The Washington times., 1924-02-19
FLOWING BOWL
|. LEADING LURE
Of TROPICS
Panama Bars Are Prepared to
0uench Consuming Thirst
With v. S. Favorites.

International News Service.
PANAMA, Feb. 19.-What's be-
come Of the old-time pre- olsteadian
drinks purchasable In any Ameri-
can cafe, such as
The pousse cafe.
Whisl<ey SwiZzle.
Ramos gin fig.
Mumm's extra dry.
AbSinthe frappe.
Benedictine high BAH.
Manhattan cocktail.
Dry martini
Tom Collins.
Silver fizz.
Rum rickey.
Trinidad cocktail.
Tom andd Jerry.
AND ICE COLD BEER.
They're all leading a ribald, kiclIy
existence hard by the great Ameri-
can possession-the Panama canal.
To many Of the thousands Of Wis.
itors, and to some Of the 9,000-odd
the Canal Zone, they have a mean.
ing all their owr-to them they
spell the magic and much adver-
tised phrase, THE Spell OF the
Tropics"
The genial hosts of Panama APP
parently have never heard Of Mr..
Volstead or "Pussyfoot" johnson,
or il they have one would never
suspect it. Take a stroll into, say,
the Hotel International, at Panama.
Most Of the entertainment in the
Republic OF Panama Is done in the
two principal cities-Panama, q
harbor on the Pacific side Of the
canal, and Colon, on the American
side. Panama has a population Of
about 10000, Colon half that. The
population Is made UP Of all ma
tions, Spanish and West Indians
predominating. E
Mr.. McEwen, formerly a hotel
: manager Of New York, also former
manager Of the handsome Wash
ington Hotel, Colon. and of the
beautiful old-fashioned TivoM, in
Panama, is running his Interna-
| tional very much American, with q
delightful touch Of Spanish by way
Of local color. There isn't drink,
once familiar on the bars In Amer
ica's best hotels that Mr.. McEwen
cannot and, incidentally, does trot
out in double-Quick time to prove
that what some people refer to as
1.-THE good old days. are not gone
! forever, provided one goes to the
right place. The International's
| speciality 10 the once-famous New
Orleans drink-the Ramos gin fizz.
Drinks in Panama do not come
high, comparing them with what
the American bootlegger charges. A
Bronx cocktail sells for 80 cents, q
gin rickey, Is cents; q Scotch high
ball, rs cents; Benedictine frappO,
IS cents; beer, 20 cents a bottle,
right off the ice; champagne, Sc a
quart; liqueurs. $1.75 to $3.50 a
quart. There is a very small sale
OF orange and lemon crashes and
one or two other well-known Amer
lean soft drinks, at 10 cents a drink.
An order for Coca Cola Immediately
renders the visitor the cynosure Of
many native and nonnative eyes,
and he Is regarded with the great.
est curiosity.
Besides the hospitable Interna-
tional, there are many other heavily
patronized drinking places-notably
the Strangers Club, at Colon. Dur
ing the army and navy maneuvers
recently the club was crowded to
| capacity at all hours, right around
the clock. Then, too, there is Ke1ly's
Cabaret, run by Miss Mayme Lee
Kelly, of Dorchester, Mass, featur-
| ing a galaxy of American chorus
girl entertainers and a troupe OF
Hawaiian dancing girls, in native
shredded-wheat costumes; the Tropic
Bar, the Aston, the Istmena Cantina,
| the Ancon Inn, Over the Top and
the Broadway Cabaret. In Colon
and Panama there are several hum
dred places whose signs advertise
the magic word, "Cantina," which
one suspects after a time has exact.
ly the same meaning the word
bar" used to have in the u. s. A,