Bob McMillan, who served on the agency that administered the Canal's handover, the Panama Canal Commission, for five years and for one as its chairman during the early 1990s, says nearly 300,000 jobs in the U.S. are

Bob McMillan

dependent on ships transiting the canal, with nearly 60,000 just in the ports of New York and New Jersey.
   "The project the Panamanians have proposed is almost equal in size to the original canal when you weigh dollars and the use of more sophisticated engineering equipment today," McMillan says.
   McMillan is well- versed in Panama, the canal and their histories. He says an expansion was begun in 1939, but was halted by World War II; subsequent world events through the decades prevented its resumption.
   "It's always been in the back of the minds of the Panamanians that there is a need to widen cuts and locks," he notes.
   McMillan served on the Commission during the early 1990s. He says he was initially apprehensive about the canal handover and was concerned that its operation might become too involved in political patronage. That hasn't been the case, he says. "The Panamanians have done a superb job of maintaining the canal and operating it efficiently. The canal is administered by engineers who could really be running large companies in the U.S. They are very competent people."
   McMillan hopes the U.S. is not "asleep at the switch" when it comes to seeking construction contracts and participating in financing of the project. U.S. strategic interests are at stake, he says. Trade figures support his assertion: 68 percent of canal traffic originates in or is destined for the U.S.
   "U.S. interests have to be involved in the construction and financing process or, in my judgment, Teddy Roosevelt will turn over in his grave," says McMillan. "If we don't participate, believe me there will be others there to participate." McMillan has written a book on the history of Panama and the strategic value of the canal. "Global Passage: Transformation of Panama and the Panama Canal," is due out in October.
   While Canal officials are optimistic of the referendum's passage, published reports in Panama describe an "under- the- radar" opposition to the measure among residents in indigenous areas of the country. Visits by President Martin Torrijos to these regions to campaign for "yes" votes is an indication of the uncertainty of the outcome, according to online newspaper Panama News.