00:00:09.640 - 00:00:33.460

My name's David Adamson. Harper. I first came to Panama as an employee of The Grace Line. Actually, I was a management trainee, and all the management trainees of Grace Line was sent to Panama. In those days. That was 1962. My previous background was that I had Bean in the Navy and Great Britain on Graduated from the Naval College.

00:00:34.110 - 00:01:14.370

I was Grace's first non American management trainee. Um, I came to Panama in 62 what was the the great thing that happened that caused my interest to rocket on Panama? Was the 64 riots on the 64 riots stuck in my mind because the Army took over our Grace line building and I had a tough time getting in and the snipers were actually firing at our building, and that made me very interested in why.

00:01:14.940 - 00:01:40.050

What was behind the Panamanians? Unhappiness on. I spent many years investigating that theory. Journal Treaty. The hey boon over l. A treaty was the cause of all the discontent. And if you know the history, you can understand the Panamanian side actually on. That's what I've managed to put together in my book.

00:01:41.540 - 00:02:06.350

It took me a long time to understand what had happened in 1903 when Panama seceded from Colombia on the treaty that everybody was constantly demonstrating against was the Hey Bruno Varela Treaty. In 64 I asked people who was this boon of guerrilla. Was he a Panamanian?

00:02:06.360 - 00:02:21.380

And nobody I knew at the time could even tell me who he was. It took some research to find out that he was a Frenchman, and in a matter of fact, he never had visited Panama for 17 years. He's being part of the original French canal operation.

00:02:21.390 - 00:02:40.450

His motivation was to sell his French canal bonds, which he could only sell if the U. S. Bought the French operation. Roosevelt was not involved in the succession, according to Roosevelt, but most people know that that was a lie, but it was never uncovered by historians.

00:02:40.460 - 00:03:13.200

I have written my interpretation of how Roosevelt pulled off what I call the steal of the century, and it's in my book how Teddy took Panama. One word I would say Apt is magnificent. Yes, it's a magnificent story from start to finish, its the the hardships that the French went through the hardships that the Americans went through.

00:03:13.200 - 00:03:45.760

The the the fact that it probably never would have bean built if they hadn't figured out it was a mosquito that carried yellow fever and malaria and the efforts that the United States made to wipe out yellow fever. The efforts that Roosevelt himself was the only supporter of Dr Gorgas at a time, and then having done that, to build this enormous structure against tremendous odds something the French were incapable of doing is a private company.

00:03:46.140 - 00:04:27.160

Only the full might of the United States government and the money at their disposal allowed it to happen. And even then it was a very tough thing on the fact that today it still runs with the original design on the original equipment. It's magnificent. Well, I lived in the Canal Zone in two separate periods the first period, without a doubt, the most vivid memory where the 1964 riots, which caused my tremendous interest in everything about the origins of Panama on it was a very hard time.

00:04:27.940 - 00:04:59.170

It was a an issue that many people didn't understand fully, especially those demonstrating. Nobody actually seemed to know the real story. Andi it left a lasting impression on me, and I've been studying it practically ever since. 1964 Yankee ingenuity. Um, I don't think it could have bean built by anybody else.

00:05:00.140 - 00:05:28.180

I think the effort on the dynamism of people like Teddy Roosevelt and Dr Gorgas that waas an incredible achievement. And I think Yankee ingenuity, which is a common phrase in for a while back, but not heard too much today. That's what built the Panama Canal. Yes, I did.

00:05:28.190 - 00:05:46.840

I brought a few things back, but I've got two very special molars that I've carried around with me all over the world as I've Bean transferred around the world in my job in the shipping business and the mola that is on the front page of my book, which I can show you.

00:05:46.840 - 00:06:07.360

Here it is is theme. The is was right behind my desk when I was looking for when I was looking for a cover to my book, I thought, I've got it. I bought this in the mid seventies on it suddenly found its way onto the front page front cover of my book.

00:06:08.640 - 00:06:37.020

I've got another Moeller, which is almost a good on bond. Those two have been with me ever since. Ever since I bought them in the early seventies, I worked for the private companies. I didn't work for the Panama Canal Company. Andi and my work with the Grace Line.

00:06:37.020 - 00:07:04.730

The shipping company would sometimes bring me into conflict with the Panama Canal Company, as any shipping line has conflict with terminals and shoreside establishments that you deal deal with. I always found them to be, uh, in the main, very fair to deal with protective of their own patch, so to speak.

00:07:04.740 - 00:07:28.870

But fair. And I don't have a specific memory off dealings with them. I've had negative dealings with them, and I've had very positive dealings with them. Um, the the The thing I remember, though, is that it was a time in a place and it's gone now, and as a time in a place that was a pretty wonderful time in a place.

00:07:29.240 - 00:07:52.640

And as you see from all of the people that are here now it binds them together, and I'm on the periphery of that. Since I wasn't actually originally an American at all, I was British. But then, when I returned to Panama, toe run, the grace line operation in Panama in 1973.

00:07:52.640 - 00:08:20.130

I had by then become a US citizen, and I ended up supporting the treaty negotiation. And after that was over. Another most significant memory is I was asked by the State Department to become the Yusa consular agent in Colon, Panama. And it was a significant moment for me because in 1964 eyed bean in Colon, when the U.

00:08:20.130 - 00:08:52.550

S consulate had bean burned down and the council withdrawn. So the next US Council in Collomb was May I had transformed from being British to being American and now a US consular agent. As I said, I was actually involved on a peripheral basis as a supporter of the State Department, and I did speak in favor of the new treaty, which brought me, Ah, a lot of hostility from people.

00:08:53.040 - 00:09:17.330

I I understand the hostility. I understood it then and I understand it now. I think the one phrase that I would use was fear of the future. Um, there had bean a period of 70 years of of generational Canal Zone people, and it was a strange life to live.

00:09:17.680 - 00:09:37.660

And one thing that I always felt for them, which didn't affect makers. I wasn't The Canal Company employee was that they were born in Panama. They went to school in Panama. They worked for the Panama Canal Company, and when they got to be 65 or when they retired, they could no longer live in Panama.

00:09:37.990 - 00:09:54.470

So they had to leave their grandchildren. The two choices were too going to Panama, which was hard for them, or go back to the States. Then there's nowhere else in the world where you could be born into a community, grow up, go to school, stay in that community, work in that community.

00:09:54.480 - 00:10:20.360

And then when you reach retirement age, be kicked out of that community. And it was it was a sad situation on, perhaps could have been handled better by the U. S. But theme. The fair of the future was very strong at the time. And when I would speak in favor of the new treaties, I would run into hostility occasionally.

00:10:20.360 - 00:10:43.570

But most people are reasonable if you talk facts, and I think anyone reading my book will understand those facts now. Even the people that were hostile back in the seventies might understand more about it. I think the same thing. As I said before, It was a time in a place.

00:10:44.040 - 00:11:04.290

Um, I think there's a song from the From the show Camelot, you know, It was a time and it was a place and it's gone and it won't come back. And we can only remember the good times. We worked hard and we played hard assed. The expression goes on.

00:11:04.290 - 00:11:26.850

It was in the might. It was it was a great place to live and grow up in. If you were a canal company person and for us who were only in as adults, we joined in with them and we had made friendships. And I've got friendships and endure today that I made them with canal company people.