" LE T US C A LL A TRUCE T O TERROR " Addr e ss b y PR E SIDE NT KENNEDY Befo re t h e United Nation s G e neral A ssem bly Septemher Z5. 1961 T h is addr e 9 S is pr i nt e d a nd di s trib ute d by s pecial permission by the WOR LD PEAC E B ROADCASTING F OUNDATION, 3005 High Street, Des Moines, Iowa, and tape rec ordin g s of the talk a r e also a vailable. See m a terial at conc lusion of the talk for details. A SPECIAL MESSAGE TO YOU: This address by Pre sident Kennedy has received w ide a ttent i on. It is being read and studied by c itizens int e rest ed in prom oti n g world p e a c e and a c hieving ultima te dis­ armaJnent. We believe you c a n b e o f help by obtainin g copies of this address and dis­ tr ibuting them to y our fr iend s and oth er s who you t hink -might be o f help in leading and forming public opin ion. You can also help by circulating a petit ion which is attached to this addr e s s . We hope you will c arefu lly read this addre S5. We b elieve you will t h en perc eive fully the great c hallenge it presents, and will wish t o respond personally. On October 2, 1961 a f ull page advertisement appea red in t h e N ew York Times which was signed by twenty-two prominent citiz e ns. It carried the caption: " A n Open Letter to the President: WE JOIN YOU IN THE PEAC E R ACE . " It c a r r ied a response to this addr ess of Presid ent Kennedy. On Oct ober 20 , 1961 the same advertisement appeared in the Washington Post and c onta ined t he names of the same s ign e rs and an additional group of 12 oth er sign e r s. T he Un ited World Federalist s, Inc . in Washington, D. C . the n r eproduced thi s a d v ertisement with a spac e below s o tha t oth er citize n s could sign their name s to the Open Letter, u sing it a s a p etit ion. Below the advertise­ ment as reprod uced appear e d the following statement: " We, t he undersigned, de s ire to assoc i ate ourselve s with the above, and pledge our s upport to t h e President 's 'Race for Peace ' . " The Unit ed World Fede ralist s h a v e insti tuted a p etitio n campaig n with t his reproduction. (See reproduction of portion o f the Fede r a lis ts New s Letter of D e cember, 1961 at the conclusion of this address). At about this same time a group of citize ns in Minneapolis , M i on e sota f o r med what is known as The Peace Race C ommittee . T hey r epr oduced the Wa shington Post advertisement in petitio n for m and began its distribut ion. At the e nd of thi s address we have reproduced a copy of their petition form whic h you can use t o obtain signatures to demonstrate s upport. Additiona l copies can be obtained f r o m the P eace Race Com­ mittee, 5812 South Lynda1e Avenue, Minneapolis 19, Minnes ota. In order to be kept advised of developme nts w ith regard to t h ese p e tition campaigns and similar actions, w e suggest you subscribe t o Federa.list News Lette r which i s issued monthly. Subscription for one year for non-members of t hat orga n ization is $1. 00. Address United World Federalists, Inc., 820 T hirteenth St. N . W., Wash ington 5, D. C. The World Peac e Broadcasting Foundat io n has r e ceived a c opy of this addr ess by President K e nnedy in t a pe r eco rded for m from his offic e w ith permi ssion t o a d d it t o our libr ary of tape recordings available o n loan to radio s tations a nd to c ivic and r eli­ gious g r oups. At the end of this address by Preside nt Kennedy , you w i ll find a coupon which you can use to obtain additiona l c opies of thi s address in p rint e d form and to ob­ tain tape recordings o f the addr es s on l oan. In a democracy we feel it i s vit al for citizens to rea d the m e 3 s ages o f p olitical leader s and to expres s t h eir views in turn to such l e a der s a nd t o other s w h o are charge d w~th the responsibility of r epresenting them in the h a lls of Congres s , and elsewhere. We a re pleased t o have a part in the wide c irculati o n of thi s impo r t ant addr e s s by P r esident K ennedy and we aTe hopeful that you will gi v e your support to this venture by borr owing our tape recording of it and getting civic and r e ligious group s t o listen to it and by obtaining copies of the addre ss a nd d ist ributing t h e m to th o ught leaders everywhere. William N. Plyma t, P r esid e n t World Peac e B r oadca sti n g F ounda t i on " L E T US C ALL A T R UCE TO TERROR " We meet in an hour of grief and challenge. Dag Hammarskjold is d e ad. B ut the Un ited Nations live s. His trag edy is deep in our hearts, but the task for whi c h he d i ed is at the top of our agenda. A noble servant of p e ace is gone . But t he quest for peace lies before us. T h e problem i s not the d e a th of one man -- the problem is the life of this organization. It will either grow to meet the challenge of our age -- or lt will be gone with the w ind, without influence, without force, w i.thout r espect. We re w e to let it d i e -- to enfeeble its vig or -- t o cripple its powers - - we woul d cond e mn the future. F or in the d eve lop m ent of this organization r ests the only true alternative t o war -- a nd war appeals no lo nger as a rational alternativ: e. Uncond ~ tional war c an no longer lead to unconditional vlctory. It can no longer serve to s ettle disputes. It can no l o n g er concern the great powers alone. For a n uclear disaster, spread by w inds and water s and fear, could well eng ulf the great a nd t h e small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the un c ommit t ed alike. Mank ind must put an end to war -. - or war w i ll put an end t o m ankind. So l et us here re s olve t h at D ag Hammar skjold did not live -- or d i e - - in vai n . L et us call a truce to t error. Let us invoke the blessing s of peace. And. as we b uild a n international capac ity to keep peace, let us join in d ism antling the national c apac it y to wage war. DEDIC A TION T O U. N. CHARTER AND WORLD LAW T his w i ll requir e n e w strength and n ew roles for the United Nations . For d i s a rmame n t without c hecks is but a shadow -- and a community without law i s b ut a s h ell. Already the United Nations has bec ome both the measure and the v ehic le of man' s most generous impuls e s. Already it has provided -­ in the M i d d le East, in Asia, in Africa this y e ar in the Cong o -. - a m e ans of holding v iolenc e wit hin bounds. But the gre at q uestion which c onfronted this body in 1945 is sUll before us - - whether man' s cherished hopes for progress and peace are to be destr oye d by t e rror a nd disruption -- whether the "foul winds of war" can be tamed in time to free the cooling wind s of reason - - and whether the p l edges 0 our Charte r are to b e fulfilled or defie d : pledg es to secure peace, pro gre s s, human rights and world law. 2. In this Hall, there are not three forces, but two. One is composed of those who are try~:.ng 1:: 0 build the kind of world descr ~ bed in Articles I and II of the Charter.