Fixed Deduction Advice" will be used for those employees who participate

in any of the deductions listed across the form. Anyone who pays rent to the Panama Canal Company, buys bonds

under a payroll deduction plan, holds group insurance, etc., will receive one

of these cards. A sample (See page 19)

DESCRIPTION V DEDUCTED TOTAL

G. H0SP. 4032

ELEC. CORR.2/10

MAINT. 7086 FIXED DED.

35

4.8 1 5.0 3 1.06

3.5 0*

8.3 1 «

1 3.3 1 *

k k.Z 7 »

THE LAST AMOUNT SHOWN IN THIS—-J COLUMN MAS SEEN DEDUCTED FROM

YOUR PAY AND IS SHOWN ON THE

PAY CHECK STUB UNDER CODE "J ".

...

MISCELLANEOUS deductions, like hospital charges

payroll deductions for Red Cross or Community

Chest, will appear on this form.

' FIXED DEDUCTION ADVICE

THIS IS YOUR FIXED DEDUCTION ADVICE. PLEASE RETAIN IT. NO FURTHER ADVICE OF

THIS DEDUCTION RECORD WILL 86 MAOE UNTIL THERE IS A CHANCE IN r'OUR FIXED DEDUCTIONS

5T06 JOHN J DOE

PERIOD COVEREO FROM.''/'/" TO

OOV'T CO- KENT BONDS RAMGE j TELE. FURN GARAGE k*BK*HCl M.B.A DBA. MOIP

hid* mrt TOTAL RAY

17.30 3.7 3 1.00 3.0 150 33 1 3 0.06

'I 1730 3.75 1.00 5.00 30 33 1 3 1.06 2

1730 3.75 33 1 2*36

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CANAL

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AL CO GOVER

OUR MIS MPAN1

NMEMT

CELLAN EOUS DE DUCTION ADVICE.

FIXED deductions, like rent and insurance, will appear on this stub. The figures 1, 2, and 3 indicate the pay period. One of these will go to each employee who has fixed deductions; another will not be issued until the deductions change.

HOURS .rVGS

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paychecks will l>e issued this month. The stub lists deductions made from the check, shows the hours worked, the amount earned and the calendar year balances of each for the year to the date of the check.
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Burning Of Trees Ends Christmas

Festivities For Zone Youngsters

CHRISTMAS doesn't end for the children of the Canal Zone until the last tree goes up in flames.

Still talking about Christmas in February? Certainly, because Christmas didn't wind up for a good number of Canal Zone young people until close to the end of last month, when the last Christmas tree was

burned. Christmas tree burnings may or may

not be purely local institutions—there are a good many locations in the United

States where such things have never been

heard of. Just how and when the children of the Canal Zone began burning Christmas

trees in a great post-holiday celebration

is about as uncertain as where the custom came from in the first place.

Comparatively New Custom

Mrs. Mary Cecil Lowe, whose memory

of the Canal Zone dates back to 1906, says that Christmas tree burnings are comparatively modern. During the con- struction-day period, as she remembers

it, there weren't enough Christmas trees

in the Canal Zone to make a respectable

bonfire. Only a few trees were brought

here in those days; there were usually

just enough for churches and the old YMCA Clubhouses to have them.

B. I. Everson, Transportation and

Terminals Director, and F. R. Johnson,

Director of the Supply Bureau, both of whom grew up here, agree that Christmas

tree burnings began sometime in the

early 1920's. Edwin C. Jones, of the Records Section in the Administrative

Branch, also can't remember any Christ- mas tree bonfires before that time. Mr.

Everson's mother, however, remembers

a tree-burning in 1919.

All of them agree that the elaborate

festivities which today accompany the

tree burnings didn't start for another 10 years and that "the parties began when

the grownups began to get in on them."

Bonfire In Swamp

At first, as far as the children of Ancon

were concerned, the trees were burned in the swampy area where the Albrook Field runway is now located. Trees were col- lected and stored, for days ahead of time,

guarded against hi-jackers from rival gangs, and then laboriously dragged to

the site of the bonfire. The burners were purists; the tree burning was all there was to it and no one thought of hot dogs or marshmallows.

The gang rivalry was terrific. Two of the most active gangs were the "San

Juaners" and the "Shaggers," or the Chagres Street gang, both from Ancon. Firemen would have, and may have, turned handsprings if they had known

that at one time there were SO highly

inflammable trees stored on one San

Juan Place backporch.

The trees had been moved inside when

a Shagger raid threatened the cache of trees on the hill behind San Juan Place. A San Juan father, shaving in his bath- room, spotted the rival ranks forming on

the hill behind his house and, face foaming with lather, burst out in considerable

disattire to give the alarm.

"Stacey's Parties"

One of the first of the neighborhood

parties to accompany the burning was

that given by the late Stacey Russell, then Postal Inspector, about i934. For

years he planned and provided the party

for the San Juan Place children each

year. The year he retired, in 1942, the

children took over. That year's burning

and party were in his honor and as honor

guest he was permitted to throw the first tree on the fire. In Diablo Heights, W. I. Hollowell of the Maintenance Division is carrying on

the tradition which Stacey Russell started

for the San Juaners 20 years ago. For

the past several years the Hollowells have

been providing the food and making all the arrangements for the annual burning

near their quarters. This year, Mr. Hollowell and his neighbors cleared a large area of low

ground between their house and the Canal, built steps down from the bluff on

which the house stands, and set up seats on top of the bank for the less agile. Lights were strung under the house and

near the bluff. Ninety persons, at least 50 of whom

were youngsters, did away with 160 hot

dogs, casseroles of baked beans, plates of

shrimp, and platters of potato salad. Two barbecue pits were manned constantly for what seemed to be hours, and

the quantity of soda pop which went down young throats was practically unbelievable.

All burnings have house rules. Some

groups believe in one big fire, in which

everything goes up—whoosh!—at once. At one time this was the practice of a group in Margarita, and may still be, if they haven't all grown up. Other groups belong to the tree-at-a- time school. The Hollowell guests are

in the latter group. This year the 120

trees which the youngsters had col- lected—some of which had been contracted for as early as November—were

spaced out so that the burning would last.

CANAL ZONE CLERGY

THE VERY REV. JOSEPH F. KONEN, C. M

Although China, where he began his missionary career, is half a world away

from Panama, the Very Rev. Joseph F. Konen, C. M., finds many similarities between the interior of Panama and the

interior of China. As Superior of the American Vincentian Fathers of the Canal Zone, he supervises the religious work of 33 American

Vincentian priests, members of the order which has been in charge of Catholic mission work in Panama since 1913. In Bocas del Toro province, for instance as in the remote parts of China, trans- portation is difficult. Outside of the town itself there is no electricity or

refrigeration. And the people of Bocas

eat rice and beans like the people of China's interior. Born in Allentown, Pa., he is a graduate of St. Joseph's College at Princeton, N. J. He spent five years at St. Vincent's Seminary in Germantown, Pa., and was

ordained to the priesthood in 1939 in Philadelphia.

The next 10 years he spent in China,

as a missionary in Kiangsi Province and

as a Contract Chaplain with the U. S. forces. He speaks the Chinese Nationalist language and three dialects. From 1949 to 1951 Father Konen was

Mission Procurator for the American

Vincentian Missions, with headquarters

in Philadelphia.

Father Konen made a four-month tour

of Panama, ending in April 1951, and was

assigned to his present mission in September 1952.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 195 5

FOR YOUR INTERESTED GUIDANCE IN^CCIDENT PREVENTION

"Why Is It That Somebody Is Always Riding

Us Guys About Safety?" Says P. C. Charley

You would think the way these birds

are always coming around and jumping

us that we are all nuts and want to get

hurt so we can get a rest up at Gorgas

Hospital

Yeh. so Schneider got his toe broken

when that piece of pipe he was welding

fell on his foot, but he said he was going

to buy a pair of safety shoes next pay day.

So Dan lost half of his finger when that

HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

DECEMBER

SUPPLY BUREAU

COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Community Services 7

Civil Affairs 4 Health 3 Engineering and Construction 2 Supply 2 Marine " Transportation and Terminals

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

DECEMBER

COMMISSARY DIVISION

MAINTENANCE DIVISION

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DIVISION

MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION

STOREHOUSE DIVISION

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

SANITATION DIVISION

V-belt caught it. He was good at jumping a V-belt off with a screw driver with

the motor running. He's taken many a one off without getting hurt. Anyway,

it's faster and it was the only tool he had with him.

So it's true Alfred got squeezed be- tween a launch and a ship. He knew it was dangerous to walk along the inboard

side between the deck house and ship,

but the line from the ship was short, so he couldn't walk on the outside and hold onto the line in the rough sea.

Then there's Jeff. He only got scalped

by a falling tackle block which he was

hoisting to Bill on a tower. Lucky for him he stooped over to pick up something

just then or the block would have hit him

square and bashed in his head. Jeff said he usually wears his safety hat but it kept falling off everytime he stooped over. He says it doesn't make any difference anyway, because he was already partly

bald.

Even the wife nags me. Wants me to buy one of those new aluminum step

ladders. I will someday when the old one wears out. I know I should have a

taller one so I can replace thnt burned

out porch light—and I should fix all our lamp cords so the floor lamps won't shock

her everytime she turns one on—and I should fix the brakes on my car—but she knows I mean to fix them someday when

I can find the time.

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Aids to Navigation. 10 Motor Transportation 9 Sanitation 9 Service Center 8 Grounds Maintenance 7 Dredging 5 Electrical 5 Maintenance 5 Hospitalization and Clinics.. - 4 Storehouses 4

Industrial 3 Railroad 3 Commissary. '-- 1 Locks 1 Navigation 1 Terminals

Why is everybody so frantic to fix things all at once? Nothing much has

ever happened to me yet.

It gives me a pain to think that you

safety people don't have any confidence

in me, Schneider, Dan, Alfred, or Jeff. O-oh-o-o! Oh-o! See what I mean.

Here's a good example. Help me up will you? Feels like I broke my ankle. Always was weak since that crate fell on

it last year while I was unloading that box car. What a place. I am sure to get blamed

for leaving that pallet here in the safety

lane. I meant to move it but you know

how weak my back has been since it got

hurt lifting a big crate a couple years ago. Besides Jones borrowed the forklift truck

last week to clean up his place.

I guess the boss will think I'm not

interested in safety at all anymore, but

I've got my job to do and can't think about safety programs all the time.

So P. C. Charley goes on his way, meaning to eliminate unsafe conditions and working practices around him, but

he can never quite get them done before something happens, then he is full of apt

alibis and good intentions. He knows

that it is easier to prevent an accident

before it happens than it is to figure out

all the angles of ducking the responsibility afterwards.

Yet, isn't that just what so many of us do?

DECEMBER 1954

Supply Bureau

Community Services Bureau

Civil Affairs Bureau

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

Hi' Jlli Bureau

Engineering and Construction Bureau

Transportation and Terminals Bureau

Marine Bureau

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

Number of Disabling Injuries 12

Disabling Injuries per 1,000,000 Man Hours Worked

( Frequency Rale)

M an-Hours Worked 2,375,864

c

LEGEND

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

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

f-'/.-ypyyij Accumulative Frequency Rate This "i ear
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

ja^-fcafcj.

Official Panama Canal Company Publication

Published Monthly at BALBOA HEIGHTS. CANAL ZONE

I'Tinted by Me Printing Plant Mount Hope. Canal Zone

John S. Seybold, Governor-President

H. 0. Paxson, Lieutenant Governor

William G. Arey, Jr. Public Information Officer

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor

Eleanor H. McLlhenny

Editorial Assistant

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

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

after publication date. SINGLE COPIESBYMAIL—10 cents each BACK COPIES—10 cents each On sale when available, from the Vault

Clerk, Third Floor, Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

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

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z.

"Capt. Sam" Retires

CAPT. SAMUEL L. BROWN, better known as Captain Sam, is among the Canal employees who

retired from aitive service with the Panama Canal Compa.iy last month.

Well known on the Atlantic side for his many civic

activities as well as his years with the Marine Bureau, Captain Sam began his 27 years of service with the Panama Canal Company as a Panama Canal pilot. Since 1945, he has been Assistant Port Captain in Cristobal. A native of La Vaca, Tex., Captain Sam first arrived on the Isthmus in 1927 and was employed

as a pilot-in-training at Cristobal. He was made

probationary pilot four months later and was pro- moted to pilot in January 1928. He and Mrs. Brown, the former Miss Grace Evelyn

Birkeland of Cristobal, will leave the Isthmus in March to make their home in Mathews County, Va.

