White House Press Release, Address of President Harry S. Truman

451 HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 22, 1945 CONFIDENTIAL: The following address of the President of the United States to be delivered at the opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations MUST BE HELD IN STRICT CONFIDENCE and no portion, synopsis or intimation is to be published until delivery has begun. This is expected to be about 4:30 P.M., E.S.T., Wednesday, October 23, 1946. The same release applies to radio announcers and news broadcasters. PLEASE EXERCISE CARE TO AVOID PREMATURE PUBLICATION OR RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT. CHARLES G. ROSS Secretary to the President On behalf of the Government and the people of the United States I extend a warm welcome to the delegates who have come here from all parts of the world to represent their countries at this meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations. I recall with great pleasure the last occasion on which I met and spoke with the representatives of the United Nations. Many of you who are here today were present then. It was the final day of the Conference at San Francisco, when the United Nations Charter was signed. On that day the constitutional foundation of the United Nations was laid. For the people of my country this meeting has a special historic significance. After the first world war the United States refused to join the League of Nations and our seat was empty at the first meeting of the League Assembly. This time the United States is not only a member; it is host to the United Nations. I can assure you that the Government and the people of the United States are deeply proud and grateful that the United Nations has chosen our country for its headquarters. We will extend the fullest measure of cooperation in making a home for the United Nations in this country. The American people welcome the delegates and the Secretariat of the United Nations as good neighbors and warm friends. This meeting of the Assembly symbolizes the abandonment by the United States of a policy of isolation. The overwhelming majority of the American people, regardless of party, support the United Nations. They are resolved that the United States, to the full limit of its strength, shall contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a just and lasting peace among the nations of the world. However, I must tell you that the American people are troubled by the failure of the Allied nations to make more progress in their common search for lasting peace. It is important to remember the intended place of the United Nations in moving toward this goal. The United Nations -- as an organization -- was not intended to settle the problems arising im- mediately out of the war. The United Nations was intended to provide the means for maintaining international peace in the future after just settlements have been made. The settlement of these problems was deliberately consigned to negotiations among the Allies as distinguished from the United Nations. This was done in order to give the United Nations a better opportunity and a freer hand to carry out its long-range task of pro- viding peaceful means for the adjustment of future differences, some of which might arise out of the settlements made as a result of this war. (OVER