by me to study the expansion of public higher education in Maryland.
It was a highly profitable discussion of a plan to distribute State aid for
education to local governments on a per-pupil basis rather than pri-
marily through the minimum salary schedule for teachers. It is a chal-
lenging suggestion, and I have instructed members of my staff to hold
further meetings with this group with the view to exploring it in all its
details and ramifications. You may be assured that this proposal is
being given my careful consideration.

It is gratifying to note that your Association has concerned itself with
the expansion of our system of public higher education and that your
committee on legislation has, in fact accepted the plan laid down by my
commission, known as the Curlett Commission. It is to be noted here
that Dr. Thomas G. Pullen, State Superintendent of Schools, served as a
valuable member of this Commission.

As this commission pointed out so clearly, there is an urgent and imme-
diate need in Maryland for increasing our facilities for public higher
education. Enrollments, it emphasized, may be expected to double in
the next ten years. I am sure that all of us are in agreement with the
proposition made by the Commission that the economic development of
our State, and even our survival as a nation, may well depend on the
effort we make to upgrade the intellectual attainments and the skills of
our population. And we can achieve this objective only by making avail-
able to the people the best possible facilities for education, from kinder-
garten through our colleges and universities. Our rivalry with the forces
of international communism is essentially a competition for the minds of
men—a competition of intellects and skills. And the outcome of the
conflict in all probability will be determined in our classrooms, our
laboratories and our libraries. We, therefore, will be inviting disaster
and self-destruction if we neglect the education of our people. Educa-
tion is also of the utmost importance in the intense economic rivalry
between regions of our country. Industry and commerce tend to con-
centrate in areas where one finds the best brains. This is true in par-
ticular as regards industry which is science based and science oriented.
This kind of industry flourishes near our centers of learning. As has been
pointed out recently, one state—California—has 24 per cent of all govern-
ment defense contracts now in effect and 42 per cent of all the space
exploration contracts.

Maryland, with a great variety and abundance of educational and
cultural opportunities, is in an exceptionally favorable position today
for the development of this type of industry. The Maryland-District of
Columbia Science-Industry Complex has become one of the nation's

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