860F.00/778
Statement Issued to the Press by the Secretary of State, March 24, 1939
At the press conference this afternoon, Secretary Hull, returning from an absence of two weeks and responding to the greeting of the correspondents, said that he was more than pleased to be back. He went on to say that he wished to make the following remarks which might be quoted:
“Having closely followed international developments at home and abroad during my temporary absence, I have in common with the general public here been profoundly shocked by the recent developments in Europe. They have been of a nature seriously to threaten the peace of the world.
[Page 60]“These new evidences of international lawlessness make it all the more clear that never before has the support of all nations for law and order and sound economic relations been more urgently needed than at present. We in this country have striven, particularly during recent years, and we shall continue to strive, to strengthen the threatened structure of world peace by fostering in every possible way the rule of law and the building of sound economic relationships upon which alone peace can rest. Every citizen and every group in this country will, I am sure, cooperate loyally and wholeheartedly in this great and urgent task.”