PROBLEM OF WORLD'S HOMELESS REFUGEES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 246, 18 October 1939, Page 7

PROBLEM OF WORLD'S HOMELESS REFUGEES.

CONFERENCE IN US.A.

Democracy's Obligation To

Humanity.

SETTLEMENT SCHEMES. United Press Association.-—Copyright. (Received 10.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON, October 17. President Roosevelt to-day urged that the inter-Governmental Committee on Political Refugees, which represents six countries, should speed the present task of helping 300,000 homeless because "when this ghastly war ends, maybe not one but ten or twenty million will enter the problem."

He asked the committee to start a "serious expansive effort to survey and study the geographic and economic problem of resettling several million people."

The President announced active settlement, beginning with Dominica and the Philippines, and said he hoped the projects would be the forerunner of many similar by other nations. He observed that the possible field of the new settlements covered millions of miles in Africa, America and Australasia. The problem now transcends any racial or religious division.

"It is not enough to indulge in horrified humanitarianism, empty resolution, golden rhetoric and pious words. We must face it actively if the democratic principle, based on respect for human dignity, is to survive and if world order, resting on security of the individual, is to be restored.

"We hope and trust the existing war will terminate quickly. The quicker we begin this undertaking the quicker we will contribute something to the establishment of world peace. Out of the dregs of the present disaster we can distil some real achievements in human progress." Mr. Roosevelt continued that he realised Britain and France were "engaged in a major war and can be asked to do little more than give a continuance of their sympathy and interest. That means that upon neutral nations lies the obligation to humanity to carry on the work."

He urged the adoption of the most modern methods. "So far we have been working on too small a scale. We have failed to apply modern engineering to our task."

A committee will begin a two-day conference at which it will draft recommendations for the next plenary session, at which 32 member nations will be represented.