Gift ofthe Panama Canal MuMeut*^^^ l^'I'l ' -\)

' CANAL

Vol. 3, No. 9 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, APRIL 3, 1953 5 cents Strange Rock - Strange Location

LOCK OVERHAULS frequently uncover strange

things. A current Canal mystery is how this 10-ton

boulder, and two others like it, got to the southern approach to Miraflores Locks east chamber. The rocks were found by Diver Raymond F.

Hesch while he was inspecting the fills on which

caissons were to be set. He placed slings around the rocks; they were lifted out by crane. Several old slabs of concrete were found at the same time.

Industrial Bureau Continues Essential

Services; Outside Work Will Be Limited

None of the essential services provided by the Industrial Bureau will be elimi- nated by the force reduction of approximately 20 percent this month but the reduction will, in a measure, fix a ceiling on the ability of the Bureau to accept

extensive repair work. The immediate cause of the present

reduction is a precipitate drop in the cur- rent and anticipated work load, but the action will have the long-range effect of providing a solution to a problem of many

years standing. Succinctly, the problem

is the "feast-or-famine" existence which

has characterized the Industrial Bureau

since the Canal was opened nearly 40

years ago. The new force level has been set with a view to providing certain minimum

standards of service while maintaining a

sufficient force to meet a work load known to be constant. These minimum

standards are: Repair and maintenance

of Canal equipment and non-seagoing

floating equipment of the Armed Forces

in the Canal Zone, and emergency or minor repairs to commercial shipping. The maintenance of these service standards will not preclude the acceptance

of other work but such work will be ac- cepted only when within the ability of the future organization. The adoption of the new policy with

respect to marine repair work is expected

to go a long way towards eliminating

costly and unsatisfactory expedients adopted in the past such as force reductions and hasty build-ups or long furlough

periods for the personnel to meet high and low peak work loads. The Industrial Bureau (formerly Mechanical Division) is one of the oldest units of the Canal organization. During

the Canal construction period its principal function was the maintenance and repair

of machinery and equipment used in the Canal work. The existing marine repair shops and

facilities were installed at the two terminal

ports before the Canal was opened to

traffic with the expectation that extensive work of this nature would {See page 15) SPECIAL NOTICE

A complete directory of the Company-Government will be issued as

a 4-page supplement with the May

issue of The Canal Review. The

directory supplement, last issued in August 1951, will contain names,

titles, and telephone numbers of all principal officials. Extra copies will be available on order.

New Reservation

System Adopted

For Panama Line

A new system of passenger

reservations has been adopted

which is designed to guarantee

the fullest possible use of the

three Panama Line ships with- out detriment to employees

planning vacations.

However, Canal employees planning to go on vacation in the United States and

traveling by Panama Line ships are being urged to get their reservations in early. Late last month, just before his de- parture for Washington to attend Senate subcommittee hearings, Gov. J. S. Seybold

told The Panama Canal Review that

while the steamship line is operated pri- marily for employees, the fullest use must

be made of its facilities in order to reduce

operating costs as much as possible. He pointed out that space not utilized

for Canal employees and their families could well be sold to commercial pas- sengers who want assurance of return passage, with resultant increase of revenue, but that priority will be given to employees—at all seasons of the year—pro- vided they give adequate notice of their travel plans. A new system of space reservations, within the Line organization, has just been established, he said, in order to obtain the fullest use of the three ships. Cabin Allotments An allotment of cabins on each ship is reserved for assignment by the Canal Zone office to employees. The remaining

cabins are divided among the Panama

Line's representative in Panama City, the agent in Haiti, and the passenger agent in New York. As nearly as possible, mini- mum fare, i.e., $40 per-person rooms, are held for employees in order to cut their travel costs. Under the new system, Fred Wells, steamship ticket agent in the Canal Zone,

will release to the New York office each Friday all space on the ship sailing north- bound 3 weeks later for which he does

not have employee reservations. This re- leased space will then be available for commercial passengers. The new system means, the Governor

explained, that employees must arrange

for transportation more than 3 weeks

ahead of their proposed sailing date in order to be assured of space. Although each ship can accommodate

202 persons at a maximum, frequently all cabins are occupied with only about 150

people aboard. A family of three, for

instance, may occupy a (See page to)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3,1953

Going On Vacation? Automobile Club Is Ready

To Aid In Arranging For Long Or Short Trips

So yoifre^gomg on vacation and taking your car? Have you tried the Automobile Club

for help? Isthmian-wide, it has its headquarters in the Canal Zone.

If you're a Nervous Nellie or a Timid Thomas, or maybe just an ordinary

cautious Canal Zone driver, possibly you mav want assistance in getting out of New

York City. The Automobile Club will arrange it. Through the New York Club the Automobile Club will provide a driver who is thoroughly experienced in the chaotic confusion that is New York traffic and

who, for a small fee, will drive you and

your car to the outskirts of the city and

start you on your way.

This is just one of the many services the Automobile Club is prepared to offer. The

Club will get a "Triptik," one of those handy, specially prepared booklets which

give just about every bit of information

The Automobile Club can, and has, obtained tickets for its members for cir- cuses, baseball games, and theaters. A

Zonian, expecting to be in Detroit, say, on the Fourth of July, can be sure before he leaves the Canal Zone of a ticket to the Tigers' game, provided the team plays

at home that day. Through its associate clubs all over the United States, Canada, or Mexico, the Automobile Club can put its members in touch with emergency road service in case

of accidents. The bill for such services is paid by the local club without charge to the member, within reasonable limits. Its associate clubs can also provide Canal Zone members with aid in getting doctors, help them get checks cashed, tell them

where sick animals can be treated, assist

in getting hotel reservations. Any Service, Anywhere

In fact, according to the local Secretary

A TRIPTIK, bound in golden ' yellow paper be- cause this year is the AAA's Golden Jubilee year, is presented by J. 0. Barnes, left, to Mr. and Mrs.

E. R. Japs. Mr. Barnes is Secretary-Treasurer of the Panama Automobile Club, headquarters for which

are in his Ancon quarters. The Japs have been Automobile Club members for many years. The

Triptik which was prepared for them is the last they

will get in the Canal Zone. Mr. Japs, Superintendent

of Storehouses, is retiring April 30; he and his wife

will leave the following day by Panama Line. The

long automobile trip for which the Triptik was pre- pared will take them to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Florida. and routing a cross-country driver could want. Triptiks are made up, to order, for any section of the United States, Mexico,

or Canada; or trips can be worked out

for Europe. "Pensions" In Nova Scotia The Club can furnish its members with

a directory of all hotels, motels, restaurants, etc., in the United States with their rates and whether or not they are recom- mended by the American Automobile

Association. It even knows of pensions in Nova Scotia where board, room, and

laundry cost $30 a month a person.

It can tell when national parks open, what lodging is available in the parks, can

provide a seasonal directory of New York

entertainment attractions, or give the dates of such events as the Natchez Garden Pilgrimage, the Interlochen or Berkshire Music Festivals, or a rodeo in Montana.

Treasurer, J. 0. Barnes, the Automobile

Club, through the Triple A, is prepared

to offer just about any service which a

traveller needs. One of the few requests which has not yet been made through the

local club but which Mr. Barnes is sure

the AAA could handle is the whereabouts

of a diaper service. Members need not be travelling by

automobile to get AAA help. Canal

Zonians have arranged through the Automobile Club for train or plane reservations in the United States before they

leave the Isthmus. During last vacation season, from May

to September, the local Automobile Club

obtained some 100 Triptiks, and this year Mr. Barnes anticipates that he will handle close to 300. The Club pays $1.75

for each one. They are requested through

the local club and prepared by AAA headquarters in Washington. Should any last

minute changes in itinerary be necessary, an amended Triptik is waiting for the member when his ship docks in New York. The most elaborate automobile trip arranged for any local member, as far as Mr. Barnes recalls, was one from New

York to Alaska, down the U. S. west

coast, into Mexico as far as Mexico City, and back to New York via Texas and the eastern states. The Club, however, is just as willing to plan a much simpler

trip—a tour through New England,

f jr instance.Service For Europe The extension of its service to Europe

is something comparatively new but, Mr.

Barnes says, the Club is now arranging

for three or four such trips a year. The

Club obtains carnets, which simplify in- ternational travel, and equips the local driver with an international driver's

license. This last costs $7.50. Helping its members plan their vacation

trips and providing them, without cost, with maps of the national parks, of high- speed highways like the Pennsylvania

Turnpike, or detailed maps of cities or

states, is the most time-consuming of the Automobile Club's work here, according

to Mr. Barnes. But the Club has other, if not so well- known, services. It arranges to get auto- mobile licenses for people who may be off the Isthmus at license change time. It can advise its members on shipping cars and what insurance they should carry for maximum protection although the Club

itself writes no insurance as many of the

larger clubs in the United States do. However, the Automobile Club here will secure insurance for its members from

local representatives of U. S. companies. Camp At El Valle On the Isthmus the Automobile Club

maintains a camp at El Valle, a pleasant

retreat some 70 miles from the Canal

Zone. There no telephones ring to jangle town-tired nerves and the nights are cool enough so that blankets are comfortable. Members and their families can stay at

the camp for $1 a night or $5 a week;

there is a reduced rate for small children. Guests of members are charged $3 a night. The caretaker of the camp is accommodating Saturnino Cherigo who has lived on the premises for several years. For local travel the Automobile Club

supplies road maps of the Republic with

detailed maps of the terminal cities of Panama and Colon. Because the smaller

Interior hotels frequently change proprietors, whose standards may vary, it is difficult to check these for Triple A recommendation, but the Automobile Club does recommend two Interior hotels, the Nacional in David and the Pan-Americano

in El Valle. One little known facet of the Automobile Club's activities is its work with

school traffic patrols, whose members arc given Club certificates for satisfactory completion of their duties. Since its formation in 1916 the Automobile Club has always worked closely with the local police. In mid-March it was arranging for the shipment to the Canal Zone of a series of new traffic films to be shown to police officers. 8-Mile Speed Limit The local club faced a (See page IS)
April 3, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Conferees Discuss

Housing, Hospitals

At March Meeting

Housing, a subject as frequently dis- cussed as any by Canal employees,

occupied much of the time of the March

( lOvernor-Employee Conference.

Lt. Gov. Harry 0. Paxson, presiding over the conference in the absence of the Governor, told the conferees that the U. S.-rate housing problem was "shaping up pretty well," and that the housing

situation would not be as acute as had

once appeared. "We are trying to build new houses

before we tear the old ones down," he

said. "For instance, we hope to have the houses at Corozal built before we start to tear down the Flats quarters." He

added that several of the Diablo 12-

families, some of which have been vacant

for some time, will come down before Corozal is completed. A housing question which was dis- cussed lengthily was the change in manner in which housing applications are

to be made. After much talk around the conference table Colonel Paxson said that he was deferring the date on which

the change would be effective. Conferees who represent labor and

civic organizations raised such a number

of questions on the applications change

which, in order to speed up assignments and cut down on vacancies, would limit quarters applications to a choice of three houses by number, three specific locations, or three types—that Colonel Paxson said he would take additional time

to study this. Up-Date Applications Although he deferred the effective date

for the change, the Lieutenant Governor

asked the conferees to suggest to the people they represent that all long-standing housing applications be brought up

to date. Many applications are out- dated because of changes in types and

locations of quarters. In answer to a question from W. E.

Percy, a Central Labor Union representative, as to who determines housing construction policy, Colonel Paxson answered

that in the long run it is Congress, which

either denies or makes funds available. At the present time it is expected that

the amount which can be spent in the coming fiscal year will be limited and the housing replacement program must be slowed down.

