"What we are about to do here," said Harry Truman, "is a neighborly act. We are like a group of householders, living in the same locality, who decide to express their community of interests by entering into a formal association for their mutual self-protection . . .
" He spoke this week as the Foreign Ministers of twelve nations gathered in Washington to sign the North Atlantic Treaty. The greatest network of short-wave stations in history beamed the ceremony in 43 languages to the world. The pact is a simple document, the President continued, "but if it had existed in 1914 and in 1939, supported by the nations which are represented here today, I believe it would have prevented the acts of aggression which led to two world wars . . .
"We are determined to work together to provide better lives for our people without sacrificing our common ideals . . . But we cannot succeed if our people are haunted by the constant fear of aggression and burdened by the cost of preparing their nations individually against attack. In this pact we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression—a bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business . . . the business of achieving a fuller and happier life . . ."
Then, in alphabetical order of their countries, the ministers stepped forward to sign—Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom. Last was Secretary of State Dean Acheson, signing for the U.S., as President Truman looked on. All that remained was ratification by the U.S. Senate and by the Parliaments of the six other original sponsors.