Show For Protection o of Panama Parl Canal i w r r a b ir- ir i yr t i s Dr Octavio Fabrega foreign minister of the Republic of Panama pictured ri right ht as he signed the agreement whereby Panama agreed to establishment of bases within the republic for the protection of the c canal nal by the United States At left is Edwin C. C Wilson ambassador to Panama The agreement which was signed ned May l 18 13 1942 19 involves the use of sonic some acres in the republic b by the U. U S. S armed forces Uncle Sam It conceals keen-eyed keen watchers on the alert for surprise attacks and treachery Pearl Harbor Harbor Harbor Har Har- bor has not been forgotten Great forts stand at either ocean entrance to the canal and swift naval naval naval na na- na- na val vessels are constantly on guard T P-T boats those swift messengers of death which accounted for more than one J Jap ap warship in Manila bay and which got General MacArthur out of Bataan are ready to lend their speed and their fighting power to the defense of the waterway These deadly mosquito boats as they are called carry an antiaircraft antiaircraft antiaircraft anti air craft gun that hurls a 20 mm explosive explosive explosive ex ex- plosive shell which is bad medicine for attacking planes Ts P-Ts can also raise havoc amidst surface craft with their deadly torpedoes and blast a sub from the deep with depth charges l I Where Walls r Have Ears Unseen sentinels move about through the Panama jungle as ubiquitous as all outdoors popping up when least expected No action escapes unseen no spoken word is unheard Here is a place where indeed the Walls have ears Landmine Landmine Landmine Land Land- mine units are on the qui vive vivo waiting waiting waiting wait wait- ing to do their share in rendering enemy progress dangerous and slow Packed away in the jungle too there the inevitable in- in is infantry the infantry in infantry fantry to fantry-to to which we must all pin our hopes to push the enemy back if he should succeed in gaining a foothold foothold foothold foot foot- hold in this vital area With the advent of the new trans-Isthmian trans highway the speedy movement of troops from one end of the canal to the other other other-a a mile 48 run run run-is is an accomplished accomplished accomplished ac ac- ac- ac fact Dangers Facing Us These are some of the things that are awaiting those who have lost their respect for territorial rights And now having had a glimpse of the canals canal's n E d defenses s Let let us co consider d briefly DnellY from nom irom which direction and ana in ill what form any thrust at the canal may come As the most strategic spot in our hemisphere and offering an opportunity opportunity opportunity of bottling up our fleet in ei either either either ei- ei ther ocean it can safely be assumed assumed assumed as as- that our enemies will want to smash tl the e canal at the earliest possible date regardless of all hazards hazards hazards haz haz- ards and will leave nothing undone to attain this objective Their plans might take shape in the form of small raiding parties or in vast armadas armadas armadas ar ar- ar- ar madas of bombers and fighter planes Then too we are faced with the menace of secret bas bases s. s We Ve must not forget the lesson of the J Jap- Jap p- p mandated Marshall islands on which secret bases were built in open defiance defiance defiance de de- de- de fiance of international treaties The uninhabited jungles of nearby Central Central Cen Cen- and South America might j cen-j pro- pro U U 1 yH iy w i f i a 3 h 4 m- m u n. n j wv ji v s B nezi m B n View of a ship in the locks showing in the foreground the restricted lock gate mechanism vide aerial hideouts for the treacherous treacherous treacherous erous Japs or the deceitful and ever- ever diligent Nazis With Franco playing ball continually continually continually con con- with Adolf Hitler islands such as the Spanish Canaries and the Portuguese Azores or the many small isles that dot the Caribbean might furnish springboards for hostile hostile hostile hos hos- tile wings Danger From the Sea Airplane carriers steaming ahead at full speed all aU night or for several several several sev sev- eral nights as in the case of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor offer offer offer of of- fer serious potential dangers Once within miles of the Canal Zone they could launch their planes in inthe inthe inthe the gray of the dawn They know I full well that just one big egg dropped in a lock would hatch loads of trouble for Uncle Sam We must bear in mind that without the canal canalin in operation a mile 50 trip becomes a mile cruise around the Horn either way you take it with its terrific loss of precious time and greatly increased operating costs The battleship Oregon made one such emergency trip during the Spanish-American Spanish war and arrived on the scene in time to turn the tide of battle but we have neither the time nor the inclination for this sort of thing in this war with the Axis Nothing must happen to the Panama canal Friendly but Questionable Isles Let us look in another direction One thousand nd miles to the southwest of the Canal Zone loom the shadowy shapes of the Galapagos islands These islands are owned by friendly friend friend- ly Ecuador These tiny islands though in friendly hands are anybody's anybody's anybody's any any- body's guess these days for Jap fishing boats have been known to have plied off their shores and who knows what observations have been made and what soundings taken Then there is the menace of the nearby blue Caribbean in which enemy enemy enemy en en- emy subs are known to be prowling and which have already taken heavy toll of our merchant shipping in these very waters so dangerously close to the canal Dealing with this menace is the Caribbean patrol of huge navy patrol bombers ton 15 Consolidated flying boats with sound apparatus to detect subs and two tons of bombs These bombers roar out daily on to dusk sweeps of the Caribbean and the Atlantic and may be included as an important important important tant arm of the canal defense Espionage and sabotage the long suit of the enemy may also be listed listed listed list list- ed on the debit side of the ledger in an accounting of the Canal Zones Zone's danger potentials and all must be dealt with in their own individual way An Historic Event The most important event in the history of the canal occurred in J January January Jan Jan- an- an uary 1939 when the U. U S. S fleet passed from the Pacific to the Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic ocean and even more dramatic dramatic dramatic dra dra- matic was the return passage of a large portion of the fleet in early May of that year Both transits were made without the appearance of haste but in record time Contrary to the general belief the canal does not run due east cast and west but zig irregularly across the isthmus It Its operation consists in helping ships however big and bulky to ascend three water-steps water locks from one ocean into the huge man-made man Lake Gatun from wh which ch they descend three other water-steps water into the ocean at the canals canal's other end The locks are so constructed that two vessels proceeding in opposite opposite opposite site directions may go through the canal at the same time Big ships occupy a whole lock and smaller ships are wedged in like sardines Once in the locks the ships ship's crew is shoved aside and the canal crew fakes takes over The United States has sovereignty over the entire Canal Zone Two cities stand guard at either gateway gateway gateway gate gate- way of the canal canal canal-Balboa Balboa at the Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic end and Panama at the Pacific Pacific Pacific Pa Pa- end The canal was constructed during Theodore Roosevelt's administration by the U. U S. S army with General Goethals as engineering chief and General Gorges in charge of public health It wa was opened to commercial traffic August 15 1915 and was declared declared declared de de- formally completed July 12 1920 during President Wilsons Wilson's administration administration ad ad- ministration tion i r t lt i JJ |