Regarding complaints on the noon siren as it disturbs sleeping shift-workers, Colonel Paxson said that a change of time had been discussed but not yet agreed on

with the armed forces. This discussion

will continue. Meantime, the length of the siren blast—which must occur daily

to check the operational condition of the

siren—has been cut from 30 to 10 seconds. A policeman has been stationed near

the Balboa railroad station to watch out

for children crossing the tracks to the

athletic field in the late afternoon, the Lieutenant Governor reported. Traffic congestion at the Eleventh and Front

Street crossing in Cristobal is being dis- cussed with the police and traffic experts.

Expert Rifleman

ANNIE OAKLEY had better look to her laurels. While still not in the Oakley class, 16-year-old Donna

Elizabeth Geyer, Cristobal High School Junior, is well on her way up in shooting circles. She has just won the Expert Rifleman Medal, second highest award in junior shooting, from the National Rifle Association. To win the award she had to score 40

out of 50 on each of 10 targets, shooting from a standing position. Donna, shown above with her coach, Noel E. Gibson, is not the only girl Expert Rifleman in the Canal Zone but is the only one on the Atlantic side. Isthmus-wide, she shares honors with Norine Dill- man, 17, of Balboa High School, who was made

Expert Rifleman in August 1951. Donna has been shooting for the past 2 years, ever

since, her mother says, "she finally wore her family down and got our permission." She has done well from the beginning and Mr. Gibson calls her "not

only a crack shot but a swell kid." Both Donna and Norine are now qualifying for the

highest junior award, that of Distinguished Rifleman which calls for stupendous shooting from prone,

sitting, kneeling, and stand positions. Donna is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donovan

I. Geyer of Colon Beach. Her father works in the Commissary Division's Refrigeration Plant at Mount Hope. A matter of expediting traffic at the Ancon

Laundry crossing, raised late in the meeting, will be studied. Questions Answered

In answer to other questions raised at previous meetings, the Lieutenant Governor reported: That the Gamboa Clubhouse building

is to be scrapped as soon as clearance is received from the Board of Directors, but

that the abandoned building would be boarded up should the clearance not be forthcoming soon; That refrigerator repair parts are now

obtainable from the storehouses; That limited table service will be

available at the Ancon Clubhouse after the changeover to the cafeteria system

but that table service will be at slightly higher prices; And that badly dented cans of food

are no longer being placed on Commissary

shelves and the last of the unlabelled canned goods has been taken off retail sale. Colonel Paxson suggested that many

Commissary matters could be handled

with the store managers, the Division Manager, or the Supply and Service Director instead of in the Conference, and reported an increasing receptivity

to customer suggestions and complaints. Colon Hospital Another subject, discussed at some

length, as it has been before, concerned

medical facilities at Colon Hospital. Henry Chenevert, of the Machinists, said that his lodge was alarmed, for safety

reasons, at the lack of an eye specialist at Colon Hospital. This matter, as well as others about Colon Hospital such as a report that

dental appointments must be made

months in advance, was to be referred to the Health Director. In the course of the discussion on

hospital services for Atlantic side resi- dents, Colonel Paxson commented on the

possibility of consolidating Coco Solo and Colon Hospitals, telling the conferees that the decision will not be made

locally and that he had no way of knowing whether the Navy or the Canal Zone Government would administer the hpspital should such a consolidation be made.

Neither a hospital nor a high school is planned for Margarita for the near future, he said. Other questions raised during the conference were: The timing of craft wage adjustments based on Navy ship- yards in the United States; pay differ- entials between Canal craftsmen and

those working for the armed services; why DDT spraying had been stopped

although both mosquitoes and sandflies were prevalent; and Panama's require- ment for licensing of bicycles and their operators, inasmuch as it applies to children living in New Cristobal. Present at the conference were the Lieutenant Governor and Edward A. Doolan, Personnel Directed and the

following employee representatives: F. H. Hodges, Locomotive Engineers; Robert C. Daniel, (jSupagelS)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3,1953

Malaria And Mosquitoes,

They're Still With Us

Mosquitoes in the Canal Zone? Of

course not, newcomers exclaim. Everyone knows that General Gorgas wiped them out years ago. Consequently they, as well as people who've been here much longer, are sur- prised and irritated (mentally as well as

physically) when a mosquito bites them.

In most cases, the mosquito bite is nothing worse than an irritation for of the 200-odd species of mosquitoes which

thrive in this humid climate only a few are

of the disease-carrying type. No reliable source has ever claimed, Health Bureau experts point out, that mosquitoes were ever completely exter- minated in the Canal Zone. What

General Gorgas and his men did was to

control mosquitoes so that yellow fever and malaria, which killed 2,394 of the French Canal force in 8 years, were no

longer the deadly scourges they had been. No cases of urban yellow fever have

originated in the Canal Zone since May

1906. From September 30, 1905, to September 30, 1906, there were 398 malaria deaths in the Canal Zone. Two

years later malaria had ceased to be a leading cause of death although the malaria rate was 282 per 1,000 employees.

223 Malaria Cases During the past calendar year only 59 employees of the Canal organization contracted malaria; these cases were included

in the 223 reported from residents of the Canal Zone and the terminal cities of Colon and Panama. Most of these malaria cases originated outside the sanitated

areas. Despite the drop in the malaria rate malaria still can be contracted here and

malaria still can be fatal. At the request

of The Panama Canal Review, experts from the Health Bureau have summarized some of the current facts about the

sanitation of the Canal Zone.

Its topography and climate, they point

out, are ideal for the prolific propagation of

insects. In addition to the approximately

200 species of mosquitoes—not all of

which bite humans—there are a number

of biting insect pests, including the

so-called sandfly.

It is obvious that all of these insects cannot be controlled or eradicated and

there is no health or economic reason to attempt such a Herculean task. Fight Disease Carriers Because it cannot achieve the impossible the Health Bureau concentrates on the possible: Combatting the comparatively few flying insects which can

carry disease. Urban yellow fever

"Yellow Jack"— is no longer a menace

here, but jungle yellow fever appeared in the Republic of Panama only a few years

ago. Its virus was found in monkeys;

mosquitoes which bite them can—and

do—transmit the disease to man. Because

these mosquitoes breed in treeholes and

live in treetops they are beyond control. Fortunately humans can be immunized

to jungle yellow fever by vaccination,

available without charge at the Board of Health Laboratory at Gorgas Hospital from 8 a. m. to noon each Wednesday and

1 to 3:30 p. m. each Wednesday at the Colon Health Office. Yellow fever can also be transmitted by another mosquito, the formerly common Aedes aegypti which bred and

lived in cities and towns. The experts

believe that this pest has been eradicated through the recent expensive and labor- ious campaign conducted jointly by all health organizations in the Canal Zone

and Republic of Panama. Beware Of "Ann"

The remaining insect of the greatest medical importance is the malaria- carrying anopheles. During the last war

the armed services here, in an anti- malaria campaign, pictured her as a seductive siren with a penetrating proboscis and cautioned their people to "Avoid Ann." Local malaria-control people still consider this excellent advice. There are some 18 species of this mosquito in the Canal Zone, with greatly varying breeding and flight habits, but

SIDNEY MILLER of Gatun inspects, for the

presence of anopheline larvae, a sample of water

dipped from cattle tracks in the Mindi Dairy pasture.

RICHARD A. WILLIAMS, Sanitation Inspector from Ancon, uses a microscope to identify a sample

of mosquito larvae brought in from the field.

DDT IS DUSTED on the waters of the Chagres River above Gamboa to control breeding of the Anopheles mosquito. Felix Rodriguez holds the nozzle of the duster while Victorian" Murillo rows the boat.

only one, Anopheles atbimanus, is considered significant as a carrier, or vector,

of malaria. This particular "Ann" breeds in fantastic numbers in mat-type vegetation growing in the lakes and rivers; it also shows a marked preference for such col- lections of sunlit water as those exposed by felling of trees, grading, blocked drains,

water-filled cattle tracks, or tire ruts.

Its flight range is a matter of conjecture. At certain times of the year, it apparently will fly many miles. So even

could it be eradicated— which would be a prohibitively costly job it would infil- trate from unsanitated areas and re- establish itself in the Canal Zone. Prevention Measures

With eradication impractical, the Health Bureau concentrates on other measures. Canal specialists attempt to prevent the mosquito from breeding by eliminating

collections of water where Anopheles

could reproduce. Other Government

units cooperate and in one area where

ground control is difficult the Army makes

a plane available for spraying. Larviciding, the killing of immature mosquitoes by chemicals, is done only when actual

inspection shows it is necessary. Residua] DDT spraying and area spraying and fogging are partially effec- tive against adult mosquitoes. This, however, may not long be true. Evidence

is beginning to accum- (See paged)
April 3, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

FOR YOUR INTEREST AND GUIDANCE IN ACCIDENT PREVENTION

t w II U£

COMING EVENTS AND THEIR SHADOWS vs. CRYSTAL BAILS

How many times have you wished you

could gaze into a crystal ball and foresee what's ahead? If you ever have, then

there is no question that you're really human. Some people have a different name for Safety Engineers, but underneath it all we're human too. The big trouble, however, is that our crystal ball isn't any

better than yours, so we have to do a bit of guessing along with everyone else. It is believed, we all agree, that we are much

better off not knowing too much about

the future. There are many heartaches ahead for all members of the human race, and a large percentage are not strong enough to stand up to knowing in ad- vance what lies ahead. The old saying, "Ignorance is bliss," has its place but its place is not in Safety. Since we would rather meet the future,

little by little, as it comes along, rather than all in one big jolt, take a look at the

past. There's a key there to the future. You may or may not believe that the past plays a very important part in pointing out what lies ahead, but we will give you HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

February ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION BUREAU HEALTH BUREAU

INDUSTRIAL BUREAU AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Civil Affairs 1 Engineering and Construction 1 Health 1 Industrial 1 Community Services Marine

Railroad and Terminals

Supply and Service

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

February MAINTENANCE DIVISION DREDGING DIVISION ELECTRICAL DIVISION MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DIVISION AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Dredging 2 Maintenance 2 Motor Transportation 2 Clubhouses

Electrical Grounds Maintenance

Hospitalization and Clinics Storehouses Commissary

Locks

Navigation

Railroad Sanitation Terminals

odds that it will tell you more than any

crystal ball ever did. Ten years ago certain coming events were casting their shadows before, and we made certain predictions. But no, we

were dreaming, failing to face realities— "After all there was a war on and we had

a job to do. We had to take chances. We

couldn't waste time trying to practice

safety. Maybe later, but right now we're

too busy." We heard all the old alibis, believe it or not, even some new ones. Now, in spite of what appeared on the

surface to be resentful opposition, what

really did happen? We quote from the January 1942 Safety Zone:

"Accident experience in the States has

usually shown that the accident rate not

only increases with an increasing force but actually rises faster. In spite of a tremendous increase in our working

forces (35,705) with naturally a large number of inexperienced help, the acci- dent rate has been reduced considerably. For that reduction, the foreman who put

safety into their production schedules are the most responsible. Further reductions

will fall on the shoulders of these same

men." This was in the beginning of 1942. Now we quote from the January 1943

Safety Zone: "The year 1942 went out with almost

the entire Panama Canal hanging on to the end of an accident curve which they

really brought down. More and more

divisions are getting on the bandwagon,

as foremen find out that in spite of all doubters accidents can be prevented. December (1942) was the first time in history that every major division got into

the green at the same time, and the first a major division worked an entire month

with no disabling injuries." Also, to top the whole thing off, every major unit had a better record for the year 1942 than for the previous year. Who needs

a crystal ball for Safety? Now we look at 1952, 10 years later, and compare it with 1942. In 1942 there were 29 killed, 24 permanently disabled, and 4,150 (that's right, four thousand one hundred and fifty) temporarily disabled, with a total time charge of 248,596 days. Now considering there were twice the number of employees in 1942 as there were in 1952, to maintain a comparable

record the figures should be cut just by

one half. Instead, our toll for 1952 was

five killed (we have done better) seven permanently disabled, and 427 temporarily disabled, with a total time charge

of 45,442 days. Without having looked into the crystal

ball, what does the record reveal? Again, not a few, not a majority but all bureaus

experienced improvements, ranging from

17 to 54 percent over their own past 2- year record. Likewise all but two divi- sions showed similar improvements. (The

reason these two didn't make it was be- cause they got there ahead of the rest with very low 2-year averages). We are mighty pleased to be able to publicize this record of your accomplish- ments in the campaign to reduce heartache, pain, suffering, and financial loss that is experienced by the victims and

their families, when they become involved

in accidents. Each year during the (See page 6)

FEBRUARY 1953

Engineering and Construction Bureau

Health Bureau

Industrial Bureau

Supply and Service Bureau

Civil Affairs Bureau

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

Community Services Bureau

C. Z. Govt.Panama Canal Co. (This month)

Railroad and Terminals Bureau

Marine Bureau

Number of Disabling Injuries 53

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

(Frequency Rale)

Man-Hours Worked ...2,579,172 LEGEND

I Amount Better Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Best Year

] Amount Worse Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Best Year

Accumulative Frequency Rate This Year
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW Apii! 3,1953

Payrolls Of Contractors For Canal Maintenance

And Construction Work Are $250,000 Monthly

Local labor forces are receiving about

$250,000 on monthly payrolls for construction and maintenance work being performed on contracts for the Panama

Canal Company-Canal Zone Government

organization. The number employed on contract work

for the Canal is estimated at about 2,500

exclusive of supervisory and technical personnel. Employment on projects for which

contracts are now in force reached its peak in March and will remain at high

levels through April and May and up to June, when a slight drop is expected be- cause of the termination of several comparatively short-term contracts for dry

season maintenance work.

