cock, Cambridge and many other cities and towns. The "Bootstrap
Operation" in Cambridge has been acclaimed widely—by Secretary of
Commerce Luther H. Hodges, among others—as one of the finest ex-
amples of federal, state and local cooperation to cure the ills of economic
distress. The Cambridge area not only has four new industries, but is
well on the way to acquiring a deep-water port which will be financed
by federal, state, county and city funds. Hagerstown, through the
resourcefulness of its citizens and with assistance from our State Depart-
ment of Economic Development, has acquired a new industry—Mack
Trucks, Inc., which is now employing 1, 600 persons who were without
jobs before. Its president tells me that the plant will employ between
1, 800 and 2, 000 persons this summer, and, if present plans materialize,
4, 000 persons will be working there within a few years. These are only a
few examples of what is being done to bring these less fortunate com-
munities in line with the general prosperity of our State.

On frequent occasions I am called on to take part in ceremonies open-
ing new businesses attracted by State and local economic development
agencies or financed by the Development Credit Corporation which
began operations a little more than a year ago. Just last week, I was
advised that a $500, 000 loan made by the Development Credit Cor-
poration had prevented the shutdown of Maryland's largest coal pro-
ducer in Garrett County, saving the jobs of some 250 miners and 200 to
300 other persons whose employment was indirectly affected by the
operation of the mining corporation. Now, what can we say of our
future?

A short time ago, the National Planning Association published an
article—a twenty-year projection—in which it predicted that the areas
of major growth in the years immediately ahead will be in the Southwest
and on the West Coast. Very grudgingly, the Association conceded that
our Middle Atlantic states stand a moderate chance of survival, but it
warned us not to expect any splurging—any sustained and dynamic
growth. With such prospectus, our first impulse might possibly be to
head southwestward or westward to follow the course of progress. But
on sober reflection I think we would conclude that it would be wise to
stay where we are. Certainly, I have no intention of migrating. For,
while the spectacular growth has been in recent years, and probably will
continue to be, in the West and the Southwest, these gains only show a
"catching-up" with other parts of the country such as ours. The fact is,
from all the advice and information I can obtain, the Middle Atlantic
states are in a strong position to continue, as they have for nearly a
century, to develop economically at a much higher rate than the nation

196