RARE RECORD SET UNITED NATION CHARTER 1945

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SEVEN RARE HISTORIC TRANSCRIPTION DISCS

RECORDED ON THE SCENE BY ROBERT VINCENT JUNE 26 1945

STATEMENTS OF THE DELEGATES AT THE SIGNING OF THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER SAN FRANCISCO 1945

THIS YEAR WAS ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

I HAVE PROVIDED LINKS TO SITES WITH INFORMATION ON THE UN CHARTER AND ROBERT VINCENT AND V DISCS

http://www.un.org/aboutun/sanfrancisco/

Forty-five nations, including the four sponsors, were originally invited to the

San Francisco Conference: nations which had declared war on Germany and Japan

and had subbscribed to the United Nations Declaration. One of these, Poland,

did not attend because the composition of her new government was not announced

until too late for the conference. Therefore, a space was left for the

signature of Poland, one of the original signatories of the United Nations

Declaration. At the time of the conference there was no generally recognized

Polish Government, but on June 28, such a government was announced and on

October 15, 1945 Poland signed the Charter, thus becoming one of the original

Members.

France suggested that Syria and Lebanon be invited and these two states were

asked to attend. The conference itself invited four other states — the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist

Republic, newly-liberated Denmark and Argentina.

Thus delegates of fifty nations in all, gathered at the City of the Golden

Gate, representatives of over eighty per cent of the world's population, people

of every race, religion and continent; all determined to set up an organization

which would preserve peace and help build a better world. They had before them

the Dumbarton Oaks proposals as the agenda for the conference and, working on

this basis, they had to produce a Charter acceptable to all the countries.

There were 850 delegates, and their advisers and staff together with the

conference secretariat brought the total to 3,500. In addition, there were more

than 2,500 press, radio and newsreel representatives and observers from many

societies and organizations. In all, the San Francisco Conference was not only

one of the most important in history but, perhaps, the largest international

gathering ever to take place.

The heads of the delegations of the sponsoring countries took turns as chairman

of the plenary meetings : Anthony Eden, of Britain, Edward Stettinius, of the

United States, T. V. Soong, of China, and Vyacheslav Molotov, of the Soviet

Union. At the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, V. K.

Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov.

Plenary meetings are, however, only the final stages at such conferences. A

great deal of work has to be done in preparatory committees before a

proposition reaches the full gathering in the form in which it should be voted

upon. And the voting procedure at San Francisco was important. Every part of

the Charter had to be and was passed by a two-thirds majority.

This is the way in which the San Francisco Conference got through its

monumental work in exactly two months.

The conference formed a "Steering Committee," composed of the heads of all the

delegations. This committee decided all matters of major principle and policy.

But, even at one member per state, the committee was fifty strong, too large

for detailed work; therefore an Executive Committee of fourteen heads of

delegations was chosen to prepare recommendations for the Steering Committee.

Then the proposed Charter was divided into four sections, each of which was

considered by a "Commission." Commission one dealt with the general purposes of

the organization, its principles, membership, the secretariat and the subject

of amendments to the Charter. Commission two considered the powers and

responsibilities of the General Assembly, while Commission three took up the

Security Council.

Commission four worked on a draft for the Statute of the International Court of

Justice. This draft had been prepared by a 44-nation Committee of Jurists which

had met in Washington in April 1945.

All this sounds over-elaborate — especially when the four Commissions

subdivided into twelve technical committees — but actually, it was the

speediest way of ensuring the fullest discussion and securing the last ounce of

agreement possible.

There were only ten plenary meetings of all the delegates but nearly 400

meetings of the committees at which every line and comma was hammered out. It

was more than words and phrases, of course, that had to be decided upon. There

were many serious clashes of opinion, divergencies of outlook and even a crisis

or two, during which some observers feared that the conference might adjourn

without an agreement.

There was the question, for example, of the status of "regional organizations."

Many countries had their own arrangements for regional defence and mutual

assistance. There was the Inter-American System, for example, and the Arab

League. How were such arrangements to be related to the world organization? The

conference decided to give them part in peaceful settlement and also, in

certain circumstances, in enforcement measures, provided that the aims and acts

of these groups accorded with the aims and purposes of the United Nations.

The League of Nations had provided machinery for the revision of treaties

between members. Should the United Nations make similar provisions? The

conference finally agreed that treaties made after the formation of the United

Nations should be registered with the Secretariat and published by it. As to

revision, no specific mention was made although such revision may be

recommended by the General Assembly in the course of investigation of any

situation requiring peaceful adjustment.

The conference added a whole new chapter on the subject not covered by the

Dumbarton Oaks proposals: proposals creating a system for territories placed

under United Nations trusteeship. On this matter there was much debate. Should

the aim of trusteeship be defined as "independence" or "self-government" for

the peoples of these areas? If independence, what about areas too small ever to

stand on their own legs for defence? It was finally recommended that the

promotion of the progressive development of the peoples of trust territories

should be directed toward "independence or self-government."

There was also considerable debate on the jurisdiction of the International

Court of Justice and the conference decided that member nations would not be

compelled to accept the Court's jurisdiction but might voluntarily declare

their acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction.

Likewise the question of future amendments to the Charter received much

attention and finally resulted in an agreed solution.

Above all, the right of each of the "Big Five" to exercise a "veto" on action

by the powerful Security Council provoked long and heated debate. At one stage

the conflict of opinion on this question threatened to break up the conference.

The smaller powers feared that when one of the "Big Five" menaced the peace,

the Security Council would be powerless to act, while in the event of a clash

between two powers not permanent members of the Security Council, the "Big

Five" could act arbitrarily. They strove therefore to have the power of the

"veto" reduced. But the great powers unanimously insisted on this provision as

vital, and emphasized that the main responsibility for maintaining world peace

would fall most heavily on them. Eventually the smaller powers conceded the

point in the interest of setting up the world organization.

This and other vital issues were resolved only because every nation was

determined to set up, if not the perfect international organization, at least

the best that could possibly be made.

Thus it was that in the Opera House at San Francisco on June 25, the delegates

met in full session for the last meeting. Lord Halifax presided and put the

final draft of the Charter to the meeting. "This issue upon which we are about

to vote," he said, "is as important as any we shall ever vote in our lifetime."

In view of the world importance of the occasion, he suggested that it would be

appropriate to depart from the customary method of voting by a show of hands.

Then, as the issue was put, every delegate rose and remained standing. So did

everyone present, the staffs, the press and some 3000 visitors, and the hall

resounded to a mighty ovation as the Chairman announced that the Charter had

been passed unanimously.

The next day, in the auditorium of the Veterans' Memorial Hall, the delegates

filed up one by one to a huge round table on which lay the two historic

volumes, the Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice.

Behind each delegate stood the other members of the delegation against a

colorful semi-circle of the flags of fifty nations. In the dazzling brilliance

of powerful spotlights, each delegate affixed his signature. To China, first

victim of aggression by an Axis power, fell the honour of signing first.

"The Charter of the United Nations which you have just signed," said President

Truman in addressing the final session, "is a solid structure upon which we can

build a better world. History will honor you for it. Between the victory in

Europe and the final victory, in this most destructive of all wars, you have

won a victory against war itself. . . . With this Charter the world can begin

to look forward to the time when all worthy human beings may be permitted to

live decently as free people."

Then the President pointed out that the Charter would work only if the peoples

of the world were determined to make it work. "If we fail to use it," he

concluded, "we shall betray all those who have died so that we might meet here

in freedom and safety to create it. If we seek to use it selfishly — for the

advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations — we shall be equally

guilty of that betrayal."

The United Nations did not come into existence at the signing of the Charter.

In many countries the Charter had to be approved by their congresses or

parliaments. It had therefore been provided that the Charter would come into

force when the Governments of China, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union

and the United States and a majority of the other signatory states had ratified

it and deposited notification to this effect with the State Department of the

United States.

On October 24, 1945, this condition was fulfilled and the United Nations came

into existence. Four years of planning and the hope of many years had

materialized in an international organization designed to end war and promote

peace, justice and better living for all mankind.

MESSAGE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
ON THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER
26 June 2005

Dear friends,

Sixty years ago, in San Francisco, the representatives of 50 nations signed the

United Nations Charter.

In the name of the peoples of the United Nations, they pledged to save

succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Those words are engraved on the

collective memory of mankind.

They reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights; in the dignity of the

human person; in the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and

small.

They pledged to establish conditions under which justice and respect for law

could be maintained.

They promised to promote social progress, and better standards of life, in

larger freedom.

Over sixty years, the United Nations has striven to redeem those pledges.

We have had many successes. We have kept the peace in many places. We have

helped banish smallpox and polio from almost every country. We have give

millions of children an education that their parents could not dream of. We

have helped organize elections, from Afghanistan to Burundi. And we have

brought relief to victims of disasters like the Indian Ocean tsunami.

We have had failures. The worst, perhaps, was our collective failure to prevent

the genocide in Rwanda.

Today, in a new century, we face new threats and challenges, but also new

opportunities.

Those better standards of life in larger freedom are now within our reach. To

reach them, we must advance on all three fronts at once: development, security

and human rights.

Never in the history of the United Nations have bold decisions been more

necessary. And never have they been more possible.

