Front Cover
        Front Cover 1
        Front Cover 2
    Front Matter
        Front Matter 1
        Front Matter 2
    Title Page
        Page 1
    Table of Contents
        Page 2
    Main
        Page 3
        Page 4
        Page 5
        Page 6
        Page 7
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    Back Matter
        Page 25
        Page 26
    Back Cover
        Back Cover 1
        Back Cover 2

UNIVERSITY
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fEpRUARY 196
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ROBERT J. FLEMING, Jr., Governor-President

H. R. PARFxTT, Lieutenant Governor


FRANK A. BALDWIN
Panama Canal Information Officer


M__


Mo


Official Panama Canal Publication Eu
Published quarterly at Balboa Heights, C.Z.
Printed at the Printing Plant, La Boca, C.Z.
Review articles may be reprinted in full or part without
further clearance. Credit to the Review will be appreciated.
Distributed free of charge to all Panama Canal Employees.
Subscriptions, $1 a year; mail and back copies, 25 cents each.


ROBERT D. KERR, Press Officer
Publications Editors
)RGAN E. GOODWIN and TOMAS A. CUPAS
Editorial Assistants
NICE RICHARD, TOBI BITTEL, FANNIE P.
HERNANDEZ, and JOSE T. TURON


c4bout Our Cover

THE AERIAL PHOTO shows Panama's Free Zone, a
region that seizes the interest of most people and
is of special significance to the leading businessmen of
the world.

Situated in the Caribbean coastal city of Colon, second
most populous municipality in the Republic of Panama,
the Free Zone serves as a funnel for a bewildering array
of goods. From manufacturer to vender, and ultimately
to the consumer, the merchandise flows via the Free Zone,
frequently being packed, labeled or stored here, also.

The success of the Free Zone has been spectacular and
is best illustrated by statistics noting that firms operating
here in 1965 handled 20 times the 1953 volume of goods.
Attractive, stable tax advantages and freedom from red
tape of license and permit requirements are heavy induce-
ments to corporations contemplating setting up shop in
Colon. Add its proximity to the Panama Canal and you
have a sure winner.

But the impact of the Free Zone reaches further than
the credit and loss statements of the more than 400 com-
panies operating here. It greatly influences the economy
of the entire nation by contributing toward its progress.
Turn to page 4 for a fuller view of the Free Zone.

The people of the river-rural folk living near Gatun
and Madden Lakes-are introduced in an article beginning
on page 6. These proud, industrious people accept nothing
they feel they have not earned and cling to other time-
honored ways that have gone out of fashion in some parts
of the world.

In a big operation like the Panama Canal, many very
particular skills are needed, some of them unheard of
in the .it raLr' industrial area. Our cover shows an
admeasurer, whose job at the Canal has no actual par-
allel anywhere. There are others, as our story on page
14 reveals.


index


Port of Mobile -__-_-

Panama's Free Zone-__-

People of the River

The Crowns of Panama

SS United States Calls

Shipping Statistics

Unusual PanCanal Skills

Canal History-_ __

New Training Program-

Anniversaries ___

Carnival_--_____._____

Shipping-------------


3


8


16


17


FEBRUARY 1966












































Warehouses and 29 general cargo piers form a major part of the
huge complex of the port of Mobile. Large building at top right is
grain elevator with ship-loading capacity of 50,000 bushels per hour.
Above that are cement plant, aluminum plant, and ore terminal.


THE STATE of Alabama and its seaport city of Mobile boast
long and colorful histories but the port of Mobile came of age
just 30 years ago with the help of one of the builders of the
Panama Canal.
Mobile, at various times, was claimed by the Spanish,
French, and English before it became part of the United
States. And during the 1800's when cotton was king, the city
served as a vital link that helped move the raw bales from
plantations to looms abroad.
But cotton fell sharply from prominence through the ravages
of the boll weevil and with it went the prosperity of Mobile's
one-commodity port; it languished for many years. The port
of Mobile was wholly lacking in adequate facilities in 1919
when the U.S. rivers and harbors appropriations bill gave
the Secretary of War authority to withold funds for new
dredging projects in regions lacking sufficient terminals to
handle the traffic.
Taking the initiative, the State of Alabama launched a pro-
gram to build a new port at a 540-acre site 1 mile north of
downtown Mobile. The job of handling planning and engineer-
ing went to a native Alabamian, retired Gen. William L. Sibert,
who, as a young major, was responsible for the completion of
Gatun Locks and Gatun Dam, integral parts of the Panama
Canal setup.
His efforts resulted in the port of Mobile's elevation from
near the bottom of the heap to its present position as one of
the top ports in the Nation. Today the Alabama State Docks,
which for the exporter-importer is the port of Mobile, carry a
book value of some $25 million. And management estimates
it would cost three times that to replace the existing facilities.
The port has a 36-foot, 35-mile main channel from the
Gulf of Mexico and along the channel has numerous installa-
tions including industrial sites, military bases, repair yards
and private ocean terminals.
(See p. 13)


Massive crane equipment services ships moored at the ore terminal where minerals are loaded and unloaded at the port of Mobile. Serving
this section of the port is a loading tower for handling outbound movements of ores and minerals with a rotary rail car dumper and
a telescopic chute with trimmer.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW















AN IDEAL way to do business in Latin
America is to find an ideal location, free
from interference and redtape, with a
reliable labor supply and a stable econ-
omy. Add to this a very special tax break
and people who make it easy for you
to succeed, and you have a perfect
setup.
To the foreign businessman, Panama's
Free Zone at Colon offers all this, and
more. Started in 1 151. its rate of growth
reflects an amazing economic vitality
and its operation has contributed signif-
icantly to the economy of the Republic.
Back in 1953, Free Zone firms hand-
led $14.3 million in goods. In 1965, this
had zoomed to $240 million, nearly 20
times the 1953 volume. Its growth fig-
ures all follow the same pattern-giant
leaps each year. Over the past 6 years
the rapid climb in imports and exports
has helped Latin merchants and Pan-
ama's economy, and indications are that
the sunniest da\s are still ahead.
\\ I. is this? Exactly what is a Free
Zone? \\ hi.'s in it for a business firm
that decides to move into the Free Zone?
After all, such decisions are guided
principally by the profit factor. The
answers to these questions are found in


a close look at regulations that establish-
ed the Free Zone and in the experience
that 435 firms have had in operating
there.
A study by Thomas E. Lyons, of the
U.S. Department of Commerce, had
recommended a Free Zone in 1946. A
decree in June of 1948 created the Colon
Free Zone, but it was not activated until
1951, when a law established small Free
Zones (Zonitas) within the city of Colon.
As the Executive Secretary of Foreign
Trade Zone for the Department of Com-
merce, Lyons saw the future of a Free
Zone in Panama, and men of vision in
the Republic agreed. Their estimate of
its value has been proven by the spiral-
ing success of the enterprise.
The benefits to a foreign firm are
many. First, there are the guarantees
of the Panamanian Government that
Free Zone businesses:
PAY 10 PERCENT of the regular
Panamanian income tax on profits earn-
ed on sales outside the Republic of Pan-
ama. This tax is computed on a 1954
formula. For instance, a U.S. company
that made $100,000 profit on goods sent
from the Free Zone and sold in other
countries would pay a little under


Osvaldo Guaragna, Promotion Director of
the Free Zone. His problems are focused
on the future as the Free Zone continues
to grow.

