MRS ROOSEVELT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 August 1943, Page 3

MRS ROOSEVELT

WELCOMED AT STATE RECEPTION TRIBUTE TO THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN. CRUSADING SPIRIT NEEDED TO WIN PEACE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day An enthusiastic welcome was accorded Mrs Roosevelt at. a State reception in her honour at Parliament House on Saturday afternoon. The gathering' was representative of all sections of the community, and as the guests entered the social hall they were received by the Prime Minister, Afr Fraser, Airs Fraser, and Airs Roosevelt. Afternoon tea was served.

The Prime Minister said that no one was assured of a warmer welcome from the people of New Zealand than Mrs. Roosevelt. One reason why they were pleased to see her was because she was the wife of that great man and that great friend of New Zealand, President Roosevelt. The people of the British race would never forget the great service he had rendered the democratic cause. The introduction of lend-lease had been one of the most generous actions from one nation to another. They would like Mrs. Roosevelt to take back to her husband the knowledge of the eSteem of the British Commonwealth and of New Zealand, and without wishing to intrude in the politics of another country, that they would wish him to be present in some capacity at the conference after the war which would, lay the foundations of the new world for which the United Nations were fighting. There had never been an occupant of the White House who had contributed more to the advancement and freedom of mankind. Mrs. Roosevelt had made herself very dear to the friends of progress and they appreciated her work.

Loud applause greeted Mrs. Roosevelt when she rose to reply. She said that just before she came away from the United States the President and herself had Mr. Churchill and his daughter with them at the White House for two days. They would be glad to hear that Mr Churchill, whom she thought of as one of the most courageous and fighting Prime Ministers of Great Britain, felt extremely well and seemed very buoyant and very full of assurance. She thought Mr Churchill felt, just as her husband felt, that while we could not in any way relax our efforts still we could be buoyed up by the thought that the tide of war had turned in our direction. WORLD CO-OPERATION. “I hope when the time comes to build a world of peace we will again stand side by side, men and women, and try this time to lay a better foundation for peace than we did the last-time,” said Mrs. Roosevelt, after expressing appreciation of the hospitality extended by New Zealanders to men of the United States Forces stationed in the Dominion. T am afraid that peace is not a thing that signatures on a piece of paper bring about. Peace, I think, has to be worked for, day in and day out, just as we work to win the war. I hope that this time we will put the same crusading spirit into the future as we are putting into the present There is no reason in the world why we should not work side by side in the future.” A tribute to the people of Britain was paid by Mrs. Roosevelt, who said she thought the stand they had made after Dunkirk had not been fully appreciated. As history was written, however, all would come to know that time had allowed the people of the United States to wake up to the fact they would fight together against Fascism. That perhaps was the turning point, the thing that really woke them all up to the menace threatening the world. “I know we are going to win the war,” said Mrs Roosevelt. “That, I think, everyone is sure of, but this time we must win the peace, and that is harder than winning the war. I hope that in this thing we work on together.” Cheers were given for Mrs. Roosevelt before and after her speech, and her remarks were frequently applauded. ADDRESS TO WOMEN CONDITIONS OF LASTING PEACE. PART FOR ALL TO PLAY. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The need for good will, co-oper-ation and readiness to accept sacrifices if a lasting peace were to be achieved at the conclusion of the present war was stressed by Mrs Roosevelt, addressing a crowded meeting of women in the Majestic Theatre, Wellington, last night. Preceded by Maori girls who chanted a welcome as she arrived, Mrs Roosevelt was given a tumultious welcome by the women who packed the theatre.

In a brief but effective introductory speech, Mrs P. Fraser said of Mrs Roosevelt that “by her great work for the under-privileged and for women and children she is known as one of the world’s most famous women.” New Zealand, like the United States, Mrs Roosevelt said, wanted a peaceful world —not peaceful because of fear of some powerful tyrant, but peaceful because everyone' had enough food, shelter and clothes and work which paid a decent living wage. “At the end of the last war,” she said, “we thought we could mind our own business and have intercourse with the rest of the world only through trade. For too long we blinded ourselves, and before long we reaped the bitter harvest of the depression. This time I do not think we should rely wholly on the work that our leaders will do at the peace table. We must learn the lesson that, if democracy is to prove itself, the voice of the people must be more articulate —every person must take full responsibility in making the leaders conscious of the wishes of the people and seeing that, on the foundations of peace, is erected a progressive, economic and political building designed to preserve peace.” The tide of war had turned and we knew now that victory in Europe and in the Pacific was ours, said Mrs Roosevelt. It might cost many more young lives and many women would

weep, but in the end the democracies would triumph, and we would have another chance to try to do better than before. Now was the time to start planning for the future. We would have to see that all the nations of the world that had never'had a chance before were given a chance. For the first time the citizens of all nations would have to become concerned about what happened to others all over the earth. For a time, while some nations recupl- - sacrifices would be necessary. But, just as we accepted the sacrifices of war because liberty must be preserved at all costs, so we would accept the challenge that came to us in the future.

“Good will to all men is essential if our children and our grandchildren are not to suffer the bitter experiences that wo have suffered,” said Mrs Roosevelt. “The choice is co-operation and good' will oi’ extinction in a world in whim scientists will soon know how to give not only greater power for good, but also power to exterminate the whfle human race.”

Speaking of President Roosevelt and Mr Churchill, Mrs Roosevelt said: “I know they would both say that the peace must be won, not by the leaders alone, but by the combined effort of the people of the world. “My people of the United States,” Mrs Roosevelt concluded,’ “know full well all you are going through, and I speak for the United States when I say, ‘May God be with us all through the dark valleys and lead us back to the green pastures.’ ”

ROUSING WELCOME PROMISED IN AUSTRALIA. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, August 29. The projected visit of Mrs Roosevelt is hailed with delight throughout Australia. Preparations are being made to give First Lady the most rousing welcome of which this country is capable. Because of the short time available for her stay in the Commonwealth, Mrs Roosevelt’s itinerary is expected to be limited to the four cities t of the eastern states—Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. However, she will be given the opportunity of seeing a vast amount of Australia’s war effort and will meet as many representative Australians as possible. She is likely to be asked to -make at least one national broadcast while in Australia. A formal reception to Mrs Roosevelt will take place at Canberra. Dispatches telling of Mrs Roosevelt’s activities in New Zealand are featured in all the Australian newspapers, which editorially stress the honour done to the South Pacific democracies by her visit.