OF CURRENT INTEREST

Famed Doctors Visit Hospital

WORLD-FAMED specialists visited Gorgas Hospital last month when they stopped in the Canal Zone en

route to a conference in Peru. Left to right are: Dr. Paul B. Hawley, director of the American College of Surgeons and a retired Major General in the Medical Corps; Col. Howard W. Doan, Superintendent of Gorgas

Hospital; Dr. William Rienhoff of Baltimore, a specialist in thyroid and parathyroid; and Dr. Alfred Blalock,

president of the American College of Surgeons, and an authority on the so-called "blue baby" operation.

Newcomers to the Isthmus and many old- timers who are unaware that there are such

things as coca-cola and chewing gum trees

at the Canal Zone Experiment Gardens at Summit, can find out for themselves under

the expert guidance of Roy Sharp any Satur- day morning during the dry season. The

first conducted tour of the year was held

last Saturday when a good number of amateur gardeners and curious Canal Zone

residents were taken on a two-and-one-half hour inspection trip through this tropical wonderland.

In addition to coca-cola trees, which are commonly known as the cola-nut trees, and the chewing-gum trees from which

the basic chicle of chewing gum is derived,

visitors saw the cannon-ball trees, now

loaded with the fruit which closely resembles

old-fashioned ammunition; the papyrus

reeds, which grow in profusion near the

lily ponds, and the so called "rouge pot"

bushes, now in full bloom. The guided tours will be held each Satur- day morning at 9 o'clock. Visitors will gather at the Garden office and will be conducted through the main part of the Experiment Gardens by Mr. Sharp who will give an explanation of all the unusual trees and plants with emphasis on their origin and methods of cultivation. The tours will continue throughout the dry season.

Balboa Commissary patrons will soon be

able to wheel their grocery carts from the main floor of the Commissary out a side door and directly to their automobiles. This will be made possible by the construction of a new covered entrance on the north

east side of the Balboa Commissary which,

in addition to steps, will have a walk ramp

from the first floor to the driveway. The

firm of Dillon and Hickman were apparent low bidders last month on the construction

of the entrance and it is expected that the work will be completed sometime during March. Parking in the vicinity will be

eliminated to allow room for cars to approach

the entrance. Other improvements and changes planned

for the Balboa Commissary during the next

several months include the enlargement of the housewares section in Building 729, Balboa Road; the establishment of a separ- ate chinaware and glassware section in the Annex; and the transfer of all men's and

boy's wear from the main building to the Annex. These moves are all being made to

provide maximum customer convenience

with the space available. Two groups of crayon sketches made by

individual members of the Third and

Fourth Grades at the Ancon Elementary

School are now on display in the Main

Library Reading Room in the Civil Affair? Building. The sketches were made by the young artists following a visit to the Library

Museum; they represent impressions of the various sections of the Library such as the

circulation desk, the juvenile book collection, and the Panama Collection. The

groups were accompanied by their teachers, Miss Bernadine Hanna of the Third Grade

and Miss Frances Clary of the Fourth

Grade.

The Cunard liner Mauretania, seventh

largest ship in the world, made her first trip

this year through the Panama Cana during

January. She arrived in Cristobal January

7 from New York on a West Indies and

South American cruise with 555 passengers on board. She made the Canal transit southbound the same day and sailed late that night for Callao, Peru. On her return

trip, she arrived in Balboa January 18 and

passed through the Canal shortly after en

route to Cristobal and New York. The Mauretania is one of the best known

of the British ships making cruises to the Canal. She was built shortly before World

War II to replace the old Mauretania and

during the war was placed in government

service as a troop transport. She will call in Cristobal twice more this year—once in February and once in March on West

Indies cruises.

Those Canal Zone residents who complained that the rain seemed unusually

heavy in 1954 were quite right if they happened to live in Gatun, Pedro Miguel or Balboa although it wasn't exactly a dry season for those living elsewhere on the Isthmus. At Pedro Miguel, a total of 101.07 inches

fell. This was 21.16 inches more than the normal rainfall for that station. At Balboa

Heights, the yearly total was 83.93 inches,

or 14.42 inches more than normal. Gatun,

with a total of 135.92 inches of rain was the wettest spot on the Canal Zone during 1954. This total, however, was only 11.93 inches above the normal rainfall for that area.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

Up And Down The Banks Of The Canal

Engineering And Construction

Seven employees of the E&C Bureau are attending the 45-hour standard Red Cross

Instructors Course which is being given 1>\ \Y. < >. Dolan, Civil Defense Chief. The

program is designed to train CompanyGovernment employees in first aid, with

the idea that those receiving this first training will, in turn, train selected fellow workers. The seven E&C men are: M. F. Millard,

J. E. Winklosky, and A. H. Cooke, of the

Office of the Director; W. H. Townsend,

Engineering Division; C. H. Mitchell of the Maintenance Division; and R. R. Arnold and E. J. McElroy of the Electrical Division. When they complete their course they

will be assigned to give a six-hour Industrial

First Aid Course to selected employees of the Bureau.

• • • During January, Elect.ical Division Power System employees have been engaged in a major overhaul of the 7500-KW frequency

changer at the Agua Clara Diesel station. Three of the four main bearings were

replaced and other maintenance work done. This project is in anticipation of continuous

service for this unit during the conversion

to 60-cycle current.

Since early construction days, the Valve Gate House on the Rio Grande Reservoir Dam has been a distinctive feature of the

area. Of concrete, with a masonry veneer, it housed the valve-operating controls and pro- vided access to the screens and sluiceways. In recent years, the discharge from the

lake has gone over the spillway or through

the discharge siphon and the gate house has been metely the picturesque home of bats and bees. With heavy traffic crossing Borinqnen

Highway because of the Contractors Hill work, the old gate house became an obstacle

to traffic visibility, and its removal was

necessary. Health Department employees disposed

of the bats and bees; Tecon, the contractor

for the Contractors Hill project then blasted the gate house into history. For the blasting, the contractor used shaped charges,

which, in their plastic containers, resemble a meringue-covered pie. Eight of these charges were placed around the four walls and then detonated. The small amount

of rubble which remained after the blast was swept away and an unobstructed view was the result.

• • • Reminiscences of the old days in Hie Canal Zone were swapped last month when fellow employees in the E&C Bureau, together with

Supply Bureau

Since January 1 of this year, the Storehousi Division's Salvage Yard lias sold 3,380 net tons of ferrous scrap, 657,100 pounds of non-ferrous scrap and 1,000 net tons of

unclassified scrap. The buyers were nine scrap dealers in the United Slates and three in Panama.

• • • Patrons ,u tic Margarita Commissar)

have noted and commented favorably —in most cases—on the transfer of the self- service stands to the main entrance to the

store. This converts the entire store into a self-service section. New shelving is being installed and the remodeling should be completed within the next two months.

• • • With the celebration of the Hundredth

Anniversary of the Panama Railroad last week, it occurred to Commissary Division personnel that this unit was in a position to put 105 candles on a Commissary birthday

cake. The Commissary is understood to have been one of the first units established ashore when the boats carrying the Railroad Company's first location paries landed at Manzanillo Island.

• • • Osmond F. McLean, head of the men's wear section of the Cristobal Commissary for

the past seven years, resigned last month. His total service with the Cristobal, store was

15 years. He has gone to the United Slates with the idea of looking over job opportunities

there. • • • The Printing Plant has recently acquired

mimeograph and ditto machines which are

available for immediate use to the Divisions

located on the Atlantic side of the Canal

Zone.

others who had worked with him in the Housing and Grounds Maintenance Divisions, honored

Charles P. Morgan on his retirement. The farewell party—farewell from the job

only, as the Morgans plan to remain in the Canal Zone—was held at the Tivoli Gtiest House January 14. Mr. Morgan was given an initialed watch-fob, inscribed with his

service dates: 1008 through 1954.

• • • Near the narrowest point in the Canal

channel, at a point on the slope opposite

Gold Hill, a sign is being erected by Tecon,

contractors for the Contractors Hill removal

project.

The sign, 30 feet long and 15 feet wide

has a white background. Red and black

letters, 24 inches high, advise all who pass

that the Tecon Corporation of Dallas, Tex.,

is performing the Contractors Hill project.

Health Bureau

SPECIAL stamps call for special help. The demand for first day covers and the new three-cent stamp issued by the Canal Zone Postal Service commemorating the Panama Railroad centennial was so overwhelming

that the service hired six temporary workers to handle the load. Left to right are: Mrs. Mildred Abreu,

lis. 1 'ami Kocher, Mrs. Lilie Brandon, Mrs. Emily Sullivan, Mrs. Charlotte Heir, Kenneth Zipperer, clerk- in-charge, Mrs. Ann Jones and Mrs. Belen Smith. Mrs. Jones and Mr. Zipperer are regular postal employees.

Dr. Steve R. Mahaffy of the Eye Service

at Gorgas Hospital has just been notified that he is now certified in Ophthalmology.

Word of the certification came from Dr. Edwin B. Dunphy, Secretary-Treasurer of the American Board of Opthalmology.

Dr. Mahaffy comes from San Diego,

Calif. He received his degree in medicine

from George Washington University in Washington, D. C. He interned at Gorgas

Hospital and then returned to the United

States to take the first part of his residency

at the Gill Memorial Eye, Ear, and Throat

Hospital in Roanoke, Va. He completed

his residency at Gorgas Hospital.

When Dr. Mahaffy is not caring for his

patients' eyes, he is apt to be taking photographs of things Isthmian. When a fire not long ago destroyed an apartment

adjacent to his on Frangipani Street, he

managed to save his camera and some other photographic equipment.

• • • Personnel of Coco Solo Hospital took

over Rancho Ramos, the Canal Zone Police Park near Margarita, for a picnic on January 8. Over 200 of the hospital staff and

families turned out. Arrangements for the party were made by

Robert Cole, Dr. George Bland, David C. Mcllhenny, Henry Alama, Dr. Rufus M. De Hart, Mrs. Betty Johengen, Mrs. Betty

Creighton, W. H. Will, Mrs. Foy Frauenheim, Freddie Pritham, W. Fitz Humphreys,

and Dennis Fernandez. Mrs. Helen Hatten, Secretary-Treasurer

of the lively organization, was coordinator

for the day.

The sports program, which included

horseshoes, badminton, volleyball, ping- pong, and softball, was directed by Dr.

Russell N. Frys and Dr. B. Y. Peralta. A grill was kept in steady operation from

11 a. m. to 6 p. m. The chefs and their aides were: Dr. W. F. French, Dr. W. H. Wynne, Dr. J. A. Johengen, Dr. R. M.

De Hart, Dr. R. L. Koenig, Dr. G. W.

Bland, Sgt. Conley, Chief Henry Alama,

K. E. Frauenheim, E. W. Argo, A. W.

Brede and D. C. Zitzmann. Ray Hatten

did the barbecue sauce, and Mrs. Helen Bland and Don Brayton ran the soft drink and ice cream bar. Food preparation was in the hands of Mrs. S. D. Aycock, Mrs. Thelma Rettinger, Mrs. Johengen, Mrs. Marie Rice, Mrs' H. C. Pritham, Mrs. De Hart, Mrs. Betty

Sutton, Mrs. Marie Sellers, Mrs. Brece, Miss Florence Edbrooke, Mrs. Fronia

Fender, Mrs. Adele Koenig, Mrs. Doris Acheson, Mrs. Mary Peterson, Mrs. Argo, Mrs. Ruby Radel, Mrs. Muriel Howell! Mrs. Thelma Carey, Mrs. Frauenheim, Mrs!

Elizabeth Davison, Mrs. Betty Creighton,

and Mrs. Kathryn McNamee. Miss Jo Conran and a victrola supplied music. Another picnic is planned for the near

future. The organization's next get-to- gether will be a Millionaires' Party, tentatively to be held at the Elk's Club at a date

to be announced later. The association is also planning trips through the Canal and will go farther afield to take in some of Colombia and Costa

Rica as well as the San Bias Islands.

Marine Bureau

The Aids to Navigation Section's tug U. S. Taboga—fondly called in shipping

circles "The Reliable"—did it again. That

is, she performed another of her excellent towing jobs. And this time it was the Queen Mary.

