ference of Governors of the Southern States which I attended in
Kentucky last week, one Governor of a State in the deep South made
what I consider to be most revealing speech on industrial develop-
ment. He said that his State had definite advantages, in natural re-
sources, in geography, in transportation facilities, over all of its
neighbors. And yet, he said, his State lagged behind all the others
in industrial development. Why? He had the answer. He said his
State had a nationwide reputation for political instability. His State,
he said quite candidly, was notorious for its brand of politics.

If your State government has done nothing else — and I think it
has done a lot more, of course, — it has maintained a high level of
financial stability and political integrity. I think Mr. Luetkemeyer,
your State Treasurer and an expert financier, will attest to this. I
don't intend to burden you with the details, with which I believe
you are all familiar — with our triple-A bond rating, with the sound-
ness of our tax structure, with the strength of our treasury, and so on.

May I assert however — that in my opinion die management of
the taxpayers' dollars in Maryland has been wise and prudent, and
that the State has moved through the greatest period of growth and
development in its history, expanding and improving the services to
the people all the while, without imposing undue tax hardships upon
either industry or the breadwinner. I am going to offer you just one
piece of evidence which f believe sustains this assertion. Since I took
the oath of office in January, 1959, the State's expenditures for ser-
vices to the people have approximately doubled (from $448. 2 million
in all funds in fiscal 1960 to $885. 1 million for the current fiscal
year, 1967). These extraordinary demands upon the State treasury have
been met without any general fund tax increases for the needs of the
State during this entire eight-year period. This, I believe, reflects the
kind of fiscal soundness and stability that business men like yourselves
expect of their government.

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