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UNITED NATIONS DAY, 1950* Just five years ago today the nations signatory to the United Nations Charter ratified it officially and the General Assembly declared that October 24 should permanently be called "United Nations Day." It is fitting that we should interrupt our activities and our deliberations at this Seminar, important as they are, to celebrate this day which signalizes a great achievement in bettering the relationships among men and to rededicate ourselves to the high purposes for which the United Nations stands. You will recall that the Preamble of the Charter sets forth the aims and purposes of the United Nations in these terms: "We the peoples of the United Nations have determined to: "1. Maintain international peace and security. "2. Develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self- determination of peoples. "3. To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all. "4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.' *Address by Earl James McGrath, United States Commissioner of Education, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D.C., as Chairman of U.S. Delegation to the Inter-American Seminar on Elementary Education, Montevideo, Uruguay, in Plenary Session, October 24, 1950 at 6:00 p.m.