The Taboga left Gamboa the morning of January 3 for the Galapagos Islands to pick up the 500-ton tuna fisher Queen Mary

which was in trouble. She returned to Balboa with her tow the morning of January 12. The Taboga's towing jobs have included

a variety of crafts: Freighters, tankers, banana boats, and passenger ships. This

is her seventh towing job involving a tuna

fisher; according to records, the Taboga has averaged one tuna boat tow a year.
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Civil Affairs Bureau

January 13 was Moving Day in the Civil Affairs Bureau. Organizational changes in the Bureau which went into effect two days

later called for several changes of location. James Marshall, now Assistant to the

Civil Affairs Director and formerly Chief of the now disbanded Postal, Customs, and

Immigration Division, and his secretary, Mrs. Joyce C. Hudson, moved from Room

201 to Room 208. There they share space with Capt. A. J. Troup, now Special Assistant to the Director and former

Fire Chief. Into Mr, Marshall's former office, Room

201, moved Maj. George Herman, Chief of Police, with Capt. Rodger W. Griffith and

the Police Division's right-hand men, Herman Lynn and Leroy Koontz. Other

Police Division office workers, Peggy

Zeimetz, Frances Hunnicutt, Mary Hollowell, and Michael Zomborv, moved from Room 207 to Room 206.

Earl F. Unruh, newly-appointed Director

of Posts and Chief of the Postal Division,

is now located in Room 109 of the Civil Affairs Building. J. B. Clemmons, Jr., now Chief of the Customs Division, has his

office in the Customs office on the first floor of the Balboa Port Captain's Building.

An exceptionally fine exhibit of paintings

of birds native to the Isthmus of Panama

is being shown throughout February in the Canal Zone Museum of the Civil Affairs Building.

The paintings are the work of Mrs. Gladys Cargill Bernard, formerly of Pedro Miguel and now of Balboa. She has made

a minute and careful study of the birds which visited a feeding station in the garden

of her home at Pedro Miguel. Her pic- tures include both watercolors and black and white sketches. The collection is on display in the cases on the first floor of the Civil Affairs Building.

Girls of the Household Arts and Clothing

classes of Balboa High School staged their annual fashion show last month; some of the audience, who may have been a bit biased, declared that it surpassed the Dior show of last fall. About 50 of the students modelled clothes

of their own making to the music of the Balboa High School orchestra. Unseasonable downpours had turned the school campus into a soggy sward which would have been ruinous to spike heels and flow- ing skirts so, at the last minute, the show

was transferred to the school gym.

Last month's fashion show was the fourteenth annual presentation of "Chez

Eloise," which is given each year under the

direction of Miss H. Eloise Monroe of the high school faculty. Charles Hummer

acted as Master of Ceremonies and Diane

Jacobs was commentator. Both are BHS

students. The evening's entertainment

included piano solos, a girls' quartette, and

a flute solo.

• • • Orders from philatelists from all over the world poured into the Canal Zone Post

Offices last month for the first-day covers bearing the special commemorative stamp

celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Panama Railroad's completion.

To handle the orders, a special office was

established in the Civil Affairs Building under the direction of Kenneth F. Zipperer.

One full-time postal employee and six temporary employees handled the processin the first day covers, affixing stamps and

"First Day" indicia and sorting covers for mailing. Hired especially for this work were: Mildred L. Abreu, Lilie M. Brandon, Charlotte A. Herr, Carol M. Kocher, Helen L. Smith, and Emily C. Sullivan. They were

assisted by Mrs. Anna M. Jones, a regular

employee of the Postal Division.

The issue of the special stamp brought

letters from a number of former Zonians commenting on the issue. One of these came from Lt. Col. James T. De Voss, who

Personnel Bureau

Robert A. Stevens returned to his duties

in the Wage and Classification Division January 18after 15 dayson active duty with

the United States Air Force.

Mrs. Beatrice Rhyne has been transferred from the License Section to the Employ- ment and Training Division. She is a Clerk-Stenographer.

New York Office

Thomas J. Curran is now Port Steward

for the Panama Line. He succeeds Joseph

Vogl who retired January 15. Mr. Curran

joined the Panama Canal Company just

after the first of the year. As Port Steward he will be responsible

for all matters pertaining to the Steward's Department aboard ship as well as certain operational shore duties.

was stationed at Fort Sherman during

World War II. He is a chairman of the Canal Zone Study group, a philatelic society of Canal Zone specialists. Now with the Special Liaison Office at headquarters of U. S. forces in Austria, he wrote that "since the war we have been in Washington three and a half years, in Hawaii for three years, back to Washington

for two years, and now are completing

eight months of a three-year tour in Austria

"Since leaving the Zone I have specialized

entirely in the stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone. Have won a number of trophies and awards at national and inter- national philatelic exhibitions."

A Canal Zone Civil Defense 12-hour first aid course has been approved by the Health Bureau and classes have started in the various Canal Zone towns. The streamlined course will enable mothers

of young children and Canal Zone housewives

to acquire first aid training for home use and

disaster preparedness.

Neighborhood wardens are recruiting for

the classes.

The Civil Defense Chief is conducting a 45-hour Instructors' Fira Aid course for the Company-Government industrial first aid program. Appointees of the Armed

Forces Disaster Control program are attending the instructors training course.

Community Services Bureau

A wide screen was installed late last month at the Paraiso theater. The first Cinemascope production shown on the new screen was "River of No Return," on January 30. The installation of the screen has been well received by residents of Paraiso.

Service Center employees did yeoman

duty indeed, during the celebration of the Panama Railroad centennial. "Butchers"

were on the Special Commemorative Train,

hawking soft drinks of a wide variety.

And at the Balboa Heights railroad station, where several thousand gathered to see the dedication of Old 299, more Service Center employees were on hand with bottled

drinks. Best thing of all, as far as the customers were concerned, was that the drinks that day, on train and at dedication, were "on

l he house."

• • • Grounds Maintenance Division forces have just completed removal of a large stand of bamboo which has been a landmark

of the Ridge Road section for the past

generation. The bamboo was taken out to provide light and air for the houses which

are nearing completion in that section. The planting plan for "the Ridge" calls for Cuban palms along the road between

the houses and the sidewalk and jacaranda

trees in the curbing between sidewalks and

the street. Residents of the Ridge section

will do their own planting close to the

houses.

Office Of The Comptroller

Women workers in the Accounting Division gave a luncheon last week at the Tivoli Guest House for two of their fellow workers who are leaving the Canal Zone. The honor guests were Mrs. Eleanor P. Home, who retired the end of January, and

Mrs. Mamie E. Hogan, who is resigning next week and returning to the United

States. Mrs. Home plans to make her home with a sister in Bradenton, Fla.

• • • Mrs. Alice E. O'Dell, who calls Tacoma,

Wash., her home town, was employed January 19 as a Clerk Typist in the Accounting

Division. She is in the Central Typing and

Clerical Unit.

• • • Albert B. Hendricks of the Rates Branch was one of three Company employees

selected to participate in the Fourth Senior Management Intern Program in Washington, D C. He left for the United States by the Panam • Line January 22.

DAYTIME to dark outfits were modelled at Chez Eloise, Balboa High School's annual fashion show, models are: Margaret Tewinkel, Sallie Banton, Carroll Adams, Jo Ann Sorrell and Rita Duran. The
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

Fernie Agency Employees Know First Hand

FERNIE & COMPANY bought the office building in Cristobal three years ago. formerly occupied by the Standard Fruit & Steamship Company.

It was

Panama, as the old saying goes, is the crossroads of the world. No one knows

this better than the employees of C.

Fernie & Company, well known Canal

shipping agents who each month handle

from 80 to 90 ships arriving here from

the far corners of the earth to pass through

the Panama Canal.

In a normal day's work, for instance, the Fernie Agents may represent a Liberian tanker en route to Corinto with

oil; a Danish cargo ship out of New

Orleans for Ecuador for a cargo of bananas

or a Japanese freighter bound for New- York from the Far East,

Although most of the vessels are small

freighters and tankers carrying few or no

passengers, a good percentage of them

make the Canal transit several times each year and many of them dock to discharge local cargo or cargo for tran- shipment to other ports. The Fernie Agents believe that they handle more

cargo in Cristobal than any other steamship agency in the Canal Zone.

Established In 1920 The business done here by the Fernie Company has not sprung up over a few

short years, although the firm is far from

being one of the oldest in the Canal Zone

or even one of the largest. It has grown

steadily since 1920 when the business was

first established in Cristobal by Cyril

Fernie, a well-known member of the

local shipping fraternity. Mr. Fernie, a native of Liverpool,

England, had come to the Isthmus several years earlier as manager of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company in Cristobal where he also was Lloyd's agent and

Norwegian Consul. When he first established his own

agency, he represented among several

others, the well known Fred Olsen Line,

whose ships make a run from Norwegian

ports and the United Kingdom through

the Panama Canal to the north Pacific

coast of the United States and Canada.

This company, which now operates

approximately 40 ships, is still represented

here by the Fernie Company.

The firm was joined in 1925 by Stanley

Kidd, now Vice President of the Company

and later by Ronald W. Owen, Secretary

of the Company, who came to the Isth- mus in 1936 from Wallasey, England,

where he had been working with the Staveley Taylor Company.

"Captain Kidd"

Mr. Kidd, or "Captain" Kidd as he is known to his friends on the Atlantic side,

first went to sea in 1905 as a purser's clerk on the White Star liner Dominion.

During the first World War, he was a

purser on the British Government troop

ship Cestrian which transported the first British troops to France in 1914. The

Cestrian was sunk by enemy action in the Dardanelles in 1917 but Mr. Kidd was

one of the survivors. He went back to

STANLEY KIDD

Vice President of ('. Fernie ,V-

( 'o.

sea until 1919 when he came to Panama

to work with Andrews & Company.

A teller of tall tales and a spinner of yarns, Mr. Kidd likes to joke about the

variety of cargoes the agency ships carry when they pass through the Canal. "A cargo of dolls' eyes bound for China"

is one of his favorite quips. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise anyone, least of all Mr. Kidd, if a ship did arrive here with a cargo of dolls' eyes. Since the company represents more than 100 different ship owners and

operators, many of them on tramp runs

or on charter, Fernie may act as agent

during one month for ships carrying such unusual freight as a deck load of busses enroute to Peru or a consignment of hazardous varnish from London for Suva, Fiji.Steel And Soybeans

During December, for instance, the Fernie Company handled southbound

ships carrying steel from Baltimore to Manila; oil from Curacao to San Jose; automobiles and general cargo from U. S. East coast and Gulf ports to the West coast

of the United States; soybeans from New

Orleans to Moji, Keelung; and a Japanese

freighter with phosphates and general cargo from New Orleans to Kobe.

Northbound ships carried lumber from

the West Coast of Canada to England;

wheat from Vancouver to Norway; fuel

oil from Los Angeles to New York; iron ore from Peru to Boston; wheat from Vancouver to Haifa; zinc and lead from

British Columbia to Manchester, England; wheat from Portland, Oreg. to Ireland; bananas from Guayaquil to Antwerp; and nitrates from Chile to Panama City, Fla. Nationalities represented during De- cember alone included Danish, Norwegian

Liberian, Greek, British', United States, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, and Panamanian.

In addition to the Fred Olsen Line, some of the prominent shipping companies re presented here by Fernie are

J. Lauritzen, one of the largest Danish

ship owners and his associates, the West

Coast Line which has 10 vessels on a run from New York and New Orleans to the West Coast of South America; the Saguenay Terminals of Montreal, Canada, whose ships are in trade between the East and West Coasts of Canada; the Danish Ivaran Line from New York to the Far East; and the Yamashita Line

from the Far East to New York.

Occasional Troubles As a rule, Fernie ships make the Canal

transit and or dock in Canal Zone ports

smoothly and without incident. But like most shipping agents in the Canal Zone,

the Fernie Company occasionally has

troubles. Recently the company was involved

indirectly in an international situation which grew out of the troubles surrounding the Panama-flag whaling fleet oper- ated by Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis. When the mother ship Olympic Challenger and four catchers were captured

by the Peruvian Navy off Paita, Peru

early in November, the Fernie Company

as agents took on the care of the crew and the supplying of the 12 other catcher
Februaiy 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11 That Isthmus Is Crossroads Of The World

ships which returned to Balboa, where

they remained for nearly a month.

