Proclamation 2811—United Nations Day, 1948

Whereas the people of the United States are united in a firm resolve to cooperate effectively with other countries, through the medium of the United Nations, to the end that a future of peace, freedom, and justice may prevail upon the earth; and

Whereas it is fitting that the devotion of the American people to the ideals expressed in the Charter of the United Nations should be reaffirmed in our inmost hearts and expressed in public ceremonies; and

Whereas it is our desire that our support of the United Nations be given added strength and positive affirmation through the activities of an informed public; and

Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations, on October 31, 1947, unanimously adopted a resolution declaring that October 24, the anniversary of the coming into force of the Charter of the United Nations, "shall henceforth be officially called 'United Nations Day' and shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for the work of the United Nations"; and

Whereas the General Assembly, in the same resolution, invited the member governments to cooperate with the United Nations in securing observance of United Nations Day:

Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby urge the people of the United States to observe October 24, 1948, as United Nations Day by exercises exemplifying our recognition of the achievements of the United Nations, our support of its aims, and our determination to strive for the realization of those aims.

And I call upon the officers of the Federal, State, and local governments, as well as upon civic, educational, and religious organizations and institutions, and also upon the agencies of the press, radio, and other media of information, to cooperate in programs designed to give public expression to our devotion to the United Nations and to make more effective our participation in the work of the United Nations; and I urge our citizens to participate actively in these programs.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this 9th day of September in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-third.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

By the President:

G. C. MARSHALL,

Secretary of State.