ROTARY LADIES' NIGHT 183

By numbers you are sparse but writing constitutions and imbuing
them with foresight and enlightened thought is not the result of roll
calls but of individual creativity. The four from Allegany could in-
deed be the Big Four of the Constitutional Convention and the repre-
sentative from Garrett might well prove himself to be the most sin-
gular talent in the entire assembly of delegates. The opportunity is up
to them once you have sent them to convention, so send your finest
and give your most earnest attention to their deliberations.

A vigorous leadership breaking with convention and an aroused
citizenry calling themselves to convention is the tone and temper of
these days. In my inaugural address I called for a new and abundant
energy to revitalize Maryland affairs and in light of what we have
accomplished and what we are preparing now to initiate, that call has
been answered.

Progress to date, on the surface, has seemed relatively smooth and
effortless but in fact it has put men to agonies of reappraisal in terms
of what is right, and what is good, and what is just. There have been
some compromises in some programs for the sake of passage but not
one compromise in any program at the loss of principle. We have not
played at politics, we have worked at it, and the pursuit of excellence
in the first hundred days of the journey lies not on the distant horizon
but before our very eyes.

Ladies and Gentlemen... a governor cuts many ribbons, signs a
lot of proclamations and feasts on many a roast beef dinner during
his days in office. There are times when pomp and ceremony plague
a man, distract him from his thoughts, remove him from his family
and make of him more of a puppet than a person.

But tonight is something very special. It is a pleasure and a privilege
to be among you. Your country is beautiful, your hospitality impec-
cable and your concern for Integrity In government serves to reinforce
my own. I hope you will invite me back again and that in the mean-
time you in your way... and I in mine... will serve this great State
of Maryland as we would want it to serve us. Thank you and good
night.