Whaling ships, though not necessarily

whaling ships in distress, are nothing new

for the Fernie agency which has acted as representative for 20 percent of the whaling fleets which have passed through

the Canal during the past 30 years. Agents For "Lisholt"

Fernie also was agent for the MS

Lisholt, Norwegian freighter owned and

operated by the Lise, Ivaran Lines, which

caught fire while she was at dock in Balboa early in February of last year. The fire, followed by an explosion which

killed four Panama Canal employees and

injured 13 others seriously, was one of the worst marine disasters in the history

of the Panama Canal. The ship was towed through the Canal

to Cristobal where she underwent repairs

worth about $150,000 and later was

towed to New Orleans for additional

repairs. Recently the Lisholt returned to the Canal on her regular run from New

York to the Far East. Another near fatal accident occured October 13, 1951, when the forward mast

of the Danish freighter Kamma Dam

broke and crashed to the deck while heavy sugar machinery was being un- loaded in Cristobal. No one was injured

although there were a score or so of crew members and dock workers on the deck

at the time. Wartime Traffic During the war, Fernie & Company

handled most of their old Norwegian,

Danish, British, and U. S. customers which had been placed on government

service. Many of these ships were

tankers carrying oil from Aruba to the U. S. Navy in the Pacific and several were sunk by enemy action. One of these tankers, the SS Kittan- ning of the American Keystone Shipping

Company, was hit by three German

torpedoes about 30 miles out of Cristobal,

shortly after leaving Limon Bay enroute

to Aruba. No lives were lost and members of the crew returned to Cristobal

in lifeboats while five of the officers remained on board. Th? tanker was

towed back to harbor by the tug Taver71 ilia and subsequently repaired.

Three Ships A Day

Since the war, the Fernie business has

gradually increased and in 1953 the com- pany handled a total of 1,256 ships,

many of which docked and discharged

cargo at Canal Zone ports. Mr. Fernie, the founder and president

of the company, retired in 1946 and is now living in Duncan, British Columbia.

The office staff of 23 is headed by Mr. Kidd and Mr. Owen and includes in Cristobal, R. M. Hull, son of Mr. and

Mrs. Charles F. H. Hull of Panama City;

and B. H. Grapperhaus, formerly an

officer with the Royal Netherlands

Steamship Company.

In Balboa, the company is represented

by N. A. Simons of Panama City and

C. E. Hignett, a former chief officer on

Pacific Steam Navigation ships.

The company headquarters in Old

Cristobal are now located in the former

Standard Fruit & Steamship Company

building which was purchased by Fernie & Company three years ago.

HANDLING the affairs of more than 1.200 ships each year is the business of the Fernie steamship

agency's staff. Whafs In A Name ? Quite A Bit

According To Personnel Clerks

(EDITOR'S Note: In a recent issue of The Panama Canal Review we talked about people named Rodriguez and

people named Smith. Here is another

story about people's names.)

Personnel clerks, who deal with people's

records, become used over the years, to unusual or duplicate names. When the names are the straight run-of-the-mill Anglo-Saxon names which predominate on the U. S. rolls of the Company-Government organization, the problem is one

of exactness with spelling and initials. But in the Local-Rate Record Branch,

where the nationality of the workers may

be any one of a dozen, the problem is something else again. And this is complicated further by the presence on past

and present rolls of Indians from the San

Bias and Darien tribes. Between 1941 and 1944 a considerable number of these Indians were employed

in the Canal Zone and their files made a matter of record in the Local-Rate Record Bureau. High Ball, Babe Ruth

They had only tribal names and for record and payroll purposes were arbitrarily assigned first and middle names.

In several cases, facetious names, such as Whiskey Sour, High Ball, or Four Feathers might be suggested by bibulous

foremen; sports addicts came up with

first names like Babe Ruth or Grand Slam.

In other cases, the Indians had adopted

the names, surnames and Christian names

of their "patrons" in Panama, or of political figures whom they admired.

Peter Rabbit

The facetious names were changed but

there is one on the files for which no ad- equate substitute was ever found. What

his real name is no one will probably ever know. His tribal name was unintelligible, and of course this particular Indian

could not read or write; he was arbitrarily given the surname of Manuel. For some reason, which no one now recalls,

onto this surname was tacked the first name: Peter Rabbit. And Peter Rabbit

Manuel he remains to this day.

Then there was Jesse James Maninewitiguina. Star Maniwinitinape was giv- en his first name by the Personnel Bureau

interviewer because, she said, he looked

so bright. Cantinflas Maniquieniape was

almost as much of a clown as the Mexican

comedian from whom he took his name, and Henry Ford Manipaipiliguina was an

automobile enthusiast. Gordon Frick, currently in the Personnel Director's office but then an

interviewer in Local-Rate Records, found

his first name coupled with the surname

Manithvignina, and Cary Grant Iguapigtiguina was a movie fan.

Spell It Right

In the records of U. S.-Rate Employees

clerks must keep track of the 27 Jones's; the 24 Browns, or confuse them with the

three employees who spell their name

Browne, with an "e;" or the 20 Andersons. The 19 Johnsons are another problem, es- pecially when one remembers that there

are four Johnstons, one Johnstone, and

one Jonson.

Spelling and initials are important.

There is William J. Cronan of Margarita,

and there is also William J. Cronin of Balboa. Daniel and Eileen Douglass spell their name with two "s"s; Vernon of Ancon

and Charles of Gatun, use the one "s"

spelling for Douglas. Fred Lawrence of Diablo Heights and G. C. Lawrence of Ancon use the "e" spelling for their last names; Percy and Robert Lawrance of Gatun use an "a," instead. Sound-alike names are Lucas and Lukacs; Linn and Lynn; Harrington and

Herrington; Erikson and Erixson; Fisher and Fischer; Page and Paige; Shay and

Shea; and Sylvester and Sylvestre.

And there are always the "Mc's": Macaulay and McCauley; McDermitt

and McDermott; McGuinnis and McGuinness.
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

Company-Government Affected By Parts

Of New "Memorandum Of Understandings"

No month in recent years has been more

crowded with events of great public interest

to Isthmian residents than January. Among

these was the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Understanding and Cooperation

between the representatives of the United

States and the Republic of Panama. The Treaty signature, together with that

of the accompanying "Memorandum of Understandings Reached," took place just before noon on the morning of January 25.

It climaxed formal negotiations between the two nations which have been in progress for well over one year. The formal ceremony was attended by Governor Seybold, to- gether with other top officials of the two Governments. The Treaty, containing 12 Articles of agreement, and the "Memorandum of Understandings" are subject to final ratifi- cation by the National Assembly of Panama

and the United States Senate. Because of the widespread interest and

for the convenience of REVIEW readers and subscribers for reference purposes, the

following sections of the "Memorandum

of Understandings" which pertains to the Panama Canal Company and the Canal Zone Government and their operations are quoted in their entirety:

In connection with the 1953-1954 negotiations between representatives of the United States of America and the Republic

of Panama, which have resulted in the

signature of a Treaty between the two

countries, the following understandings have been reached; On the part .of the United States of America:

1. Legislation will be sought which will authorize each agency of the United States Government in the Canal Zone to conform

its existing wage practices in the Zone to the following principles:

a. The basic wage for any given grade

level will be the same for any employee

eligible for appointment to the position without regard to whether he is a citizen

of the United States or of the Republic

of Panama.

b. In the case of an employee who is a

citizen of the United States, there may

be added to the base pay an increment

representing an overseas differential plus an allowance for those elements, such as

taxes, which operate to reduce the dis- posable income of such an employee as compared with an employee who is a

resident of the area.

c. The employee who is a citizen of the United States will also be eligible for greater annual leave benefits and travel allowances because of the necessity for periodic vacations in the United States

for recuperation purposes and to maintain contact with the employee's home

environment.

Legislation will be sought to make the

Civil Service Retirement Act uniformly

applicable to citizens of the United States and of the Republic of Panama employed

by the Government of the United States

in the Canal Zone. The United States will afford equality

of opportunity to citizens of Panama for employment in all United States Govern- ment positions in the Canal Zone for which

they .ire qualified and in which the employ- ment of United States citizens is not

required, in the judgment of the United

States, for security reasons. The agencies of the United States Government will evaluate, classify, and title all positions in the Canal Zone without regard

to the nationality of the incumbent or proposed incumbent.

Citizens of Panama will be afforded opportunity to participate in such training programs as may be conducted for employees by United States agencies in the Canal Zone.

2. With reference to that part of Article V of the Treaty signed today which deals with the conveyance to the Republic of Panama free of cost of all the right, title, and interest held by the United States of America or its agencies in and to certain lands and improvements situated in territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic

of Panama, steps will be taken as pro\ ided

in this***** Item.

b. Legislation will be sought to authorize and direct the Panama Canal Company to remove its railway terminal operations from the city of Panama and

to transfer to the Republic of Panama

free of cost all of the right, title, and

interest of the Panama Canal Company

in and to the lands known as the Panama

Railroad Yard, including the improve- ments thereon and specifically including

the railway passenger station. This

action will also relieve the Government

of the Republic of Panama of its obligation under Point 10 of the General Relations Agreement between the United

States of America and the Republic of Panama signed May 18, 1942 to make

available without cost to the Govern- ment of the United States of America a suitable new site for such terminal

facilities.

c. With respect to those areas in the

city of Colon known as de Lesseps, Colon Beach and New Cristobal (with the exception of two lots in the de Lesseps

area which the United States intends to use for consulate purposes), legislation

will be sought to authorize and direct the gradual withdrawal from these areas and

the conveyance or transfer to the Republic of Panama free of cost of all the right,

title, and interest of the United States and of its agency, the Panama Canal Company, in and to the lands and im- provements thereon. Under this process

of gradual withdrawal the United States Government, and/or its agencies, will not be obligated to install any new struc- ture in such areas and, as severable parts

of the areas cease to be needed, the lands and improvements would be conveyed

or transferred. The severability of parts

of the areas depends upon a number of practical considerations including those having to do with the present obligations

of the United States, with respect to the

subject areas, concerning water and

sewerage facilities, street cleaning and

paving, water supply, et cetera, as

stipulated in the Instrument of Transfer

of Water and Sewerage Systems, exe- cuted between the Governor of the Panama Canal and the Foreign Minister

of Panama on December 28, 1945.

d. With respect to the railroad pas- senger station and site in the city of Colon, legislation will be sought to authorize and direct the withdrawal from such

site and structure at such time as the withdrawal from the areas known as de Lesseps, Colon Beach, and New Cristobal, contemplated by the next preceding subparagraph, shall have been fully completed, and the conveyance to the Republic of Panama free of cost of all the

right, title, and interest of the United

States and of its agency, the Panama

Canal Company, in and to such site and

structure. However, the railroad tracks and trackage area in Colon, being re- quired for switching purposes serving the

Cristobal piers, will be retained for such

purposes.

e. All transfers or conveyances of lands and improvements contemplated by this Item, subject to legislative authorization and direction, will necessarily be made

subject to any leases which may be outstanding in the respective areas, and

will also contain provisions fully pro- tecting the Government of the United

States of America against any claims by

lessees for damages or losses which .may

arise as a result of such transfers or conveyances.

f. The transfers or conveyances con- templated by this Item, subject to legis- lative authorization, are in addition to the conveyance of Paitilla Point as

specifically covered by Article V of the Treaty signed today, and to the transfer

of real property effected by Article VI of said Treaty.

3. Articles, materials, and supplies that

are mined, produced or manufactured in

the Republic of Panama, when purchased

for use in the Canal Zone, will be exempted

from the provisions of the Buy American

Act.

4. Referring to the exchange of notes dated March 2, 1936, accessory to the General Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Panama

signed on that date, relative to the sale to

ships of goods imported into the Canal Zone by the Government of the United

States of America, the United States of America agrees, effective December 31. 1956, and in benefit of Panamanian commerce, to withdraw wholly from, and thereafter to refrain from, any such sales to

ships, provided that nothing in this Item

shall apply:

a. To sales to ships operated by or for the account of the Government of the United States of America.

b. To the sale of fuel or lubricants, or

c. To any sale or furnishing of ships

stores which is incidental to the perform- ance of ship repair operations by any

agency of the Government of the United

States of America.

5. Legislative authorization and the necessary appropriations will be sought for the construction of a bridge at Balboa

referred to in Point 4 of the General Relations Agreement of 1942.

6. The United States of America agrees,

effective December 31, 1956, to withdraw

from persons employed by agencies of the Government of the United States of America in the Canal Zone who are not citizens

of the United States of America and who

do not actually reside in said Zone the

privilege of availing themselves of services which are offered within said Zone except

those which are essential to health or necessary to permit them to perform their duties.

7. It is and will continue to be the policy

of the Panama Canal agencies and of the Armed Forces in the Canal Zone in making

purchases of supplies, materials and equipment, so far as permitted under United

States legislation, to afford to the economy

of the Republic of Panama full opportunity

to compete for such business.

8. In general connection with the matter of the importation of items of merchandise for resale in the sales stores in the Canal Zone, it will be the practice of the

agencies concerned to acquire such items

either from United States sources or from Panamanian sources unless, in certain in- stances, it is not feasible to do so.