$1,200 in tax. And the profit is figured
as net-after all operating costs and ex-
penses have been deducted. Tax on
$100,000 corporate profit in the United
States would run closer to $40,000.
ARE FREE FROM fees, duties, con-
tributions, dues or other imposts on
goods entered, stored, handled or leav-
ing the Free Zone. There are no li-
censes or other permits to buy from any
municipal or government agency.
ARE EXEMPT from taxes on invest-
ed capital, dividends or remittances
abroad, and there is no tax on capital
gains when property or securities sold
have been held for more than 2 years.
Firms may enter into a 20-year con-
tract, and they are guaranteed exemp-
tion from any new taxes passed during


*I
Law.




-
-- _



'II






Among the many lines of Free Zone merchandise are toys, arranged here in a display that serves buyers from over Latin America.


FEBRUARY 1966


i .


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dt


Encyclopedias, textbooks and reference works in Spanish are published in the Free Zone by Grafica Editora, which has trained nearly
100 Panamanians in the printing trades. The plant plans an expansion soon.


their contract. This means a business-
man can count on a period of stability.
There is also a large pool of skilled,
trainable labor in the Colon area. Turn-
over of help is small and the enthusiasm
of employees is high. Colon had a seri-
ous unemployment problem before the
Free Zone was established. The work
force now stands at about 2,000, includ-
ing 83 Panamanians working in actual
administration of the area. Employees
are well paid. They enjoy a variety of
fringe benefits from big firms such as
Pfizer, Gillette, Squibb, Peikard, Fire-
stone, Lucas, Goodyear, Motta, and
Coca Cola.
Some of the enterprises doing busi-
ness in the Free Zone are represented
by a corporation that combines to serve
several. Bizcavna International, for in-
stance, lists Hormel & Co., Stokely-Van
Camp, Plumrose and Gerber under its
nameplate. Others, such as Gillette,
have a separate operation. There are
58 buildings on 60 of the total 100
acres of land in a neatly fenced and well
kept area that has been planned from
the first. About 70 percent of the firms
are U.S. firms; others are Japanese,
British, French, Italian, or Spanish.
Outlining the operation of a foreign
firm in the Free Zone will show how
(See p. 11)


A sales display room of Peikard, International, in the Free Zone. Here, buyers have the
advantage of viewing goods handled by the company.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW






The Proud


People of


The River

THEY CALL themselves people of
the river.
The name applies to the men and
women living on the shores of Gatun
and Madden Lakes who work along
the fertile banks of the Chagres,
Indio, and Pequeni rivers and who
have settled near the small creeks
in those areas.
The lives of these men and women
are closely linked to the rivers.
They live in picturesque villages with
capricious names like "Little Giant,"
"Red \\ine." and "Little Alligator"-
some on very small plots of land. The
rivers are their liighwa N. Using the
cavuco they travel to market with
their harvest. On the same waters
their children travel to school. The
rivers are even important in their
spiritual lives; they are the frames
of their religious festivals.
The cayuco, an indispensable vehi-


cle, and a riverman's most loyal
friend, is made from a hollowed-out
tree trunk. No one knows who built
the first cayuco but some believe it
originated in pre-Columbian times
and that the vessel held great reli-
gious significance for ancient Indian
tribes. It is in a water-filled cayuco
that the newborn babies receive
their first bath.
The perseverance and energy of
these people, who year after year


Zenobia Tome pounds rice on a pestle.


transform sections of jungle into
farmland, is boundless. On these
plots they grow plantain, corn, rice,
beans, and other crops which they
sell in the marketplaces of nearby
cities. Herds of cattle graze at lake-
sides and along riverbanks. In every
little house pigs and chickens scurry
about. The people of the river sell
these animals to buy the basic articles
they cannot produce-such as the
transistor radio that keeps them in
contact with the rest of the world.
These proud people like to live
well, but they neither accept nor ask
favors. Guillermo Flores, a hard
working man who arrived in this
region 20 years ago, settled on a
small piece of land on which he
planted orange trees and a variety of
fruits and vegetables. Today he reaps
the product of his orange groves. His
wife, Dofia Juana, takes pride in her
housekeeping. They live in a small,
cozy home with immaculate floors.
Communication between villages
and transportation of products to
market is by launch. But the rivers
have many shallow spots where ca-
yucos and boats have to be pushed
with palancas (oars) made from
strong palo maria, a light, strong
wood. Rupertino Robles, a man of
prestige in this area, is the cayuco
(See p. 21)


FEBRUARY 1966


A nook in Gatun Lake. Quay and dockyard for launches.












i !



























The town st(





















Ao ik- -- r go





A home in the lake region.


ore-social center of the villages.


A moment of rest to feed the stock.


TIE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW


~
-*. ,c-r
PCrpd~







A. dio3fl5ns In P21 man as Coins



I in T N u ismatists
,. .". ', .. ..


(EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was
prepared and in print before
the Panama Government recently
announced that Panama coins
would be offered to collectors at
a premium.)
UNEXPLAINED ALTERATIONS in
Panama's coat of arms as it appears on
two separate issues of coins and which
apparently escaped detection for years
are of great interest to many local
numismatists.
The coins, issued in 1953 and 1961,
carry many other modifications from
similar coins minted previously and sub-
sequently. The variances first appeared
on the 1953 balboa, referred to as the
cincuentenario because it was issued
in commemoration of the 50th anni-
versary of the Republic of Panama.
The center of the shield in the coat
of arms normally shows the Isthmus of
Panama bounded by two oceans and the


sky with the moon rising over the waves
and the sun setting behind the moun-
tains. In the cincuentenario, however,
the shield includes a canal cut through
from ocean to ocean while all earlier
coin issues-1904, 1905, 1931, 1934,
and 1947-show the Isthmus without
the Canal. Just why this Canal was
inserted and how it went unnoticed are
questions of interest to sharp-eyed
collectors.
Panama's first coin not minted by the
United States, the cincuentenario, was
produced'by the Casa de Moneda de
Mexico, in Mexico City. The insertion
of the Canal carried over to the 10-,
25-, and 50-cent coins of the cincuen-
tenario. The Canal was apparent, too,
in Panama's 1961 coinage, also minted
by Mexico; but it was not present in
the 1962 issue, produced by the Royal
Mint of England. Another curious
feature of the 1953 and 1961 coins is


that the Canal is of the sea level class,
not the lock type which actually exists.
The director of the mint in Mexico
reported the designs were received from
the Panama Government and based on
these designs modeling was made by
the mint's designer, resulting in the
interpretation shown in the coins.
Only 50,000 pieces, a relatively low
number, of the cincuentenario were
produced and it is now out of circula-
tion. In March 1965, the national
bank of Panama recalled balboas by
decree. The five earlier Panamanian
issues were minted in much greater
quantities: 1904, 1,800,000; 1905,
1,000,000; 1931, 200,000; 1934,
225,000; and 1947, 500,000. All of
these were minted at Philadelphia ex-
cept the 1934 coins, produced in San
Francisco.
A cincuentcnario in brilliant, uncir-
culated condition sells for $9, a price


This is the famed cincuentenario of which only 50,000 were minted. Notice the cut through the Isthmus to represent the Canal, and
that there are only three fingers showing on the right hand of the standing liberty.


