regrets at his inability to be present today
because of circumstances which had arisen.
I was given to understand that the Presi-
dent would be pleased to have the invitation
remain open, and on behalf of the Conven-
tion, I have, therefore, indicated that the
invitation will remain open; and if the
President can address us at some future
session, I have indicated that we will
arrange a special session, if necessary.
I wish also to announce that the Gov-
ernor of the State is unable to be here, and
to read a telegram from him which I
received this morning. The telegram ad-
dressed to me as President of the Conven-
lion is as follows:
"My very best wishes to you and all of
the Delegates to the Constitutional Con-
vention as you begin this project so vital
to our State's interests. I regret that my
attendance at the Southern Governors'
Conference precludes my being with you
at present, but my thoughts are with you
in this historic undertaking, and I look
forward to being with you soon. Good
luck. Spiro T. Agnew, Governor."
I might add that I have written to the
Governor formally and also conferred with
him privately, and on behalf of the Con-
vention, extended to him an invitation to
address the Convention, to submit to it any
suggestions which he may have for con-
sideration by the Convention, or to men-
tion to the Convention any problems of the
state government which he deems appro-
priate. The Governor has indicated that
he will do so, and appropriate arrange-
ments will be made for this, probably
within the next ten days.
I also want to read a telegram which I
received this morning from the Honorable
Daniel B. Brewster, United States Senator:
"Please accept and extend to the Dele-
gates to the Maryland Constitutional
Convention my sincere best wishes for a
fruitful session. The opening of the Con-
vention today marks a milestone in the
long and noteworthy history of our State.
It also presents a unique opportunity to
establish the course of future progress
with the constitutional guidelines that are
the hallmark of a free society. This is
truly a momentous occasion for Mary-
land. I share with the other citizens of
our State a sense of pride in the present
and hope for the future, as your delib-
erations begin, and I wish you every
measure of success."
I understand that Senator Tydings is
here today, although I have not seen him. |
I also have a telegram from the Honor-
able Hervey G. Machen, Member of Con-
gress from the Fifth District of Maryland:
"I regret that I will be unable to attend
the opening session of the Constitutional
Convention. My best wishes for success
in this historic endeavor. I am sure the
Convention will produce a new Constitu-
tion which will meet all of the needs and
hopes of the Free State."
It gives me great pleasure to point out
what I am sure is obvious to you, that we
are today honored by the presence of a
number of state officials, including Attorney
General Burch, Comptroller Goldstein, Dep-
uty Attorney General Sweeney, Mayor Mc-
Keldin and numerous others.
There will be no meetings of committees
this afternoon, and no further session of
this Convention today after the adjourn-
ment; but at this time, I would like to call
on each committee chairman to announce
the time and place of his next meeting. We
will take those in order. I call on Delegate
Kiefer, Chairman of the Committee on
Personal Rights and the Preamble.
DELEGATE KIEFER: Mr. President,
the Committee on Personal Rights and the
Preamble will meet tomorrow morning at
9:00 A.M. on the second floor of the Jeffrey
Building, which is where a suite of offices
assigned to us are located. I might say
these offices will be open this afternoon
after this meeting is over, and I hope mem-
bers of the Committee will stop by to get
acquainted with our setup.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. The
Chair recognizes Delegate Koss, Chairman
of the Committee on Suffrage and Elections.
DELEGATE KOSS: Mr. President, the
Committee on Suffrage and Elections will
meet tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. in its
offices in the Shaw House. Likewise, the
offices will be open this afternoon, and we
will welcome members to drop by.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I might
add a comment at this point. Some of you
may be wondering about this. I am almost
tempted to say to Delegate Koss that we
will have to have her repeat that statement
for history. The proceedings of the Con-
vention are being stenographically reported,
as you can observe, and in addition are
being recorded on tape, a tape which will
be duplicated and the original sent ulti-
mately to the Hall of Records, with copies
to various libraries throughout the State.
The tape recorder is wired into the mi-
crophone system. You cannot control your |
