Address at the Cornerstone Laying of the District of Columbia Red Cross Building.

Mr. Chairman, General Marshall, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen:

General Marshall remarked to me, when he arose to receive that flourish, that we were breaking a precedent. General Marshall has broken many a precedent, and I am sure he will break many more before he leaves this world.

General Marshall is my ideal of a great public servant. We have a great many great public servants in the service of the Government of the United States, and when I single out General Marshall to pay that compliment, I am paying that compliment to every one of them.

I am glad to take part in laying the cornerstone of this District of Columbia chapter house of the American Red Cross. This chapter is one of the best and most active Red Cross chapters in the whole United States. The people of this city have a splendid record of contributing to the Red Cross and in giving to the blood bank.

This proves something that I have known for a long time--the people of this city, so many of whom are Government workers, are among the finest and the most patriotic citizens we have anywhere in the United States.

It is most appropriate, therefore, that the District of Columbia chapter of the Red Cross should have a beautiful modern building like the one which is being erected on this site.

The Chairman said he was sure it was going to be finished in a year. I tried to make that prophecy about another most important building in this town, but it didn't work out. I hope he has better luck than I did.

This building will be a permanent addition to the beauty of the Nation's capital. It will be a workshop for the volunteers of the District, and a model of everything a Red Cross chapter house ought to be.

It is most fitting that the cornerstone of this building should be laid today, October 24, which is United Nations Day--the day on which we commemorate the coming into effect of the United Nations charter.

This afternoon at the White House, I expect to welcome 48 soldiers from the fighting front of Korea. These soldiers come from each of the 19 nations which now have forces serving the United Nations command in Korea. It is inspiring to call the roll of these men, because it shows how the free nations in every part of the world have joined together under the banner of the United Nations to put down aggression and to achieve peace.

Men from these nations are out there in the hills of Korea risking their lives in the service of a great ideal. They are evidence, far more powerful than any speeches ever can be, that the idea of international justice under law--the idea of international cooperation to preserve peace and freedom--has taken root and is growing and spreading throughout the world, bringing men together in new and greater bonds of brotherhood.

This is a glorious thing. Great ideas like these have to be fought for. Human progress has always cost effort and suffering and sacrifice. It has cost us much to set up a government of justice and freedom in this country and to maintain it. It has cost human lives and painful effort for those in other countries to win their independence and to advance along the road of freedom. But these advances have been worth all the sacrifices.

And I believe with all my heart that the great advances which we are making today in setting up a system of international peace and justice will prove to be worth all the sacrifice and effort which they are costing us and other nations.

I hope the time will not be far distant when the leaders of the Soviet Union and their satellites will come to see that it is utterly foolish to oppose the united will of all the other peoples of the world for peace and justice. But so long as the forces of aggression are attacking the United Nations, there must be no weakening--there must be no slackening of our effort to check aggression and to build up the defenses of the free world.

It is up to us here at home to back up these men of many nations who are fighting for us and for the freedom of the world in Korea.

One of the best things we can do is to give blood through the Red Cross for the use of our soldiers. The use of whole blood has revolutionized the treatment of battle casualties and saved the lives of thousands. I read the other day about the case of a soldier wounded in Korea whose life was saved by 75 pints of blood. A few years ago that man would have died. The blood which is being given by our people here at home is saving cases which would have been considered hopeless not long ago.

But the demand for blood is tremendous. More is needed than is being given. I urge the people of the District of Columbia--and the people all over the country--to give blood through the Red Cross so the great work of saving human life can go forward.

This building, when it is completed, will have the best possible equipment for giving blood. This building will also serve all other life giving and life saving activities of the Red Cross in this area. It will be a symbol of our faith--faith in voluntary action by free men everywhere. It will be a means for advancing our ideals of human welfare and human brotherhood.