350 State Papers and 'Addresses

Each section made a report on the subject or subjects assigned to it, and all
five reports were later submitted to and unanimously approved by the several
hundred State and Federal officials who attended the conference.

I have attended a great many conferences, both official and otherwise, and
it is no exaggeration to say that those in attendance at this Federal-State
Conference last August exhibited an earnestness and singleness of purpose un-
surpassed by the membership of any other conference within my experience.
The unanimous adoption of the various section reports furnished conclusive
evidence of the determination of the States and the Federal Government to
coordinate their respective functions in regard to National Defense, and to
present to all the enemies of America, whether within or without, a solid and,
I believe, unbreakable front.

In accordance with recommendations made in the reports, a committee to
draft model State Acts on certain subject which the conference concluded
should be covered by State legislation, was selected, and this drafting committee
immediately began the preparation of tentative Acts on these subjects, and
circulated such drafts among its membership for criticism and suggestion.

Two months ago, the drafting committee met in Washington for the pur-
pose of taking final action on the various proposed Acts, and at this meeting
the committee decided not to recommend any legislation on the subject of depu-
tizing special guards, the control of firearms, and the regulation of certain
secret organizations, such as Bunds and other subversive groups. It was the
opinion of the committee that the special guard problem should be dealt with
by each State in accordance with its own practice and the views of its people,
that the regulation of firearms should be taken care of by Federal legislation;
and that the registration of secret organizations is probably sufficiently covered
by the Federal Statute known as the "Voorhis Act", which was passed by
Congress between the adjournment of the conference and the meeting of the
drafting committee.

The committee did prepare and recommend for passage to the forty-odd
States whose Legislatures are meeting this year, model Acts dealing with the
organization of State Guards, the control of explosives, the interstate protec-
tion of public property, and the prevention of sabotage, and these Acts have
been forwarded to the various States for such action as their respective Legis-
latures may deem proper.

It should be noted that the proposed Acts are termed "Model" Acts rather
than "Uniform" Acts, it being the intention of the Federal-State Conference
that each -State should feel at entire liberty to change or modify the proposed
Acts to suit the local conditions and views existing in each State. However,
it was the sense of the Conference that State Legislation on the subjects indi-
cated would be helpful in aiding law enforcement in connection with National
Defense, and it is the hope of the Conference that laws on these subjects will
be passed by each State, and that these laws will, in general, conform to the
proposed Model Acts.

I am glad to report that, in Maryland, bills in substantial accord with the
Model Acts have been presented to the Legislature, and are now being con-
sidered by that body; and while I am not in a position to speak for our law-