Several of the present contracts are scheduled for completion before the close

of the present fiscal year, after which any new projects that are authorized will be

financed from funds made available for the 1954 fiscal year, starting in July. Maintenance work being done on

contracts which will be terminated before

the close of the present fiscal year includes the exterior painting of Canal buildings by W. T. Coffey and Tropical Paint Company; tile roofing of buildings in Balboa, being done by Industrias Unidas; and work on roof hoods on Balboa houses, being done by Green, Calvino & Roquer

Cia. Ltda. Other comparatively short-term contracts are those with Bildon, Inc., for the rehabilitation of the baffle piers at Gatun Spillway Dam, scheduled for completion in June; and the rehabilitation of refrigerator and dry storage facilities at Gorgas Hospital, to be completed in July by the contractor, the National Flooring

Company. Some of the major construction projects now in progress are those being done

on contract by Macco-Panpacific. These

include the Margarita townsite extension, where work started in March 1952 and

is scheduled for completion in June 1953; housing at Corozal, where work started

in January and is scheduled for completion in May 1954; and housing construction on Empire Street in Balboa, for which the contract extends to October

1953. Other major housing construction is in progress at Paraiso where the contractor, Tucker McClure, is scheduled to complete the work in July 1953. A new school building at Paraiso, which was started in February by General Contractors Company, is to be completed in July. Construction of a new school building

at Margarita, on which the contractor, E. O. Hauke Construction Company,

started work in March, is scheduled for completion in September 1953. A contract with Industrias Unidas for the construction of a sewage pump station at Margarita extends from March to August 1953. Constructora Martinz, contractor for the construction of the Goethals Memorial in Balboa, is scheduled to complete

that project in August. Other contract work for the Canal,

for which contracts will be awarded in the near future, will include the construction of a school building at Rainbow

City, scheduled for completion in December 1953; metal roof work in Balboa and

the reroofing of the Balboa Police Station, scheduled for completion in June.

Malaria And Mosquitos

(Continued from page i) mulate to indicate that mosquitoes, like houseflys, are be- ginning to build up a resistance to DDT.

"Ann" Is A Nighthawk

The Health Bureau also tries to prevent

people and mosquitoes from getting to- gether by seeing that screening is sound and by cautioning residents against unnecessary exposure at night—Anopheles is a nighthawk on a minute scale—particularly in unsanitated areas. Other anti-malaria precautions are the blood surveys which are taken among the Canal Zone's fringe population to deter- mine who may be infected although not

yet ill, the prompt treatment of such

carriers and of all active malaria cases. Suppressive drugs, such as atabrin or primaquin which kill the malaria parasite, are distributed when they are needed. While they are not dangerous, in that they carry neither yellow fever nor malaria, there are three other biting pests

two of them mosquitoes—frequent ly found in the Canal Zone. Mosquitoes And Gnats

These are: The Masonsia mosquitoes,

the larvae of which attach themselves to the air-filled roots of aquatic plants and grow to maturity under water and for which no effective control has yet been

found; the far-flying Aedes taeniorhynchus, (which comes in droves at the beginning

of the rainy season); and the small gnat, commonly but wrongly called sandfly. 1 [e

properly belongs to the genus culicoides, but that makes his bite no more pleasant. These little gnats breed in the brackish water of tidal swamps, in tree holes and

even in fresh water. They are so tiny that they go through screens without

difficulty. Although the gnats are much

more resistant to DDT than mosquitoes,

screens painted with DDT in kerosene

solution will keep them from biting for about a month and insect repellant rubbed

on the skin will also help. While the Health Bureau regularly re- news its warnings that people should be more malaria-conscious, they offer one

ray of hope. It may not be too long in the future before malaria may be eradi- cated by preventive drugs instead of through the eradication of the carrier. Mosquito bites will still itch, though.

Coming Events And Their Shadows

{Continued from page 5) past, not all at the same time, but enough of you at various times, have come through with

the necessary effort to help us maintain a consistent improvement, or downward

trend, in the frequency rate.

If we all continue to do our best at the same time, as we did in 1952, we can't

lose. When you "name the beneficiary"

of a successful accident prevention pro- gram, it is not your boss or vour companv.

It is VOU and YOUR FAMILY.

It doesn't take a crystal ball to foresee

that. Just look in the mirror.

Paraiso Housing Contract Running Ahead Of Schedule

All of the 244 apartments which are being built at Paraiso will be completed by mid-June, according to an estimate of the Contract and Inspection Division. The contractor, Tucker McClure, was

about 6 weeks ahead of schedule at the end of last month, as far as the housing was concerned. Grading and drainage

is in progress and is expected to be finished the following month. By the end of March, 31 houses containing 62 apartments had been completed and accepted by the Canal organization. The Paraiso housing is on-the-ground masonry construction similar to that at Rainbow City. Paraiso apartments range

in size from one to four bedrooms. New Rental Schedules

On Licensed Property

Go Into Effect July 1 New rental-rate schedules on licensed properties of the Panama Canal Company

and the Canal Zone Government will be- come effective July 1. The new schedule, which covers more than 300 properties, is based on a comprehensive survey and

appraisal made last October by Arthur A. May, Chief of the Appraisal Staff in the Public Buildings Service of the General

Services Administration. The new rates and adjustments have a wide variation because of the great di- versity in the types of rental properties and in the nature of the business properties licensed. The properties include land,

office space, tank storage, warehousing, and open storage areas. The kinds of businesses licensed vary from banking to cobbling. The property appraisal done by Mr. May was the most comprehensive ever undertaken and the rate revision next July is the first of any general nature to be made since 1946. An independent

appraisal of Panama Railroad Company

rental properties in Panama City and

Colon was made in 1938 but none had

ever been made of licensed properties in the Canal Zone. The appraisal last October was made

at the request of Frank Pace, Jr., formerly

Secretary of the Army, to obtain an unbiased analysis of fair rental values for such properties. It had originally been

planned, after the incorporation of Panama Canal operations in July 1951, to increase all commercial rents by 1011 per- cent but the increase was never made

effective. Mr. May submitted a lengthy report on

his survey in which he outlined fully his methods of appraisal and the various

factors on which the new rates were recommended. His report and recom- mendations were considered and approved by the Board of Directors at the meeting

held early in March.

Generally, most of the rental rates will be higher with the greatest increases to be made in cases of intensified land uses in favorable locations by large commercial

firms. Some decreases will be made for concessionaire licenses where the volume

of business or the business potential is low. Rates for office and other space

rented to employee and other nonprofit organizations will remain generally unchanged.
April 3,1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

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

PrMtd i<t, Mount Hope. Canal Zone John S. Seybold, Governor-President

H. 0. Paxson, Lieutenant Governor

E. C. Lombard, Executive Secretary

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Oleva Hastings

Editorial Assistants LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters containing inquiries, suggestions,

criticisms, or opinio.is of a general nature

will be welcomed. Those of sufficient interest

will be published but signatures will not be

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

Drivers' License Renewal

Moving Along On Schedule

Approximately 1,500 operators' and

drivers' licenses, or a little less than onesixth of the 10,000 Canal Zone licenses outstanding, were renewed during the

first 2 weeks of March, according to L. R.

Evans, Chief of the License Section. Canal Zone licenses issued during the previous renewal period in 1950 for drivers and operators of motor vehicles are expiring this year between March 1 and June 30 and must be renewed for a

3-year period. To make it easier for the

licensees to remember the next renewal

date licenses being issued now will expire on the licensee's birthday in 1956. The

present expiration date is in the upper

left-hand corner of each current license. To handle the triennial job of renewing

the operators' and chauffeurs' licenses, one full-time and one part-time employee have been added to the License Section, Mr. Evans said. Applications for re- newal are available at the License Section

in the Civil Affairs Building in Ancon and

at the License Examiner's office in Cristobal. The renewals may be done by mail—

in which case the applicant forwards to the proper office his old license, two pic- tures, the rilled out application and $1 in money order or check—although it is preferable that the renewal be done in person, since in some cases reexamination may be required and arrangements for

the* reexamination may be made when

the license application is turned in.

OF CURRENT INTEREST

JUNIOR ROTG cadets from Cristobal and Balboa

high schools—150 strong—concluded their annual

spring training camp yesterday. The camp, which

began March 29, was held at the Army's Empire

Firing Range, as it was last year. During the 5-day camp, the cadets witnessed

three demonstrations by the Army—one on artillery, one on infantry weapons, and one on communications. They staged a tactical problem which took them all over the countryside and they had an

opportunity to ride in tanks. Here, at a barbed wire barricade which was part

of an obstacle course, four of the cadet officers go

over the tactical problem with ROTC instructor Captain Earl J. Wilson, right. Left to right they are: Cadet Maj. William Dawson, Cadet Lt. Col. William

Derr, both of Balboa High School, Cadet Lt. Col. Leo Constantine, Camp Commander, Cadet Maj.

Paul Pinto, both of Cristobal High School, and

Captain Wilson. A listing of Canal employees with

talents along accounting lines has been made as the result of a battery of tests given several weeks ago to 64 employees who were not at the time working in

strictly accounting positions. Three employees are being transferred from their former positions to jobs in the Accounting Division, and

others who attained high grades in the

tests will be considered for vacancies,

as they occur, in accounting work. The tests were given to uncover "hidden talent'' among employees who

were not doing accounting work. The

tests given were those drawn up by the

Institute of Accountants and were

administered to the 64 employees by

the Personnel Bureau. Those taking the tests came from

such far-flung groups as the Fire, Railroad, Electrical, Maintenance,

Housing, Dredging, Storehouses, and

Motor Transportation Divisions. Over one-quarter of the Canal families who are having to vacate their quarters at France Air Force Base have been assigned houses elsewhere on the Atlantic side. By

late March, 8 of the 29 families had moved

from France Field to their new homes. All 29 must be out of France Field by June 30. The Canal families are being assigned quarters on a straight seniority basis. Some have accepted quarters in Margarita;

others have been assigned elsewhere. The France Field quarters were first occupied by Canal personnel in August

1950. In January of this year, the Govern- ment-Company was notified that the Armed Services would again require the houses and that they were to be vacated by

June 30. Lt. William G. Dolan, Civil Defense

Chief for the Canal organization, holds

the distinction of being the only Canal employee to have been an official observer of the atom bomb tests near Las Vegas last month. He was at the Atom Bomb Site on March 17 for what news reports at the time described as a "spectacular lowaltitude explosion of an atom bomb." A number of Civil Defense officials, including National Civil Defense Administrator Val Peterson, witnessed

the explosion. Lieutenant Dolan was scheduled to return to the Canal Zone late last month after a 2-month absence. In

addition to being present at the A- bomb explosion—for which his stay in the United States was extended—he had attended the Civil Defense Staff College in Olney, Md.

