RETENTION OF ASSATEAGUE STATE PARK 793

out with his profit. He can still survive, since he does not hold great
acreage of land for years at a time. The result will be the worst kind
of haphazard development devoid of the planning necessary for a
large modern integrated community.

The problem is indeed a difficult one. There is no doubt in my
mind that the Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Matters looked long
and hard for a solution before settling on this bill. I am equally cer-
tain that the members of this Committee, as well as many other mem-
bers of the Legislature, realize that this bill is not the complete answer
to the problem. And until we have that answer, I feel strongly that a
piecemeal attack will only create additional difficulties which will re-
quire further legislation.

There are alternatives which have been suggested. The Committee
on Taxation and Fiscal Matters in its report of 1963 recommended a
roll-back procedure which is more equitable in operation and deserves
further study. That Committee also saw as an alternative a capital
gains tax which was instituted as part of the tax reform program last
year. Likewise, the Commission on Agricultural Land Preservation
has recognized the defects in Senate Bill 1 and has made several sug-
gestions worth consideration in this area. The Commission was ap-
pointed pursuant to House Joint Resolution 20 of the 1967 session,
and it seems only logical that they should have an opportunity to fully
review the problems and solutions before a bill as far reaching as
this one is enacted. I pledge that this administration will work with
the Legislature and any other group interested in finding a complete
solution to the problem. In my opinion, Senate Bill 1 is not that
solution.

LETTER ANNOUNCING MARYLAND RETENTION OF
ASSATEAGUE STATE PARK*

May 7, 1968

The Honorable Stewart L. Udall
Secretary of the Interior
Washington, D. C.
Dear Secretary Udall:

Your reply to my letter requesting clarification on the future de-
velopment of Assateague Island has been reviewed with interest, and
the proposals you made at the meeting in your office have been studied
in depth.