NEW YORK CHOSEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21947, 15 February 1946, Page 4

NEW YORK CHOSEN

TEMPORARY HOME OF UNO

COMMITTEE'S DECISION l (9 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 14. r The United Nations’ Headquarters Site Committee by 29 votes to 13 > accepted New York City as the interim headquarters. The decision to make New York the United Nations’ temporary home while ■ permanent buildings are being erected I elsewhere on the American east coast 1' was taken after several days of some--1 times heated discussions. Two votes 1 finally settled the issue. One motion by Australia and Bolivia favouring San Francisco was rejected by 21 votes to 19. The other motion - accepted New York. Several countries 7 abstained, including the United States, 1 which played no part in the choice of ’ the site. The United Kingdom, Soviet 5 and Canada were among those approving of New York, while Australia, - Bolivia and China favoured ihe west i coast. i Australian Objection 1 Colonel Hodgson (Australia), who throughout the debate had been San [ Francisco’s chief protagonist, declared that New York was “the last place in 1 the world” for UNO, but before the 7 final figures were announced he asked : that the vote should be recorded as a f unanimous one favouring New York. M. Broustra (France), who also con- | sistently opposed the east coast, sup--1 ported Colonel Hodgson, after which ' Ihe committee recorded its unanimous decision for New York, despite the ; voting figures of 29 to 13. : The possibility of the Empire State 1 building in New York being used for the temporary site of the United Nations . secretariat was discussed by the Permanent Headquarters Committee. It is announced that Mr. Grover Whelan, representing the Mayor of New York, and Mr. Howard Huston, adviser to the United Nations’ site inspection group, are seeing President Truman and Federal officials in Washington in the hope of getting an assurance of sufficient space if the United Nations desired • it. I . ■.