9. With respect to the manufacture and

processing of goods for sale to or consumption by individuals, now carried on by the Panama Canal Company, it will be the

policy of the United States of America to terminate such activities whenever and for so long as such goods, or particular classes thereof, are determined by the United

States of America to be available in the Republic of Panama on a continuing basis,

in satisfactory qualities and quantities, and

at reasonable prices. The United States

of America will give prompt consideration

to a request in writing on the part of the Government of Panama concerning the termination of the manufacture or process- ing of any goods covered in this Item as to which the Government of Panama may

consider the criteria specified in this Item

to have been met.

10. Prompt consideration will be given

to withdrawing from the handling of commercial cargo for transshipment on Canal Zone piers so soon as Panamanian port

facilities are in satisfactory operation

in

On

Colon. *****

***** the part of the Republic of Panama:

3. So long as the United States of America maintains in effect those provisions

of Executive Order No. 6997 of March 25, 1935 governing the importation of alcoholic beverages into the Canal Zone, the Republic of Panama will grant a reduction of 75 percent in the import duty on alcoholic beverages which are sold in Panama for importation into the Canal Zone pursuant

to such***** Executive Order.

The provisions of this Memorandum of Understandings Reached shall enter into

force upon the exchange of instruments of

ratification of the Treaty signed this day

by the United States of America and the Republic of Panama.
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13

CANAL TRIPS PLANNED

Arrangements are being made for Canal employees and their families to transit at

least part of the Panama Canal, Governor

Seybold announced last month. The ferry Presldente Porras, which carries tourists through Galllard Cut, will be made

available as soon as possible for those wishing

to go from Gamboa to Balboa or vice versa. A trial trip will be arranged soon to deter- mine the number who may be interested.

II he hadn't re- signed his job to

join the U. S. Army

during World War

I, Gregor Gramlich, veteran employee of the I hedging Division and

skipper of the Dipper Dredge Cascades, who celebrated

his 43d year with

the government in January, would have had unbroken service with the Canal organization dating back to 1911. Mr. Gramlich failed to get into the Arm\

in 1918, however, because the flu epidemic

which broke out in the States closed all voluntary enlistments. The Armistice was

signed a short time after and he returned

to the Isthmus. A native of Washington, D. C, MrGramlich is one of the few Canal employees

still in service to hold the prized Roosevelt medal for construction day service. He

first came to work with the Isthmian Canal Commission in 1911 as a clerk. He soon

transferred to dredging operations and

remained with that division when it became

part of the Panama Canal organization in 1914. He has worked with the Dredging

Division during all of his 43 years of service and since 1935 has been master of a dipper

dredge. He and his family live in Gamboa.

35 YEARS

Miss Gertrude M. Milloy is the only

employee to celebrate a 35-year anniversary

this month. A native of Somerville, Mass., Miss Milloy came to the Isthmus with her family and was first employed January 7, 1920 with the Storehouse Division. Her

service with both the Canal organization

and the Storehouse Division has been

continuous for the 35 years that she has been employed. At present she is Supervisory Accounting Clerk at the Balboa

Storehouse.

30 YEARS

Five employees, three of whom have unbroken service with the Canal organization, completed their 30th year of govern- ment service during January.

The three whose service with the Canal

has been continuous are John P. Fahnestock, formerly of Jacksonville, Fla., who

is now employed as a blacksmith with the Dredging Division; Julius F. Hatchett, a native of Knoxville, Ga., most of whose

service has been with the Locks Division and who is now a leader machinist on the

Pacific Locks; and Warren G. Schultz,

from Philadelphia, who has been on the Isthmus since 1927, when he was employed

as a machinist with the Locks Division. Mr. Schultz later worked with the Marine

Bureau as a tugboat engineer and at present is Inspector of Floating Equipment

with the Marine Bureau. The two other employees who had a

30- year anniversary last month are Miss

Monica Farley, who is now teaching Sixth grade in the Balboa Elementary School and

George M. Hall, Postal Clerk at the Ancon Post Office. Miss Farley was born in Eveluth, Minn.,

and taught school several years in her

native state before coming to the Isthmus

in 1924. With the exception of one short break, her service with the Canal organization has been continuous. Mr. Hall also is a mid-westerner. Born

in Hutsonville, 111., he worked (See page 14)

Sixty- Cycle Project Engineers

THE POWER Conversion Project, a new unit of the Engineering and Construction Bureau, was formed last month to coordinate all phases of the conversion to 60-cycle current of the electrical power system and to supervise all field work. The project will be headed by Lt. Col. E. B. Jennings, left, presently Project Engineer for the Contractors Hill excavation. He will be assisted by George C. Dunlap, who is being transferredfrom the Power Branch of the Electrical Division. The unit will begin its major work late this summer or in the fall

A NEW LINE of shoes, which have gained

popularity recently in the States, will be

offered later this month in the Commissary

shoe sections. They are the famous Haymakers, made by the Haymaker Shoe Corporation of New York. Always anxious to please the customers, the Commissary Division has ordered the shoes in response to a

request made by a Gorgas Hospital nurse.

It seems that the nurses have found these shoes

so comfortable that they can scoot up and

down the hospital corridors all day and then keep going after duty hours are over.

66 gauge, sell for only $1.35. They should make a very fine valentine gift.

FOR THOSE who are tired of the high

mortality rates of expensive china or glass lamps in the living room and bedroom, the Commissary Division has received a shipment

of "Wolfe" wroughf-iron lamps with fiber- glass shades, which, by the way, are mildewproof. The shipment includes vanity lamps

at $2.00 and $2.95,- table lamps from $4.95

to $9.75 and floor lamps at $9.95. They come in an assortment of pastel colors and

in a variety of shapes.

In addition to white, which will be popular with all the Canal Zone gals as well as the nurses, the new line of shoes Bags to has been ordered in a variely of Match colors including red, smoke, bam- boo and benedictine, a handsome

reddish brown color. These shoes will come in two styles, wedge pump and wedge

tie, and handbags to match in shoulder slrap and satchel styles, will be available. Be- cause they are sewed by hand and made of a single piece of kid-calfskin, the shoes are a little more expensive than the ordinary

casual shoe. They will sell for about $11.95 and the bags for about $8.95.

SINCE SPRING is coming in the States, just as the dry season is coming in Panama,

maybe, the Commissary has already received a shipment of spring and resort clothes for women and junior misses. The junior miss

size, as everyone knows, can be worn by

older sister if she is on the small side. The new spring line features dresses made of polished cotton and rayon material with a

linen-like finish. Some have scooped necks and bolero jackets and some, which have

rhinestone buttons or a lace trim, are definitely

for more formal occasions. They come in several colors, all as brilliant as Easter eggs and range in price from $9.50 to $12.50,

which should be easy on anyone's pocket- book.

Did you know that pastels are the new

fashion colors for bath towels? Well, they are and furthermore the Cannon

Bathing people are putting out bath

Beauties towels with a special nylon and

dacron reinforced selvedge which

practically guarantees them against wear and

tear. Most bath towels get a terrific workout by father as well as members of the younger generation and housewives have

found that wear first appears at the edges.

This new selvedge, it is believed, will keep

the average towels in the running much

longer than normal. The Commissary Divi- sion has received a shipment of these Cannon

towels in the new pastel colors and it won't

break the bank if you put in a supply. Bath towels are only 79 cents, while face towels and wash clothes to match are only 49 cents and 25 cents respectively. By the way, you

can also buy these new towels in white.

To go with the new spring dresses, the Commissary Division has received a shipment

of Kayser-sheer and super-sheer Sheer and nylon hosiery. They come in Super" three lengths, debs for the short

gals, mids for the medium sizes and long for the beauty with the long legs. The new spring colors are Debonaire, to blend with navy blue; Pensive and Showoff

for the lighter summer dresses worn in the

tropics. The sheer nylons sell at $1.25 and

the super-sheer, which are 10 denier and

A MIRROR in the living room is a smart way to make a small room look twice its size and it also gives mama a place to stop and

admire her new hair-do before she makes a

public appearance. The Commissary house- hold sections at Cristobal and Balboa now

have a new shipment of polished, plate glass, beveled-edge and engraved mirrors ranging

in size from 16 x 24 inches to large 30 x 40-

inch mirrors. The smallest will sell for $6.95

and the most expensive of the lot will be

$32.75, which we consider quite inexpensive.

A new shipment of well-known Pasadena

Plaid dinnerware, has been received and

will soon be on sale. This popular

Plaid earthenware comes in a green and

Platters yellow pattern hand-painted under

glaze and includes 15 different

items. A starter set of 20 pieces can be

obtained for $8.25. The Commissary usually keeps this popular dinnerware in open

stock.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

ANNIVERSARIES

for several years with the postal service in the United

States before coming to the Isthmus in 1939. Shortlj after he was placed on

detai hed sei \ v e « ith i he Post ( )ffi< < tment in Colombia in connection

with the i stablishment of an airmail transiii C'.ili. He served with the U. S. Army during the last war.

25 YEARS

F "i i he eight employees » ho completed 25 years oi government service i < Januar) have continuous service with the Canal organization. f*hey are Capt. Harry

L. Bach, Pilot with the Marine Bureau and a former Chicagoan; Harry A. Dunn,

of Himrod, N. Y., now Geaeral Supervisory Medical Technician with the Board of Health Laboratory in Ancon; Forrest G. Dunsmoor, a native of Markeson, Wis., who is Administrative Assistant to the

(io\ en i or- President ; and August E. Schuler, of Roanoke, 111., who has been with the Health Bureau since 1040. He is now

Hospital Administrative Officer at Gorgas

Hospital. The other four employees celebrating

their silver anniversaries in January are Thomas A. Brennan, of Philadelphia,

employed by the Electrical Division as Mechanical Operator Foreman at the

Miraflores Diesel Station; E. M. Browder,

Assistant Director of the Engineering and

Construction Bureau, who came to the Isthmus from Dallas, Tex.; John E. Davis,

a native of Chicago, who is a Civil Engineer

with the Engineering Division; and Ralph

H. Graham, of El Paso, Tex., now employed with the Electrical Division as Station Chief at the Gatun Hydroelectric

Station.

20 YEARS

Three of the four men completing 20

years of government service in January

were employed on the same day, January

2, 1935, with the Locks Division and their service with the Panama Canal Company

has remained unbroken. They are Edward

A. Cox, who later transferred to the Electrical Division and is now stationed at Gatun as Mechanical Supervisor; Russell M. Jones, Lockmaster at Miraflores Locks,

and Doyle Snyder, a Leader Lock Operator

at Gatun Locks. George E. Wertz, Foreman with the

Electrical Division at Mount Hope, who is also a 20-year man, is a member of a well- known Canal Zone family and was born at Bas Obispo, a construction-day town.

15 YEARS

Twenty-four Company-Government employees completed 15 years of government

service in January. Those with continuous Canal service are: Thomas J. Dee, District Foreman, Electrical Division; Worden E. French, Steam Engineer, Terminals Division; Sherman A. Hammond, General Foreman, Maintenance Division; Mary L. Peterson, Staff Nurse, Gorgas Hospital; Leslie M. Spencer, Customs Inspector at Balboa; Norman A. Terry, Senior Towboat Master, Ferry Service; and Dwight

M. Van Evera, Repair Shop Foreman, Motor Transportation Division. Employees whose service is broken are: James A. Braid, Supervisory Dental

Technician, Health Bureau; Sherman C. Brooks, Constable. Cristobal Magistrate's Court; Glasford C. Brown, Signalman,

Navigation I livision ; Paul Crecelius, Wire- man. Electrical Division; Paul M. Disharoon, Jr., Machinist, Industrial Bureau; Louise E. Griffon, Clerk-Stenographer,

Housing Division; Charles A. Hand, Chief Towboat Engineer, Ferry Service; William

H. Keller, Jr., Lock Operator, Pacific Locks; Lealand A. Larrison, Postmaster, Margarita; William B. Lloyd, Budget

Analyst, Budget Branch; Mildred A. McMahon, teacher, Balboa Junior High

School; John L. Miller, Lock Operator,

Pacific Locks; lone M. Newland, Property and Supply Clerk, Terminals Division, Cristobal; Andreas Nicholaisen, Foreman

Cribtender, Marine Bunkering Section; Fred E. Perra, Sergeant, Balboa Police Station ; Vincent D. Ridge, Leadingman

Shipwright and Assistant Dockmaster,

Industrial Bureau; and Fred L. Stewart,

District Foreman, Electrical Division.

