Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 58 Part 2.djvu/678

 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS OTHER THAN TREATIES [58 STAT. 53 Stat. 1871. Section IV of the Convention signed by our Governments on March 2, 1936 can be improved in the construction proposed by Your Gov- ernment in order to meet "such standards and specifications as the United States may determine necessary for defense purposes," and that the other articles of the Convention of 1936, referred to, shall 53 Stat. 1872. continue in full force and effect, including the seventh, which stipulates that both Panama and the United States shall have equally the unrestricted use of the Trans-Isthmian Highway, subject only to the laws and regulations in force in the respective jurisdictions on vehicular traffic. My Government appreciates at its full value this act of open friendship and solidarity on the part of Your Excellency's illustrious Government, which is destined to intensify and fortify, rendering still firmer, the manifold spiritual, political and economic ties which hap- pily bind our two countries, and which have always existed, beginning, in truth, to be forged in the very commencement of our independent life. In harmony with that intention of establishing not only commercial interchange but also a true spiritual understanding that may serve as a firm basis for political and economic relations, my Government is disposed and has decided, as I had the honor to state to His Excellency President Roosevelt in my speech of presentation of my credentials as Ambassador of Panama before his Government, to do everything in its power to the end that "our relations may continue to develop, let us say with confidence, translated into effective solidarity, harmony and cooperation". Furthermore, this highway will doubtless serve to strengthen the capacity of our two Governments to cooperate reciprocally in an effective manner in the defense of the great work of the Canal. I request Your Excellency to accept the renewed homage of my most distinguished consideration. JORGE E. BOYD Ambassador His Excellency CORDELL HULL, Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. 1598

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