Letter to the King of the Belgians on the Occasion of the Opening of the Brussels Exhibition.

[ Released April 17, 1958. Dated April 9, 1958 ]

Dear King Baudouin:

It gives me great pleasure to express to Your Majesty the good wishes of the people of the United States, together with my own, on the occasion of the opening of the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition, 1958. I extend congratulations to your Nation for the effectiveness with which the Exhibition has been organized and for the vision manifested in its planning. In these troubled days, I particularly pay tribute to the illumination of a brighter future which your great Exhibition, devoted to the peaceful arts of civilization, brings the World.

The theme for the Exhibition announced by your Commissioner General-how scientific advances are being used to realize man's brightest and highest aspirations--has been interpreted by my country as a constructive challenge in planning the display in our Pavilion at the Exhibition. In this regard, we believe that the United States exhibit planned by our national Commissioner General, Mr. Howard S. Cullman, will present a true and stimulating picture of representative accomplishments of the United States. I hope Your Majesty will find in the concrete realization of the United States exhibit at Brussels a message of promise for the future.

Because of my deep interest in the Brussels Exhibition, I have asked my good friend and associate, Mr. Leonard W. Hall, to call upon Your Majesty as my personal representative and to convey to you my salutations and congratulations.

I salute Your Majesty as the first Patron of the Exhibition on its opening day, and express my personal hope that these great displays of the accomplishments and aspirations of the world's cultures will be a powerful force toward peace, freedom, and justice for all mankind.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER