ingly large percentage of our population is composed of industrial
laboring men and women. This is a trend which this Administra-
tion welcomes. It is a trend which this Administration is doing every-
thing in its power to aid and assist.

As one step in this direction, a bill was introduced in the last ses-
sion of the Legislature to establish an Economic Development Com-
mission. The purpose of this Commission is to attract new industry
to the State of Maryland and to assist established industries to ex-
pand. The entrance of new industries into the State will, of course,
result in increased job opportunities for Maryland workers. In order
to achieve maximum benefits, I have advised this Commission to be
selective in the type of industry which it seeks to attract. We in
Maryland do not want an influx of low-wage, unprogressive indus-
tries into our State. The Economic Development Commission is
therefore carefully screening the requests it receives in order to con-
centrate on attracting those industries which want to hire skilled
and competent workers.

From this point of view of public policy, Maryland wants new
industries that will be able to make substantial contributions toward
raising the standard of living in the State. We do not want indus-
tries which will take more out of our economy than they put in, or
those which will tend to depress our living standards. I am proud
to say that Maryland today ranks tenth in the nation in per capita
income, and I firmly believe that with continuing emphasis by the
State on attracting high-wage industries, we will continue to improve
our position in this scale.

I also believe that the good showing that Maryland is making in
terms of its wage level has been brought about chiefly because of our
excellent record in the field of labor-management relations. It has
been a long time since a major labor-management controversy orig-
inating in this State has reached an acute stage. Labor and manage-
ment get along well in Maryland, because they respect each other,
and work together as equals. For this, Maryland labor should re-
ceive great credit, because it is guided by responsible and practical
men who are interested primarily in improving the security, working
conditions, and standard of living of their union members, and who
—in their dealings with management—work conscientiously towards
these goals.

As a thoughtful American, deeply aware of the importance of the
role of organized labor in all aspects of the life of our nation, I

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