mental patients treated increased last year, roughly by 7 per cent.
And a record 6, 250 patients were discharged in 1963, nearly two-
thirds of them having been hospitalized for less than a year. In the
budget I am submitting to you, I am recommending a general fund
increase of $1, 689, 989, for a total of $29, 541, 125, to support an ef-
ective program of mental hygiene. In consideration of the growing
problem of mental retardation, allowances have been made for the
planning of two facilities, with 500 additional beds, for the Wash-
ington metropolitan area. I have made reference already, in dis-
cussing the Health Department's budget, to the three additional
day-care centers, raising to 17 the number of these centers expected
to be in operation during the coming fiscal year. Funds are provided
in the Health Department's budget also for the support, on a match-
ing basis, of two additional day hospitals, one in Baltimore City and
another in Baltimore County.

The increase in funds for mental hygiene is needed primarily for
staffing, equipping and operating new facilities, for expanding after-
care clinics and for a more intensified patient care, particularly for
the treatment of alcoholics and adolescents.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In reporting earlier in this message on the economic condition of
the State, I stressed the importance of stimulating and reinvigorating
our economy to provide jobs, profits and general prosperity for the
people. I also noted the success that has been achieved by our Depart-
ment of Economic Development, in cooperation with local economic
development agencies in Baltimore City and the counties, in bringing
new industries to our State and in encouraging those already here
to expand their operations. This department, one of the newest of
our State agencies, has been functioning with notable success, both
in the field of industrial development and in boosting the flourishing
tourist trade in Maryland. An increase in the funds for the operation
of this department has been recommended in the budget which I
am presenting to you.

HIGHWAYS

In our efforts to provide Maryland with a system of highways
capable of meeting the demands of an ever-increasing volume of
traffic, significant strides forward have been made during the past
year. During 1963, the State Roads Commission has kept up its
remarkable pace in the construction and modernization of nearly

21