UN General Assembly
1951

48. Since we last met, forty-eight nations have signed a peace treaty with Japan. The way has been opened for other nations to do the same. A long period of tree negotiation was crowned with success. For much of this negotiation the meeting of many statesmen here at the United Nations offered fruitful opportunities. 49. These nations did not merely talk about peace, they achieved it. Some prefer to mouth the word “peace” and to oppose the reality. But the peace treaty was concluded. This is fact, not fiction. It is a tangible accomplishment, not a mere empty protestation. The signatures of many free nations on a just and unvengeful treaty are worth far more on the balance sheet of history than the signatures of those who, by fraud or compulsion, subscribe to vague slogans whose promise is belied by the deeds of those who prefabricate the slogans.