Effective this week, the Local Rate

Records Branch of the Personnel Bureau became responsible for replacing lost or damaged identification-purchase cards for

local rate employees. The Local Rate Employment Branch

will issue the original local-rale identification privilege cards. The cards are now being

reissued quarterly instead of monthly as

in the past and the Payroll Branch will handle the reissuing. Requests for the replacement of lost or damaged cards must be made by submitting application forms to the Local Rate

Records Branch, Box 3008, Balboa. A program was started in the Canal Zone elementary schools last month to teach bicycle-riding students the proper methods of operating and caring for their bicycles, and the traffic laws they must observe. Through cooperation between the Schools and Police Divisions, Sgt. Jack F. Morris of the Balboa

Police Station is scheduled to give a

lecture at each elementary school before the end of the present term. Students will be required to prepare

papers on the subject, after his talk. Sergeant Morris, in his lectures, is calling the attention of all students to the fact that Panama now requires

licensing not only of bicycles but of their operators. Students and their parents are being urged to take care of

this before the children use their

bicycles in the Republic.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3,1953

Medical Detectives Follow Many Clues

At Canal Zone Board Of Health Laboratory

their actions in different environments and circumstances is the primary plot that runs through the story of the progress

of modern medicine. A 42-year-old housewife of New Cris- tobal goes to Gorgas Hospital. The

doctor she sees suspects cancer and schedules an operation. He asks Dr. John H. Draheim or one of the other anatomical

pathologists to be present at the operation. Cancer Detection An incision is made and a bit of the suspect tissue is removed and given to the anatomical pathologist. The surgeon,

anesthetist, and operating room nurses

wait while it is rushed to the laboratory. There, in the histopathology section, the province of Robert G. Grocott, histopathology technician, the tissue is placed on the freezing microtome and

frozen solid with a stream of carbon

dioxide gas. It is then sliced into "sec- tions" about 5/1000ths of an inch thick. The sections are then immersed in dyes where each type of cells absorbs a stain

of a different color. Some of the better sections are put on

glass slides, covered with cover slips and

then examined under the microscope. There are blue lacy strands and dots on

a pink background—the picture of normal

cells gone berserk. The anatomical pathologist telephones

the surgeon that the tumor is cancerous. Ten minutes after the tissue was taken, the operation is resumed and the malig- nant growth removed. For Slower Study The regular paraffin procedure, as it

is usually done, takes about 48 hours in which a great deal of the work of the preparation of tissue is done automatically in a large machine called an "autotechnicon." This standard paraffin procedure per- mits more leisurely and more accurate

study, and is often a part of a cooperative

effort in which "clues" from various

sections of the laboratory are combined

ONE OF THE SHEEP at the laboratory is bled by Kurt F. Menzel, right, Chief Bacteriological Technician, and Joaquin Benavides, Chief Medical Technician in Parasitology. This process, similar to a human blood transfusion, provides blood which is

used for serological tests for syphilis and monomucleosis, or glandular fever. The attendants who have

the sheep in hand are Talbert Weeks, left, and LeRoy Marks. People at the laboratory, incidentally decry the practice of calling their fine sheep "goats." A seaman was stabbed to death as he

slept on a ship in Cristobal Harbor. A

shipmate was charged with the killing. A bloodstained shirt worn by the de- fendant when first seen after the murder

was used by the State as evidence. So

were the stained sheet and pillowcases that were found in his room. The defendant said the stains were his own blood from a thumb that had been

caught in a door. Dr. Joel Shrager, Clinical Pathologist

at the Board of Health Laboratory, testi- fied the blood on the shirt and bedclothes belonged to Group A, International System, the same as that of the victim. He said the defendant's blood, tested in the laboratory, was found to be Group 0. The defendant was convicted in 1947 and is serving a life sentence at the Canal Zone Penitentiary for the famous "porthole murder."

Pathologists Give Answers

As a clinical pathologist, Col. Norman

W. Elton, Chief of the Board of Health

Laboratory, might be called on to supply

for the court the laboratory answer to the

question: Was someone putting arsenic

in rich Uncle Ezra's chowder? Or John R. McLavy, Chief Chemist, might be and frequently is asked to ex- plain to a judge or jury, first, the results

of a sobriety test performed in the labor- atory, then, how drunk is "0.15?"

It is only in such court appearances

the public generally knows the pathologist

or the work of the Board of Health

Laboratory which compiles the evidence

that makes or breaks hundreds of "cases"

daily, only an infinitesimal number of which are matters for police or court

action. The part played by the laboratory in the solution of many "thrillers" in the

field of medicine, in which yesterday's

thrill of discovery is the routine of today, has led to a description of the all-inclusive

field of pathology as the detective force

of medicine. Characters Are Minute

The characters in the laboratory dramas are minute and multitudinous

human cells, microbes, parasites, and

other microscopic or sub-microscopic

entities in the human body or its invaders. Many are old acquaintances to the people trained to see them, known by

their looks and habits, even in untoward

circumstances that lead them to assume

unusual guises. Others are known only by the tracks they leave or by the com- pany they keep. The process of making the acquaintance

of those that are unknown and cataloging

W. C. DUNSCOMBE, one of two chemists at the laboratory, prepares a specimen fur chemical analysis.
April 3,1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

in a summary of findings. These find- ings, as presented in a report on the examination of a surgical specimen or an autopsy report, are termed by the medical

profession "protocols." The protocols, or original reports on

the findings of studies concerning the nature of disease, are compiled and writ- ten by one of the four residents-in-train- ing in pathology at the hospital Drs. Draheim, Milton J. Smith, Ferruccio

Bertoli, and Michael J. Takos. A 4-year residency training program

in pathology at Gorgas Hospital was

approved in 1952. There had been a

regular 3-year training program there since 1940.Available For Study The reports are then filed and cross- indexed by Mrs. Bernadine Lally, Mrs. Ana L. Alvarez and Mrs. Ethel M.

Pitman in accordance with an international system and are available to any

scientist of any nation seeking information on a specific medical problem. The Board of Health Laboratory does about 600 biopsies a month. Inc'uded

in these are samples of all tissues removed

in autopsies and operations—a require- ment for all hospitals approved by the American Medical Association. Autopsies are performed on about 76

percent of the deaths at Gorgas Hospital

(the minimum requirement for hospitals approved by the American College of Surgeons is 15 percent) and on 85 percent

of the bodies received at the laboratory undertaking establishment. The autopsy provides the most positive proof possible of the nature of the indi- vidual illness, which may be very important to the immediate descendants, and also adds its valuable bit to the vast sum of knowledge necessary to every advance in medicine. Two Large Departments To provide a very rough roadmap for the uninitiated, Dr. Shrager explained some elemental facts about the organization of the laboratory. Its work is divided into two large departments,

clinical and anatomical pathology. Anatomic pathology, he explains, deals with anatomic diagnoses of tissues, both

gross and microscopic, the latter known

in medical terminology as histo (for "tissue") pathology.

Clinical pathology, Dr. Shrager ex- plained about the department he heads,

is the branch of medical science which

applies laboratory techniques utilizing all the basic or pure sciences to the diagnosis, prognosis, and observation of the

progress of human illnesses. Clinical pathology embraces functions which are grouped in six divisions: Bacteriology, including mycology (fungi) and

virology (viruses) ; serology, from "serum"

which Webster defines as the watery part

of animal fluid remaining after coagulation; chemistry; clinical microscopy, which includes routine microscopic examinations; parasitology, from "parasite"

of course; and haematology, from the Greek prefix denoting "blood." Technicians and Chemists

Kurt F. Menzel is Chief Bacteriological Technician. Joaquin Benavides serves

as Chief Medical Technician in Parasitology. Edgar H. Freeman serves as Chief Serological Technician. Mr. McLavy, a veteran of 29 years who retires from Canal service in about 14 months,

COL. NORMAN W. ELTON, right, Chief of the Board of Health Laboratory since May 1948, leaves

this month for a new assignment at the Army Chemical Center, Etlgewood, Md. Dr. Joel Shrager, left,

in charge of clinical pathology at the. Laboratory,

also leaves this month to return to the United States. He has about 12 years of Canal service and has been

at the Laboratory since 1942.

is Chief Chemist, assisted by Wilbur C. Dunscombe. Two other medical technicians of long

service work where they are most needed.

Francis W. Feeney, a Chief General

Technician, is also responsible for the maintenance of laboratory equipment. Harry A. Dunn, General Supervisory Medical Technician, assists Colonel Elton

in the administrative work of the laboratory. There are a total of 13 technicians, all registered by the American Society of

Clinical Pathologists. There are also three students who are enrolled in the

laboratory's training school for technicians, from which 1 1 have been graduated

in its 5 years of existence. The mortuary service and crematorium

for the Canal Zone is also at the Laboratory, under the direction of Max W.

MRS. DORA V. GRAFF, left, and Mrs. Esther V.

Swift, registered medical technologists, are shown

pipetting a blood filtrate in the chemistry laboratory

Finley and Thomas C. Lear, Funeral

Directors. It is one of a few such services

in this general area, probably because

burial ordinarily takes place on the same

day as the death in this part of Latin America."Detective" Operations One of the many "detective" functions

of the laboratory works something like

this. A 10-year-old school girl in Ancon

develops a sore throat and is taken by

her mother to the Out-Patient Service at Gorgas Hospital. The doctor there ex- amines her throat and notes severe inflammation. He swabs the tonsilar area, then draws

the swab over a brown solid that half

fills a test tube. He seals that test tube, then places the swab in another, which

contains in the bottom a grayish milky

looking substance, which is Loeffler's blood

agar. The girl goes to the hospital and

the test tubes go to the laboratory. There the test tubes are placed in a warm dark room, the incubator for cul- tures, where hundreds of other test tubes

are hatching out proof of the presence or absence of specific ailments. Twenty-four hours later, the test tubes

are checked. The one in which the swab was placed has produced nothing

significant. That medium could have

hatched the fungi which causes thrush, the streptococci which cause various

severe sore throats or organisms of various other illnesses.

It's Diphtheria The milky looking medium in the other

tube, which provided the proper nourish- ment and environment for the diphtheria

bacillus, has grown a bumper crop. 1 The

word goes to the little (See page 12)
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3,1953

Two Paraiso Women Hold Unique

Jobs As Matrons At Pedro Miguel Jail

li!i!!r,!!!!!: SILVER BADGES, marked "jail guards," shine on the spic-and-span uniforms of the Zone's only jail matrons. Mrs. Doris Samuels, left, wears badge No. 33; Mrs. Rose Osborne, her senior in police service, wears No. 21.

