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Show - Your Man f 1 In Washington By U.S. Senator OrrinG. Hatch A Look at the Panama Canal In 1902 the U.S. Congress Con-gress approved the Sxoner Act, authorizing President Theodore" Roosevelt to buy rights and property from a French company for $40 million if Colombia would give up a strip of land across the Isthmus of Panama for a canal route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A treaty between Colombia and the United States was signed in Washington the next year, but the Colombian Senute refused to ratify. A revolt in the Panama area on November 3. 1903, created the independent nation of Panama. U.S. naval vessels in effect prevented Colombian troops from landing to put down the revolution. The new nation was recognized by the United States three days later, and by November 18 a treaty with the United States for the Canal 'one had been approved ap-proved by the new government. govern-ment. The treaty granted the U.S. occupation, use, mid control of the Canal Zone "in perpetuity." The ' purrliusc price was $10 million with annual fees of $2."0,000. The fee now has increased to the current rate of $1.9 million annually. In 17 a joint announcement an-nouncement was made by the two governments --U.S. --U.S. and Panama -- that draft treaties had been completed on a new price for occupation. Negative reaction in lxith nations precluded any progress towards ratification. Ten years have passed and the Carter Administration Ad-ministration has an agreement agree-ment on the Canal, but most of the dctailH have been withheld from the Congress. Since the settlement settle-ment was reached, sentiment senti-ment ill Congress is running run-ning agaiiiHl the new treaty because of a lack of op-I op-I h r1 mi it y for input from the Mouse and the Senate. Hearings are underway in the Semite Subcommittee on the Separation of Powers chaired by Alabama Democrat James II. Allen and the ranking minority member. Senator Oirint;. Hatch llt-Ulah). It is the contention of witnessed In-fore the sub committee that the President Presi-dent has violated Article IV of the U.S. Constitution Constitu-tion which provides, "The Congress shall have the power to dispose of. and make all needful Rules and Regulations, respecting respec-ting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States," Disposal is a major portion of the Carter treaty. Money is also a factor in the treaty, but the Constitution Con-stitution expressly provides, pro-vides, "No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of Appropriations Ap-propriations by law," meaning approval by both houses of Congress. So what kind of treaty-is treaty-is this. 1. The estimated value of the Panama Canal today, including land and equipment, is $7 billion. Indications are that it will be turned over to Panama in the year 2000. and the U.S. will pay up to $." billion to have our property taken over. 2 . The treaty, negotiated behind closed doors, will be brought to the Senate for ratification while in apparent violation of Article IV of the Constitution. Con-stitution. 3. The U.S. will pay millions of dollars to pull out of Panama and millions annually during the withdrawal. This treaty, negotiated by Sol I.inowit., special ambassador am-bassador to the Panamanian Panama-nian talks, has been considered con-sidered under the supposition supposi-tion by some that in 'H)'. when the Panamanian government was in its formative for-mative stages, the U.S. descended on its helpless people, wrongfully took IMPsscssion of land by fraudulent treaty, and built a canal to exploit the Panamanians. There is no mention that the U.S. supported Panamanian independence indepen-dence - that the land in question belonged to the government of Colombia Colom-bia -- or that, without our assistance, there would have been no Panama Canal. In this light, it is not likely that people of Utah or the Nation will look kindly on a treaty offered of-fered under these circiiinsliinccs. |