376 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

guided by accurate planning, disciplined by continuous review, the
county government can perform with an immediacy and intimacy
second to none.

In Maryland we try to practice the new professionalism at the State
level in the hope that it will soon be emulated by all our county gov-
ernments. In Maryland we provide State aid for our county govern-
ments in the confidence that they are most capable of assessing and
responding to their citizens' needs. In Maryland we have developed
additional revenue resources for our county governments in the under-
standing that flexibility is essential to stimulate innovation — that
all counties like all individuals have different problems and aspira-
tions. In Maryland, we have reaffirmed our national faith that the
government closest to the people governs best — by enabling that
government to act freely and creatively within the limits of its au-
thority.

In Maryland the State has met its responsibility to the county and
now looks to the county to meet its responsibility to its citizens.

Although the fiscal obstacles have been removed, each county still
remains confronted by its obligations and challenged to capitalize
upon its opportunities.

Enlightened county leadership throughout the nation faces identical
problems; only the degree and intensity differ. External regulations
from the State and Federal governments seem obstructive and inhibit-
ing factors. Yet, in perspective, the ultimate problem remains an in-
ternal one — to modernize and revitalize.

An acceptance of the new professionalism, and the spirit and climate
of opportunity which accompany it, is a solution. A reliance upon
modern management techniques and dynamic planning is a solution.
A willingness to cooperate, to coordinate and to initiate intergovern-
mental action is a solution. Above all, a determination to change
with changing times is the precept which those of us in the service of
power must keep fresh and foremost in our thinking and doing.

The new professionalism is the temper of these times. Let us use
it to give new life and abundant energy to our democratic traditions.