Evening star., 1946-12-15
Manhattan Site
Picked for u. n,
By 46-7 Vote
30-Minute Debote
Ends Years Search;
Rockefeller Thanked
BY the As,ociu.ed Press

United Nations General Assem- l.
bly, tonight picked Manhattan's
East Side for its permanent cap
ital. The vote was As to Z.
The assembly greeted the result
with great applause.
The action, taken in about 80 min
utes OF short, snappy discussion. cli-
NAKED years search for a perma-
nent home for the new world peace
agency.
San Francisco and Philadelphia
were the principal contenders at the
end until John D. Rockefeller, jr.,
presented his surprise offer of $8,-
100000 to buy land for site in
Manhattan's East Side.
Thanks for Rockefeller.
In the final voting, Australia,
Egypt, El Salvador, Iraq, Lebanon,
Saudi Arabia and Syria cast ballots
against New York City. Haiti was
absent.
Australia and the Arab states thus
carried to the end their fight against
New York. Australia favored San
Francisco in the long contest.
The headquarters committee pro-
posed that the Assembly accept the
site unanimously and thanked Mr.
Rockefeller for his offer to buy the
land for the skyscraper capital.
Eduardo zuleta Angel, OF Colon
bia, chairman of the committee, who
has been suffering heart attack,
left his hospital bed to come to the
Assembly and make his report.
Put Ahead on Agenda.
The Assembly took up the site
question Immediately after return
ing from its dinner recess. Warren
r. Austin, former United States
Senator and now chief Of the United
States delegation to the Assembly,
asked for unanimous consent to
move the site item ahead of q num-
ber of other minor matters on the
still-crowded agenda in difference to
the chairman's illness.
Nasrullah Entezam Of Iran, rap
portsr of the Headquarters Com
mittee, expressed to the Assembly
the unanimous thanks Of the COM
mittee to Mr.. Rockefeller. The dele
gates applauded mention Of MIR.
Rockefeller's name.
Mr.. Entezam then thanked. the
other cities which had extended in
Wtation to. the United Nations, espe-
cially San Francisco which he de-
scribed as that paradise of the
West" and to Philadelphia, which
He described as the Cradle Of
liberty, equality and fraternity.'
The chairman told the delegates
that the year of work by the COM
mittee had made possible the quick
acceptance Of Mr.. Rockefeller's offer,
which was made suddenly during
this week as 1t appeared the ques-
tion might have to be postponed
until next year.
Unanimous Vote. Sought.
Mr.. Zuleta said that the sky
scrapers and chimneys of Man
haitian would not hinder the work
of the United Nations. He added
that on the contrary. they would
''recall us to reality and life"
He appealed for unanimous
vote and addressed himself espe-
cially to the members of the PAN
Arab League" and the Australian
delegation.
Egypt and Australia, however, ex-
pressed opposition in brief speeches.
The East Side site has been known
locally as Turtle Bay" since the
DAYS of Washington Irving. 1t is
the area now bounded by Forty Sec
ond and orty-eighth streets and
First avenue and Franklin D. Roose-
welt drive.
Nathan Hale Hanged on Site.
At the exact center of the loca-
ton, where the United States and
Britain with other nations will pur-
sue peace, the British tried and
hanged Nathan Hale as a spy in the
War of Independence. Nearby, on
September Is, 1776, the British
lanQeQ ana LOOK possession OF MALI
haitian to the CONSERVATION of Gen.
George Washington.
Since the area was rich farmland,
it has changed, until today meats
packing plants and machine shops
shoulder gray warehouses and ram
shackle tenements between the roar
of midtown traffic and the moaning
of ships whistles on the river.