Uruguay

I should like to congratulate the President on his conduct of this Assembly's debates, and the Secretary-General on his success in setting up the present Organization, which is one of the biggest tasks that I have known. I should like to convey to the members of this Assembly the cordial greeting of the Government and people of my country. Thanks to her political stability, Uruguay has been able to follow her traditional international policy of close friendship with her neighbours and the nations of America, of goodwill towards all countries and of freedom of world trade. Uruguay cannot forget those countries which contributed to her independence, and which, throughout her history, have co-operated in her development and in helping her to attain the state of civilization which she has now happily achieved. Montevideo, our capital on the River Plate, now numbers with its suburbs one million inhabitants, and is called by tourists the “City of Roses”. In front of the city, there may yet be discerned in the Ocean River, as the early navigators called the River Plate, a blackened hull emerging from the waters; it is the German ironclad Graf Spee which the British Navy, in spite of heavy odds, forced to take refuge in the port of Montevideo, and which the Government of Uruguay obliged to comply with the law of asylum at a time when, on a horizon of blood, the victory of the Axis Powers appeared to be certain. We did not have the strength to measure ourselves against that fortress which was scuttled by its commander in the despair of the first defeat. Nevertheless, we did our duty. Artigas, the great thinker and historical philosopher of Uruguay, was the precursor of the concept of nationality. When he was in dire distress, the Government of the United States of America extended to him, through the United States Consul at Montevideo, an invitation to come to this country in which we now find ourselves and to rest from the anxieties of his struggle for independence and democracy with all the honours due to his rank and ideals. But it was too late, and Artigas went to live and die in a country which at that time had no material wealth, but which was great in spirit and much loved by us: Paraguay. In the homestead of Artigas, in the land of the Guarani, there is today an Uruguayan school, a symbol of union, kindness and hope. This is also our symbol and the symbol of America. Some time ago, I left the city of New York rejoicing in the victorious conclusion of hostilities. I then visited some of the countries of America and found the same impression of relief which peace or the strangest, happiest, most extraordinary events produce as if by magic day by day, sometimes unexpectedly. Peace is a rebirth; it is like the spectacle offered by nature when the gentle season begins to cover the earth with flowers. Today I have re-established contact with the peoples and statesmen of this continent, and I have become aware of the uncertainty and anxiety to which the President of the United States gave prominence in the speech with which he opened our session. I know that the state of mind of the general public in the other continents is similar to that to be found here. What is the reason for this cloud which overshadows us all at a time when we expected to behold the dawn of triumph? Is it to be attributed to the attitude of any one nation or group of nations which is rendering the work of peace difficult? I do not believe so. As far as I have been able to observe, all the representatives to this Assembly, without a single exception, desire to return to their homes, their consciences at peace, and to carry to their peoples the sublime word which means happiness. All the organs of this Assembly, from the highest to the lowest, are animated by the same desire. The only obstacle which, in my opinion, is obstructing this purpose is the lack of that rapidity which is indispensable for the achievement of our work which the world so deeply desires. We all know the axiom that danger zones should be crossed quickly. It is an axiom of those who fight, and have fought most, against the forces of nature, of those who face the perils of the sea. Every danger zone must be passed as quickly as possible. The world still finds itself today in such a danger zone, and desires to leave the fog behind and come forth into the light; the whole world, all the nations of the world, without a single exception. The public has learned that facts, and not words, are the acid test. The man in the street understands the difficulties in building up peace. He knows the different points of view, sincerely held opinions, and ambitions and rights which are hard to relinquish; but he also knows that in life men must compromise and sometimes concede a point to others, possess a fund of goodwill and not found everything on the domination of some over others, and that, in the long run, the peoples are grateful to those who give them peace and happy days. If mothers sacrificed their sons in the war, statesmen and nations may well sacrifice on the altar of peace something of what, from their point of view, they consider just. I remember seeing a picture a long time ago which became engraved on my memory. It represented the nations in conference as trees whose roots had struck deeply into the soil and prevented them from approaching each other; then came a time when this could no longer be borne and the spirits deserted these lifeless beings and mingled in a common joy whence arose peace illuminating the whole world. I believe that the time for this has now come. My country does not forget the sacrifices accepted by the principal victorious Powers, and seizes this opportunity to express its admiration for their soldiers, sailors and airmen, from the five-star generals and other high officers to the most obscure but heroic rank and file. My country also thinks that those Governments which associated or co-operated with the countries which declared war should not be allowed to continue in power, and it intends to state its opinion in detail when this question comes on the agenda. I should like to pay a tribute to the memory of President Masaryk, and in view of all that Mr. Benes, my friend of former days, has done for the consolidation of his country, I should also like to send him a friendly message. Uruguay considers it essential to help those countries which have given themselves properly elected Governments, and from another point of view, to assist in the restoration of Belgium, ever outraged and the first to be sacrified, and of Norway. This reminds me that when, at the first Paris Conference, the delegate of Brazil, speaking at a moment when things looked black, saw Nansen enter the hall, he exclaimed “Here comes light; here is the Aurora Borealis”. The clear light of civilization and justice comes to us from the countries of the extreme north, One cannot conceive of a better world without the co-operation of the genius of France. France must recover her rank as a first-class Power. Our civilization is inconceivable without France. I should like also to mention the presence at this Assembly of my old friend Wellington Koo, and to tell him that, although we in America are a long way from China, we know of the great battles which his country fought before any other country, and that we fully appreciate the sacrifices made in the war by China and admire the thousand-year old civilization of the East. The work of mankind, the happiness of the home, the welfare of all, and especially of those who have the least, the working classes, demand a rapid and just peace. Who will deny that social phenomena, strikes, general confusion, are symptoms of unrest which point to the necessity of concluding peace rapidly so that all may return to their normal way of life? In conclusion, I would say that a heavy responsibility rests upon us all. We must remember that many men, scattered over the earth, believe that, if in spite of our efforts, we do not have the good fortune to settle these disputes and realise the hopes of humanity, others will be ready to take up this duty and will succeed in doing so. Uruguay, like America, is a country of peace, conciliation and arbitration, and hopes that the black clouds which now overshadow the world will be dispersed this year.