FEBRUARY 1966


































The first of Panama's six crown-size silver coins. It became practically extinct when speculators had them melted down during the silver
crisis of 1917-20. Notice on the obverse that the Isthmus in the coat of arms is uncut from ocean to ocean as on the 1953 cincuentenario.


which some experts consider below its
actual value when compared with coins
commanding greater sums. It is closely
held out of circulation today and has
an aura of national sentiment due to
its scarcity and historic significance.
This nation's coin history dates back
to a few months after Panama declared
independence from Colombia when in
1904 the Legislative Assembly created
a monetary structure for the new nation.
The monetary unit was called a balboa
in honor of Vasco Nfiiez de Balboa,
the Spaniard who discovered the
Pacific Ocean in 1513 from the heights
of the Isthmus.
The balboa is the equivalent of the
U.S. dollar and both are used inter-
changeably. Panama, however, has no
paper money so U.S. bills are used and
are officially referred to by Panamanians
as balboas.
The first two of six Panama crowns
were issued in 1904 and 1905 with a
value of 50 centesimos and they were
composed of .930 fine silver and .100
copper. They are not real crowns, com-
pared with the balboas as known today,
because of their low face value, but
they were of crown size.
Between World War I and 1920,
they were almost obliterated from cir-
culation when speculators had them
melted because their silver bullion con-


Roberto Lewis, the Panamanian artist who
designed the reverse of the 1931 Panama
silver crown.



tent excccded their face value. Today
they are considered by collectors as key
coins due to their scarcity and despite
the fact that quantities were held
by the National Bank of Panama's
numismatic collection.
The third Panamanian crown was
issued in 1931 after Panama's national
coinage law was amended to stipulate
that all future coins would be the same
composition, size, value and weight as


corresponding U.S. coins. The purpose
of the change in law was to allow both
to be used interchangeably in coin
machines and in general use without
mistaking the value of the coins.
Silver balboas were struck in 1934
and again in 1947, both exactly the
same design as the 1931 issue. Then,
in 1953, came the commemorative cin-
cuentenario with its fascinating devia-
tions that washed over into the 1961
issue but did not extend to the 1962
mintage.
Besides the canal differences, there
are numerous other variances which set
off the cincuentenario from the earlier
coins. These differences indicate that
the 1931, 1934 and 1947 balboas were
obviously struck with a die different
from that used for the cincuentenario.
The 1953 coin utilizes modern block
capital letters as compared with roman
letters on the 1931 series of balboa.
The coat of arms for the 1953 balboa
shows a rake while a hoe is shown in
the other issues. The bust, foot, and
head size of the standing liberty figure
varies between the cincuentenario and
the earlier issues. The sticks of the
fasces are not tied at the bottom as on
the 1931 series.
On the 1953 balboa, the forearm of
the lady crosses through the first "e"
(See p. 10)


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW
































The 1931 Balboa was the first of the true silver crowns issued by Panama. It was struck
at the Philadelphia Mint. The Isthmus in the coat of arms follows the same design as on
the 1904 design.


Coat of Arms


Change Noted


(Continued from p. 9)
of the word beneficio in the motto,
whereas the forearm on the 1931 series
crosses between the "e" and the "n."
The size of the date on the 1953 coin
is reduced. The right hand of the stand-
ing figure on the 1953 has only a thumb
and three fingers showing and the oak
branch she holds varies considerably
in detail from the 1953 series balboas.
The lettering size of the fineness and
weight designation varies between both
series of issues. The feet of the lady on
the 1953 series stand further apart than
on the 1931 series. The scroll work in
Balboa's helmet is finer on the 1931
series than on the 1953 crown. The
rifle shown on the 1931, 1934, and 1947
crowns is of an older type than the one
on the cincuentenario.


Above is the obverse of the 1953, 1961, and 1962 half-crowns of Panama. Note that the 1953 and 1961, both minted by Mexico, show
the sea level type canal across the Isthmus, whereas the 1962, struck in England, appears without a canal and conforms to the true
version of Panama's coat of arms, which was designed in 1904.


FEBRUARY 1966






Future Bright


For Free Zone


Enterprise


(Continued from p. 5)
it benefits. To begin with, a financial
plan can be drawn up easily; Panama's
Balboa is on a par with the U.S. dollar,
and it's stable. There are several first
rate banks, foreign and domestic, in
Colon to handle transactions. If a com-
pany wants to start in a small way, the
Free Zone itself will store goods in pub-
lic warehousing and reship them as di-
rected. Or, a management firm will take
the company's goods, handle, label,
pack, repack, and ship them. This way,
the company rents no space, but has all
the service it requires. But it may want
to rent space in a Free Zone building.
Rental is by the square meter on a
monthly basis. This is the principal in-
come the Free Zone enjoys, money with
which it puts up new buildings. Space
in these may be rented, or the Free
Zone will plan, finance, build, and lease
entire buildings to one firm, buildings
designed particularly for the operation
of that firm.
Operating from the Free Zone, a
company finds its delivery time to the
Latin markets cut by weeks, even
months. This means added profits. It
can hold a stock of goods in the Free
Zone, which means the local merchant
in, say, La Paz or Buenos Aires, is able
to carry a smaller number of each item.
This merchant saves the capital he
would have to tie up in stocking a com-
plete line of merchandise. He knows
he can have an item from Panama by
air in a day or two, by ship in a week
or so. Ordering from the factory in the
United States meant weeks of waiting,
lost sales and tremendous service prob-
lems. He finds the Panama manager of
the firm will drop in to see him from
time to time, a practice nearly impos-
sible with a U.S. base of operation. In
some countries, a merchant must make
an advance cash deposit of 150 percent,
or more, for the goods he imports. And
his money is tied up during delivery
time. So from the point of view of the
man selling goods in Latin America, the
Free Zone has been a real factor in cut-
ting costs, boosting sales and profits.
And the firm's manager in the Free

THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11


Canon America Latina runs an assembly operation in the Free Zone. This worker is assem-
bling a camera; he also is a qualified repairman in the service department of the camera firm.


Zone finds that he can control his Latin
sales more closely. He can stock bulk
material, label it according to the re-
quirements of each country, offer a
greater variety of merchandise, and ship
it quickly to a Latin market 225 million
strong, a market in which rising imports
now run more than $10 billion a year.
But why Panama? Couldn't a Free
Zone succeed elsewhere with equal
ease? Probably not. Panama has the im-
mense advantage of the Panama Canal.
With more than 13,000 ships a year
converging on the Canal, no other coun-
try can match the shipping service. And
there is handy access to both coasts of
Latin America. Tocumen airport has
risen to the top ten in the world in
volume of airfreight handled, a devel-


opment brought about by Free Zone
activity.
Panama has a reliable dollar, avail-
able financing, ready credit, and for the
manufacturers-now being courted by
Free Zone officials-there is the advan-
tage of duty-free import of machinery
and raw materials. Less than 3,000 feet
from the Free Zone are the piers at the
port of Cristobal. The U.S. Government
provides efficient freight handling here,
and facilities are modern and absolutely
reliable. Shipping time is cut drastically.
It is doubtful any other Latin country
can put together the set of economic
benefits that Panama is able to offer
through its Free Zone. Panamanian
merchants also use the Free Zone. They
(See p. 21)



















THE SS UNITED STATES, which
called at Cristobal February 12 on a
West Indies cruise, is not only one
of the world's largest and fastest
ships, but it probably will go down
in history as the world's greatest
passenger liner of all times, accord-
ing to an article in the Marine Digest.
The ship set her famous blue ribbon
mark of 3 days, 12 hours, and 12 min-
utes from Bishop Rock to Ambrose
Lightship in 1952 at an average
speed of 34.51 knots. She has held
this coveted record ever since.
Although there is a certain amount
of secrecy surrounding the liner and
its engineroom, it is a matter of pub-
lic record that she is capable of cruis-
ing 10,000 miles without refueling.
Her cruising speed, which is far below
its top speed, is way beyond that of
any other ocean liner afloat. It is a
few feet shorter than the Queen Eliz-
abeth but its carrying capacity is
about the same-some 2,000 passen-
gers and 1,000 crewmembers. It is
completely air conditioned. Vast
quantities of aluminum were used in
its decks and superstructure, thus
making it both lighter and, by low-
ering its center of gravity, more
stable. Her stacks are not sawed off
stovepipes but are helmeted with
wide finned caps called "sampans" in
nautical language. Together with the
graceful lines and proportions of the
hull, they give the ship a racy look.
Her narrow beam (101.7 feet) per-
mits her to pass through the Panama
Canal although her length of 990 feet
might make it a tight squeeze in the
other direction.
The United States was built to be
completely and absolutely fireproof.
All upholstery and hangings are
made of glass fibre or flameproof
synthetics. The only pieces of wood


