Evening star., 1946-10-03
By the A..oeioted prs..
" IHes-sue'utsu FIe
PARIS, Oct. 3.-The tert OF

ber, when the question OF the place
of the Peace Conference arose, I at
once thought Of Paris and France.
/ telephoned to Mr.. Bidault sug-
gesting that If the French govern
ment would invite the conference to
meet in Paris, I felt confident the
invitation would be accepted. The
Invitation was extended and unani-
mously accepted.
Mr.. Bidault and his associates and
the people of Paris have left undone
nothing that would contribute to
our work and our comfort. The
longer We stay-and we have been
| In no hurry to leave-the more the
French people have made us feel
at home. They not only want to
be hospitable, but they have the
know-how.
Because of the many duties de-
volvine on Mr.. Bidault, am amazed
at his ability to find time to show
such interest in the work Of the
conference. He is man Of great
Intelligence, charm and industry.
And this intelligence, charm and
industry he always uses to promote
the welfare of the country he serves
and loves so well.
Long Friendship Cited.
In this company I will not speak
of the long and firm friendship
which has existed between the peo-
pie of France and the people Of the
United States-a friendship which
existed before we attained our in
dependence. That friendship runs
SO deep that we do not have to
talk about it. Differ as we may
from time to time, our two peoples
always have stood and always will
stand together in time of crisis.
Liberty. equality, fraternity-the
rights Of man-are our common
heritage.
Twice In my generation the SOL
diers of France and the soldiers Of
America have fought side by side
in defense of their common heritage
of freedom. America Is proud Of
her contribution to our common VIC
tory in 1945. America is proud Of
her contribution to our common VIC
tory in 1918. But America Is not
so proud of the course she followed
after the victory Of 1918.
In 1918 was follower Of Wood
row Wilson. gloried In his ideal
ism and in the magnificent effort
he made to build the peace upon
~ Af 7 1f Nc
tions.
But the American people ex-
pected too much from Woodrow
Wilson and supported him too little.
While he was in Paris working for
peace, political opponents at home
bitterly criticized his course and
questioned his motives. They ex-
aggerated and exploited the short
comings of the Treaty Of Versailles
and they belittled and besmirched
what Woodrow Wilson had accom-
plished.
Can't Retreat Into Isolation.
America failed to join the League
of Nations. America refused to guar
antee the defense of the French
frontier. America allowed other
countries to believe that she had
no interest. and would not seriously
concern herself in what was hap
pening in Europe. in Africa or Asia.
But vars started, frst in Asia.
then Id Africa and then III Europe
Then came Pearl Harbor. America
learned too late that this Is one
world and that she could not isolate
herself from that wurlds tsw + M
America Is determined this time
not to retreat into a policy Of iso-
lation. We are determined this
time to cooperate in maintainingI
the peace.
President Roosevelt this time
sought to avoid the political op-
position which had defeated the
peace after the first World War.
Then President Wilson neglected
to invite the leaders of the politi-
cal party in opposition to his ad-
ministration to participate with him
in making the peace.
President Roosevelt, on the other
hand, asked the congressional lead
ers to participate in the peace
studies being made by the Depart
ment of State shortly after our
entry into the war.
Republicans in Delegation.
At Yalta, immeditely after the
heads of government had agreed to
call the San Francisco Conference
to draw up the charter for the
United Nations, President Roosevelt
advised Secretary (of State Edward
R) Stettinius and me that he would
appoint on the delegation to the
San Francisco Conference Repub-
licans as well as Democrats and
would name Senator Vandenberg as
the ranking Republican member OF
the delegation.
Even before our entry into the war,
President Roosevelt repudiated the
idea that the United States was not
interested in what takes place In
Europe. Knowing from the start
that the war was war OF aggression,
he never asked the American people
to be neutral in spirit.
Before we entered the war he In
spired the declaration of principles
known as the Atlantic Charter,
which was proclaimed by him and
the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom Of August IA, 1941.
It was President Roosevelt who at
Yalta presented the declaration on
liberated Europe which Generals
simo Stain and Prime Minister
Churchill accepted and which i'm
posed a responsibility upon the three
governments to continue their In
terest in the Balkan States and up
hold the basic freedoms embodied
in that declaration.
The policies inaugurated by Presi-
dent Roosevelt have been consistent |
ly followed by his successor, Presi-
dent Truman. He has consistently |
urged the carrying out in the lib
Grated and ex-enemy states OF Eu-
rope of the policies agreed to by the
heads of government at Yalta at
the instance of President Roosevelt.
Cooperation Continued.
President Truman continued the |
practice of seeking the cooperation
of the leaders Of both major political
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