in the Baltimore area. This was an invaluable service to the com-
munity by a public spirted newspaper and I congratulate the Sun
Papers for it.

However, to be effective, we must make provisions for a permanent
means of distributing information to the people of this State as it
is prepared by the various civil defense organizations. To do this,
I suggest that you study a proposal calling for the appointment of
civil defense officers to serve on a voluntary basis in every neighbor-
hood, in every town and in every community of this State. Each of
these officers would be responsible for from 50 to 100 families in a
specific area. They would function as liaison men and women between
local civil defense headquarters and the families living in their sector.
These officers would disseminate information as it is made available,
urge families to construct private fall-out shelters, make constant
checks on the progress in their sectors in fall-out shelter construction
and provide local, state and federal civil defense officials with up-to-
the-minute information on the preparedness of our citizens.

Secondly, I propose that you discuss the feasibility of offering a
course in civil defense procedures in our public and private junior
and senior high schools. Such a course would serve a dual purpose.
It would arm future generations with the knowledge essential to them
if they are to prevent panic and to survive a nuclear holocaust and
it would provide a means of disseminating information to parents
who have children of high school age.

Neither the first nor the second of the proposals I have put forth
will be easy to put into effect. Before teachers and civil defense
officers can begin instructing, they must first be instructed. It may
be possible to begin instruction in basic survival techniques almost
immediately. Perhaps not. The task before us will require utmost
patience and cooperation yet, in my opinion, it must be done with
all possible speed. We may have ten years to prepare, we may have
ten days.

I have been informed that, in December, the Defense Department
will publish millions of copies of a booklet providing all citizens with
the latest information on means of surviving a nuclear attack. It
has been reported to me that this booklet will place greater emphasis
on the role of the householder in providing protection for himself
and his family. This is as it should be. It is the individual's respon-
sibility for safeguarding his own and his family's lives. It is our respon-
sibility to provide him with the information on how to do it.

We must do all in our power to assist those who take steps to

110