Il II'I. (( MI IIl11SlSecond quarter, fiscal year-)

Second quarter, fiscal year-


Commodity


Ores, various ------------------
Lumber---------------------------------
Petroleum and products (excludes asphalt) --
Wheat-------------------
Sugar_- ------
Canned food products ---_ -------
Nitrate of soda ----------
Barley-----------
Bananas
Metals, various -----------------
Food products in refrigeration (except fresh
fruit) -------------------
Coffee
Fishmeal ____--- __- __------
Iron and steel manufactures----------
Pulpwood------ _-----------------
All others----------------------
Total -__ __----------


1,896,804
1,169,405
432,585
484,842
573,956
226,980
182,822
194,414
326,770
292,927
230,002
99,213
111,535
781,087
127,661
1,789,124
8.920.127


1965

1,753,980
1,131,717
334,051
332,561
701,024
275,268
184,158
46,368
342,748
308,474
231,145
110,401
279,274
603,611
130,409
1,471,969
8.237.158


Average
1951-55
1,033,433
880,696
149,132
439,626
205,431
327,338
327,635
25,235
199,495
184,663
125,660
55,757
47,896
46,525
741,860
4,790,382


\ lX li i I'. fi


Second quarter, fiscal year-
Commodity
1966 1965 Average
1951-55
Automobiles and parts ------ 118,523 111,459 68,824
Rice------------------- 218,001 20,546 39,430
Cotton, raw ----------------- 118,981 110,152 70,788
Coal and coke---------------- 1,610,018 1,415,118 594,946
Phosphates--------- 986,684 844,246 181,170
Soybeans ----------------- 724,866 558,486 128,551
Wheat ----------------- 270,067 187,413 26,711
Iron and steel manufactures--- 349,261 415,447 415,441
Corn ------------ -- 668,776 501,271 31,270
Machinery------------------- 116,182 128,935 74,768
Ores, various --------- -- 484,453 377,887 17,271
Metal (scrap)----------------- 260,845 772,857 13,654
Paper and paper products -----------------.. 131,217 180,493 97,333
Petroleum and products (excludes asphalt) --_ 3,510,522 3,162,740 901,706
Chemicals, unclassified ---------230,426 224,522 44,132
All others --------------------------- -- 1,877,985 1,799,929 1,300,746
Total -- -------- -11,676,807 10,811,501 4,006,741


( \\ \s'S (0 Se\il ,condI \ ) qrte, ( )fial yar-N

Second quarter, fiscal year-


Commercial vessels:
Oceangoing-------------
Small ---------- -----
Total commercial------
U.S. Government vessels: **
Oceangoing ------------
Small -----
Total, commercial and U.S. Gov-
ernment ---- -----------


Atlantic
to
Pacific

1,513
87
1,600

94
15

1,709


Pacific
to
Atlantic

1,460
39
1,499

45
20

1,564


1965

Total Total


2,973
126


3,027
158


Avg. No.
Transits
1951-55

Total


1,774
267


3,099 3,185 2,041

139 73 148
35 27 71

3,273 3,285 2,260


Vessels under 300 net tons or 500 displacement tons.
** Vessels on which tolls are credited. Prior to July 1, 1951, Government-operated ships
transited free.


12 FEBRUARY 1966









Nationality


A..
\...^


S.S. United States


on board are the pianos in the salons
and the butcher's blocks in the gal-
leys. The real mysteries, says the
Marine Digest, are below decks in
the engineroom. All facts about the
propulsion plant are classified from
two points of view-by the Navy
as military information and by the
owners.
The ship made three other calls at
Cristobal, the last being in February
1963. Panama Agencies represent the
United States Line in the Canal Zone



Port o ?* fe

(Continued from p. 3)
The Alabama State Docks has 31
berths with a bulk handling plant for
ores, a shipside cold storage and freez-
ing plant, cotton compress and ware-
house of 50,000-bale capacity and fa-
cilities for crating, packing, and drum-
ming. Its public grain elevator has a
shipside storage capacity of 1,600,000
bushels and a ship-loading capacity of
50,000 bushels per hour.
A terminal railway has a switching
system connecting the docks to all rail-
road lines serving the port; seven diesel
locomotives switch the cars to and from
pierside. Serving the port are more
than 100 steamship lines, 4 trunk line
railroads, 24 truck lines, 3 common
carrier barge lines, and airlines.
The port's trade territory includes
the mid-continental United States from
Cincinnati, Ohio, to Denver Colo. The
ocean terminal is supported by foreign
freight forwarders, customhouse bro-
kers, U.S. Customs, stevedoring firms,
steamship agencies, ship chandlers, pi-
lots, towing companies, testers, banks
with foreign departments, consular
corps, and marine surveyors.


~ru


Second quarter, fiscal year-
Second quarter, fiscal year-


Belgian -----.
British _____---
Chilean
C F r.i- i, ir
Colombian _____
Danish---
Ecuadorean____
French -_______
German _______
Greek________
Honduran -___-_
Israeli-----
Italian--________
Japanese ----.
Liberian -------
Mexican____
Netherlands- _--
Nicaraguan.--__.
Norwegian--- _-
Panamanian ---_
Peruvian _______
Philippine -_
Soviet .. .
Swedish- _---
Swiss ---__-_--
United States ---
All Others ----
Total----


Month


July--
August--
September
October


Tons
of
cargo
22,376
2,193,171
210,316
311,261
98,779
600,822
21,333
181,610
902,656
1,169,574
22,828
84,632
286,501
1,312,329
4,318,948
18,028
695,485
25,605
3,277,037
755,928
192,901
124,067
142,761
705,638
9,845
2,529,139
383,364
20,596,934


1965
Number Tons
of of
transits cargo
9 34,547
357 2,179,944
33 238,506
29 240,304
71 96,380
68 443,124
6 8,733
34 142,095
308 837,547
135 1,330,911
69 35,499
15 115,256
45 296,435
208 1,293,649
283 3,231,804
11 35,177
148 656,251
19 27,911
364 3,308,840
111 502,471
40 230,267
23 81,554
11 97,223
100 632,913
19 24,799
467 2,606,832
44 319,687
3,027 19,048,659


(Fiscal years)

Transits
Avg. No.
1966 1965 Transits
1951-55
993 1,004 557
983 1,004 554
977 970 570
1034 1.018 607


November --------- 990 988
December --_949 1,021
[anuary-----
February ---
March_ ------------
April--------
May-------
June--------
Total, 6 months 5,926 6,005
Before deduction of any operating expenses.