This September, at the 2005 World Summit, leaders from 191 nations have the

chance to make those decisions. With support, and encouragement from you, the

peoples of the world, I believe they will.

Thank you very much.

RECORDED ON THE SCENE BY ROBERT VINCENT

site on v-discs

http://members.aol.com/boardwalk7/vdisc/vdisc.html

http://www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/about.htm

Now Lieutenant George Robert Vincent enters the picture. Vincent had a long

association with both the armed forces and recorded music. He fought in World

War I as a 17-year old lieutenant. He later worked with Thomas Edison,

designing improvements to the phonograph. By 1942, he rejoined the Army and was

assigned to the Armed Forces Radio Service as a technical officer, and worked

with Bronson's 16-inch transcription discs.

Vincent knew the soldiers wanted to hear new music, so he asked his supervisors

if a special recording project could be undertaken that would provide new songs

to the platoons. In July 1943, Vincent discussed the project with Major

Bronson. Bronson okayed it, but told Vincent that there was no money in the

Army budget to start a record company. Undaunted, Vincent met with the Army's

fiscal officer, Major Howard Haycraft, who immediately allocated one million

dollars to Vincent's new project.

With money in hand, Vincent devoted all his time to the music program. He

recruited Steve Sholes, a former A&R man at RCA Victor who supervised jazz

recordings by Sidney Bechet and Jelly Roll Morton, to assist him. Vincent's

record company now had a name - "V-Discs," a sobriquet coined by Vincent's

secretary. It also acquired a logo - a red-white-and-blue graphic designed by a

staff artist at Yank magazine on a $5 retainer.

The first problem was trying to find a suitable substitute for shellac, the

main component for records. Four out of every five transcription discs sent

overseas arrived in pieces. And when the Japanese took over French Indochina,

America lost its supply of imported shellac. Although shellac could be recycled

and reused (and many Americans donated their old 78's in scrap drives for war

materials), the music was drowned out by the loud surface noise on recycled

shellac discs.

After much testing, Vincent's team found that Vinylite, a Union Carbide

product, could be used as a viable substitute for shellac. Because the Army

also used Vinylite for insulation and life rafts, V-Discs used a second resin -

Formvar, a Canadian-invented polyvinyl - in conjunction with Vinylite (one of

the companies that pressed records for V-Disc, Columbia, refused to use either

compound, instead making V-Discs out of whatever shellac they could allocate).

After Steve Sholes joined the V-Disc project, two other enlisted men signed on

- Morty "Perfect Pitch" Palitz, who spent his civilian life with Decca,

Brunswick and Columbia records; and Walt Heebner, a former RCA sales department

employee. Heebner's assignment was to convince the AFM and Petrillo to grant a

special waiver to record V-Discs for the Army.

As for Captain Vincent, he was promoted to Major and received the Legion of

Merit award for his services with the V-Disc project. He later designed the

vast multilingual translation complex for the Nuremberg War Crimes trials, and

installed a similar electronic multilingual translation system into the new

United Nations building.

History of Herbert Vere Evatt

http://evatt.labor.net.au/publications/papers/132.html

http://www.lib.flinders.edu.au/resources/collection/special/evatt/evattbiog.html

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME. THESE RECORDS ARE RARE AND THE VINCENT VOICE LIBRARY AT THE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY DOES NOT HAVE A SET OF THESE RECORDS. THEY HAVE A RECORDING OF IT. I INQUIRED ABOUT THESE RECORDS THERE AND SPOKE WITH A JOHN SHAW AND HE SAID TO CALL THE UN WHICH I DID AND THEY DIDNT HAVE ANY CLUE AS TO WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. SO I DONT THINK TO MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT THESE DO EXIST. THEY HAVE 50 COUNTRIES SPEAKING IN THIER LANGUAGES AND TWO OF THE SPEAKERS WERE HERBERT VERE EVATT AND PRIME MINISTER FRANCIS MICHAEL FORD. I DONT THINK THESE WERE EVER PLAYED AND WERE GIVEN OUT TO ONLY A FEW AS A TOKEN OF PARTICIPATION IN THIS HISTORIC EVENT. THE CONDITION OF THE SET IS GREAT WITH SOME MINOR EDGE WEAR ON THE COVER ON THE SIDE. NOT BAD. I HAVE HAD THESE MYSELF FOR A FEW YEARS AND HAVE HAD A HARD TIME PARTING WITH THEM. I DID NOT PLAY THEM MYSELF EITHER IN FEAR OF DAMAGING THEM. I WOULD LIKE THESE TO GO TO A SERIOUS COLLECTOR WHO WILL TREASURE THEM AS I HAVE.

I HOPE I'V GIVEN YOU ENOUGH INFORMATION..THANK YOU!!!!

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