If the word unique—which means one

of a kind—can properly be applied to two,

it fits Mrs. Rose Osborne and Mrs. Doris Samuels of Paraiso. Their jobs are unique; as matrons at the Pedro Miguel jail, they are the only two women so employed in the entire Canal organization. The spotless jail where they work is also unique; it is the only one in the Canal Zone which houses women prisoners. It also sometimes

houses juvenile boys, especially those

felony prisoners whom the Court may

consider too young to be sent to Gamboa

Penitentiary. Hence Mrs. Osborne and Mrs. Samuels. The two women have much in common:

Both were born in Panama City. Both

are daughters of men who helped to build the Panama Canal. Both are married to men who work at the Miraflores Diesel

Plant. Both have had about the same number

of years of education and, in addition to

their more formal schooling, both learned embroidery and fine needlework at the Santa Familia School in Panama City. Both speak Spanish and English with

equal ease. Both had worked previously with other

units of the Canal organization. Mrs. Osborne taught fifth grade at the Red

Tank School for a time during the early

1940's. Mrs. Samuels had worked for the Commissary Division, the Subsistence

Section at La Boca, and the Hotel Tivoli. Senior In Service Senior of the two, by about 3 years, both in age and seniority of her matron's

service, is Mrs. Osborne. Unlike Mrs.

Samuels, Mrs. Osborne also has children. Her 12-year-old daughter and her two

sons, 8 and 7, fully occupy her non- working time. She went to work at the Pedro Miguel

jail on September 1, 1948, having been

selected from a large number of applicants

for the job. Mrs. Samuels was employed

by the Police Division in December, 1951. She was chosen from some 30 women and, she says, was "elated" at her selection. Each of the two works five days a week. Three days both women are on duty; two

days each is on duty alone, and the remaining two days are their days off. On the days they work alone, they re- port to the jail at 6:30 a. m., working

until noon. They have an hour and a

half break and then return to work until 4 p. m. On Thursdays, Fridays, and

Saturdays when both work, one reports

at 6:30 a. m. and works through until 2:30 p. m.; the other reports at 2 p. m.

and stays until 10 p. m. The pattern of their days is about the same. They supervise the preparation of a hearty breakfast—tea or coffee, a hot

cereal, bread and some sort of fruit—and

then see to it that the kitchen is cleaned up. Cleaning And Chores

After breakfast the men or boy prisoners go outside to work and the women

begin their cleaning and other chores. The women—prisoners convicted of either felonies or misdemeanors are imprisoned at Pedro Miguel -are responsible

for all janitor work, cleaning of their own

and the men's cells, the twice-weekly washing of the canvas bunks, pick-up work on the prison lawn and the light care

of the shrubs and grass. After a substantial noon dinner which

is brought, as is supper, already cooked

from the penitentiary, sewing starts. The women prisoners make shirts for men

convicts at the penitentiary and mend

all jail clothing. Three afternoons a week the matrons

take their women charges into the jail yard for outside recreation and in the evening supervise, before lights out at nine o'clock, crochet work, embroidering, sewing or other handiwork. Under the

skilled tutelage of the two matrons, some

of the prisoners have turned out some

unusually fine work. One of their products was an embroidered linen and lace tablecloth, as fine as most seen in any

Central Avenue shop. Once in a while they will have an unusually obstreperous prisoner, but generally the two matrons find two major

problems in their work: Bickering among

the women, and the dislike of any kind

of work by many of the prisoners. "We just have to keep pushing them,

pushing them, to get things done," Mrs. Samuels said for both matrons. Ten Years Ago

In March

Right-hand driving was to become

effective in Panama in April 1943, it was announced by Panamanian officials, and American authorities reported that the Canal Zone would also make the change-over. A section incorporated in the Canal Zone traffic regulations 10 years before made right-hand driving mandatory in the Canal Zone coincident with any such change in the Republic.

In the Canal Zone, traffic signs were

changed, special instructions were given and stickers reminding drivers of the new

system were issued in preparation for the switch. Some observers anticipated a 25 per- cent drop in traffic volume effective with

the new system, occasioned by cautious

drivers who, it was believed, might not

choose to drive until most of their neigh- bors had become accustomed to the change. An Army radio station, officially desig- nated as the Armed Forces Radio Station,

started operation on the first of March. It was announced that broadcasts, solely for

the entertainment of armed forces on the Isthmus, would be made from 10:30 a. m.

to 2:30 p. m.

Vice President Henry A. Wallace

visited on the Isthmus for 4 days.

H. V. Kaltenborn, NBC radio commentator, pronounced Panama Canal defenses "without parallel" and called this area "the

best defended in the world," at the conclusion of a whirlwind 2-day inspection

trip on the Isthmus.

Axis U-boats had been scoring zero in the Caribbean for a long time, Rear

Admiral Clifford E. Van Hook, Commander of the Panama Sea Frontier, announced. "You couldn't ask for the

situation to be better," he said.

Construction of a building to house 12

bowling alleys was started in Balboa

behveen the stadium and the gymnasium.

The first group of WASPs, the Canal

Zone's first uniformed women's civilian unit, signed up and started training. There were 45 in the group.

An anniversary reception at the Hotel Washington honored some 800 women

members of the United Service Organization on the completion of their first year of work

on behalf of the armedforces on the Isthmus.
April 3,1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 1 .

OUR OUT-OF-DOORS

The unusually long rainy season this year has upset the flowering schedule of many of our local plants. Only a few SchizoloMums flowered during their regular blossoming period of January or late December, and since the trees have al- ready leafed out without flowering it is improbable that they will bloom at all this season. But there are some trees which dis- regard the weather and blossom in all of their usual blaze of beauty. The Bronze Showers, Cassia moschata, with their pendant clusters of flowers, resembling bunches of bronze-colored

grapes, are in their prime just now. They

prefer a dry region to grow in and are thus

all the more conspicuous when they

flower against a scrubby, parched background. Several trees may be seen in flower on Miraflores Hill and also on the

hills behind Fort Clavton.

BRILLIANT YELLOW clusters of blossoms, a

few green leaves, against a tropic blue sky make

the Golden Shower tree one of the most beautiful of the dry season. The Cassia fistula, or Golden Shower,

as they are commonly called, are just coming into bloom. The trees are natives

of Asia and are very showy when in flower. Several of these trees have been planted on the Prado in Balboa and many more

are scattered throughout the Canal Zone. The long pendant pods contain a bitter pulp which has laxative properties. One of the commonly seen trees in flower on dry hillsides at this season

is the Laurel, or Cordia alliadora.- The

small, fragrant white flowers are borne

in great profusion and later turn brown,

giving the tree a dirty appearance. The

nodes of the young branches are nearly always enlarged by hollow swellings which

are inhabited by small but ferocious ants which bite fiercely. The strong, tough, coarse, yellow-to- brown wood is rather light and soft but

is highly esteemed in Central America

for construction of furniture. Madre de Cacao Showy

The pink flowers, which are borne in great profusion in axiliary racemes along

the branches when the trees are leafless, make the Madre de Cacao, Glirieidia sepium, one of the most showy trees of the season. The general aspect of the

tree suggests the common locust (Robi- nia pseudocacia) , of the United States, to which it is closely allied. It is frequently planted as hedges and often as shade for cacao (hence its name, Madre de Cacao).

Junior High School Teachers

To Be Ford Foundation Fellows

TWO CANAL ZONE TEACHERS, Miss Leafy De Sousa, left, and Miss Lois Morgan will be Ford

Foundation fellowship holders this year. Miss DeSousa, who teaches Spanish, English, United States history, and art at La Boca Junior High School, is especially interested in student guidance. She hopes to visit some guidance clinics, to

see some of the places like Washington, historical Boston, and the United Nations center about which

she teaches her history classes, and possibly to work

with ceramics and graphio art. If possible she will

take the college portion of her year's work at New

York University which she attended for a semester. Miss Morgan, who is teaching mathematics this year at Balboa Junior High School but who is well- known for her art work, hopes to take special courses

in biology and the classification of plants at one of the Southern or Western Universities. She would

like to combine this with botanical drawing and painting so that she will be fitted to do some of this work

with Isthmian flora.

SMITHFIELD HAMS from Virginia, with

the distinctive hickory smoke cure, have been

ordered for sale in the Commissaries. They

are being stocked on a trial basis and are expected in the stores about the first of April.

If you want to prove how hot and humidified you are and how you suffer in Heat the tropics, the Commissaries can and help you. Soon there will be in Humidity the Housewares Sections ther- mometer-hygrometer combinations that tell you the temperature, of course, and the degree of humidity—very

important things to know with change of season in the offing. The instruments are in good-looking cases that would look good

on a desk or wall. They will cost about $2.50 to $4.50.

with a lot of other clothes for Statesic'e vacations. The women's coats, in tan or brown, cost $33.50 or $63.95. The men's

overcoats are $79.50 or $83.50.

Spring suits in the stores (in misses' sizes, 10

c to 20, and junior miss sizes, 9 to 15)

c •. are available in orlon and acetate

combinations, gabardine, worsted

flannel, rayon flannel, and sharkskin. SPRING COATS and toppers for girls of all ages are of tweed, wool boucle, wool basket weaves, and wool suede. For the wee ones

there are wool coat and bonnet sets in pretty candy colors.

CORN FLAKES now come with a sugar coating that helps to keep them crunchy, and

improves the taste. The new Kellogg's sugar- coated Corn Flakes will be in the stores in April. Summer lines of women's and girls' clothes

start coming into the stores in Warm April. Make a note that that is Weather one of the best times to go shopClothes ping for year-round tropical wardrobes. Spring lines, which are

also the source of other good "summer''

clothing buys, have been arriving since March and are still coming in.

Aquariums and accessories will soon be in the Housewares Sections. There

are stainless steel aquariums of 5

to 15 gallon capacity for $6.75 to For $17.75 and aquariums in marble

Finny finish of 2'A to 20 gallon capacity

Friends for $2.95 to $15. Accessories

include pagoda ornaments, reflectors, cement, aqua ferns, water

testing kits, aquaditioner air pumps,

activated animal bone charcoal, and aqua glass wool filters. TWO NEW Heinz baby foods will arrive in April. One is a 4-ounce tin of orange juice, specially strained for babies, and the other is a banana custard pudding, ready to warm

and serve. EASTER is breathing down our necks but if you're a late-starting holiday-shopper, you

can still buy bunnies and a lot of other

Easter toys in the Commissaries. The stores also have plenty of Easter candy and other

gifts for the occasion.

Nice, gooey chocolate marshmallow cookies, seldom seen in these tropical parts, Oooh! soon will be on sale in the Corn- Cookies missaries in packages that promise

to put up a fair fight against the weather and keep the cookies in good

shape. They are Dutch Maid Chocolate Mallow Cookies and they will cost about 32 cents a box. ENGLISH CAMEL HAIR coats, for men

and women, in the year-in-year-out classic

style, are in the Commissaries now, together

For gifts or souvenirs from the Isthmus or to wear just because they're pretty, Pictures the Commissaries have pure silk Too square scarfs showing Panama and

Canal Zone scenes. They will cost

less than $1. A LOW CALORIE salad dressing in half- pint jars has been added to the Commissary

stock of dietetic foods.

Several new kinds of pickles and pickled onions will be in the grocery sec- Bouquet tions soon. One of them is a

of Giardiniera mixed pickle in the

Pickles Italian style, which has,, as well as

the usual cucumbers, a bit of most everything else from the garden

cauliflower, carrots, peppers, etc.
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3, 1953

MEDICAL DETECTIVES FOLLOW MANY CLUES

A STUDY in balance and proportion is the front entrance to the Board of Health Laboratory building in Ancon.

{Continued from page 9) girl's doctor that

his patient has diphtheria. Then still another phase of the "detective work" of the laboratory begins—

checking the girl's known contacts and

keeping an eye on them. The cultures at the laboratory run into the thousands.

Special prize is a culture of histoplasma capsulatum which causes histoplasmosis, an illness which doctors describe as fatal

if it strikes with sufficient severity to produce recognizable symptoms in the

victim. The disease was originally discovered by Dr. Samuel T. Darling at the Board of Health Laboratory in 1905 but the organism itself was isolated there for the

first time during the past year from a case discovered by Dr. James J. Humes at Coco Solo Naval Hospital. Laboratory Has "Zoo"

Some organisms the laboratory cultures are fussy about their accommodations, which accounts in part for the considerable "zoo" at the Board of Health Laboratory. The tubercle baccillus, grown in special media, is tested in rabbits or guinea pigs

to determine the virulence of the disease and differentiate between the types of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, Colonel Elton says, is the primary health problem on the Isthmus. Rabbits are also used for tests of eye treatments and numerous experimental

procedures. Those at the Board of Health

Laboratory, incidentally, live up to their reputation in the field of mathematics.