3.455


1951-55
Average Average
number tons
transit of cargo

301 1,874,647
11 66,740
6 38,938
38 46,028
58 213,240
36 24,934
33 147,569
44 92,509
26 219,932
96 120,854
36 185,937
67 406,764
43 260,602
3 7,034
32 151,485
6 4,648
193 747,864
115 604,619
7 13,512
5 28,915
------ --1-7-----
43 175,551
2 19,650
539 3,225,627
34 119,525
1,774 8,797,124


Gross tolls*
(In thousands of dollars)
Average
1966 1965 Tolls
1951-55
5,604 5,313 2,432
5,488 5,497 2,403
5,456 5,339 2,431
6,068 5,484 2,559
5,878 5,435 2,361
5,614 5,641 2,545


34,108 32,709


14,731


'I I k1 1 ( I >\ V ; I < \ \1 I : k 1 x' 1
The following table shows the number of transits of large, commercial vessels (300 net
tons or over) segregated into 8 main trade routes:
Second quarter, fiscal year-
Trade routes Avg. No.
1966 1965 Transits
1951-55

United States Intercoastal .---------------- -- 125 128 162
East coast of United States and South America ---- 487 578 427
East coast of United States and Central America------ 141 165 143
East coast of United States and Far East ------ 626 616 257
United States/Canada east coast and Australasia ------ 104 111 55
Europe and west coast of United States/Canada ----- 257 263 160
Europe and South America ------------- --- 331 286 116
Europe and Australasia -------------- 108 98 80
All other routes---------- 794 782 374
Total traffic __-----_--- 2,973 3,027 1,774


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW


63
98
10
61
294
113
24
17
48
196
320
14
148
22
357
147
S 33
24
14
114
19
393
41
2,973


i ii \1L rr


J


I


I


























\ [
Panama Canal Admeasurer Otis M. Ramey,
Jr., measures the engineroom with the help
of Kare Bergene, chief steward on the ship.


Unique Specialists


Play Vital Roles


In Panama Canal


THE STORY OF the building of the
Panama Canal is one of the richest
epics of U.S. history. It has left a
deep imprint in annals of mankind and
his endeavors. A hodgepodge of hu-
manity from many lands was involved
in building a ditch wide enough and
deep enough to transit the largest ships
plying the seven seas. Men of steel
conquered the contours of nature, and
men of genius invented and built
the complex electrical and mechanical
equipment to operate and maintain the
waterway.
Today, men of great skill and dedica-
tion carry on the work that began the
day the Canal was completed. From


admeasurer to anglesmith to sailmaker
and woodworker, the Canal organiza-
tion has a very special assembly of
workers geared to putting ships through
the Canal.
The Canal is a complex operation.
Skilled engineers, technicians, teachers,
doctors, office workers, and hundreds of
other trained employees are as impor-
tant to the operation and maintenance
of the waterway as builders were to its
construction.
The Canal employs a number of per-
sons who perform unique, highly spe-
cialized work. These men and their fel-
low workers have the responsibility of
expediting the transit of ships, from all


Stanford F. McKenzie,


Industrial Division employee, demonstrating typical process of saw filing.


FEBRUARY 1966





nations, from one ocean to the other, or
provide a supporting function to this
primary mission.
High on the list of specialists in the
Panama Canal is the admeasurer who
boards vessels and measures them to
determine tolls to be paid to the Canal.
In other parts of the world, the admeas-
urer measures vessels to determine pay
scales to be paid to personnel working
on the ship, and to set wharfage and
dock tolls. A newcomer to Canal waters
will be measured from stem to stern.
Complex mathematical formulas are
used to calculate these measurements.
The admeasurer uses technical proce-
dures and rules to determine the ton-
nage of the vessel-both gross and net.
Using as an international basis 100 cubic
feet to equal one measurement ton,
the admeasurer determines the tolls. In
1954, the admeasurer also assumed the
duties of customs and immigration, and
quarantine officer. General ship's in-
formation documents, such as clearance
from last port; passenger, crew and
stores lists; cargo declarations; national
register; and other documents required
of a ship are delivered to the admeasur-
er. This man with the yardstick per-
forms a vital role in the Canal operation.
The marine traffic controller has a
unique role in the world's oceangoing
activity. There are many marine traffic
controllers throughout the world's water-
ways and ports but none control a sys-
tem so complex as the Panama Canal.
Scheduling and control of the ever-in-
creasing ship traffic through the Canal
are his responsibilities. Working 24 to
48 hours ahead, the controller is in con-
tinuous contact with ships through auto-
matic electronic equipment at strategic
points along the Canal. In keeping with
the changes in the traffic pattern, and
using ETA (estimated time of arrival)
or readiness times of transiting ships, the
controller prepares transit schedules and
transmits them to the locks, arranges for
deckhands and tug service, determines
pilot requirements and coordinates the
boarding party. The marine traffic con-
troller also controls harbor traffic.
As long as the world's oceans and
waterways have been vital to world
commerce, skills in boatbuilding and
ship repair have been a prized ability.
The Canal's Industrial Division is proud
of its many experts and highly specializ-
ed men. Craft to handle the flow of
traffic in the Canal harbors, launches
for passenger and utility service, and
work launches used by the Navigation
Division are built by the Gamboa
Launch Repair Facility. These boat-
builders compare with the world's


Anglesmith Armando Cruz is shown bending a 1-inch steel plate on a 300-ton hydraulic
press as his helper Jose M. McKenzie looks on.


best, and they are experts in building
boats of wood, plastic, fiberglass, and
aluminum.
Oceangoing vessels periodically need
overhauling and repairs. And, from time
to time, ships transiting the Canal need
emergency work. Drydock facilities at
PanCanal can meet all these needs.
Shops at Mount Hope and Balboa
handle all types of marine repair-from
the simplest to the most complicated.
For example, Mount Hope is one of the
few shipyards in the world that can re-
pair propeller tips, or rework damaged
propeller sections.
An important specialist in this area
is the shipwright who sets up the dry-
dock. His operation requires a consid-
erable knowledge of ships-their archi-
tecture and engineering. Blocking up a
ship after it is drydocked is a most im-
portant part of the operation. Improper
blocking would be catastrophic.
Among the highly specialized indus-
trial workers is the anglesmith, a black-
smith who works structural steel into
(See p. 21)


4


Expert hands of the shipwright have made
sure this vessel is perfectly level before
starting repairs.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW






CANAL I oT R Y


50 year, cgo
EXCAVATION was still being carried
on in Gaillard Cut to remove the slide
which had closed the Panama Canal
since October 18, 1915. By Decem-
ber 20, 1915, the channel at the bases
of the Culebra slides had been opened
enough to allow the passage of six light-
draft vessels. No predictions were being
made of the time of probable opening.
Meanwhile a committee of scientists and
engineers, appointed by the National
Academy of Sciences to study the slides
in Gaillard Cut and suggest ways to deal
with them, arrived on the Isthmus.
The construction of the walls of the
concrete group of buildings, connected
by arcades, to house the permanent
Colon Hospital was practically com-
pleted in January. It was expected that
the new buildings could be occupied
by April 1916.
The size of the new battleships Idaho,
Mississippi, and California. in construc-
tion 50 years ago, was a matter of
interest to Canal authorities. The new
ships would be the largest in the U.S.
Navy, with a beam of 97 feet 4 inches.
These vessels in passing through the
Canal, it was pointed out, would have
a clearance of 12 feet 8 inches in the
locks chambers. The vessel of the
greatest beam to pass through the Canal
up to that time was the battleship Ohio
with a beam of 72 feet.


25 Year c4go
THE WAR in Europe was having its
effect on the Panama Canal 25 years
ago although the United States had not
vet become involved.
President Roosevelt in Washington
ordered that the U.S. Fleet be placed
on a wartime footing immediately. The
Secretary of War announced the forma-
tion of a new U.S. Army Caribbean
Defense Command for the purpose of
strengthening defenses of the West-
ern Hemisphere. Lt. Gen. Daniel Van
Vorhis was placed in command with his
headquarters at Quarry Heights, C.Z.
A U.S. Congressman in Washington
said that the Panama Canal was being
converted into an impregnable fortress
with the locks being housed in shields
"which no bombs could dent." He said
that the hills surrounding the waterway
were alive with heavily comouflaged
anti-aircraft nests to ward off mass air
attacks.
The Canal Zone's first ladies' home
defense pistol club was organized at the
Pedro Miguel Stadium under the spon-
sorship of Physical Director H. T. Leisy
and the Pedro Miguel Gun Club.
Work on the excavation of the third
locks at Gatun was rushed with men and
equipment being brought to the Isth-
mus to remove 12 million cubic yards
of material at a cost of $6,500,000.


