of us work together toward a common purpose, with mutual respect for
the opinions, judgements and motives of one another. All of us recognize
that we are going to have to spend more money, locally and at the State
level, on public education in Maryland.

If we make the kind of progress that is demanded of us by the con-
ditions in which we find ourselves, we are going to have to do more
than that. For the expenditure of money alone is no guarantee of success
in any undertaking. I recall in this connection a statement made by
Adlai Stevenson. "We Americans, " he said, "have a penchant for be-
lieving that sufficient inputs of energy and dollars can solve any prob-
lems. " The point he made was that spending and the exertion of energy
are not synonymous with progress. Of course, money and effort are
necessary for most of our endeavors, but they do not necessarily spell
success.

A venerable and respected magazine of opinion currently is pub-
lishing articles in which professional educators are discussing a product
of our schools—the inability of students in high school and college to
write. One of the authors expressed the opinion that our whole civili-
zation might go into eclipse if this condition is not corrected. But prob-
lems such as these were better left to the experts—to the men and
women whose professional training and experience render them capable
of solving them.

Our public schools should remain forever free of partisan politics,
and government should interfere as little as possible in the operation
of our school system. But education in this country is a primary function
of government, and therefore it is of primary concern to those of us who
hold public office. Public education is the biggest single undertaking of the
State of Maryland. Of the total appropriation of $204, 784, 589 in
general funds in the budget for the current fiscal year, $116, 315, 340 is
earmarked for the education of our people. This represents 56. 8 per cent
of our total general fund expenditure.

Several factors govern the extent of the State's participation in the
partnership responsibility for public education. In the first place, our
educational needs must be weighed against other requirements for
services—public health, public welfare, roads, prisons and so on.
Secondly, we must make certain that the amount of money we spend
does not jeopardize sound governmental financing and does not exceed
the capacity of our citizens to pay taxes. Difficult decisions are involved
in determining how far we are to go in public education or any other
public service.

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