750 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

an excuse for breaking the law. The law is clear — the statute con-
tained in Article 27, Section 577A, of the Public General Laws of
Maryland, states as follows: "Any person refusing or failing to leave
a public building or grounds, or specific portion thereof, of a public
agency or public institution during those hours of the day or night
when the building, grounds, or specific portion thereof, is regularly
closed to the public, upon being requested to do so by a regularly
employed guard, watchman or other authorized employee of the
public agency or institution owning, operating or maintaining the
building or property, if the surrounding circumstances are such as
to indicate to a reasonable man that such person has no apparent
lawful business to pursue at such place, shall be guilty of a misde-
meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than
?1, 000, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both, in the
discretion of the court. "

I want to say that I consulted the Attorney General about this law
before I took the action I took in making these arrests, and he con-
curs with me that the arrests are proper. I'm ready for your questions.

Questions and Answers

Q. Governor, who are these outside agitators — outside influences —
these dangers that you spoke of?

A. Well, I think you know them as well as I — you've seen them
functioning. I'm referring to certain members of the NAACP. A Mr.
Brown, I think, is the name of one. I'm referring to the Howard Uni-
versity students, who have no business on the Bowie State campus.
It wasn't a social visit they made; it was a visit for the purpose of
causing this disturbance. Those are outside influences. I don't consider
them to be good outside influences. Mrs. Rice from the Prince George's
County NAACP. I've had other wires from other individuals whom
I won't bother to designate at this moment.

Q. Governor, closing Bowie State College — what will this do to
the dormitory students at the school? Will they have to find lodging
elsewhere?

A. That's exactly right. Again, I'm sorry that people have to be in-
convenienced, but a very broad question of the protection of public
property is involved in this decision. And I emphasize that this is
not done for the purpose of punishing; it's done for the purpose of
securing public property.

Q. How long will they have to get out of the dormitories, Governor?