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Otago Daily Times, Issue 26078, 15 February 1946, Page 5

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UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION NEW YORK CITY CHOSEN (Rec. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 13. 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 elsewhere on the American east coast was taken after several days of sometimes heated discussions. Two votes 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 abstained, including the United States, which played no part in the choice of the site. The United Kingdom, Soviet Russia, and Canada were among those approving of New York, while Australia, Bolivia and China favoured the west coast. Mr Hodgson (Australia), who throughout the debate had been San Francisco’s chief protagonist, declared New York “the last place in the world” for U.N.0., but before the final figures were announced he asked that the vote should be' recorded as a unanimous one favouring New York. M. Broustra (France), who also consistently opposed the east coast, supported 'Mr Hodgson, after which the committee recorded a unanimous decision for New York despite the voting figures of 29 to 13. The possibility of the Empire State Building in New York being used for a temporary site of the United Nations’ secretariat was discussed by the Permanent Headquarters Committee. It announced that Mr Grover Whelan (representing the Mayor of New York), and Mr Howard Huston (adviser to the United Nations site inspection group) was seeing President Truman and Federal officials in Washington in the hope of an assurance of sufficient space if the United Nations desired it.