arranging for the use of the appropriate
hearing rooms when the occasion requires
it, assisting the staff adviser in preparing
the committee's recommendations, seeing
that the committee's recommendations are
processed through the proper channels, and
doing the other myriad administrative tasks
which will be required in connection with
the work of each committee. The only other
full-time personnel of each committee will
be one secretary to the chairman and the
committee and one assistant secretary who
will also serve as the personal secretary of
the members of the committee.
To these committee staff persons, we will
add a group of research assistants—profes-
sional people skilled in various phases of
research. They will be available upon as-
signment by the director of. the research
staff or the chief of staff to perform specific
research projects for various committees.
In recruiting a staff for the Convention,
we have kept in mind the fact that this
Constitutional Convention of Maryland is
not only unique in our generation but is
not likely to be repeated in this State for
several more generations. We have there-
fore endeavored to select not only competent
professional and clerical personnel, but also
to involve to the greatest possible extent
the young people of our State so that they
too may be a part of this historic under-
taking and become imbued with a desire to
participate actively in public affairs or
even perhaps to make a career of public
service. Do not be surprised, therefore, to
discover among the staff assigned to posi-
tions normally not thought of as profes-
sional, persons of professional stature, ca-
pacity, and competence, and do not be sur-
prised to find that the young men and wom-
en who serve as administrative assistants
to the committees are similarly trained and
skilled.
As a part of this same policy of involving
the young citizen we have recruited, with
the support and assistance of the State De-
partment of Education, approximately 50
young boys and girls, all of whom are
honor students in advanced senior classes
in the secondary schools of the State. They
have been nominated by the principals of
their schools, not only for their scholastic
excellence, but also for their interest in the
work of the Constitutional Convention and
what it means to the State of Maryland,
their desire to participate, and their other
qualities of alertness and leadership. They
will serve as your pages in the sessions of
the Committee of the Whole and of the
Convention and as messengers to the com-
mittees. Several will serve continuously |
throughout the session, but most of them
will serve for periods of two weeks, after
which they will return to their classes for
a period and then serve again for another
two-week period, so that each of these
young people will serve as a page for a
period of at least four weeks.
They are not observers; they are work-
ers. During the period of their service they
will be housed in Annapolis either at St.
John's College or in private homes, and
they will work full time each and every
day of their service. Use them, make them
feel that they are earning their pay, per-
forming a service and participating in a
public event of the highest order. They will
carry back to their homes, to their schools,
and to their friends and acquaintances an
impression of the work of this Convention
which could be obtained in no other way.
This Convention, by an overwhelming
vote at its organization session on July 11,
adopted the principle that all sessions of
the Convention and of its committees
should be open to the public. In keeping
with this principle and in accordance with
the requirements of section 14 of the Con-
vention Enabling Act, we plan to provide
not merely a public relations office, but an
information service which we hope will, as
its name implies, furnish complete informa-
tion service not only to the press and
other news media, but also to visitors and
to the public generally.
This information service will be housed
in one corner of the large room used by
the Department of Legislative Reference
during sessions of the General Assembly
and will be freely accessible to the public
at all times. A card index showing the cur-
rent status of every proposal pending be-
fore the Convention and each of its com-
mittees will be maintained and the informa-
tion service will at all times have on hand
readily available a copy of every delegate
proposal, committee recommendation, or
other document prepared for use of dele-
gates or distributed to them.
The information service will be staffed
by persons whose duty it will be not merely
to prepare formal press releases or other
public information bulletins, but to answer
inquiries as to every phase of the operations
of the Convention. They are to be of serv-
ice and will, upon the request of any repre-
sentative of the news media or any member
of the public, obtain information necessary
to answer any reasonable inquiry. It will be
our purpose to have complete and current
coordination between each committee and
the information service through the medium |
