United States-Colombia Canal Treaty
A treaty between the United States and Colombia has been signed, by the terms of which the United States agrees to make a cash payment of $10,000,000 in gold to the Colombian Government, and after the expiration of nine years, to pay a rental of $250,000 per year. The lease of the strip of land to be used for the canal and for canal purposes is practically made perpetual, the provision on this point being that the first lease shall be for 100 years and renewable thereafter at the pleasure of the United States. The strip is to be ten kilometers or six miles in width, and over this territory the United States is given police and sanitary jurisdiction, altho it is explicitly specified that Colombia does not surrender sovereignty over it. The United States is to have the privilege of free importation of vessels and material to be used in the construction of the canal. It also is given the right to improve, use, and protect harbors at both the Atlantic and the Pacific ends of the canal. The grant is made exclusive to the United States, and no taxes or rentals are to be charged in addition to the gross sums of $10,000,000 cash and $250,000 annually.