Easter doesn't come often enough to take care of the multiplication problem.

Periodic dispersal of the bunny population goes on all year round, aided by

rumors planted among neighborhood

children that rabbits are "for sale, free"

at the laboratory. Frogs are used for pregnancy tests. Rats detect poisons in food, serve as a culture medium for fungi, and as food for two boa constrictors. Colonel Elton uses the snakes for demonstrations which are part of the lectures he gives frequently

to acquaint armed forces groups with the snake population of the area. 300,000;Procedures A Year

About 300,000 procedures are per- formed annually by the Board of Health Lock Overhaul To Be

Finished By Mid-May

Both sides of all sets of Canal locks will be back in full operation by mid-May

unless something unexpected occurs to upset the lock overhaul schedule. Roy Stockham, Superintendent of the Locks Division, said late last month that the $1,700,000 lock overhaul was pro- ceeding on schedule and that all actual overhaul work should be finished by May

15. An additional 6 weeks will be neces- sary for cleanup and the transfer and

storage of equipment. Locks overhaul forces are at work this month at Miraflores locks where the over- haul will include work on all 36 rising- stem valves, the 6 guard valves and the 40 cylindrical valves. All under-water

parts will be cleaned and repainted and

sills and seals on the miter gates will be

repaired. All cathodic protection anodes,

the devices which guard against corrosion, are to be replaced. Unlike Pedro Miguel locks where four

east chamber gates and two from the west chamber were taken off and rehung, no gates at Miraflores will be removed

from their pintles. This year's overhaul work began with

the Pedro Miguel east chamber, moved

to the west chamber, and is now going on

in the Miraflores west chambers. Overhaul in the east chambers at Miraflores

will be started about April 13, Mr. Stockham said. Several months before the overhaul

started there was some apprehension that the necessary steel, ordered long before, might be delayed by the summer's steel strikes. It all arrived in sufficient time, Mr. Stockham said, and Industrial Bureau forces cooperated with a fast job of machining it.

Laboratory—as many as the number

done, for instance, at the Central New

York State Public Health Laboratory in Albany. These procedures range from

an autopsy, at least a 3 man-day operation, to a simple urinalysis which takes only about 15 minutes. A partial explanation of the volume of work lies in the fact that the Board of Health Laboratory plays a triple—or quadruple—role, serving as the labora- tory center for Gorgas and armed forces hospitals on the Isthmus, the Canal Zone

police and armed forces civil intelligence, and public health work on the Isthmus.

Its important functions in the field of public health fulfill one of the pur- poses for which the Board of Health

Laboratory was established They include the recognition by precise laboratory examinations of the presence, prevalence, and location of tropical and epidemic

diseases which might threaten the Canal

Zone. Colonel Elton is a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine and Public Health as well as the American Board of Pathology. Established in 1904 The laboratory was established in May

1904 by Gen. William C. Gorgas as the

first public health unit in the Canal Zone. The old French Hopital Central, which became the "Canal Hospital" after United

States occupation, then "Ancon," and now "Gorgas Hospital," was already in existence. Public health work now accounts for about one-third of the procedures at the Board of Health Laboratory. These

include the regular checks on milk and

dairy products, water supply, examinations of food handlers, etc. The development of the hospital laboratory as it is generally known today

probably was not envisioned by the Laboratory's founder. It was not until 1917 that the American College of Surgeons, organized 4 years earlier, drew up a Minimum Standard for Hospitals which

provided for chemical, bacteriological,

serological, and pathological services under "competent medical supervision." The American Society of Clinical Pathologists (of which Colonel Elton and

Dr. Shrager are members) was not

organized until 1922. About 50 percent of the work of the Laboratory is now done for Gorgas

Hospital. Tropical Studies Although General Gorgas envisaged the laboratory as primarily a public health

institution, he expressed the hope in 1905

that it would expand into a more general

field of tropical investigation, engaging

in work that would be of general interest

to the medical profession at large. Developments along this line in recent years have included the studies made by

Colonel Elton on sylvan yellow fever and

those of Dr. Carl Johnson, Dr. William

F. Enos, and others on Chagas disease. Colonel Elton has considered medical

investigation and research one of the more

important functions of the laboratory and has encouraged work in this field. The "Board of Health" from which

the laboratory takes its name now exists

in name only. Its last recorded executive session was held in 1924. But the Board of Health Laboratory is one of the

oldest names in the Directory of the American Medical Association, having

been listed there continuously since 1904.
April 3, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13 Doctors Coming, Doctors Going,

At Canal Zone' s Health Bureau

TWO DOCTORS are shifting jobs this month.

Col. Clifford G. Blitch, left, who has been Superin- tendent of Gorgas Hospital since June 1949, is leaving the Canal Zone about April 20 to take over command

BORN in Gorgas Hospital and a former intern

there, Dr. Lawrence M. Drennan, Jr., has returned

to the hospital as Assistant to the Superintendent. He is well-known on both sides of the Canal Zone; he interned at Gorgas in 1934 and 1935 and was on

the Eye, Ear Nose, and Throat staff at Colon Hospital for 9 months in 1941. A turnover of some of the top medical men in the Canal's Health Bureau began

last month and will continue through

June. One of the major changes is the transfer

of superintendency of Gorgas Hospital and the shift of jobs between Col. Clifford G. Blitch and Col. Howard W. Doan.

Colonel Doan arrives about April 9 from

the U. S. Army Hospital at Camp

Atterbury, Ind.; Colonel Blitch leaves about April 20 to take over command of the Atterbury Hospital. He has been

Superintendent of Gorgas Hospital since June 1949. Colonel Doan, a native of Illinois, took

his undergraduate work at Drake University and received his medical degree from the University of Iowa. He also holds a degree in Public Health and

Hospital Administration from the University of California. His present assignment to the Canal Zone is his first. He has been in the Medical Corps since 1933. During World War

II he served overseas as Executive Officer to the Chief Surgeon, European Theater. He has been in charge of the Army Hospital at Camp Atterbury since it was

activated in 1950. He is married and has

of the U. S. Army hospital at Camp Atterbury, Ind., Col. Howard W. Doan, Commander at Atterbury

Hospital, is due here about April 9 to become Superintendent of Gorgas Hospital. three children, two daughters, 7 and 3, and a son, 5. Colonel Doan's right>hand man, as Assistant to the Superintendent, will be

Dr. Lawrence M. Drennan, Jr., who was

born in Gorgas (then Ancon) Hospital and

spent his first 6 years here. His father was chief of the hospital's obstetrical service until 1918. For the past 26 months he has been

with the United Fruit Company's Tropical Division hospitals and left the Super- intendency of the Medical Department of the Chiriqui Land Company at Puerto

Armuelles to join the Canal organization. He succeeds Dr. Arthur Springall who

resigned in March. Two Newcomers Here Two newcomers to the Health Bureau

have already arrived on the Isthmus. Col. Francis W. Council, who succeeds Col. Norman W. Elton as Chief of the Board

of Health Laboratory, and Col. Henry S. Murphey, who replaces Col. Francis Regnier as Chief of the Eye, Ear, Nose, and

Throat Service, arrived about mid-March.

Colonel Council's last post was at the Second Army Area Medical Laboratory

at Fort George G. Meade, Md. Colonel Murphey came to the Isthmus from Brooke

General Hospital in San Antonio, Tex.

Colonel Elton leaves about mid-April

for his new assignment at the Army

Chemical Center at Edgewood, Md.

Colonel Regnier left in January. Another new arrival is Dr. Henry W.

Harper III, a veterinarian who arrived March 16 and who has been assigned to duty at the Corozal quarantine kennels. He succeeds Dr. Robert Gale who resigned

several months ago. Departures scheduled for the next two months include those of Col. E. C. Lowry,

Chief of the Gorgas Surgical Service since July 17, 1950, and Col. L. S. Leland, Dermatologist here since August 29, 1949. Also leaving soon are Dr. Joel Shrager,

Clinical Pathologist at the Board of Health Laboratory and Capt. Charles H.

Lashley of the Gorgas Hospital surgical

staff. Dr. Shrager ends his Canal service April 16; he will return to the United

States, probably as chief of clinical laboratories in a Veterans Administration

Hospital. Captain Lashley has been

assigned to Camp Carson, Col., and is leaving about April 30.

Going On Vacation? Aulo Club Is Ready

(Continued from page 2) major problem when it was formed 37 years ago. The

Canal Zone speed limit was 8 miles an

hour. Drivers thought 10 miles in town

and 25 miles on the open road more

suitable and, according to old files, the Automobile Club was organized and im- mediately affiliated with the American

Automobile Association "to obtain its cooperation in an effort to secure an amendment to the speed limit on the Canal Zone." Among those present at the first meeting was the Club's present

President, Leopoldo Arosemena. The original membership was about

143; today 1,432 Isthmians, about 92

percent of whom live in the Canal Zone, belong to the Automobile Club. The Club's first president was Dr. W. B.

Pierce, Superintendent of Santo Tomas

Hospital. Later presidents included Wilson H. Kromer, formerly Comptroller for The Panama Canal; Theodore A. Drake, one- time Chief Examiner for the Accounting Department; and W. P. Quinn, who re- tired recently. President Since 1929 Mr. Arosemena, who has occupied many high positions in the Panama

Government service, has managed to find time to be the Automobile Club's president

since 1929. Although the Club was organized in 1916, its constitution and bylaws were not adopted until 1928. The bylaws set the Secretary's residence as the Club's office. Consequently Mr. Barnes' quarters, at the corner of Bohio Place and Mindi

Street in Ancon, practically bulge at the

joints with Automobile Club files, maps,

correspondence, and material. Dues are nominal. The initiation fee is $5; after that membership is $3 a year. Members' wives and children over 18 can become associate members for $1.50 a

year. The only salaried employees are Mr. Barnes and the El Valle caretaker, who are paid $50 each monthly. For each member the local club pays two-and-ahalf cents a year to AAA; this is a special concession over the customary U. S. 25- cents a member and applies when a member is outside the continental United

States. The local club's affiliations give it hemisphere-wide connection. In addition to

its AAA affiliation the Panama Club is a member of FIAAC, the comparatively new Federation of Inter-American Automobile Clubs with headquarters in Buenos Aires. So far the local club has not been called on to assist in planning a trip from the

Arctic Circle to the Argentine but Mr.

Barnes expects that some day such a

request will be made. He thinks the Club

will be ready to help. Largest Load Of Oil

Transits Panama Canal

What is believed to be the largest shipment of oil to transit the Canal was southbound last month. The

shipment, 25,154 tons of crude oil, was aboard the Texas Company tanker "Kentucky." The tanker was enroute from Sidon, Lebanon, to Los Angeles. The previous high recent shipment

was one on November 9, 1951, when the tanker "Dalfonn" carried 22,302 tons

of oil from San Pedro to Bergen. The

"Dalfonn," operating under charter to the Norwegian government, is larger than the "Kentucky." The former is 624 feet overall, the latter measures

597 feet overall.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3,1953

THIS MONTH'S CALENDAR APRIL SAILINGS

APRIL

3—American Legion Post No. 6, Gamboa Legion Home. 7:30 p. m. 4—Track Foreman No. 2741, Balboa B & B Shops. 5—Easter Sunday. Marine Engineers Beneficial Association.

Margarita Elks Club. 7 p. m. VFW Post No. 3857, Cristobal Veterans Club.

9 a. m.

