I am particularly happy that the subject under discussion today will
be "The Metropolis and its People. " Those of us who have served in
various public offices in recent years have come to recognize that the
major problems affecting Maryland and many other states, particularly
in the East and Far West, involve to a very large degree urban affairs.
Decades ago, streams of our people were moving from the farms to our
cities, partly due to the employment opportunities and the glitter of big-
city life, and partly due to the mechanization taking place on our farms.
The flood from the farm has long abated and has, in fact, been supplanted
by a flow of city residents to the outlying suburbs. The movement of
people to and from the city and the resultant effects on urban living is
perhaps the major cause of the problems faced by our major urban
centers. This is true despite the fact that the human resource is the main
source of strength and vitality to any urban or rural area, to any state
or nation.

Many of the cities of this nation have experienced a severe curtailment
of tax sources. Those who choose suburban living usually are identified
by experts with the upper or upper middle socio-economic bracket and
their migration leaves a path of declining property values, slumping
business conditions and an atmosphere of stagnation and deterioration.
Nor is this outmigration accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the
demand for services provided by the city. To the contrary, the demand
increases. Business decline results in job losses. Unemployment and
welfare roles grow and the demand for free medical services increases.
Road construction has to be accelerated to accommodate the tremendous
number of commuters. The worst of all possible economic squeezes is
taking place—revenues are either declining or barely holding steady
while the demand for more appropriations for expanded services rises
sharply.

Add this to the fact that our cities have generally enjoyed less repre-

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