CHARLES L. WHEELER
President, RI

If the world of tomorrow is to be
worthy of the sacrifices of today, it must
be based on the great principles for
which Rotary stands. We are proud of

 

the manner in which Rotary Clubs
everywhere have responded to the un-
usual needs created by a world at war.
The real test for humanity, however,
will come when the last shot of this
war is fired. Will we be able to face
the problems of peace with the same
courage and fortitude with which we
have faced the problems of war? ‘To-
day we present a united front against
a common foe, because we can visualize
that enemy as other humam beings who
would impose their philosophy of life
upon us, against our will. ‘Tomorrow
we will again be facing the less tan-
gible, but no less dangerous enemies of
crime, poverty, disease, famine, greed,
Will these en-

emies of mankind be aided and abetted

and all of their allies.

by the fifth column of indifference

within our ranks?

If we are able to learn any lesson
from this terrible war, it should be in
the value of unity, coordination, and
cooperation. Through those attributes
we are winning glorious victories on
the field of battle.
them, also, in helping to build a world

Let us learn to use

which will be worthy of the sacrifices
we have made—a world in which the
spirit of service will be the governing

principle in the lives of men.

ARMANDO PEREIRA
Past President, RI

I feel proud that since the time of
the Brazilian Empire, our foreign pol-
icy has run parallel and in absolute ac-
cord with that of the U.S.A. The ties
which unite my country to the U.S.A.
and Great Britain are very soon going
to be still more solidly cemented, with
the strongest of all cements: blood.
Our air forces are already cooperating
in Africa and our first Army Expedi-
tionary Forces are awaiting orders to
depart!

Allow me to say something more
clearly interpreting the sentiment of
Brazilians: Even if it were to go down
in defeat, Brazil would still be friendly,
brotherly, and indestructably tied, as in
the past, to the same fate and destiny
as. the Ls-A,

 

America— land of liberty — where
men fought for their freedom; Amer-
ica, where borders do not serve to
divide but to unite peoples and nations;
America, where Rotary was born to in-
spire and teach men how to live in
harmony! North, Central, and South
America are only geographical designa-
tions, for there is only one America,
your land, my land, the land of our
sons!

To have faith and perseverance is to
have confidence in self strength. I
believe in God. I believe in America
and in the intelligence and kindheart-
edness of its people. I believe in Rotary
as a powerful means of establishing
friendliness and justice for the recon-
struction of the better world of to-
morrow for mankind.

[4]

COL. CARLOS ROMULO
Past Vice-President, RI

I want to call to the attention of this
conference—in behalf of the millions
of Orientals who will have to play a
vital role in the postwar world of to-
morrow—the problem of extending the
influence of Rotary in that part of the
world after the defeat of Japan.

The countries in the Far East will
need, after the war, more than any-
where else and more than at any time
before, the vitalizing force and influ-
ence of Rotary. Rotary must focus
its spotlight on the Orient where it has
an unlimited field of expansion and
service, a field where its high ideals
have so far not been heard adequately
and applied, a field so rich in possibil-
ities that nobody who has the interests
of Rotary at heart can afford to ignore
the tremendous opportunities which it

offers.

In an even more important sense,
Rotary should fix its attention on the
Far East because it is the stage whereon
the next great drama of our time will
be enacted. After the achievement of
victory, the Far East will be the theater
of great happenings. If Rotary is to be
true to its name, it must seek every
means by which its participation in
those tremendous happenings may be

insured. The spotlight of contempo-

 

rary history has been focused upon the
Far East. May the spotlight of Rotary
idealism and achievement be focused in
the same direction with equal clarity

and force.