346 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

munication to you that problems exist in the business of employment
among Negroes and especially in the lower echelon, in the building
trades, in the State Highway Department and in all the ramifications
of State employment, but especially with respect to contracts and
contractors and Federal monies, A recent decision in Columbus, Ohio,
had held that the State, as a signatory to a contract — the Governor
and other responsible State officials — had the prime duty, not the
secondary duty, to determine that the people with whom they signed
the contract did not discriminate in their employment policies. The
ruling there in Columbus was that a $12, 800, 000 medical building
could not be built on the campus of Ohio State University by the
State of Ohio because the contractor did discriminate, and I suggest
that this decision in Ohio might be helpful in Maryland, although
it is not binding upon Maryland, that its lawyers, its Attorney General
and others might want to study. I think the time has come for us to
realize that while we need not be headstrong and headlong in our
actions, there is an urgency in this Negro-white problem, and in spite
of all the surface indications of arrogance and bigotry on the part
of both Negroes and whites, that the root of correction lies in better
schools, better jobs, better housing, better administration of justice
all along the line, with particular emphasis on police-community rela-
tions. It would be my hope that Maryland, which has been proud of
its title as the "Free State of Maryland" and which has had more
than its share of individualists in the United States, might be the one
to show the way in many of these areas. Thank you for inviting me,
Governor.

GOVERNOR AGNEW:

Nice to have you, sir.
QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESS:

QUESTION: In the light of what Mr. Wilkins was just saying, Gov-
ernor, Mrs. Mitchell said in the afternoon papers that the State is
rampant with discrimination in both hiring and promotion of em-
ployees. Do you have any comment?

GOVERNOR:

One of the things that we are most interested in working toward
is the removal of all discrimination in the State of Maryland, and I
mean all the discrimination. Dr. Ware of my staff is presently en-
gaged in working up a "Code of Fair Practices, " a set of regulations
to be used by the executive branch, and hopefully by all branches
of the government, to be sure that discrimination is removed wher-