Stettinius gave peace a chance through service

A few days of bright and cheery sunshine had been followed by gloomy, overcast skies. As Edward R. Stettinius Jr. knotted his tie on the morning of Oct. 12, 1946, the city’s paved streets glistened with rain.

Two months before, on Aug. 10, the former secretary of state had been named rector of the University of Virginia. His thoughts that morning likely were focused on the convocation address he would deliver that day in Memorial Gymnasium.

The speech would open the university’s 125th session formally. Because of Stettinius’ prominence on the stage of world affairs, his words would be noted carefully by powerful individuals far beyond the university’s Grounds.

While Stettinius worked on his speech his wife, Virginia Gordon Wallace Stettinius, likely was thinking about how to celebrate his 46th birthday on Oct. 22. What her husband had accomplished in a relatively short span of years was truly remarkable.

A tradition of service
Stettinius was born in Chicago in 1900 into a prominent family. His father, Edward Reilly Stettinius, was a savvy businessman who would become president of the Diamond Match Company and a banking partner of J.P. Morgan.

During World War I, the senior Stettinius served as an official in the War Department, setting an example for public service his son would follow. In 1920, the young Stettinius enrolled at UVa.

The idealistic young man was eager to have a positive impact on the world. He concentrated more on social work than his studies, and left the university in 1924 without a degree.

John Lee Pratt, vice president of General Motors, was a close friend of the Stettinius family. He knew “Little Stet” had a sharp mind and made him his assistant.

The real beneficiaries of that decision were GM workers. Stettinius focused his considerable energy on improving their lives, implementing a host of benefits that were so popular that he was made a vice president in 1931.

By then, the Great Depression had wrecked the economy, leaving millions of people unemployed. In addition to his corporate duties, Stettinius worked tirelessly to help provide unemployment relief for the jobless.

Higher offices
These efforts didn’t go unnoticed by the new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. He enlisted Stettinius for a position with the National Recovery Administration.

In 1934 top executives at U.S. Steel persuaded Stettinius to work for them as a senior administrator. This appointment did not dull his dedication to

helping the common man or his sense of patriotic duty.
By 1940 it had become obvious to Stettinius that rough waters were ahead, and he accepted Roosevelt’s request to become a director of the Office of Production Management. The president was so pleased and impressed by Stettinius’ work that he put him in charge of the administration that provided lend-lease aid to the Allies.

Roosevelt’s respect and confidence in Stettinius and his intellect continued to grow. In 1943, he made him undersecretary of state, and in November 1944 Stettin-ius ascended to secretary of state when Cordell Hull stepped down due to poor health.

In his new position, Stettinius became a major force in the creation of the United Nations, which was formally established June 26, 1945. By then, Harry S. Truman was president, and he wanted to choose his own secretary of state.

Stettinius graciously resigned and eagerly accepted Truman’s offer to become the first U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. His high hopes were quickly leveled.

In June 1946, Stettinius resigned his post. He felt the president wasn’t using the newly formed organization effectively to reduce the growing animosities between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

It was in this atmosphere of growing tensions between the two nations that Stettinius walked to the lectern on the morning of Oct. 12, 1946. Like the recent weather, his remarks ranged from bright and hopeful to dark and foreboding.

While assuring his listeners that the obstacles to world peace were grave, he insisted they were far from insurmountable.

“The quest for peace calls for even greater courage, patience and faith than did the quest for victory in the war,” Stettinius said. “The university must educate youth not only to live its own life usefully, but with a sense of responsibility to the community.

“Today that community is the world, and so the current of world thought should flow continually through the university. I shall do all within my power toward the full development of the university and its promises for the future.”

The speaker offered words for the ears of the world as well.
“Despite all doubts and ill-informed rumors, the need today is to order the United Nations engines full ahead on the charter course,” Stettinius said.

“The need is not, as some are recommending, to anchor ship entirely or to redesign its structure.
“In spite of the heat engendered by discussion and disagreements, we must not forget that through free discussion, even if at times it be disturbing, we will settle troublesome questions with justice and with right.

“We must be tolerant, we must be firm, we must be patient. That was the policy followed by our great war president, Mr. Roosevelt. That policy we can put our trust in now.”

More than 3,500 people listened to the eloquent words of the strikingly handsome man. They couldn’t have known he had just a short time left to help better the world.

Stettinius deeply loved the university and his job as rector. So it was with great regret that he found it necessary in March 1949 to resign as rector and member of the Board of Visitors.

Stettinius cited personal reasons for leaving, but his friends knew he was in poor health.
On the morning of Oct. 31, 1949, he died as a result of a heart condition at the home of his sister in Greenwich, Conn.
The man who had dedicated much of his time and energy to making the world a better place was buried in Locust Valley Cemetery in Nassau County, N.Y.

Those who had known and loved him best knew how appropriate the sole inscription on his simple grave marker was.
Cut into the stone were the words “Blessed are the Pure of Heart.”