This float, sponsored by the Panama Canal and Panama Railroad, won first prize in the
1937 Panama Carnival. See pages 22 and 23 for more on this much celebrated festival.


10 yeari c4go
THE PANAMA CANAL'S power con-
version project moved into high gear
early in 1956 with bids being opened
for the Atlantic area conversion, one of
the key contracts of the program. It was
estimated that the conversion of 25-cycle
electrical equipment would take about
4 years. The first TV sets were placed
on display at the Balboa and Cristobal
Retail Stores.
Testimony on several matters of vital
interest to the Canal administration was
heard by the Panama Canal Subcom-
mittee of the House Merchant Marine
and Fisheries Committee in the hearings
held in the Board Room of the Admin-
istration Building at Balboa Heights.
Among the subjects discussed was the
proposed abandonment of the Panama
Railroad and pending legislation relating
to the allocation of tolls and redistribu-
tion of the costs of the Canal Zone
Government.
Soda water bottling operations of the
Supply Division were terminated at the
end of November 1955, closing an
activity which was first established
during the early Canal construction
period. Governor Seybold said the deci-
sion was made in light of the develop-
ment of the soda water bottling industry
in Panama.
The regular 5-year overhaul was
begun in January at Gatun Locks with
approximately 775 extra men being
employed for the job.

One year 4go
THE BEAUTIFUL new eight story
Gorgas Hospital annex opened in Feb-
ruary 1965 without fanfare or ceremony.
Key activities of the hospital began to
move into the new building early week
of February 25. Major part of the move,
most clinics, the pharmacy, operating
suite, the business office and patients
on the surgical wards, was made over
weekend of February 26.
Vacation jobs were provided for
approximately 130 Panamanian students
by a student employment program spon-
sored by the Canal organization. The
program was established for high school
and university students in the Panama
school system and the Canal Zone Latin
American schools. The program, started
a year ago, was similar to the student
assistant program which the Canal
organization conducted for many years
for graduates of the Canal Zone's
U.S. schools.

16 FEBRUARY 1966







IMPROVED TRAINING PR,.:. -....



OPEN DOORS TCO T-i


MANY NEW CAREER employment
opportunities for Panamanians are being
created this year through the opening
of new training routes into the Canal
organization.
Three times as many non-U.S. em-
ployees as U.S. citizens now are on
Canal employment rolls. At the end of
November the Canal organization had
10,953 non-U.S. employees. This figure
will increase by approximately 150
this year through new or expanded
training programs, with larger numbers
of non-U.S. citizens to come into the
organization as the training programs
gain momentum.
In view of the high cost and diffi-
culty of U.S. recruitment and the cur-
rently tight housing situation, Canal
officials are making every effort to fill
vacant jobs in the Government/Com-
pany organization through local sources.


The prospect of a sea level canal in the
foreseeable future makes this policy
even more important.
The problem, however, is that there
are not yet enough Panamanians with
the variety of skills the Panama Canal
needs. Larger numbers are coming along
with increasing skills, and in an effort to
meet the Canal organization's demands,
training programs are being launched
and expanded.
The Canal is undertaking special
measures to make greater utilization of
local employment resources. There has
been an apprentice program for Pan-
amanian as well as United States cit-
izens since 1906. As a result of action
by President Eisenhower, almost twice
as many Panamanian as United States
citizens now are participating in the
organization's training programs.
Panamanians are now being brought


into Canal employment through:
AN EXPANDED apprentice pro-
gram
A LEARNERSHIP program
A COOPERATIVE education
program
AN OFFICE SERVICE training
program, plus new programs added to
existing training programs. These are
designed to train skilled labor as retire-
ments and separations from the Canal
organization increase.
Recruitment of Canal organization
employees in Panama makes good sense
for a number of reasons, including good
international relations. The program is
organizationally sound, essential, and
good economics. Employment of non-
U.S. citizens is considerably less expen-
sive in terms of cost of recruiting in the
United States, and eventual repatriation.
(See p. 18)


Learning by doing, apprentice Eugenio Cham Ng appraises a piece of work being done on a metal lathe.
Learning by doing, apprentice Eugenio Cham Ng appraises a piece of work being done on a metal lathe.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW
































cal formula and electrical significance are explained by instructor Carroll Robertson (left) to students (left to right)
John M. Eberenz and Ernesto L. Blake.



Skilled Panamanians Are Needed


To Fill Vacancies In Canal Zone


(Continued from p. 17)
Each employment of a non-U.S. citizen
in a vacant U.S. base position eases the
PanCanal housing shortage. At the same
time, the effort to meet the needs of
the Canal organization carefully avoids
jeopardizing jobs or the promotional
aspirations of present employees.
Keeping the Panama Canal organiza-
tion supplied with the right numbers of
competent workers for the job at the
right place and at the right time has
always been a fundamental concern of
Canal management. In the past it was
possible, without great effort, to insure
a \.ri, t\ of manual skills to keep the
Panama Canal at top operational level.
Today, vacancies occur faster than
the Canal can find people with the skills,
education, and/or know-how to fill
them. Canal Zone employment condi-
tions are not relatively as attractive as
they used to be in terms of housing or
fringe benefits.
To further compound the manage-
ment problem, employment needs are


greater because of an aging work force.
During the next 15 years, disturbingly
large numbers of people will retire from
the organization because of age or op-
tional retirement. An analysis of the age
and service of all employees in higher-
skilled, professional or managerial posi-
tions shows that within the next 5 years
894 U.S.-citizen employees will be 55
and eligible to retire voluntarily with at
least 30 years' service, or would retire
mandatorily at the age of 62. In the
next 15 years, 2,610 people may retire,
the survey shows. This amounts to
about two-thirds of the top positions.
In addition to these vacancies, there
will be others through resignations,
removals, transfers, deaths, and disabil-
ity retirements. Experience shows that
nearly twice as many vacancies occur
through these causes as from voluntary
or mandatory retirement.
Many Canal employees, especially
helpers, are middle-aged, and their po-
tential for promotion is minimal. The
registers, from which replacements are


drawn, are also populated with oldsters.
This is partly a result of the activity
during World War II when the Canal
hired thousands of helpers and similar
employees.
Intensive training and development
programs are designed to give the orga-
nization the flexibility it needs to meet
its long-range staffing needs, and to
make local recruitment easier. These
programs will develop Panamanians to
fill many of the positions that will
become available over the next 10 years.
One of these is the Learnership Pro-
gram now training young men for helper
positions. Gradually, the program will
put younger people into the organiza-
tion. Applicants are of high school cal-
iber and, since the typical middle-aged
helper has less than an elementary ed-
ucation, the average education level of
the employee group will be raised. Many
promising learners may later transfer to
apprenticeships, leading to a journey-
man status and, possibly, supervisory
positions.


