Memorandum to the Secretary of the Army on the Operation of Steamships by the Panama Canal Company.

[ Released December 24, 1960. Dated December 21, 1960 ]

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Army:

I have studied the analyses of the Panama Line that have been made by the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company and by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. I have concluded that its transportation of nongovernmental passengers and cargo for commercial shippers is wholly inconsistent with the intended role of Government in a free enterprise economy.

Accordingly, the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company should immediately give the necessary notice, and discontinue the commercial operations of the Panama Line by February 10, 1961. Thereafter the activities of the Line should be confined solely to the transportation of passengers and freight for the account of the Panama Canal Company and the Canal Zone Government.

This action will, of course, necessitate a reappraisal of the Line's operation. The Board of Directors should, therefore, immediately restudy its position that the operation of the steamships is essential to the mission of the Panama Canal Company and promptly report its findings to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER