WORK OF SALVAGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 July 1942, Page 3

WORK OF SALVAGE

4. UN POST-WAR WORLD DECLARATION OF AMERICAN POLICY. MADE BY MR CORDELL HULL. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 23. A programme for the postwar world was outlined by the American Secretary of State, Mr Cordell Hull, in his broadcast address today. With victory achieved, he said, the first concern of the United Nations must be those people who had suffered beyond human endurance. When the armies of the enemies were beaten, the people of many countries would be starving and without the means of procuring food or building homes because their fields had been scorched, their cattle slaughtered, their tools and factories were gone, and their mines and means of transport wrecked. In addition, untold millions would be far from their homes and the danger of disease would lurk everywhere. Victory must be followed by swift, effective action, and during the period of transition from war to peace the United Nations must continue to act in the spirit of co-operation which underlay their war effort. A great constructive task would lie before all countries, and that would include the building of human freedom and of Christian morality on firmer and broader foundations than ever before. This task would call for both national and international action. . UPHOLDING RULE OF LAW. No nation could make satisfactory progress while its citizens were in the grip of constant fear of external attack or intereference, so it was plain that some international agency must be created to ensure peace. This must eventually include the adjustment of international armaments in such a manner that the rule of law could not be challenged while the burden of armaments was reduced to a minimum. The participation of a nation in such an agency would be its contribution toward its own future se-, curity. It was plain that there would have to be an international court of justice, and it was equally clear that the United Nations, during the process of re-establishment of international law and order, would have to exercise surveillance over the aggressor nations until they demonstrated their willingness and ability to live at peace with others. How long such surveillance must continue would depend on the people of Germany, Japan and Italy. TRADE AND' CURRENCY. One of the greatest obstacles in the past which had impeded human progress was the extreme nationalism which ran riot between the last war and this war and defeated all attempts to carry out indispensable measures of international, economic and political action, encouraged and facilitated the rise of the dictators, and drove the world into war, Mr Hull continued. “Nations cannot make satisfactory progress when they are deprived of the immeasurable benefits of an international exchange of goods and services. Excessive trade barriers must be reduced and practices which divert trade from their natural economic course must be avoided. “Equally plain is the need for making national currencies once more freely exchangeable at stable rates, for a system of financial relations to be devised so that materials can be produced and ways found for moving them to where markets are created by human need, and for .machinery through which capital may move on equitable terms from financially stronger’ to financially weaker countries in order to develop the world’s resources and stabilise economic activity.”