6—American Legion Post No. 3, Gatun Legion

Hall. 7:30 p. m.

Postal Employees No. 23160, Balboa Lodge

Hall, 7:30 p. m. Pedro Miguel Civic Council, Girl Scout House,

7 p.m.

Cristobal-Margarita Civic Council, Margarita Clubhouse, 7:30 p. m. VFW Post No. 727, Fort Clayton, 7:30 p. m. VFW Post No. 3822, Curundu Road, 7:30 p. m.

7—Gamboa Civic Council, Community Center.

7:30 p. m. Gatun Civic Council, Gatun Clubhouse, 7:30

p. m. Machinists No. 811, Balboa Lodge Hall. 7:30

p. m. Teachers No. 228, Cristobal High School. 3:30

p. m. 8—Carpenters No. 913, Balboa Lodge Hall. 7:30

p. m.

Pacific Civic Council, Administration Building, 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post No. 2, Cristobal Legion Home, 7:30 p. m. 10—Blacksmiths No. 400, with Boilermakers

No. 463 and 471, Margarita K. of C. Hall, 7:30 p. m. 12—Sheetmetal Workers No. 157, Balboa Clubhouse. 9:30 a. m. Plumbers No. 606, Balboa Lodge Hall, 9:30 13—Machinists No. 699, Margarita K. of C. Hall. 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post No. 1, Balboa Legion

Hall. 7:30 p. m.

14—American Legion Auxiliary 1, Balboa Legion Home. 7:30 p. m.

Pipefitters, Margarita Clubhouse. 7:30 p. m.

Electrical Workers No. 397, VVirz Memorial,

7:30 p. m. VFW Post No. 100, Old Boy Scout Building.

Cristobal. 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post No. 7, Fort Clayton.

7:30 p. m.

From Cristoba

Pa >ia ma April 3 Cristoba! \pril 10 A neon April 1

Panama April 24 From New York

Ancon ---- April 7 Panama April 14

Cristobal April 2

Ancotl- — April 28 (Northbound, the ships are in Haiti from

7 a. m. to noon Sunday; southbound, the

Haiti stop is Saturday, from 7 a. m. to 4 p. m.)

15—AFGE No. 14, Balboa Clubhouse. 7:30 p. to. American Legion Auxiliary 3, Gatun Legion

Hall. 7:30 p. m.

16—American Legion Auxiliary 6, Gamboa Legion Home. 7:30 p. m.

19 CIA', Balboa Lodge Hall, 8:30 a. m. 20—Electrical Workers No. 677, Gatun Masonic

Temple, 7:30 p. m.

Truckdrivers. Balboa Lodge Hall. 7:30 p. m.

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

p. m.

22—Governor-Employee Conference, Administration Building. 2:30 p. m. American Legion Auxiliary 2, Cristoba! Legion Home. 7:30 p. m. 27—Machinists No. 699, Margarita K. of C. Hall. 7:30 p. m. VFW Auxiliary, Post No. 3822 Home, 7:30

p. m.

28—Operating Engineers No. 595, Balboa Lodge

Hall. 7:30 p. m. 28—Operating Engineers No. 595, Balboa Lodge

Hall, 7:30 p. m. VFW No. 100, O'd Boy Scout Building. Cristobal. 7:30 p. m. American Legion Post No. 7, Fort Clayton.

7:30 p. m. PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

February 15 Through March 15

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

type of work to another. It does not conlain within-grade promotions, or regradings. CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Stuart M. Fisk, from Machinist, Locks

Division Overhaul, to Policeman. Mrs. Ethel P. McDermitt, from Substitute Teacher to Teacher. COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

William R. Graham, from Policeman,

to Supply Clerk, Housing Division. OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER

Florence M. Peterson, from Clerk- Typist, Treasury Branch, to Accounting

Clerk, Payroll Branch. William H. DeVore, from Teller, Treasury Branch, to Accountant, General Accounts Branch. Stephen A. Bissell, from Teller, Treas- ury Branch, to Accounting Clerk, Agents Account Branch. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION BUREAU Manuel Quintero R.

; from Civil Engineer, Engineering Division, to Construction Inspector, Contract and Inspection

Division. HEALTH BUREAU

Dr. Samuel D. Aycock, from Medical

Officer to District Physician, Cristobal. Gardner Hayes, from Sanitation Inspector Supervisor to Supervisors Sanitation

Inspector. INDUSTRIAL BUREAU

Herbert O. Engelke, from Painter to Painter Leadingman Special. MARINE BUREAU

Benigno Seise, from Lineman to Float- ing Equipment Oiler, Dredging Division. William G. Monroe, from Guard to Guard Supervisor, Pacific Locks. Lloyd G. Moore, from Machinist, In- dustrial Bureau, to Lock Operator Machinist, Atlantic Locks.

Charles F. Bertoncini, from Cartographic Compilation Aid to Surveying and

Cartographic Aid, Dredging Division. Winters A. Hope, from Surveying and

Cartographic Aid to Hydrographic Engineer, Dredging Division. Lee Kariger, Administrative Assistant, from Atlantic Locks to Office of Chief, Locks Division. Wilbert L. Ney, from Clerk to Administrative Assistant, Atlantic Locks. Glenn M. Cramer, from Towboat

Master, Ferry Service, to First Mate,

Taboga. Francis Y. Edwards, from Special Heavy Truck Driver, Motor Transportation Division, to Helper, Locks Overhaul. George W. Smith, from Property and

Supply Clerk, Pacific Locks, to Clerk, Atlantic Locks. John E. Sholund, Jr., from Machinist,

Industrial Bureau, to Lock Operator

Machinist, Atlantic Locks. John L. Harris, William S. Hall, James A. Russell, from Machinist, In- dustrial Bureau, to Lock Operator Machinist, Pacific Locks. Walter D. Johnston, from Boatbuilder,

Industrial Bureau, to Lock Operator Carpenter, Atlantic Locks. Gust E. Rosene, George E. Mitchell, Benjamin F. Slaughter, from Machinist,

lnilii-lrial Bureau, to Lock Operator Machinist, Atlantic Locks. Edward G. Anderson, from Wireman,

Industrial Bureau, to Lock Operator Wire- man, Atlantic Locks. Loring C. Cooper, from Foreman to Mate, Pipeline Suction Dredge. Mirt Bender, from Boilermaker to Fore- man, Pipeline Suction Dredge. Robert J. Diaz, from Helper to I ock Overhaul Foreman, Locks Overhaul. George W. Mullins, Jr., from Lock

Overhaul Foreman to Locomotive Steam

Crane Engineer. RAILROAD AND TERMINALS BUREAU

Joseph A. Corrigan, Jr., from Store- keeper (Checker) to Traffic Clerk, Terminals Division.

ANNIVERSARIES

Employees who observed important anniversaries during the month of March are

listed alphabetically below. The number

of years 'includes all Government service. Continuous service with the Canal is indicated with (*). 35 YEARS

Francis W. Feeney, Medical Technician, Board of Health Laboratory.

30 YEARS

William Diez, Lockmaster, Pedro M iguel. Francis Y. Edwards, Helper, Locks

Overhaul. Henry E. Falk, Pilot, Balboa. Charles S. Hollander, Administrative

Assistant, Maintenance Division. Joseph T. Oliver, Marine Dispatcher, Balboa. Charles C. Shumate, Machinist, In- dustrial Bureau.

25 YEARS John J. Kennedy, Foreman, Maintenance Division. *CharIes L. Latham, Jr., Manager,

Tivoli Commissary. William W. Reid, Pilot, Balboa.

20 YEARS

Walter Guy Brown, Scale Inspector,

Industrial Bureau. Noel E. Gibson, Teacher, Cristobal High School. Warren D. Marquard, Manager, La

Boca Commissary.

Earl C. Orr, Chemist, Industrial Laboratory. Alvin A. Rankin, Machinist Leading- man, Industrial Bureau. Robert L. Shirer, Accounting Clerk, Dredging Division.

15 YEARS

'Richard T. Baltozer, Lock Operator, Pedro Miguel. Ramona E. Barnes, Clerk-Stenographer

Storehouses. Joseph W. Coffin, Jr., Fireman, Gatun. William M. Hamma, Diesel Engineer,

Electrical Division. Russell T. Harris, Electrical Machinist,

Electrical Division. Daniel P. Kiley, Lock Operator, Miraflores. Henry T. McKenzie, Plant Engineer, Commissary Division. Floyd F. Rogers, Lock Operator, Pedro

Miguel. Richard C. Sergeant, Pilot, Balboa. Henry C. Simpson, Chief Towboat

Engineer, Dredging Division. Arthur W. Smith, Clerk, Gorgas Hospital.

RETIREMENTS IN MARCH

Employees who retired at the end of March, their birthplaces, titles, length of service at retirement, and their future addresses are: Dr. Francis L. Alexaitis, Pennsylvania; Quarantine Officer, Cristobal; 31 years, 6 months, and 1 day; Tampa, Fla. Thomas T. Jordan, Alabama; Machinist, Industrial Bureau; 13 years, 3 months, and 29 days; Mobile, Ala. Charles Lester, New York; Chief, U. S.- Rate Records Branch; 35 years, 8 months, and 4 days; Florida, probably. Lewis B. Moore, Illinois; Supply and

Service Director; 32 years, 6 months, and

3 days; address uncertain. SUPPLY AND SERVICE BUREAU

Louis A. Mallia, from General Store- keeper to Ganger, Division of Storehouses. Mrs. Virginia E. Williams, Mrs. Frances M. Griggel, Mrs. Esther F. Currier, from Commissary Assistant to

Teller. Mrs. Hilda E. Wickens, Mrs. Virginia

E. Sigfrid, Mrs. Carmen Casey, Mrs. M. Frances Barr, from Cash Accounting

Clerk to Teller, Commissars' Division. Mrs. Mattison G. MacAulay, from

Accounting Clerk to Teller, Commissary

Division. Mrs. Rose G. Jones, from Checker to Commissary Assistant. Mrs. Gertrude J. Connard, from Cash Accounting Clerk to Commissary

Assistant.
April 3, 1953 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

Industrial Bureau Continues Essential Service

{Continued from page 1) 09 required by commercial shipping. Although the amount of such work was at a comparatively high level until well after the close

of the first World War the volume has

fluctuated widely since the shops were

opened. During the early I920's and again during the world-wide depression of the

I930's the work of the Industrial Bureau

dropped to such a low ebb that extensive reductions and long furloughs became

necessary. The World War II period was

one of plenty and for several years the shops were busy on a 24-hour operation

while the large fleet of tankers operating

in the Pacific was based in Balboa. Drop At War's End

This type of work abruptly ceased at the close of the war and the force was

drastically reduced and the shops returned

to an 8-hour day operation. Economic

conditions after the close of the war

coupled with a general curtailment of Canal and other Government activities

in the Canal Zone finally resulted, 3 years

ago, in the closing of the Balboa Shops. The present force reduction is the first one of major proportions to be required

since that of 1950 although the work from

outside sources has fluctuated widely. The recent drop in the work load of the

Industrial Bureau has been brought about

principally by a completion of most of the work on Army and Navy craft planned

for this fiscal year with no backlog of Canal or commercial work to take up the

slack for the next few months. The

amount of work required on Canal equip- ment has gradually been reduced during

recent years by the retirement of much

Dredging Division equipment from ser- vice and a general reduction of work in the other Canal units. Like the closing of the Balboa Shops 3 years ago, the present force reduction is dictated by hard economic facts and

factors over which the Canal administration has no control. Repair Work Varies

It has been demonstrated over the years that the amount of commercial ship

repair work fluctuates too widely to permit a high-level force. In addition,

the amount of repair work for U. S. Navy

ships done in the local shops is insufficient, except in emergency periods, to warrant

a force more than enough to meet a recognized minimum work load. On several occasions in the past the

Canal has attempted to induce commercial shipping interests to utilize Industrial Bureau facilities more extensively. However, such attempts have been generally unsuccessful since ship owners, for eco- nomical reasons, avoid long layover

periods for their ships outside of home

ports except in cases of emergency.

