I think we can pledge to the company here, as we dedicate this
splendid new plant, the continued cooperation of the State and its
counties in the tasks of the future.

ADDRESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN

TALBOT COUNTY

EASTON

March 28, 1960

The development of Maryland's economy to its maximum capacity
is one of the objectives I have set for my Administration. Until very
recently, our State had done very little in an organized way to exploit
its economic potential.

Last year, at may suggestion, the General Assembly created a new
State agency, the Department of Economic Development, the purpose of
which is to attract new business and industry to Maryland and to
encourage the growth and expansion of the business and industry we
already have. It is too early to expect many concrete achievements
of the new Department, but I am pleased to report that it is getting
off to an excellent start. As its director, we have chosen Mr. George
Hubley, who is one of the outstanding men in the United States in the
field of industrial development. Many of you have met him—we
want you to know him and his associates better. Under his direction,
the Department is now busy collecting and making available the basic
economic facts about Maryland that will be used to induce business
firms to locate here. Toward that end, it has embarked upon a project
to compile economic data booklets on each of Maryland's industrial,
or potential industrial, areas. Each of the booklets will cover a county,
municipality or other geographical division which logically forms a
coherent industrial entity. In this way, the activities of the Depart-
ment will be directed at the practical goals of collecting economic data
on the one hand and servicing inquiring industry on the other.

To achieve these purposes, the Department must acquire a staff
large enough to keep in close personal touch with the various com-
munities of the State and to offer personal service to industry ex-
ecutives coming into the State. At my request, the General Assembly
this year appropriated an additional $100, 000 to finance the agency
through its first full year of operation. We want to be certain that
the services Maryland provides will be as useful and practical as

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