WORLD CHARTER

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24601, 25 June 1945, Page 5

WORLD CHARTER

APPROVAL AT UNCIO

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ; ■

LORD HALIFAX ON CHARTER

Last Formalities FULL SESSION TO-DAY

(Official News Service) (Bee. &30 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, June 23. The Steering Committee ef UNCIO has approved ef the World Security Charter. The formal routine of acceptance mast also bo carried out at the plenary session of the conference on Monday, after which the signatures will bo affixed. Two months after scores of cars drew up in front of the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco and eager crowds stood on tiptoe for a flimpse of Mr Molotov, Mr Eden, Mr tetunius. and Mr Soong—after the lights glared and the. newsreel cameras whirled asd President Truman’s message of high expectation rang through tpe loud-speakers—-after the delegates of the nations each in turn voiced the hopes of the peoples of the free world from a Hollywpodlike setting of a blue rostrum and the four orange “freedom" pillars—the United Nations’ 1 conference, its work drawing to a close, has in the last few days moved back fully into the public eye. As if completing the cycle, it will end on Tuesday afternoon m a blaze of publicity ns great as,, if not greater than, that under which it be--8 The Charter of the new international organisation, which is to be called the United Nations, ban been written by many different hands, in ramjy different ways, and nt many different places. It has emerged to detajd lnw» the debates and decisions of 13 technical committees, each a 60-nation conference in miniature and 28 lub-coro-mitteea. all working under the guidance of four commissions and an executive, a Steering Committee and a Co-ordination Committee. Not a little of the Charter was written in the penthouse on the roof ox the Fairmont Hotel where representatives of the Big Four, acting to, consultation with IJieir Governments in Washington, London, Moscow, and Chungking, sought nnd found on every critical issue the unanimity of decision that bad such a profound influence on the trend of the conference. The Charter is lest than 40,000 words long—but the planning and drafting and final writing of it used up more than 25.000,000 sheets of paper m documents and reports a t a rate seldom lew than 500,000 sheets each day. There was no way of telling exactly how many million words were spoken In English, French, Spamsb, and Russian, on- reasoning, arguing, conciliating, pleading, and demanding in the rooms where close on 400 separate meetings were held. Those of them that were caught and held by the official stenographers reached the records of the conference by way- of thousands of type winters and 35 duplicating machines. The more Important of them found their way out of the privacy of the rooms and became part of the 150,000 words that some 2000 newspaper rnd radio reporters dispatched on an average every “Sore than 70W people are officially] credited with having worked at the conference. At the top of the scale are those whose own words are embodied in the Charter, end at the other end are those who were, not destined to contribute more to it then driving an official car or passing -coffee across the counter of the conference buffet Here is the .total broken down into groups:—2B2 delegates; 1444 assistants, advisers, experts, end- staff, 1058 men and woman of the conference secretariat; 2262 officers end men of the United States Army and Nevy; 2000 volunteer workers; and, 188 telephone and telegraph operators. It baa been a long- and bard eight weeks for all these people. The fruit of their labours is becoming clear sis the Charter goes into print in its final form. It will be not weeks or months, but years, however, before the full measure of their achievement is known to the world.

Russian Buildings Dsefcpyefcr-Tbe Moscow radio has announced that 1,200,000 bouses were destroyed in White Russia during the war; 130,000 houses. 10.000 schools, and 2500 hospitals have already been. rebuiltrLondoc, June 24. ♦

“NOW SPOKESMEN FOB BRITISH EMPIRE" REPORTED ATTITUDE OF DR. EVATT (Bee. 9 pm) LONDON. June 23 The Associated Press correspondent at San Francisco says be learns authoritatively that the Australian delegation to San Francisco has taken the position that Australia and New Zealand are now the chief spokesmen for the' British Empire, inasmuch as Britain’s voice from now on must be tampered by die demands of Five unity. “This view,” says the correspondent “is reported to have originated with Dr. Evatt, who expressed great anger inside the Australian dele* gallon's headquarters over Lord Halifax’s statement at yesterday’s press conference, that Britain had taken tte leading role in writing die trusteeship chapter in the new Charter. Dr. Evatt claimed, on the contrary, that die British leaders bed been forced tosbandon the trusteeship decisions reached at the Empire Conference in London last April, because of pressure from other members of the Big Fjve“Dr. Evatt contended tbatUird Halifax had failed to rive the Australia delegation due credit for its fight to keep the London decisions in the Coer* tor. “Dr. Evatt argued that only Australia and New Zealand had followed the straight course at UNCIO. Therefore they could rightfully claim the swe of Empire spokesmen in future* Dr. Evatt, reviewing the Australian activities at UNCIO, said that Australia could not have succeeded es well as she had but for the resolution andsteadiness of the supporting delegations. including important Latin-Ame-rican, European, and Middle East nations, and British Dominions. “I went to pay a particular tribute to Mr Fraser, whose courage, frankness, and democratic approach to every question were of the utmost value, said Dr. Evatt. “Relations between our two countries will be made even closer by our success here*

“A GREAT HISTORIC ADVANCE” (Bee. ® June 38. “The UNCIO. Charterwpresentir a really great historic advance,” sag! Lord Halifax at a press conference & San Francisco. ~pe L opinion that the old League of Nations bad failed because U lacked a cohesive puzpo#c» Commenting on criticiam of the new organisation’s immense veto power, Lord Halifax said that thealternative would be the creation of rivaLWocs, fumishidg an avenue to fttrtbev trouble He declared: “The . Greet Powers ate notintending* to «WMW a hydra-headed to ron the world. Their lespffiiiiMmy Is tt*> pritaacyofservioe to Hie common cause, San Francisco has produced w Charter which, if ratified and observed, will give all the world a seal promiM of aeedrity and peaca." -- • Adverting to -, the old League, Lord Halifax said that its General . Assembly took a morn'democratic Kne, but me League’s work- had ‘ been largely vitiated dad emaaealataAbjs. the necessity of uniformity.'ao that any one State could stand out against all-flic, others. -,Tf • Lord Halifax deeUfed. that ho did not underrate the case made^eol tention va(» p«|ers. In contrast to the idfi LSfegufc the new Charter ... .wpuld «opmmasd,tfae support, mtcreetjand pertidpaiwnof all the Groat F9wm. . Jt had succeeded in eompg tbe .’problem of marrying reglonalarrangementa with the general orQßOtoflmv which was an immense through ‘ the new Security Councils military lt cat; teal teeth. ■ - ■

Hereiterated tnatit rested on. th» .imanirrHH* of ft*' Great. Power*.' "If fewer wlsbfs to start a war tbere tourtflg it that these Great Powers «S rnoua is not wanting tsar/* t