THE PANAMA CANAL COMPANY HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE EIGHTY-THIRD CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 3620 TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO JULY 6, 1954 Printed for the use of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE JOHN W. BRICKER, Ohio, Chairman ANDREW F. SCHOEPPEL, Kansas EDWIN C. JOHNSON, Colorado BERTRAM O. WISSMAN, Chief Clerk SUBCOMMITTEE No. 4, WATER TRANSPORTATION CHARLES E. POTTER, Michigan WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Washington ROBERT D. L'HEUREUX, Full Committee Counsel A. J. BOURBON, Staff Member CONTENTS Statement of— Page Dewey, Ralph B, Washington representative, Pacific American Steam- 10 3 Whitman, W. M., Secretary of Panama Canal Company, 101 Indiana 8 Letter from Greene, Francis T., executive vice president, American Mer- General Accounting Office, dated July 14, 1954– 19 Department of the Treasury, dated June 28, 1954 III 232 TRANSFER OF CERTAIN PROPERTY TO THE PANAMA CANAL COMPANY TUESDAY, JULY 6, 1954 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, The subcommittee met at 10:35 a. m., pursuant to call, in room G-16 of the Capitol, Senator Frederick G. Payne presiding. Present: Senators Payne and Smathers. Also present: Donald D. Webster, special counsel; A. J. Bourbon, staff member; and Robert D. L'Heureux, counsel for the full committee. Senator PAYNE. The hearing will please come to order. The first bill to be taken up this morning will be S. 3620, introduced by Senator Bricker on June 16, 1954, a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer certain property to the Panama Canal Company, and for other purposes. A copy of the bill will be made a part of the record at this point. (S. 3620 is as follows:) [S. 3620, 83d Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer certain property to the Panama Canal Company, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to transfer to the Panama Canal Company, without exchange of funds, all or so much of the facilities, buildings, structures, improvements, and equipment comprising aids to navigation maintained by the Coast Guard at or on Roncador Cay, Serrana Banks, Quita Sueno Banks, Cristobal Mole, Cape Mala, Jicarita Island, and Morro Puercos Island, as may be mutually acceptable for transfer. SEC. 2. Upon completion of any transfer authorized by this Act, the functions of the Treasury Department concerning the pertinent aid to navigation and its jurisdiction over the site upon which the aid is located are transferred to the Panama Canal Company. SEC. 3. Transfers made under this Act shall be subject to the provisions of section 246 (b) of title 2 of the Canal Zone Code, as added by the Act of June 29, 1948 (ch. 706, sec. 2, 62 Stat. 1076). Senator PAYNE. There are several witnesses from the Coast Guard and the shipping industry to testify concerning this bill. Before calling the witnesses, however, I wish to place in the record a letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury dated June 28, 1954, recommending favorable consideration of the bill; also a letter from the Deputy Attorney General dated June 23, 1954, in which it is stated that the Justice Department prefers not to offer any comment since the subject matter of the bill is not related to any of its activities. |