FEBRUARY 1966





The Learnership Program is expected
to increase efficiency because it teaches
learners a wider range of job abilities.
This contrasts in some cases with present
helpers who perform only the less skilled
elements of positions. Furthermore, the
greater use of helpers and other workers
will free journeymen for their higher
level tasks, producing more effectiveness
and economy in craft work.
The Learnership Program is also a
gateway for many young men for entry
to the Apprenticeship Program. More
than half the learner helpers became ap-
prentices last year; additional appren-
ticeships were filled from the register.
A cooperative education program,
open to students of a baccalaureate
level degree-granting institution, will
select University of Panama students to
work full time and also attend the uni-
versity. A requirement for continued
employment will be that they keep their
grades up at the university. Work at the
Canal will be coordinated with the uni-
versity program of professional study.
This cooperative education program
is designed to fill an increasing need for
college-trained people qualified to rise
through the Canal organization.
Qualifications for entering the Pan-
ama Canal organization have not been
lowered, PanCanal personnel officials
point out, and promotions will come only
on merit.
While the cooperative education pro-
gram is beamed at nonmanual em-
ployees at the college level, there will
be an office services trainee program at
lower levels.
Office services trainees will start at
the NM-1 level, in 6 months will be pro-
moted to the NM-2 pay level and are
expected to complete the program in a
year, graduating to the \ 1 3 level.
Training is centered in developing the
skills of a well-rounded office employee.
These office service trainees also will
be required to take certain off-duty
courses including stenography and ad-
vanced typing as a condition of their
employment. This should provide them
with special skills which will better
prepare them for advancement to more
responsible office and administrative
positions.
Other programs include training dur-
ing summer vacations for U.S. and
non-U.S. students, at different times of
the year. Students are paid for up to
3 months' work in areas related to the
individual's school studies. About 150


4. "


1




, .,
I -''
A


Workmen lay blocks at the Panama Canal Training Center in Balboa where several new
classrooms are being added. This project, part of the Personnel Bureau's program to expand
its training facilities, will be completed by July 1.


United States and 250 Panamanian
students participate in this program
aimed at the preprofessional level.
The additional initial cost of the pro-
posed programs will be approximately
half a million dollars a year. Almost
four-fifths of this amount goes straight
into the economy of Panama by way of
salaries paid to Panamanians.
In addition to these new facilities,


construction is ready to begin on office
space and classrooms for apprentice
training in the presently inactivated in-
dustrial shop area in Balboa which is
under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy.
These facilities should be ready by late
March or mid April and will be used as
a site for "vestibule" trade-school ap-
prentice training in the basic machinist
and electrical crafts.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW







S'ANNI a VERSARI ES
( te bails or total Federal Service)


SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE BUREAU
Albertina L. Wright
Leader Marker and Sorter
Vivian L. Bonney
Clerk
Peter Neblett
Retail Store Department Manager
(Supermarket)
MARINE BUREAU
Jose Archibold
Motor Launch Captain
Julio L. Jimtnet ..
I.rader M..intenanLemnan i',tpe'and
\\'re Cable.
V'iian M.-Stewart ; '.
Helper Machnist .
Da\ id S. Henry
Lcj-adr LInehrndlt r (DeAethar
Bni3twam '
Stafford A. Neblett .
Teletypist
ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION
BUREAU
Altimon C. Barber
Painter
Wilson Elton Clarke
Leader Asphalt or Cement Worker
Kenneth A. Brown
Leader Painter
OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR-PRESIDENT
S. D. Callender
Administrative Officer


SUPPLY AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE BUREAU
John W. Gittens
Teller
Lionel E. C. McClean
Lead Foreman (Cemetery)
Edith C. Harper
Sales Clerk
Thomas G. Relihan
Program Manager
Agatha H. Walters
Laborer
MARINE BUREAU
John E. Erickson F .
General Foreman H.br t- ,'
Alphonso T. Fearon .
Linehandler ,
Thomas F. Gibson
General Foreman, Carpenter
Torrence E. Lord
Leader Seaman ,.
Rodolfo Becford
Helper Lock Operator".'i... ,,_
Leopold Cimino
Lock Operator (Electrician)
H. A. Kleefkens
Supervisory Marine Traffic
Controller
Leroy C. Mask
Linehandler (Deckhand)
Duayne T. McNeil
Marine Traffic Controller
Jos6 A. Palacios
Boatman
Vincent W. Watson
Seaman
Grennett R. Cooper
Linehandler (Deckhand)


A-
Four ex-Presidents of the Republic of Panama were among high ranking members of th
Panamanian and United States communities who paid tribute to Gov. Robert J. Fleming, Jr
recently at a Panama Steamship Association luncheon. The Governor was presented a scro
in recognition of his outstanding achievements in increasing the efficiency of the Panam
Canal. Left to right are Ernesto de la Guardia, former President of Panama; Jose Dom
nador Bazan. former President of Panama, now Minister of Government and Justice
Dr. Ricardo J. Alfaro, former President of Panama; Charles W. Adair, Jr., U.S. Ambas
sador to Panama; Governor Fleming; Frank Zeimetz, president of Panama Agencies Co
Dr. Galileo Solis, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama; and Enrique A. Jimene:
former President of Panama.


Irving G. Hay
Pilot
Samuel H. Rowley
Master, Towboat
ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION
BUREAU
Edgar F. Daggett
Water System Operator
Arundel A. Hall
Supervisory Clerk
Sylvester E. Harding
Boiler Tender
UiMih Jordan
Master,, all Tug

Chief E r, Towboat
Anderson Glla
Pipelayer |
S Benito Garrio
\ Helper See etal Worker
. Prope rt ecord Clerk
Neville, Jr.
Hydraulic Engineering Technician
Alvin V. Stewart
Toolroom Mechanic
Gerardo Terin
Clerk (Work Orders)
TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS
BUREAU
Charles C. Vreux
Automotive Machinist
Bernard Dorfman
Supervisory Freight Agent
Frank L. Titus
Cargo Checker
HEALTH BUREAU
Mary L. Clark
Nurse Supervisor (General
Medical and Surgical Hospital)
Marie K. Corrigan
Staff Nurse (Obstetrics)
Lillian L. Pratt
Nurse Supervisor (Medicine
and Surgery)
Eusebio Diaz
Exterminator
Stanford A. Myrie
Leader Hospital Food
Service Worker
OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR-PRESIDENT
Annie F. McDade
Secretary (Stenography)
COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE
Hylton Lewis
Warehouseman
Harold Miller
Bookkeeping Machine Operator
Florence M. Pierson
Accounting Technician
CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU
e
Eugene Breakfield
II Foreman, Mail Handling
a Unit (IP)
i- Peter S. Proback
e; Police Private
s- Bruce G. Sanders, Jr.
Supervisory Customs Inspector
z, Richard W. Stoudnor
Customs Inspector

20 FEBRUARY 1966


































A street in Escobal. Houses, palms, the church, and the lake.


7" n


(Continued from p. 6)
expert. He came to this region many
years ago, and settled at the edge of the
Chagres River. Desiderio Pimienta, a
Choco Indian from Sambu in Darien, is
a Panama Canal palancaman. He and
his wife came to the lake region many
years ago and with their children live
in an attractive little house. They have
an outboard motor and a bank account.
Desiderio's main goal in life: a larger
outboard motor to win the annual Sala-
manca races held on the Pequeni River.
The occupation of palancaman is old,
dating to colonial times when gold was
transported from Peru up the Chagres
to the Caribbean Sea. These skilled river
people played an important role in the
California Gold Rush when the Isthmian
shortcut meant money to adventurers.
Today they are valuable to the Panama
Canal organization taking up river the
equipment and personnel needed to
keep an eye on potentially dangerous
river waters that may rise suddenly.
In every place there are men who


dream and passively enjoy living the
experiences depicted by writers in
novels and poems. Aquilino Rodriguez,
who cultivates a small parcel of land in
Lagarterita, is this type of man. He loves
poetry and remembers, with veneration,
his grade school teacher, the well-known
Panamanian writer Gil Blas Tejeira, who
instilled in him his love for beautiful
literature.
The town store is the nerve center
of these river villages. Here is where all
the latest gossip is passed on. It is here
that the lottery ticket vendor makes his
biggest sale; that the town policeman
gives newcomers the once over. Maria
Elias Soto de Ku, the owner of the Esco-
bal town store, says with a smile, "We
are not in business. We simply manage
the place where people meet."
The river is everything to these hardy,
industrious people who are the essence
of simplicity and kindness. At the water-
holes they hunt animals for food. They
fish in it. The river is a bathtub, a
drinking cup, and a playground.


