produced in Maryland in any year of the past decade. In such an
ambitious undertaking, I am encouraged to believe that we have
halted the depletion of this important marine resources and have
taken the necessary steps to rehabilitate the oyster industry.

The overcrowding of our penal institutions has created a Condition
which calls for strong remedial action. The increasing pressure of
population upon plants, facilities and staff personnel has made it
difficult for the Department of Correction to operate its programs
of prisoner rehabilitation with maximum efficiency. I believe, however,
that a foundation has been laid upon which this department may now
begin translating its planning into action, along lines that are not
only remedial but also genuinely progressive.

Construction soon will begin on a new $13, 000, 000 correctional
institution in Washington county. This institution is designed to
house 1, 000 male prisoners, and it, together with other facilities either
planned or under construction, will greatly relieve the problem of
overcrowding in the other institutions.

Visible in the highway accident reports of last year were what I
believe to be the first fruits of our labors to make Maryland highways
safer for travel. One highway fatality of course is one too many, but
it was gratifying nonetheless to see our fatality total drop from 511
in 1960 to 458 in 1961. And in a more meaningful statistic—one
that relates fatalities to miles traveled—there were 4. 3 fatalities per
100, 000, 000 vehicular miles in 1960, as compared with 3. 7 in 1961.

We may hope—and yes, pray—that these figures are an indication
that the measures we have taken during the past three years to pro-
mote traffic safety will bring rich rewards to the people of Maryland.

Traffic safety is truly a cooperative endeavor of many agencies and
many individuals—State and local, public and private. Cooperating in
your State government, to name only the foremost, are the Depart-
ment of Motor Vehicles, State Police, the Maryland Traffic Safety
Commission, the State Department of Education, The State Roads
Commission, the State Department of Health.

This general Assembly has displayed its deep concern with the
problem by the enactment of beneficial laws—the point system of
penalties for violators, the permanent license-renewal program, the
chemical test for suspected drunken drivers, driver education in the
public school, and others.

We have tried to provide the enforcement and administering
agencies with the tools they need to carry on the important work they

58