Congress buys France's failed canal for $40 million; Roosevelt is expected to sign tomorrow

The French had already tried and failed to dig a canal across the Isthmus of Panama — beaten back by yellow fever, mudslides, and bankruptcy — leaving behind rusting machinery and a paper syndicate desperate to unload its assets. On June 28, 1902, Congress enacted the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to purchase those assets from the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama for $40 million — down from an asking price of $110 million — provided a treaty could be secured with Colombia. The syndicate's chief promoter, Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, had lobbied furiously for the deal, and American lawyer William Nelson Cromwell had lobbied alongside him, ultimately walking away with $800,000 in commission. Roosevelt signed the bill the next day…