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

December 15 Through January 15

Employees who were promoted or transferred between December 15 and Januar)

15 are listed below . Regradings and wit bin grade promotions are not listed CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Mrs. Kelva F. Frailey, from Substitute Teacher to Elementary School Teacher,

1 >iv ision ol Schools. Mrs. Era L. Greene, from Kindergarten

Assistant to Substitute Teacher, Division

of Schools. COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

Mrs. Edna M. Wertz, from Ticket Seller to Cash Accounting Clerk, Service Center

Division. John Henderson, Jr., from Motion

Picture Equipment Maintainer to General Foreman, Motion Picture Equipment Mechanic, Service Center Division. George S. McCullough, from Motion

Picture Equipment Maintainer to Motion

Picture Projection Equipment Mechanic,

Service Center Division. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Mrs. Rosalie A. Demers, from Cash

Accounting Clerk to Accounting Clerk, Agents Accounts Branch. Mrs. Jean E. De La Pefia, from ClerkTypist, Central Typing and Clerical Unit,

to Cash Accounting Clerk, Agents Accounts

Branch. Lionel L. Ewing, from Admeasurer,

Navigation Division, to General Engineer, Plant Inventory and Appraisal Staff. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Otis C. Myers, from Supervisory Construction Management Engineer to General

Engineer, Engineering Division. Peter T. Corrigan, from Plumber and

Plumber Leader to Quarters Maintenance

Foreman, Maintenance Division. Louis L. Seldon, Wireman, from Electrical Division to Maintenance Division. Mrs. Ruth W. Adams, from ClerkTypist, Office of Health Director, to Clerk- Stenographer, Office of Engineering and

Construction Director. Nelson O. Williar, from Carpenter Leader and Planing Mill Hand to Carpenter

Leader, Maintenance Division. William J. Carson, from Plumber Fore- man and Plumber Leader and Plumber to Plumber Foreman and Plumber Leader,

Maintenance Division. Mirt Bender, from Pumping Plant Operator, Water and Laboratories Branch, to Combination Special Welder, Maintenance

Division. HEALTH BUREAU

Mrs. Martha W. Goodwin, Ethel C. Myers, Lillian L. Pratt, Helen L. Henry,

from Staff Nurse to Head Nurse, Gorgas

Hospital. Dr. Gene U. Cohen, from Hospital Resi- dent, Gorgas Hospital, to Medical Officer, Pacific Medical Clinics. MARINE BUREAU

John R. Bauer, from Guard to Guard

Supervisor, Locks Security Branch. Mrs. Joan C. Clare, from Clerk- Stenographer to Secretary, Office of Director. Robert W. McAllister, from Probationary to Qualified Pilot, Navigation Division. Anastasio Sogandares, from Boiler- maker Leadingman to Planner and Esti- mator, Industrial Division. Noble A. Phillips, from Sheetmetal Worker to Planner and Estimator, Industrial Division. Martin G. Klontz, from Shipwright Leader to Planner and Estimator, Industrial

Division. Ralph J. Dugas, from Pipefitter to

Pipefitter Leadingman, Industrial Division. PERSONNEL BUREAU

Mrs. Nina J. Coppenhaver, from Per- sonnel Clerk to Clerical Assistant, Office of the Director. Frank D. Naughton, from Employee

Relations Officer to Employee Counselor,

Office of the Director. SUPPLY BUREAU

Frank A. Chollar, from Assistant Supervisor, Reproduction Plant, to Photolitho- grapher, Printing Plant. Leo D. Goulet, from Commissary

Supervisor to Procurement Officer, Commissary I >iv ision. Hilton B. McPheters, from Gas Cutter

or Burner and Hoisting and Portable Engineman to Hoisting and Portable

T.ne.ineman, Division of Storehouses. Stanley J. Guest, Charles E. Thompson, from Supervisory Dairyman to General

Dairy Foreman. Commissary Division. George H. Hicks, from Dry Cleaning

Superintendent to General Foreman, Dry- Cleaning, Commissary Division. Water F. Reif, from Laundry Superintendent to Principal Foreman, Laundry,

Commissary Division. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Victor T. McGarry, from Supervisory

Freight Traffic Clerk to Supervisory Store- keeper, Terminals Division. James A. Barrett, from Supervisory

Storekeeper to Supervisory Property and

Supply Clerk, Terminals Division. Robert G. Turner, from Supervisory

Property and Supply Clerk to Supervisory

Storekeeper, Terminals Division. Gerald R. Fruth, from Supervisor)

Storekeeper to Accounting Assistant. Terminals Division. Frederick J. Wainio, from Accounting

Clerk to Supervisory Business Accountant.

Terminals Division. George A. Jones, Jr., from Supervisory

Business Accountant to Administrative

Assistant, Terminals Division. Peter Hotsko, from Heavy Special

Truck Driver, Motor Transportation Division, to Supervisory Freight 'Traffic Clerk, Terminals Division. Leo J. Krziza, from Administrative

Assistant to Supervisory Administrative

Assistant, Motor Transportation Division

.

FEBRUARY SAILINGS

From Cristobal

Panama --February 5 Anion February 12

Cristobal.. --February 19 Panama February 26 From New York

.4 neon .. - - February 3 Cristobal February 10 Panama --February 17 Ancon -.February 24 (Southbound the Haiti stop is from about

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

ships are also in Port-au-Prince Monday.)

JANUARY RETIREMENTS

Retirement certificates were presented

the end of January to the following employees who are listed alphabetically,

together with their birthplace, titles, length

of service, and future addresses: Samuel L. Brown, La Yaca, Tex.;

Assistant Port Captain, Cristobal; 27 years, 9 months, 23 days; Virginia.

Theodore E. Englebright, Arkansas;

Policeman, Gatun; 26 years, 4 months, 18 days; Tuscon, Ariz. Pinckney G. Hogan, Alabama; Wire- man, Electrical Division; 9 years, 8 months,

17 days; Florida. Mrs. Eleanor P. Home, Massachusetts; Accounting Clerk, Accounting Division; 15 years, 15 days; Florida. Thomas M. McGinn, Rhode Island; Lock Operator, Machinist, Atlantic Locks;

26 years, 4 months, 22 days; California. Joseph E. Moore, Texas; Administrative

Assistant, Service Center Division; 30 years,

1 month, 16 days; Penllyn, Pa. Clarence H. True, Massachusetts; General Engineer, Plant, Inventory, and

Appraisal Staff; I.7

: years, 5 months, 17 days; Miami, Fla.
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

Budget For 1956: $89,305,000

The Panama Canal Company's bud- Office of the Executive Secretary from the geted expenditures for the coming fiscal Com

?rLny to the /'2TM Government.

iTTM-n j i. n i j. i.u 8. The sum of $90,000 is requested tor year submitted to Congress last month continuation of investigations and plans

by President Eisenhower, amount to for a transisthmian road within the Canal

$89,305,000, including an estimated pay- /.one, a project requested by Congress at merit of $10,446,400 by the Company to its 'f

l fusion. . the United States Treasury to cover the a The table below S

ives the comparative

net cost of the Canal Zone Government. figure

,s °n estimates of expenditures by the The budget for the coming year differs Ca"aI Zone Government for the current but little in the total estimates from that and comin§

fiscal years:

of the 1955 fiscal year but there are wide CIVIL FUNCTIONS

variations in the individual items, par1955 l95,i

Ocularly those in the capital program,

customs and immigration... $432,700 $439,100 TU TM-j.„i TM -4- e J- Postal service 1,120,000 1,222,000 The capital program consists of expendi- P„lice protection ,

; 586 , 500 ,, n2o , 100 tures for new construction or the acquisi- Fire protection . 577,000 609,200 tion of new machinery and equipment. Judicial system . . 71,000 72,900 Separate budgets are presented annu- Education.. 2,818,600 2,954,000

oil,, L,- H, Q Po.,ol 7TMo P,v,ramTM=„+ „„.! Publlc areas and facilities.. 1,219,500 1,291,400 ally foi the Canal Zone Government and Librarv 7S ] m S5?0(IU the Panama Canal Company. These are internal Security... 115,200 113,600 required because the Zone Government other civil affairs 296,200 297,000 operates solely on appropriated funds and HEALTH AND SANITATION

returns to the United States Treasury Hospitals and clinics ..4,915,600 5,186,400

all of its receipts, while the Company Other public health services. 720,600 727,100 operates on a business-type budget, GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENSES

using its current income to meet expenses. Office of the Governor 29,800 55,100 The combined budget documents for <*%*£* ""^^ 714 700 . 367 000 the Company-Government for the 1956 !

'

fiscal year are somewhat more lengthy Totals .14,697,600 15,946,500 than in previous years since they include The increase of the ammjnt requested some additional data on work load. for hospitals and clinics reflects the in- Among these are the estimated school creased patient load as a result of tho enrollment, patient oad at the hospitals consolidation of hospital facilities in the and amount of mail handled by the Canal Canal Zone last year. It is estimated

m.vT?1', „ , , , that the daily average number of in- While the Presidents annual budget patients at the four hospitals will be message is primarily for the purpose of increased from 874 to 911 next year. proposing to the Congress the Govern- The actual daily av numbe

-r of ment s financial program for the coming inpatients in the fiscal year 1954, the last

fiscal year, it also includes the actual full year before the consolidation, was 737. financial results of the previous fisca The increase of approximately $650,000

year, and estimates on income and in the item «other al government

expenditures for the current fiscal year. expense" is due primarily to the estimated

Some of the highlights of the Company- cost of home leave travel for empi oyees. Government budget are: The principal items included in the

1. It reveals that the valuation of the "General government expense" are: AdPanama Canal net assets transferred to the mjriistrative expenses for work performed (.ompanv in the 1951 reorganization has { u. r< _ 1 v n _ . i .1 been completed except for some relatively f°r the Canal Zone Government by the minor refinements. The appraisal and valu- Panama Canal Company, such as accountation are subject to final approval by the ing, personnel work, etc., $750,000; home

Board of Directors and the Director of the l eave travel, $500,000; and recruitment Bureau of the Budget The appraisal has d repatriation $

i 4,000. resulted in substantial adjustments of the _, {" ' ^ ' Company's fiscal operations and results Of the $15,946,500 Zone Government

for the two previous fiscal years. budget, a total of $1,941,100 is requested

2. It forecasts operating deficits for this for the capital program. The principal

fiscal year and next of $244,700 and $2,868,- jtems j their ^ ''00, respectively, resulting principally Irom _ . . «,<,.„ a decline in Government ship transits; Road and street replacements, $240,- im nases in wage and interest rates; and 900; additions and alterations to buildadditional employees' benefits. The net ings for school activities, $293,000; sewage

income of the years since 1951, amounting disposaI facilities, Pacific side, $600,000;

to $13 million provides the means lor r ,. . ' . ., ' !„„„''

absorbing these losses. sewage disposal, Atlantic side, $260,000;

3. No money is requested for housing and $90,000, continue studies and plans

replacement for the first time since the war for a transisthmian highway within the

per,,,,!. However, the Company-Govern- Canal Zone. Other items of'special inter- ment capital program tor the coming hscal , ,.,„ nnr, r , j -j. year exceeds that of the 1955 fiscal year, est are: $40,000 for plans and specifica4. The principal items of the capital tions for a combination schools activity program will be the continuation of the building, including an ROTC armory;

power conversion program; sewage disposal $30 Q00 for fire Sprinklers at Palo Seco;

facilities on both sides 01 the Isthmus; an , „. m„ r

* ,,.,. , , extensive dredging program; and the begin- and $30,000 for additional covered en- ning of a replacement program of the tranceways for schools. towing locomotives at the locks. The following estimates give the Canal

5. Approximately 17K millions are asked Company's program highlights for the

lor the capital program obligations tor 1950. , A ', Active expenditures are estimated at $11.1 two nscal .V ears:

millions. This means that contracts in the '"•" '""*> Former amount can be negotiated during Number of transits $8,275 $8,050 the coming fiscal year. (Ships over 300 net tons)

6. Provisions are made for the payment Tolls . .. 32,276,000 31,210,000

of home leave travel for Panama Canal Tolls credits. . . . 2,890,000 2,890,000 Company employees and their dependents Operating income from sup- as a part of the general corporate expense. porting operations 2,210,200 2,294,200 This means that the cost of the home leave General corporate charges. 24,650,200 26,035,600 program will be absorbed as a general over- Removal of slide hazard, head charge rather than being borne by the Gaillard Cut 4,025,462 653,000 individual Company operatingunits directly. Capital expenditures 7,235,884 9,203,500

7. It provides for the transfer of the Net loss. 244,700 2,868,900

Detailed schedules in the Budget docu- ment show the revenues, operating

expenses, and operating margins or defi- ciences of each of the principal activities. These totals are summarized below: Revenue from the Canal and allied maritime operations (principal harbor

terminals and vessel-repair operations)

for the coming fiscal year will total $43,165,700; operating expenses will be

$22,293,200; with an operating margin of $20,872,500. Revenues for supporting operations are estimated at $36,734,900, with operating expenses of $34,440,700, and an operating

margin of $2,294,200.

