ADDRESS,

DEDICATION J. MILLARD TAWES BUILDING,
EASTERN SHORE STATE HOSPITAL

CAMBRIDGE
June 15, 1961

I am deeply appreciative of the high honor I am receiving here
today and will cherish the memory of this occasion for the remainder
of my life. In inviting me here to take part in these exercises, Dr.
Tuerk was kind enough to say in his letter—and I use his words—
that "the interest and leadership you are giving to Maryland's mental
hygiene program is epitomized in the bricks and mortar of this new
facility. "

I sincerely hope that by deed I may be able to prove myself worthy
of this perhaps over-generous expression of confidence and of the high
honor yon have bestowed upon me.

It is somewhat puzzling that we who are reared under the precept
of honoring our fathers and mothers should have to look upon the
aged as a problem. And yet, we must face the fact that aging has
become a social problem the solution of which calls for public pro-
grams. It is difficult enough, as we all know, for an elderly person
living in a family group surrounded by love and understanding. It is
infinitely more difficult for the elderly individual who has no family
ties, who is enfeebled physically or mentally and who has become
confused and has withdrawn from life experiences that overwhelm
him when he is least capable of helping himself. He breaks down
from the strain, often artificially imposed upon him, as an individual
who has outlived his usefulness. Lacking other resources, he comes
to our doors, discouraged, distressed and often in dire need of psy-
chological or psychiatric treatment.

When I was campaigning for the office I now hold, I pledged to
the people of Maryland that, if elected, I would invoke measures
to alleviate the suffering and enrich the lives of the elderly people
of our State. I have conscientiously tried to fulfill that pledge. We
have undertaken measures, for example, the subsidization of the con-
struction of public and nonprofit-private nursing homes authorized
by the Legislature this year.

I see in the erection of this geriatrics building of the Eastern Shore
Hospital another significant step toward our goal of making the lives

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