The Panama CanalAll Because of a Postage Stamp

John Graper Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of Central America on his fourth voyage to the New World in search of a short route to the fabled Orient. However,

he did not venture very far inland before he gave up his search. It wasn’t until 1513 that the Isthmus of Panama was crossed by Vasco de Núñez Balboa, who became the first European to view the Pacific Ocean. When he returned to Spain, Balboa suggested to the Spanish king that a canal might be created across the isthmus

to provide a sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific. This was the first of several proposals over the next few centuries to build a canal connecting the two oceans. The California Gold Rush in 1849 sparked renewed interest, as the shortest route for miners heading west was to take a ship to Panama, cross the isthmus on foot and wait there for a connecting ship to finish the trip to California. The alternate, by sailing ship around Cape Horn with its treacherous waters added 7000 miles and five to six months to the travel time. Construction of a railroad began in 1850 and reduced some of the hardships. The dense forests, torrential rains and disease took a heavy toll of those venturing a crossing. In 1879, a Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps, formed a company to dig a canal

along the route of the railroad, and work began in 1881. De Lesseps had successfully completed the Suez Canal ten years earlier, and based his techniques on that project. However the problems mentioned above plus the excavation of a sea-level channel through the mountain range running down the spine of Central America were a far cry from digging what was essentially a straight ditch across a flat desert. Landslides and

flooding from the Chartres River, which could rise over twenty feet overnight in the rainy season proved too much of a challenge, and his company was bankrupt by 1891. Before his death he finally admitted that a sea-level canal was impractical. During Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, the United States was beginning to flex its muscle in world affairs, and he was interested in a canal if only to provide the U.S. Navy with quick access to both oceans. Proposals were made, and a route through Nicaragua was thought feasible and preferable to Panama. This was about to go before Congress for approval when very intense lobbying by William Cromwell, a New York lawyer, and Phillipe Bunau-Varilla put the old Panama route back into play. They subtly neglected to mention the horrendous conditions existing in Panama, concentrating on volcanic activity in Nicaragua. Eruptions had taken place there in 1880, 1883 and 1889. The Nicaraguan route had its path through Lake Nicaragua, and Mount Momotombo was located in the lake. A prominent geographic feature, the mountain’s picture appeared on many of the country’s postage stamps. Sending a copy of a ten centavo Nicaraguan stamp

Theodore Roosevelt

Balboa

de Lesseps

Columbus

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showing Mt. Momotombo in eruption to each member of Congress proved to be the most devastating tactic of Bunau-Varilla’s campaign. This was enough to defeat the Nicaragua proposal, and in 1903 an offer of $10,000,000 and $250,000 a year was made to the Colombian government for rights to a 6-mile wide strip across the isthmus. The offer was rejected, but Bunau-Varilla convinced Roosevelt that Panama was ripe for a revolution, and could be dealt with separately if it was independent. He then fomented a successful revolution there, and the United States bought the assets of de Lesseps’ company and prepared to begin digging. A treaty with Panama included a sixteen-mile wide zone along the proposed canal from sea to sea. It is perhaps just incidental that in this manner Bunau-Varilla was able to recoup the $400,000 he had paid de Lesseps for his company. Mount Momotombo did actually erupt in 1905. In 1904, work began but the U.S. project encountered the same difficulties as de Lesseps, although the idea of a sea-level canal was abandoned in favor of locks. However, of more immediate concern was the control of yellow fever and malaria. Dr. William Gorgas was put in charge of the project, and he was sure that the

two diseases were spread by mosquitos. His approach was to use insecticides and eliminate containers of standing water, which the insects needed to lay their eggs, or put oil on their surfaces. This was done in all inhabited areas and workplaces, and by the third application, the diseases were largely eliminated in the work areas. Work advanced fairly well except in the area of the Chartres River,

where the flooding and landslides still prevailed. The original chief engineer, John Wallace, resigned in frustration after one year and President Roosevelt replaced him with another brilliant engineer, John Stevens. Stevens was able to accelerate the pace of construction, and the route along the Panama Railroad, which was now a double track line from coast to coast, enabled easier access to the work area and easy disposal of excavated material. John Stevens resigned in 1907, telling Roosevelt that he had only agreed to stay on the job until success was assured. Roosevelt was furious, and vowed never to have another chief engineer who could resign. He appointed Major General George Goethals, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to the post. Goethals made several major changes. He had the width of the canal widened from ninety to one hundred ten feet and also enlarged the locks to that capacity. The locks were over five city blocks long and could now accommodate the Titanic, which was under construction at the time. His solution to the flooding was to dam the Chartres River, creating Gatun Lake, the largest man-made lake in the world

The Three Chief Engineers: John Wallace, John Stevens and George Goethals

Dr. Wm. Gorgas

Mt. Momotombo

“Before and After” Views of the Canal on Stamps

Gaillard CutBalboa

Gatun Locks

Gatun SpillwayPedro Miguel Locks

Canal Channel Gamboa

Bas Obispo

(Scott # 120-35)

at the time. This had the additional benefit of providing a water source for the locks without the use of pumps. A hydroelectric plant was built at the dam’s base which produced all the electrical power required to supply the Canal Zone. The canal was completed and opened to ship traffic in August of 1914. It has three sets of locks, and at its highest point it is 85 feet above sea level, at Gatun Lake. One unusual aspect of the canal is that the Pacific Ocean entrance is east of the one for the Atlantic. Tolls are assessed according to the displacement of the ships and averaged $150,000 in 2007. The highest on record as of 2008 was $331,220 for the Disney Magic. The lowest was the 36 cents paid by the author Richard Halliburton, who in 1928 swam the entire length of the canal. The canal remains today at its initial size, as it is impossible to enlarge the locks. As ships have grown longer and wider through the years, many of today’s vessels cannot navigate the canal and have once again been forced to use the route around Cape Horn, the same situation as before the canal’s opening. This is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, as many of its vessels, especially aircraft carriers, are much too large to use the canal, and the subject of a sea-level route has been brought up a number of times. A proposal was made in the 1960s to use a series of underground thermonuclear explosions to excavate a canal across Nicaragua, called “Project Plowshare”, but it came to nothing, unsurprisingly. Presently, a new canal using the route proposed to Congress before the Panama route was accepted is under consideration by the Nicaraguan government. In 1921 Congress awarded the Columbian government twenty-five million dollars in return for Columbia’s recognition of Panama’s independence. In 1977, primarily due to frequent unrest and rioting in Panama, U.S. President Jimmy Carter negotiated a treaty which over a period of twenty years would turn over ownership of the canal to Panama. It became fully effective on December 31, 1999 and the government of Panama is now in full control of canal operations. Philatelically, the best known Canal Zone stamp is the 1962 Thatcher Ferry Bridge error, which has the silver overprint of the bridge missing. A plan to issue a stamp with the error as a reprint for collectors, as with the Hammarskjold invert, was foiled by a lawsuit brought by stamp dealer H.E. Harris of Boston.

Another interesting item is the set of sixteen stamps, shown on the following page, issued to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the canal. Eight of the areas along the canal’s path are pictured on the stamps, each with a view of the site during construction on one stamp and the location after the canal’s completion on another. Today, it’s difficult to believe that the location of such a monumental project as building the Panama Canal could be decided on such a trivial item as a picture on a postage stamp, but in truth it was the deciding factor.

Normal Thatcher Ferry Bridge Stamp “Missing Bridge” Error Stamp