These operating margins for the two

groups are before the payment of General

Corporate expenses. The total operating margins for the two are $23,166,700, while General Corporate expenses are

listed at $26,035,600, leaving a deficit for total operations for the coming fiscal year at an estimated $2,868,900.

The Panama Canal Company's capital program for the coming fiscal year is divided into seven main projects or categories. These, and the principal items of interest in each category, are shown below: Canal projects $8,688,400

Principal items of interest under this

classification are: Replacement of towing

locomotives and cranes, $6,100,000; deepening of Cristobal anchorage, $1,008,000;

conversion of locks to 60 cycles, $952,000;

buoys, beacons, and radio equipment,

$375,000; meteorology and hydrography

equipment and boathouse, $14,900; and,

relocation of Miraflores bridge walkway

$32,000.

Vessel repairs $12,500

This item provides for shop installations and equipment at the Industrial Division.

Harbor terminal $128,300

Of this amount, $97,300 will be spent on the electrical distribution system at Cristobal piers, and $31,000 on clock and

cargo handling.

Employee services $325,300

Paraiso Commissary, $126,000; equipment for the Commissary Division, $123,- 600; and a gasoline station at the Pacific terminal, $6,000. Included under this item is an item of $160,000 to cover a

decrease in unpaid obligations.

Transportation and utility services $6,110,000

Principal items under this classification are: Power conversion program, $5,121,- 000; new automotive equipment and

sheds, $650,000; replacement of motor

vehicles, $200,000; electric stoves, $50,000;

telephone exchange and allied equipment,

$36,000; air conditioning of telephone

exchanges, $8,500; and Panama Line

steamship and office equipment, $13,900.

Other services $178,100

Sound reduction in the west wing of the Administration Building at Balboa

Heights, $30,000; Maintenance Division equipment, $73,400; office equipment,

Company pool, $60,000; mowing and

garbage equipment, $10,000; and printing

machines and equipment, $4,200.

General corporate projects $134,000

These include $80,000 for minor additions and replacements, and $54,000 for

electric accounting machines for the Comptroller's Office.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

Moving Days Near

For Many Residents

Of C. Z. Pacific Side

Moving days are in the immediate

offing for a big block of Pacific side residents of the Canal Zone. The big housing construction program

to replace quarters dating back to the

early Canal construction days comes to a

close next week when the last block of apartments in the Balboa Flats is assigned

The completion date on this group of houses is March 8, but they are being

assigned prior to acceptance from the contractor to speed up the evacuation of old quarters still to be torn down.

The quarters replacement program had

a modest beginning just five years ago when the residents of San Juan area in Ancon moved for the demolition of those

quarters. The demolition and regrading was started there during the dry

season in the early part of 1950. One New Townsite

Since that date every sizable community in the Canal Zone has been affected by the quarters replacement program. One new townsite—Los Rios—has ap- peared and some towns have or will disappear. The latter include Pedro

Miguel, Red Tank, and La Boca on the

Pacific side, and Camp Bierd on the

Atlantic side. Other towns have a completely new look and Ancon has been

practically rebuilt. All of the new houses have now been

assigned with the exception of a block of 26 apartments in the Balboa Flats which

are now being advertised and will be

assigned next week. The development

in that area and the construction of the

17 one-family houses on Ridge and

Quarry Roads are the last two major

building projects to be completed in the

overall program. The houses in the Ridge Road area have already been assigned and the four along Quarry Road have been occupied now for some time. The contractor for

this group is expected to complete the

13 houses along Ridge Road this month.

These are being made ready for occupancy

as a group to avoid interference with the work in the area. Group One Completed

Twenty-eight of the 63 houses in Balboa Flats have been completed and

accepted for the Canal by the Contract and Inspection Division. These include

all of the quarters in "Group One" of the

Flats development. The remaining quarters will be completed at the rate of about

eight to ten apartments a week until the contract is completed.

To speed up the time when these quarters can be occupied, top soil is being

placed and planting is being done in the area as the quarters are completed. In other areas, the ground work was delayed

until the houses were completed.

Although the quarters in Balboa Flats are being assigned prior to completion,

prospective tenants have been requested not to visit their new quarters until they

are completed. The houses will not be pen for inspection until completed and

expensive damage can be done to fresh aint and other work by careless visitors. The assignment of the big group of irtments in the Flats is expected to

Three Canal Employees Begin

Five-Month Training Program

NOW in Washington are three Canal employees who were among the 19 selected from the Federal service

for the Senior Intern Program. Here, Daniel J. Paolucci, Training Officer, left, wishes good luck to Howard

E. Walling, Albert B. Hendricks and Lawrence Barca, Jr.

Three Panama Canal Company employees, more than have ever before

participated at one time, are now in Washington beginning five months of advanced training under the Civil Service-sponsored Fourth Senior Management

Intern Program.

The three, Howard E. Walling of the Supply Bureau, Lawrence Barca of the Marine Bureau, and A. B. Hendricks of the Office of the Comptroller, left late

last month for the United States. Selection for participation in the pro- gram is considered one of the greatest

honors in the Federal service. A total of 89 candidates were nominated; of this

89, only 19 were selected and of this 19, the Panama Canal Company has three. Eleven of the 19 selected are departmental workers in the Washington

Metropolitan Area. The program got underway last Monday and will close June 24. During this period the three Canal Company employees and the 16 other successful candidates

will receive such highly specialized train- ing as a comprehensive three-week

orientation course in Federal operations.

They will also have weekly courses in public administration; the latter will be given at a university in Washington.

Two of this year's trainees are practically native Zonians. Both Mr. Walling

and Mr. Hendricks came to the Canal Zone as small children and both attended

the Canal Zone schools. Mr. Walling was a member of the Canal Zone Junior College's first graduating class; he holds his degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. His first job was a "boy" in the Mechanical Division during summer

vacations; his first permanent job was as a Student Engineer after his graduation

from college. He is now an Engineer

with the Division of Storehouses. Mr. Hendricks is a graduate of Cris- tobal High School and of the University

of North Carolina. He worked during the summer while he was in school and in 1948 was employed as an accounting clerk in the Audit Bureau. He is now a Rates

Analyst in the Rates Branch of the Office of the Comptroller. Mr. Barca, who is an engineer with

the Locks Division at Pedro Miguel, took

his apprentice training with the Canal

organization as a coppersmith. He at- tended Canal Zone Junior College for one year and is a graduate in engineering

of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

touch off a chain reaction in house moving which will continue for several months. At the end of January there were approximately 100 sets of family quarters scheduled for demolition still being occupied

by Canal personnel. Most of these are scheduled to be vacated by the end of

this month and all by the end of June. The Housing Division was swamped

last month with applications for the new

quarters and those being vacated as moves

were made, and this condition is expected

to continue for several weeks. The

completion and occupancy of the 52 remaining apartments in Balboa Flats and the 17 houses on Ridge Road will result in a series of moves.

While competion for quarters is ex- pected to continue lively for several weeks, occupants of those houses to be demolished have been urged to make

applications for other quarters well in advance of the time when their present

quarters are to be vacated.
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 17

STATISTICS ON CANAL TRAFFIC

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

TOTAL OF CANAL TRAFFIC BELOW FIGURE FOR 1954

A marked decrease in the number of United States Government ships which

transited the Panama Canal during the second quarter of the present fiscal year brought the total Canal traffic to 212

vessels less for the quarter just con- cluded than the second quarter of fiscal year 1954.

During the second quarter of the past

fiscal year, 208 large Government ships

and 99 small Government craft transited the Canal. During the corresponding

period in the present fiscal year, the fig- ures were 45 large and 16 small Govern- ment ships.

While the number of large commercial

ships using the Canal during the second

quarter of the present fiscal year was

slightly more than for the corresponding

period in fiscal 1954, the number of small commercial craft— of less than 300 tonshad declined so that total commercial

transits were 58 less for the quarter just

concluded than for the second quarter of

fiscal 1954. Tolls paid by commercial

traffic on large ocean-going ships, of 300

tons or over, were also slightly under

those for the same period in fiscal 1954. Trade Routes

Although the overall traffic, both commercial and Government, was down, there were increases in the number of ships

using several trade routes. Routes showing increased traffic were: the United

States intercoastal trade, the route be- tween the United States East Coast and

Central America, that between the United

States East Coast and South America,

the Europe-West Coast of the United

States and Canada route, and that be- tween Europe and South America via the Canal. The most marked decline was in the trade route between the East Coast of the United States and the Far East. During the second quarter of fiscal 1954, 354 ships passed through the Canal on

this run. For the quarter just concluded,

the figure dropped to 280. Commodities shipped through the Canal indicated no special trend, al- though the decrease in the amount of coal and coke carried in the Atlantic to

Pacific trade could reflect the general decrease of shipments to the Far East. Other principal commodities showing a drop in the Atlantic-Pacific trade were

paper, machinery, cement, and corn. Oil shipments, on the other hand, increased

considerably.

In the Pacific-Atlantic trade, the two

top commodities switched places. Ore, the number one shipment in the second

quarter of fiscal 1954, dropped to second

place while lumber, number two in 1954, moved into the number one position. A

newcomer to the top 15 commodities

during the quarter just concluded was

barley. Barley shipments for the second

quarter of fiscal 1955 totalled 73,599 tons, compared with only 262 tons in the second quarter of fiscal 1954.

TRAFFIC MOVEMENT OVER MAIN TRADE ROUTES

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

net tons or over) segregated into eight main trade routes:

Second Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955 1954 1938

United States Intercoastal 162 146 il 1

East Coast of U. S. and South America 501 495 124

East Coast of U. S. and Central America 165 121 3

East Coast of U. S. and Far East . _ 280 354 139

U. S. Canada East Coast and Australasia 46 55 42

179 152 252 Europe and South America 145 131 14'

Europe and Australasia 84 75 38

All other routes 433 450 284

Total Traffic . 1,995 1,979 1 ,335 MONTHLY COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC AND TOLLS

Vessels of 300 tons net or over By fiscal years

Month

Transits

Tolls

(In thousands of dollars)

1955 1954 1938 1955 1954 1938

July 640 638 457 2,646 $2,817 $2,030

August .- . ______ 652 640 505 2.752 2,778 2,195

September 660 612 444 2,756 2,591 1,936

October 683 654 461 2,831 2,755 1,981

November . 636 636 435 2,630 2,668 1,893

I lecember 676 690 439 2..S53 2,963 1.845

January - 626 444 2,726 1,838

Februarv . 592 436 2,491 1,787

March 693 506 2,934 2,016

April 654 487 2,838 1,961

May 689 465 2.923 1,887

, 660 445 2,764 1,801

Totals lor hrst 6 months

of fiscal year._ 3.947 3,870 2,741 16.468 16.572 1 1 . 880

Totals for fiscal year... 7,784 33,248

First Annual Scoutcapades

Will Be Held February 12

Final plans are now being completed

for the presentation of the first annual Scoutcapades to be held in the Balboa

Stadium February 12 starting at 7 p. m. More than 1,000 cubs, scouts, explorers, scouters, and friends are now putting the

finishing touches to the seven scenes in the "Drama of Yesteryear," which will be one of the big features of the program. The program will start at 7 p. m. with

a band concert by the Air Force Band

followed by the opening ceremonies which

will include the Welcome and a Special Scout Oath Ceremony.

Boy Scouts and Explorers will give a demonstration of tower building, fire by

friction contests, tent raising contests, a gigantic Indian ceremonial and a ship- rescue demonstration.

The Drama of Yesteryear, which will follow will be presented in seven separate

pageants depicting Isthmian historical scenes from the time of Columbus through

to the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Script for the narration was

written by Jean Bailey, Elizabeth Lamb

and Patricia Markun, producers of the

well known "Pelican Tree." Two large "stage" areas in the outfield of the stadium will be lighted up alter- nately to provide the spot-lighted focal point for each of the seven pageants

in turn. The program will be closed by a Flag

Ceremony followed by the Scout Benediction and Double Taps.
18 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

Panama R. R. Celebrates

tuedfrom /mgi 1) wanted to travel

to Colon, either to return by the after- noon's special train or simply to get the

passes, that extra coaches had to be added to the noon train that day.