Furthermore, conditions under which the ship repair facilities here must be operated

preclude work being done at competitive

prices with shipyards in the States. A similar condition has generally pre- vailed in Navy repair work, since most of the Navy ships touching Canal ports are on scheduled missions and the cost of sending others here for repairs would be

at a prohibitive figure. "Voyage Repair"

Approximately 35 percent of the total work load in the Industrial Bureau is "voyage repair" or unscheduled work, as compared with only about 5 percent in Navy shipyards in the States. This

condition prohibits long-range work schedules on major repair or overhaul jobs which is required for a large force. This

condition, coupled with the high costs of recruitment and repatriation of skilled labor, practically bars the employment of a force sufficient to meet peak work loads without serious loss during slack business

periods. As a result of all these factors, the Canal administration has decided to adopt

a policy of keeping with the old adage of cutting the cloth to fit the pattern rather than buying a pattern in hopes that the

available cloth will be sufficient. Force To Be Balanced The present reduction will leave a bal- anced force in which all types of work can be done. However, it will be sufficient only to meet the work load which can be

reasonably expected with some leeway to take occasional major ship repair jobs on which the time factor is not imperative. The force reduction this month will affect about 55 U. S.-rate and 75 local- rate employees. A few of the U. S.-rate men are being transferred to other Canal

units but the majority have made plans

to return to the States. The decision to accept a force reduction

rather than the furlough system, extensively used in the past during slack work

periods, was made by the men in the

shops. When notified by the management

that the impending drop in business would require reductions or furloughs the personnel voted by a large majority in favor of force reductions.

New Reservation System Adopted

{Continued from page 1) cabin which has maximum accommodations for four. Except in emergencies when there is need for

all possible space, families are not "split up" as they were frequently some

years ago. Priorities Among Employees

The Governor also pointed out that

there is a system of priorities within the

organization. Employees who have been

given reduction in force, employees re- tiring for disability, and employees traveling on official business are given prefer- ence over those traveling on vacations. Employees retired for age or those retired at their owrn option do not have priority. The annual schedule of vacation ships has already been announced. On the

northbound sailings between May 22 and

June 19, preference will be given as much

as possible (taking into account those leaving because of force reductions) to teachers, employees, and families with

children of school age. The northbound SS Panama on June 5 will be the "Teachers' Special," with priority on that ship going to school teachers. Except for one sailing southbound in June when many of the passengers will be Canal Zone boys and girls returning from

school or college in the United States, the southbound passenger traffic will not be heavy until late summer. The SS Cristobal, out of New York on August 25, will be the southbound

"Teachers' Special," and on the other southbound ships between August 11 and

September 8, preference will be given to

teachers, employees and families with

New Margarita Quarters

To Be Assigned April 24

The second group of new masonry

quarters to be completed in Margarita

by contract will be available for occu- pancy about May 1. The houses are

located along the north side of Espave Avenue and on the short streets running north from Espave. Included in the group are nine two- bedroom apartments, four of which

are in two duplex houses, and six three-bedroom single houses. Two of the three-bedroom houses will be avail- able for assignment to large families

only. Continuing the policy begun last September, the apartments will be assigned as of 4:15 p. m. April 24, prior

to their completion. Notices to that

effect and with full details as to house and type numbers and descriptions have been posted on public bulletin boards.

Conferees Discuss Housing, Hospitals

(Continued from page 3) Railway Conductors; Walter Wagner, Henry Chenevert, W. E. Percy, Carl Maedl, Ralph Curies, and

E. J. Husted, Central Labor Union;

S. J. Garriel, Plumbers; Rufus Lovelady, AFGE; Henry Simpson, Marine Engineers; and from the Civic Councils, Sherman Brooks, M. J. Goodin, and

Carl Nix.

Ex-Employee Adds Her Bit To Story Of Magic Island

Amplification of a recent "Panama

Canal Review" article on Haiti was

provided last month by a former Per- sonnel Bureau employee who added her

personal touch to the reference to Marine Faustin Wirkus. The former employee is Mrs. Leonard

Wirkus, of Miami, formerly Miss Rose- mary Hubbell. Her husband is the youngest brother of the Marine who

was known as "The White King of La Gonave," a small island near Port-auPrince. Their baby daughter, born

last May, has been named Kathryn

Faustine for her uncle. Mr. Wirkus was stationed at Albrook

Field from 1939 to 1941, although he did not meet his wife until 1946 when she returned to the United States after

2 years as an employee of the Research and Service unit of the Personnel Bureau.

Mrs. Wirkus enclosed a short clip- ping from the Miami Herald, which summarized her late brother-in-law's

career. As a member of the Marine

Corps, he was stationed on La Gonave

for 4 years. "The natives were so pleased with

his general administration (even if they

did despise the occasional baths to which he subjected them) that at the end of 18 months they crowned the

29-year-old Marine King Faustin II

. . . natives came to him for legal, financial, moral, and domestic advice. Jungle matrons even came for advice

in the care and rearing of infants. That didn't stump the leatherneck. He sent for some books on the subject," according to the Herald article. Faustin Wirkus left the Marine Corps

in 1931, but returned to active duty in

1939. He died in 1945 while stationed

at Chapel Hill, N. C.

school children. Requests for reservations may be made

as early as 90 days before the contemplated sailing date as has been the practice

in the past. Return reservations may be

requested after- northbound passage is received by the employee. This is done by filling out a blank space on the leave and/or transportation form and forwarding it to the Panama Line in New York.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW April 3,1953

Zone Women Look To Mrs. Miller

For Latest In Feminine Frills

If clothes make the woman—aDd only

a man would be so foolhardy as to deny

it—feminine fates in the Canal Zone can be credited largely to Mrs. Anna M.

Miller, who retires this month after 33

years in the Commissary Division. For the last 8 years local women,

girls, and babies have been wearing the

hose, dresses, hats, and slips she had a hand in buying. As Supply Assistant to the Manager

of the Wholesale Drygoods Section of the Commissary Division at Mount Hope

Mrs. Miller makes the original recom- mendations concerning purchases of all lines of women's, girls', and infants' wear

bought by the Commissary Division. That means she must follow—or better

still, predict— the fickle ways of Dame

Fashion, a source of alternate delight and

despair to feminine fancies and finances and people like Mrs. Miller in fashion merchandizing. To keep up with devel- opments in the fashion field she follows about 14 trade journals and a large assortment of advertising from various

sources. Revolutions Of Style

In the period in which she has served

as fashion "soothsayer" for the Commissary Division, the now dated "new look" caused a style revolution and consequent

flattening of purses. Hemlines fell and

then they rose and petticoats came back. New miracle fabrics appeared on the scene and cinch belts came from Paris. And who knows what fashion may be dreaming up to be merchandised to- morrow?

Miss and Mrs. Canal Zone are Mrs.

Miller's main problems. Babies generally put up with whatever is put on them, wearing pink, blue, and white year

in and year out even though fashion decrees beige for spring. This might help account for Mrs. Miller's special fondness

for pretty little things for babies and

children although she shares the general feminine weakness for good looking

clothes of all kinds. Dame Fashion is only one of the femi- nine influences in Mrs. Miller's work. The approximately 12,000 women in the Canal Zone for whom Commissary

clothes are purchased show by what they buy or don't buy their definite tastes in the matter—tastes which may or may

not coincide with every whim of fashion. To keep up with her customers, Mrs.

Miller keeps company every day and

through many fine tropical evenings with

17 big black stock control books in her

office-warehouse-shipping center headquarters in the warehouse at Mount Hope. These list the dresses, suits, coats, hats, and other items which change from

season to season. Her records of "regular stocks," like inexpensive nightgowns,

for instance, which change comparatively

little, are less demanding by comparison. The stock books show which dresses were sent to each Canal Commissary, how many were sold, and, consequently, how many more should be ordered. Other information concerning the state

of stocks and customers' reactions to

specific items come from Mrs. Miller's daily telephone conversations with people

in the stores, meetings she holds regularly with groups who meet the customers

first hand and from her own periodic

DRESSES for little girls are only a small part of Mrs. Anna Miller's business. She has been with the Commissary Division for 33 years.

visits to the retail stores. She also has

25 years of first-hand experience of her own in the Cristobal Commissary. South Dakota To Panama

She started to work there as a sales- lady in February 1920, only about a year after coming to the Canal Zone from

her home in South Dakota. She had

worked in department stores in her home

town and in Des Moines, before her employment in the Commissary. She was

head saleslady for 10 of the years at the

Cristobal Commissary and spent another

FIRST SPRING SING

TO BE HELD APRIL 12

A new musical event is scheduled for the Canal Zone this month with the pres- entation on April 12 of the La Boca

"Spring Sing." Two hundred boys and girls, between

the ages of 12 and 26 and all students or alumni of La Boca schools, will take part

in the program which will be given at

5 p. m. on the grounds of the La Boca

schools. The Spring Sing has been planned and

is being directed by Miss Emily Butcher, Music Supervisor in the Colored Schools. The recently organized Pacific Evergreen Garden Club is working with Miss

Butcher on floral decorations for the festival. Art work for the Sing is a school

project under the direction of Miss Sadie

Springer, Art Supervisor. From the processional, Rubenstein's "Welcome Sweet Springtime," to the

closing number, "The Blue Danube

Waltz," the theme of the music festival, Miss Butcher said, is keyed to Spring: Song, happiness, soft colors, gaiety. Taking part in the Spring Sing will be

four La Boca glee clubs; one from the Junior High School, one from the High

School, one from the Junior College, and

another made up of alumni of the Junior

College. The girl singers, wearing pastel colored

frocks, and the boys in white suits, will make a formal entrance. Some will form

a procession under arches of spring

flowers. They will be seated by choirs and most

four as commissary assistant before taking over her present job. Mrs. Miller plans to leave in May to go back to Sioux Falls where she looks forward to a reunion with two sisters and ^1

their families. She isn't sure that she N= will stay there. The winters give her pause even though her co-workers have

promised to send her many outdated wi

clothing trade journals to warm her with thoughts of the tropics when the South ^ii Dakota winds howl. Heart Association Founder

Is Visitor To Canal Zone

A former president of the American

Heart Association, the father of the Panama Line's freight manager in New

York, was a visitor to the Canal Zone

last month. He is Dr. Robert H. Halsey

of New York. His son, Robert Halsey,

Jr., has been with the Panama Line for several years and was made its freight manager in January.

Dr. Halsey is a graduate of Columbia

University and of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. During World War

I he served as a colonel in the Army's

Medical Corps. A professor of medicine, he is the author of many articles pertain- ing to the heart. In addition to being a founding member and past president of the American Heart Association he also was a founding member of the New York

Heart Association.

of the numbers are planned for choir

singing, although in one set of numbers

the girls sing alone and another set is planned for the boys' voices alone. Miss Butcher has planned the Spring

Sing without orchestral accompaniment. The only instrumental music will be that

of two pianos. Pianists will be the regular accompanists for the Glee Clubs: Miss Mola Alphonse, who usually plays for the Junior High School; Miss Mabel McFarquhar, who accompanied the Senior High

singers; and Miss Wilma Butcher and Edward Lambert, who accompany the Junior College and Alumni Glee Clubs. RETIRES

LEWIS B. MOORE, Supply and Service Director

since October 1950, retired from active service the end of March. He was the first graduate of a Canal Zone high school to become a Bureau director in the Canal organization. Born in Chicago he came to the Isthmus as a small boy. His father, the late Krank E. Moore, was for many years an employee in the Finance Bureau.

His grandfather. Henry Schuber, came to the Isth- mus during Gold Rush days and was a prominent

businessman in Panama.