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August 15, 1914
THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA
August 15, 1939
Bottle Alley in Colon in September 1906 before it was paved.
Only a few of the streets in Panama City and Colon were
E paved when the Republic was formed in 1903.
The Isthmus of Panama and its history have
been intimately bound up with that of the Panama
Canal idea. It was along the present Canal
route that the first survey was made four centuries
ago. Through its territory numerous surveys
have been made. The Panama route was
always considered one of the most logical routes
for a canal. It was at Panama, therefore, that
the first actual attempt to join the two oceans
was inaugurated in 1880 by Count Ferdinand
de Lesseps, and it was apparent that the succesful
completion of such a great undertaking would
be of great benefit to the world and of special
value to the Isthmus.
After the formation of the new nation in 1903
and the beginning of the construction of the
Panama Canal by the United States Government,
the two nations joined hands in the great
endeavor and the relationships which have
existed since that time, both political and social,
have been friendly and cordial, to the benefit of
both nations and to the world. The economic
growth of the Republic of Panama since that
time has been steady and consistent.
The growth and expansion of Panama City,
capital of the Republic, and Colon have been
outstanding. Both are modern and flourishing
cities with healthful residential sections. Thousands
of tourists each year find enjoyment in
visiting the romantic and historic sites of the
two modern cities. Government and private
enterprise have joined hands in a general program
of municipal development and improvement
with the result that the old and dilapidated
buildings of less prosperQus days are
rapidly being replaced by modern structures.
Streets built for carts and carriages are being
widened into modern boulevards, and a general
program of beautificatipn of the two cities has
been consistently carded forward during the
past few years.
The progressive spirit which has marked the
advancement of Panama City and Colon is
indicative of the advances made in the rest of
the nation, and the development which has taken
place within these two cosmopolitan centers forecasts
similar development in other sections of the
nation when the present program of highway
building, opening up the interior, is completed.
The economic web of these two important
centers of the Republic, upon which to a large
measure is based the welfare of the entire nation.
is composed of many strands. No longer is
Panama a rich city merely because a steady
stream of gold pours through from Peru, as was
the case more than three centuries ago. Its
prosperity and that of Colon on the Atlantic
coast is based upon many and more substantial
factors. Foremost among these is the business
acumen of its merchants and civic leaders who
had the foresight to keep abreast of the rapidly
moving times of the twentieth century; of a
rapidly increasing population of their cities; and
of rapidly expanding business fields.
Bottle Alley in Colon in J1tIte 1907 after it was paved and
sewers were installed. Great strides have bew made in
municipal improvements in Panama and Colon.
Located as they are adjacent to the terminal
ports of the Panama Canal where thousands of
ships pass every year, both Colon and Panama
City are cosmopolitan centers.
More than 100,000 tourists visit the Isthmus
of Panama annually and provide much business
for the cities of Panama and Colon. In
turn, the tourists are well rewarded because the
Isthmus of Panama is one of the richest in historical
lore and interest of any land in the New
World. Also, tourists are said to be able to make
their purchases here at prices far below what
they would pay elsewhere. In addition to the
thousands of tourists who flock to these trade
wind-swept shores every year, the United States
Fleet makes periodic visits to Canal waters
which stimulate trade for many months as the
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