Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 66.djvu/79

 66 S T A T. ]

PUBLIC LAW 290—APR. 3, 1952

Public Law 290

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CHAPTER 128 JOINT RESOLUTION

^.,,, „,, April 3, 1952

Providing for recognition and endorsement of the International Trade Fair and Inter-American Cultural and Trade Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Whereas the national security and prosperity of the United States require the development of improved relations and increased trade with Latin America and the world; and Whereas international friendship and trade are founded upon the good will and mutual respect of the people of one nation for those of another, and must be based primarily upon extensive popular contact and understanding; and Whereas the natural expansion of our trade with Latin America and the world, without subsidy or compulsion, will sustain employment and production and improve living standards both in the United States and throughout the world, preventing the infiltration of undemocratic philosophies there while promoting mutual good will, understanding, and confidence, lasting trade connections, and solidarity among all the nations of the world; and Vhereas any constructive long-range program for the development of a balanced foreign trade with the world must provide ample opportunity for the participation of small businesses, together with adequate merchandising facilities for their products and their representatives; and Whereas there is a compelling need for the establishment of a trade center which will aid in carrying out these objectives and which wdll provide an opportunity to bring together large numbers of people from throughout the world and give recognition to their respective cultural, scientific, and artistic and industrial achievements; and Whereas during the past quarter century outstanding statesmen, industrialists, and internationalists have frequently urged the establishment of such a trade center; and Whereas the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been for over two hundred years an international city and the natural gateway to the United States from much of Latin America for over two centuries by virtue of its geographical position and the rail, water, air, and highway connections with all parts of the United States; and Whereas New Orleans in 1944 established International House which has become a world-famous institution for the promotion of peace, trade, and understanding and in 1947 established the International Trade Mart which has assumed a position of much importance in world trading circles, and particularly in Latin America; and Whereas New Orleans today is the second port of the United States in dollar values of foreign trade, and in recent years has made very rapid progress in foreign trade and has spent several millions of dollars in developing a foreign trade consciousness in the Mississippi Valley region, and has worked diligently, intelligently, and with results in promoting healthy two-way foreign trade; and Whereas the city of New Orleans, therefore, is a natural location for further development as an international trade center operated in the national public interest; and Whereas 195?> is the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, which united the United States and started them on the way to becoming a world power, and this purchase was negotiated and consummated in New Orleans, capital of the Territory, and the business, cultural, social, and intellectual center of the South then and now: Now therefore be it

[H.J. Res, los]

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