about economic hardship and distress anywhere in the world, much
less in the very heart of our country. Nor can we allow ourselves to
be defeated by the difficulties of the problems we face.

I believe that the time is ripe for the launching of some forceful
interstate action in regard to the pressing problems of the Appala-
chian Region, and I am most hopeful that this conference will be
the seedbed out of which will grow a new awareness of our obligations
to the mountain areas of our states.

ADDRESS, APPALACHIAN GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE
SECOND MEETING

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY

October 17, 1960

I am delighted to be here today for the second meeting of the
Governors of the Appalachian states. I think all of us have had an
opportunity to do a good deal of thinking since our last session in
Annapolis, and I know that the recent interim committee meeting in
Atlanta has added further to the consideration of what sort of action
is most appropriate for a group such as ours to take, and what sort of
structure will enable us to make that action most effective. I will not
repeat here the thinking which led me to invite all of you to the
original conference at Annapolis, except to restate my view that the
problems faced by the western counties of Maryland cannot, in my
mind, be adequately or permanently solved without reference to
other areas to the north and to the south that have similar problems.
This approach, by definition, cuts across state lines, and leads us
inevitably towards seeking a regional solution to a regional problem.

I was most gratified at Annapolis to see that these views were
shared by many of the participants at that session. There were a
great many excellent suggestions presented at that meeting, and I
hope that we here today will be able to give effect and meaning to some
of them. Among the suggestions from the Annapolis meeting which
has already borne fruit was Governor Underwood's proposal that the
Southern Regional Education Board play a role in coordinating the
work of the various states in this region. The work of the Southern
Regional Education Board, together with that of the Council of

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