ACROSS A STREET IN PANAMA

Hokitika Guardian, 28 July 1931, Page 2

ACROSS A STREET IN PANAMA

AN AMAZING CONTRAST. < MODERN 'EFFICIENCY AND NATIVE SQUALOR, I 1 On ono side of the street a line of beautiful modern villas, with winding drives and exotic gardens—on the ( other, the filthy and squalid dwellings , of a decayed race. This, the sight that greets the voyager who passes .through the Panama canal, provides one of the greatest contrasts that modern travel can bring. The average , New Zealander who visits the Old Country is, generally, too eager to see the sights of London to regard the passage through the great canal as anything other than an interesting incidental, but Mr H. E. Perry, of Christchurch, found in the adjoining towns of Balboa and old Panama an absorbing attraction. Were it possible* for that enterprising pirate, Sir .Henry Morgan, to be reincarnated for a day and taken to the Isthmus, he would be a nlcist surprised riiaii. As far back ak 1610 'Morgan'and his men sacked the then city •,f Panama. Now, he would find the scene 1 of his escapade deserted except for occasional tourists, while ten miles away he would discover the commencement of the canal, the greatest engineering work the world has yet se^n. | A GREAT EFFICIENCY. “The canal itself is a hackneyed topic,” said Mr Perry on his return, “but the impression I received ol its working and its staff was one ol wonderful efficiency. It is an outstanding example of what the Americans can do. “The United 'States settlement is built and conducted on model lines. Balboa is superbly laid out, with wide streets fringed with different varieties of tropical trees. The bottle palms make most striking avenues, and the vivid scarlet flowers of the hibiscus hedges are prominent. There are no fences to hide the beauties of* the gardens, ,so the general, impression is of one continuous park. The homes are all finished in white stucco. ' All are well designed and some are quite palatial. The administration offices provide fine examples of commercial architecture adapted to the requirement of the tropics.” THE MILITARY POPULATION. The United States have a considerable military organisation at Balboa, and there is also a number of ships of war, which give the place something of tile characteristics of a naval base. The uniforms of the services provide another variation to an already variegated Been*. Of the 14,000 people employed by the canal administration, only 3000 are while ; 11,000 are what Is euphemistically termed, coloured. Most of them are West Indians, but in Old Panama there are no fewer than forty different nationalities represented. Where the colour line enters Into the life of a community there tact is needed. Balboa gives an excellent illustration. Waiting rooms, train carriages, seats on promenades, all are labelled, but there* is nothing so crude as “whites” and “blacks,” or “Europeans”* and “natives.” The coloured population is known as “silver” and the white as “gold.” Hence the uninitiated visitor is apt to be slightly mystified by the inscriptions. 'THE TENEMENTS. The families of the silver employees are housed in tenements specially built for the purpose. They are all alike, and, though not elaborate, provide well appointed, airy, and hygienic quarters. All are* built on “stilts,” being raised some six or eight feet off the ground, and underneath there is a space which serves variously as garage, stable, and children’s playground. In the rainy season, it even serves as a drying ground for the washing. The prohibition tendencies of the United States people are evident in Balboa, but he who thirsts and would be quenched has but to cross the* road to Panama. That Is about as wet as any town could be. The houses and streets are indescribably squalid. Narrow and dirty/ the thoroughfares are robbed of light and air by the overhang of the houses. However, there is a colourful quality about the populace that lends animation to the scene. Next door to a typically Japanese menage there is to be seen the characteristic screens, blinds, and lamps indicative of the presence* of a Chinese family. The streets are lined w.ith saloons, cabarets and eating houses of a quantity repellent to the self-respect-ing European. The shops face right on to the streets, and he who would be shaved must sit in full view of the passing throng, while a Japanese, or Chinese-, or West Indian barher plies his doubtful art. Most* of what trading enterprise there is is in the hands of those three races. All over the pavements there are bootblacks and pedlars. The* bootblacks prop their clients in tall chairs against the wall. There are plenty of vivid scarves, pyjamas, and other articles of attire to attract the unwary visitor. At night, the whole place is well lit with electric power from the canal plant, and the scene is colourful and animated. THE ANCIENT CITY. A bitumen road covers the ten miles to the •mci?v.t city sacked by the c-n-

terprising Morgan. There are gaily illuminated roadhouses all the way. The country is fertile, and there are many dairy farms where the cattle are of a good stamp and the appliances clean. There are large plantations of bananas, the staple crop. The wreck of the old civilisation of Panama is now covered for the most part with dense tropical vegetation. There stand out the outlines of the city tower and the' cathedral, mute evidence of a forgotten glory. Taken all in all, the Isthmus has a host of attractions, modern and historical and picturesque, that an their own way defy rivalry.