The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-12
THE COLOMBIAN TREATY
THE INSTRUMENT Is UNDER
GOING REVISION.
In Its Present. Shape It is Not in
Accord With the Canal Law
and Cannot Be Signed
by United States.

Washington, July 11.--With the expecta-
ton of saving the treaty by which Coiom-
bia will confer all the necessary rights
incident to the building of the FanaIna
canal by the United States Government
Senior Concha. the Colombian minister
Dr. Norerra, First Secretary OF Lekdlioh
and William Nelson CromweH, repre-,
senting the Panama Canal and haiiroau
Companies are busily engaged In going
over certain points in the treaty which
must be modified before the instrument
can be signed 1t is understood that the
notifications either directly or indlrectly'
involve the question of sovereignty.
Apparently important differences ana
obscurities exist in the isthmian canai ac'
and the treaty held by Colombia which
may not, however, exist in their spii''
Section 9, of the canal act authorizes eie
President to acquire from COLOMBIA per
petual control of a strip OF iano
which controls shall include Jurisdic-
ton over said strip and the ports at the
ends thereof, to make such police ana
sanitary rules and regulations as snali
| he necessary to preserve order and pre-
serve the public health thereon ana 10
establish such judicial tribunals as may
he agreed upon thereon as may De neces-
sary to enforce such rules ana reguia-
| tons.
From this portion of the act 1t Will APP
Har that the United States alone Is 10
police and sanitary regulations LOT the
canal strip and establish judicial tribu-
nails for their enforcement. fet article
3 of the draft of the canal treaty pro-
yides for the creation of joint COM
mittee by the government of Colombia
| and the United States that shall estao-
| lish and enforce sanitary aud police regu-
| lations."
Article 4 of the treaty provides that the
rights and privileges granted to the
United States by the terms of this con-
| vention shall affect the sovereignty oil
the republic of Colombia over the terri
tory within whose boundaries such rights
ard privileges are to be exercised. The
United States freely acknowledged AND
recognizes this sovereignty and disavows
| any intention to impair 1t in any way
| whatever, or to increase its territory al
the expense of Colombia or OF any OF the
| sister republics in Central or South Amer
lea, but on the contrary, it desires tc
strengthen the power of the republics or
this continent and then promote, develop
and maintain their prosperity and inde
rendence
1t appears to be the task now before
the parties to the proposed convention
to define with absolute clarity the extern
and limits Of the control or Joint con
troll to be exercised over the canal strip
For while control is not sovereignty In th'
common acceptance of the term, yet II
practice the two often merge so closely
as to defy identification, and it has al
along been recognized that any provision
of the treaty which threatens In an!
measure sovereignty of the South Amer
lean country over the territory shoult
not be accepted by Colombia.
Minister Concha has been in poor health
during the spring and summer and con
templates a journey out of town to re
cuperate in the near future. 1t Is conf
IDENTIFY hoped that the treaty may b,
signed before his departure.