(Continued from p. 11)
may order goods, then pay duty only as
they withdraw them from the Zone. As
long as a merchant exports the required
60 percent of his volume, he may do
business in the Free Zone.
About $10 million a year is added to
Panama's gross national product through
the Free Zone. A printing plant has
been established and has trained nearly
100 Panamanians for skilled work. A
French textile plant is slated to man-
ufacture cloth from cotton grown in the
Republic. Should manufacturing take
root firmly, the value to the economy
will be vast. Employment could soar to
thousands and Colon might become the
Detroit of Central America.
Even now, Free Zone manager Ricar-
do Chiari and his promotion director
Osvaldo Guaragna, are thinking about
expansion. The original tract will be
gone by 1967; more land means filling in
part of Manzanillo Bay or buying a tract
in the heart of the city of Colon. Plans
are under development to meet the
need. As Dr. Chiari says, "This is the
sort of problem you like to have."
A hard and sustained drive for new
business, combined with sound expan-
sion plans and that most important
ingredient- stability- will insure the
Free Zone continuing success as an eco-
nomic factor of rising importance to the
Republic of Panama.



Unique Skills
(Continued from p. 15)
complicated angles and shapes. His
handiwork is used primarily in ship
repairs.
Almost a rarity is the saw filer, who
files saws to sharpen them. His work is
precise and requires immense patience
and highly exacting skill.
The Panama Canal master diver and
salvage master is another unique mem-
ber of the Canal family. He trains divers
for ship repair and salvage work. He
is perhaps the most experienced diver
in this hemisphere. From time to time,
this expert is called to other countries
to solve their diving problems and to
give advice on whether or not a ship can
be salvaged from the sea.
These craftsmen are dedicated to
the operation and maintenance of one
of the great engineering wonders of
the world-workers contributing to the
economic pulse of world commerce.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW





















Old Panama was the center of many dazzling and spectacular
HISTORY TELLS US that Carnival has been celebrated in
Panama since the days of the Spanish conquistadores, when .
Old Panama was the center of many dazzling and spectacular P
pageants. But the first official Carnival of the Republic was
not until 1910.
The 4-day festival, at first a simple celebration, has turned
into splashes of color, parades, and dances, when Panama
pulses with life and gaiety. The climax is on Tuesday and
the early hours of Ash Wednesday when gay tamboreras slow '''
to a funeral march, marking the sad end to a happy time.
Parades of g.aih decorated floats take us back to Colonial
times when comparsas danced in the cobbled streets of Old
Panama. Mock battles of serpentine and confetti remind us of
the water fights of long ago. And as customary, on Saturday,
the first day of Carnival, the noontime arrival of King Carnival
(Dios Momo), accompanied by his devils and their helpers,
signals the beginning of the festival. Then mock battles and Girls in polleras, men in montunos perform dance of the tunas.
dancing continue to dawn.


Horseless carriages and horse-drawn vehicles carry participants in the 1912 Carnival through Cathedral Plaza in Panama City.


FEBRUARY 1966





In Colonial times, the streets were scenes of riotous water
fights during the day, but at night, men in montunos and
women in polleras danced through the towns in merry tunas.
Mock battles then took on a romantic flavor and young men
sprinkled exotic perfumes on their girls and gave them clusters
of candles to carry in the dance of the tunas.
Today, the colorful Carnival of Las Tablas is in many ways
like those of long ago. Singing groups, accompanied by drums
and native guitars, still compete; thousands of dollars in fire-
works are burned in happy battles of competition between
the Calle Arriba (upper street gang) and Calle Abajo (lower
street gang). Instead of throwing water the mock battles are
fought with French champagne. Here the Carnival has the
nostalgic flavor of Panamanian folklore.
For a simple Carnival even closer to the style of long ago
travel past Las Tablas, into Santo Domingo, Las Palmas, or
Pedasi. In a few minutes, you are in the Panama of the 18th
century, and here is the oldest Carnival of them all.


Carnival revelers ride through street aboard oxcarts in Guarare, some 175 miles from
Panama City.


I,

lI'ZY


Lc


Riding a serpent in the 1949 Carnival parade.


Carlotita I, Carnival Queen of the Union
Club in 1954.


Waving, smiling to sea of faces are beauties atop float in 1949 Panama Carnival.


THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 23












Super Trailerships
SIX NEW super trailer ships which will
serve Panama and transit the Panama
Canal are to be constructed within the
next 5 years, it has been announced by
McLean Industries, Inc., parent com-
pany of Sea-Land Service whose con-
tainer ships now sail every 10 days both
east and west in an intercoastal service
and stop in Panama in both directions.
According to an article in the Novem-
ber issue of Brandon's Shipper and
Forwarder, the new ships will be the
world's largest and fastest general cargo
carriers. Design plans are being devel-
oped by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.
which will build the vessels at its Pesca-
goula, Miss., yard. Delivery of the first
ship is expected in June 1968 and the
last by late 1969 or early 1970.
Present plans are that each of the
ships will be 905 feet long, have top
speed of 27.5 knots and a cruising speed
of 25 knots. They will be able to carry
1,261 loaded truck trailers, which will
be loaded and unloaded by giant shore
cranes. The partly automated vessels
will be powered by two-gear turbines
which will develop a total horsepower
of 72,200, more than any cargo carrying
ship in the world. They will carry no
passengers.
The new ships are tentatively sched-
ule to sail in Sea-Land's New York-
north European service which will be
inaugurated in April 1966 with smaller
ships. They also will operate in the
company's intercoastal trade. This will
enable each of the vessels to start a
voyage at the company's new terminal
in Rotterdam, call at New York, San
Juan, Balboa, Los Angeles, San Fran-
cisco, and return in 42 days.
Sea-Land, which has the world's
largest fleet of highway transportation
equipment combined with 16 ships in
its container fleet, loads produce ship-
ments into refrigerated vans right in
the fields of west coast growers. The
vans travel over the road to ports, load-
ed aboard the vessels and taken to the
delivery port where the trailer body
goes back on wheels for over-the-road
delivery to consignees. From field to
consignee, the shipments are under con-
stant, closely controlled and supervised
refrigeration without exposure to heat at
any point, a company official noted.
The Sea-Land agent in Panama is
Bovd Bros.


Largest Japanese Ship
THE SHOZAN MARU, believed to be
the largest ship flying the Japanese flag,
made her maiden transit through the
Panama Canal in December on her way
from Peru to Rotterdam with a cargo
of 47,625 long tons of iron ore. Built
in Tsurami Shipyards in Yokohama, the
ship measures 743 feet in length and
104 feet wide. The vessel is owned by
Shawa Shipping Co., Ltd., and is
operated by San Juan Carriers.


New Kungsholm
THE SWEDISH American Line's new
Kungsholm will pass through the Pan-
ama Canal in October 1966 on an in-
augural cruise around South America,
it has been announced in New York.
The cruise schedule is to sail from New
York October 19, and from Port Ever-
glades October 22. The vessel is to
transit south through the Canal and will
call at Callao, Peru; Valparaiso, Chile;
passing Cape Pillar on her way through
the Strait of Magellan; then proceed-
ing to Punta Arenas, Chile; Falkland Is-
lands; Buenos Aires, Montevideo, San-
tos, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Bridgetown,
Barbados, and St. George, Grenada,
before returning to New York.
A well-known name in cruising circles,
the new Kungsholm is replacing a ship
of the same name which was trans-
ferred to the North German Lloyd Line
last April and renamed the Bremen.
C. B. Fenton is agent for the Swedish
American Line here.







.
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MONTHS


FEBRUARY 1966


1965












(AVERAGE 1951 -1955)


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