Two passengers turned up in special

. Joe Or, III, only four and a half, had on a miniature engineer's outfit which was quite appropriate, seeing that his grandfather had once been the FRR

Master of Transportation. W. W. Hob

lowell, of Diablo Heights, had a stovepipe

hat, a reasonably stiff collar, an ornate watchchain and a beard. Along The Way

At the Aspinwall-Chauncey-Stephens

Memorial at the Hotel Washington, rail- road men laid a wreath to the Panama

Railroad founders. At Mount Hope, the

Hi-ear Special ground to a stop with a long blast of its whistle, and Governor

Seybold, in a short talk from the back

platform, got the commemorative train

trip underway. At Gatun, a small child, left behind,

bawled as his parents boarded the Special. At Gamboa, Paraiso, Pedro Miguel,

and Fort Clayton, Zonians waved the

Special on its way. At the train's mail

desk Special Railway Postal Clerk Harry

W. Peterson stamped the day's mail. At

Balboa Heights the long Special rounded

the curve as Old 299's bell clanged.

Thousands were on hand to hear Governor Seybold— -who, earlier in the day,

had sent his best wishes to a railroad centennial luncheon being given by the Pan- ama Canal Society in Washington -pay

tribute to the men who planned the rail- road and the men who built it, and intro- duced the railroad men, past and present, who sat on the platform.

Keynote: P. R. R. The Railroad, of course, was the keynote. Dedicating Old 299, the Rev. Paul H. W. Olander spoke of the ribbons of

steel "which bound east and west." Fred

deV. Sill told the audience that Old 299

represented a memorial not only to the

railroad builders but to those who came

afterward, and made the building of the Canal possible.

"The story of the Panama Railroad is

in a measure, up to the end of the nine- teenth century, the story of Panama,"

Roberto Heurtematte said. And in the benediction, the Rev. James

M. Kelly, CM., spoke of the "sacrifice, cooperation, and unified effort" which had

made the railroad possible.

The joint band of the Cristobal and

Balboa High School played the national anthems of the United States and the Republic of Panama. As the band swung

into "Stars and Stripes Forever," the crowd drifted over to the stands where

soft drinks were being served "on the house" and then began to make their some.

During the evening, railroad men

opened the first intrascholastic baseball game of the season. The last souvenir

given out on the evening

is that night and the day was over.

Six Central Americans Trained

By Master Diver "Bill" Badders

C .'('ft. I I '} *

&

"

SIX young employees of the Esso Company in ( ientral America learned tricks of the diver's trade at the Industrial Division's Salvage Depot in Gatun. Their instructor was Waster Diver "Bill" Badders, shown here in the center of the ^oup.

Someday, perhaps and the possibility

is not inconceivable, a diver at work in a Central American port may watch with

interest the technique of another diver whom, we must assume, he had not encountered before. "Whv," he will sav, "that's the way

Bill Badders does it." The two will then surface, for better conversation (not to mention the sense of

this little bit) and will find that they are both old Badders men. Badders men are, of course, divers who have learned their

skill and tricks under the direction of the Canal's Master Diver, William Badders

of the Industrial Division's Salvage

Depot at Gatun. By special arrangement with the Marine Bureau, six employees of Esso Standard Oil from Costa Rica and El Salvador, were given instructions recently

by Mr. Badders whose reputation as a diver is international and who holds the

Congressional Medal of Honor for his rescue of crew members from the sunken

submarine Squalus off Portsmouth, N. H.,

in 1939. The six men, Juan and Ruben Quiroz Pastrama of Costa Rica, and Carlos

Trujillo, Fidel Guzman, Transito Linares,

and Edgardo Monterroza, of El Salvador, were chosen by Esso to take the diving

course because of their special skill as skin divers. They attended classroom lectures and

did considerable study on the mechanics

of diving. This was followed by practice

in a large, specially designed tank where

their instructor could watch them through

glass portholes. Later they dived into Gatun Lake to explore sunken ships.

All six are Esso welders and mechanics.

Their diving training will be used on the maintenance of underwater equipment

and installations of the Esso Company

in Central American ports.

"It Was Fun"

The next day the Star & Herald, even

older than the Panama Railroad, summed

it all up, quite neatly:

It was impressive, it was simple, and. furthermore, it was fun. But it was not quite all over, even then. The last stories had to be written, the bunting had to be taken down, the chairs and the speakers' stand had to be re- moved. As they undoubtedly will for years to come, Zone children are still crawling all over Old 299, driving it on imaginary

trips to almost anywhere.

Letters are still on their way, bearing

first-day stamps and cancelations, all over the world. The Railroad exhibits in the libraries and the Balboa Theater

lobby have drawn constant crowds. Thousands of Canal Zone school children have learned a little of a great period of American history.

The Canal Zone, definitely, is railroad- conscious.

First Marriage License

Issued Fifty Years Ago

Fifty years ago this month the first marriage certificate was issued on the

Atlantic side of the Canal Zone. It is recorded on the Cristobal court books as

serial No. 1 of book No. A-l, and is dated February 8, 1905. The certificate was issued to Luis De

La Pena and Emilia Manlinis, both of Bohio, and later the parents of Moises

De La Pena, acting Postmaster at Balboa

Heights. Mr. De La Pena was a Sanitary Inspector under Col. W. C. Gorgas.

Couched in old-fashioned terminology

and signed by M. C. Rerdell, Municipal

Judge, Cristobal, the certificate reads: "This is to certify that Luis De La

IVria of Bohio, Canal Zone, and Emilia

Manlinis, of Bohio, Canal Zone, were by

me, in pursuance of the authority vested

in me by law as Judge of the Municipality

of Cristobal, Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama, duly and lawfully joined in wedlock and declared husband and wife."
February 4, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 19

Rent Increase Announced

Representatives of the Local-Rate

Civic Council were informed last month

that, effective with the pay period beginning March 20, rents on local-rate quarters will be increased by 20 percent. The increase will average from a minimum of 28 cents to a maximum of Si. 11 for family quarters, per week. The adjusted rent?, Governor Seybcld

said, will approach charges more in line with those for living accommodations in the local area and will abo recover operating co^t^ of housing for locjl-rate employees furnished by the Panama Canal Company.

Underwater Blasting

Experiment Conducted

Experiments are being conducted by

the Panama Canal Company on a less expensive and more efficient means of underwater blasting and breaking up of large boulders which must be removed

from the Panama Canal prism.

One experiment was made during

November when the Dredging Division

tried Plurajet-shaped charges on a large boulder weighing approximately 120 tons and located 35 feet under water in the Gaillard Cut 60 feet west of the center

line of the Canal channel. The boulder was broken up by four

"biscuit" shaped charges placed on the rock by means of an especially constructed metal angle iron frame, two feet square,

in which the charges were securely wired. With the assistance of a hydrographic

engineer, who sounded and buoyed the boulder so that the blaster could place the charge accurately, Dredging Division employees carefully lowered and placed

the frame in position. After the boulder was broken up by the shaped charges, the excavation of the debris was successfully

completed by the dredge Cascadas.

It has been estimated that normally

this operation would have involved the manning and putting into operation one

of the Panama Canal Company's two

drill boats. The four shaped charges

cost about $12 while the drill boat for one

shift would have cost several hundred

dollars.

First New Checks Will Be Issued Feb. 10

(Continued from pap 4) of these accompanies this article. By Pay Periods

The figures 1, 2, 3, at the extreme

right indicate the first, second, and third pay of each month. They are based on

the time when the pay period ends and

not on the day on which the check is received. One such advice will be given each employee and the amounts indicated on

this card will be deducted at each pay

period until a change is made. Each

time there is a change in the employee's

fixed deductions—should he increase or decrease his rent payments or his bond

deductions, for instance—he will receive a new "advice" showing the fixed deductions and the effective date of the change.

The total of the fixed deductions for the first, second, and third pay periods of each month will appear on the Miscellane- ous Deduction Advice under the explanation "Fixed."

Canal commercial traffic by nationality of vessels

Second Quarter, Fiscal Years

Nationality

1955 1954 1938 Number of transits

Tons

ol cargo

Numbel nl transits

Tons

of cargo

Number of

transits

Tons

of cargo

Belgian 8

1 285

12Id 53

5 80

16

1 29

832890

2 43

119

1

1 09

1 35

16 210

1524

5

19,184

Brazilian..

British., 1,631 .423 56 , 753 25,998

324

17

5

2,093,489

95,712

53,675

71 ,668 94.911 237.046

22,335

297

1 1.447.720

0,127 Chilean

Chinese- Colombian

Cost 1 Rican .

131 .342 ! 59 25.749 14 334.783 1 69 39,355 28 0.269

Danish Ecuadorean

56 220.973

Finnish . French

< ierman Cre-k Honduran

Irish

1611.208 267,474

147, 1SS

1 65 .614

10,068

231 ,231 662,291

5 , 1 76 487,453

2.770

162.194 34.423 997.104

643.712

1 1 . 769 28,794

37

85

31

81

1

136.514

171 ,856 249,679

127,834

7.972

28

83

19

1

163,9(,.s 384,808

82.437

869

Israeli Italian Japanese Korean .

63

102

4 50

2 35

7 199

1664

8

317.262

593 , 888

11,657 351.623

2,577

172,269

6,103

658,653

935,645

6,482 47.835

1372 46,192

418,523

Liberian ... Mexican

Netherland.

\i< aragnan.. . 74 205,439

Norwegian

Panamanian.

Peruvian

Philippine. . .

15139

1

795.486 94,155

1 .148

Soviet 2 4 990

Spanish 642

34 539

2

1

22,060

192.963

16,477

10,721

2,914,698

5,142

6,553

1549

4

75,866

211 .340 35.600

Swedish

S\\ i^s 27 180.052

Turkish United States . Uruguayan .. 520 3,036.7 24 464 2,583,090

Yugoslav __ .. 4 21,052

Total 1,995 9.456,999 1,979 9,806,215 1,335 6,670,241

Principal commodities shipped through the Canal

(All figures in long tons)

Figures in parenthesis in 1938 and 1954 columns indicate relative positions in those years. ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC

Commodity

Mineral oils Coal and coke Manufactures of iron and steel Phosphates

Soy beans

Sugar.

Sulphur

Paper and paper products

Machinery

Corn

Tinplate..

Automobiles and parts Chemicals

Cement

Fertilizers Ml others

Total

Second Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955

1 .025 731 378

335

225

142

12284

7868

6360

5548

47

1 .088

,591 ,195 ,459

,341 ,393 ,164

,163

.331 ,934

,401 ,222

.752 ,945

,663 ,453 ,358

4.566,363

1954

987,650

997,326

501,170

200,012

233,274

84,443 99.008

91,730

86,594

68,898

36,124

58,523

43,437

72 , 103

.283,949

4,877,463

1938

287.537 37.108

479.661

71 ,763 307

971 101,599

94,572

40,773

922 54,507

81,751

27,914 37.256

6,215

963,544

2.286.400

PACIFIC TO ATLANTIC

Commodity

I. nmber

Ores, various... Wheat

Nitrate Canned food products. _. Sugar Bananas

Mineral oils Metals, various

Refrigerated food products (except fresh fruit) Wood Pulp. . Barley

Coffee Copra

Cotton

All others

Total

Second Quarter, Fiscal Years

1955

1 ,047,372

977,291

381 ,083 346,891

313,560

257.404

244,867

195,281 181.942

141 .345 77,190

73 . 599 68,125

66.429 62.420

864,419

1954

5,290,218

831,403

,472,137 416.372

248,131

302,667

280,287

183.711 62,387

180,850

134,218 53.000

262 64.170

54.441

41 .552 603.364

1938

671 524

217

973

191 658

4.928.752

ilk,. son 303,166

302,617

4,911

665 , 884

1 79 , 59

1

64.079

60 , 885 57,510 ^ . 884 53.454 34,063

923.285

4,383,841
20 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW February 4, 1955

A Railroad Starts Its Second Century

SENIOR railroaders B. W. Mclntyre, 'eft, ami

C. B. Mcllvaine, with Governor Seybold

MEN who work on the Railroad paid tribute to the men who built it

The Panama Railroad rounded

the hundred mark last month

and started on its second century. As in the case of all

centenarians, public and press

made a considerable to-do

about the occasion.

Here are a few of the people

doing a few of the things which

will help to make January 28,

1955, a day long to be remembered by Isthmians.

AT MOUNT HOPE, Governor Seybold inaugurated the commemorative trip

ROBERTO HEWTKMATTE spoke of the Railroad TO THOUSANDS of Isthmians