124 State Papers and Addresses

take drastic action to correct a situation that had become tragically serious.
I was able to secure the cooperation of 100 public-spirited citizens in our 23
counties and in the City of Baltimore, and this State-Wide Committee has been
working valiantly and unselfishly to bring home to the people of our State
the seriousness of the traffic situation, in the hope that we might arrive at
a public state of mind, conducive to increased Traffic Safety.

We arranged that this effort for the saving of human lives would be launch-
ed in a non-partisan manner, without thought of politics or selfish interest, or
hope of personal reward to any member. The Commission has nothing to sell,
and the public-spirited men and women engaged in this effort have nothing
to ask of Maryland people, except that which won't cost a cent to give, namely,
care and caution in travelling along public highways, and a decent regard for
other citizens.

It was realized fully when this State-Wide Committee was appointed, that
the question of controlling automobile traffic to the point where it might be-
come resonably safe, was not one that could be solved and settled overnight.
It was understood that many things enter into the traffic picture, and that only
by improving and coordinating all phases of the matter, could any appre-
ciable, lasting result be achieved. And so I announced at the outset, that six
or more standing committees would be appointed, the members of which would
give serious and thoughtful consideration to the various requirements of en-
gineering, law-enforcement, education, statistic gathering, etc., so that we
might know not only what was happening with regard to accidents, but with
this definite knowledge in hand, we might at length set out to correct the con-
ditions that seem to be the underlying causes.

Along with this, however, as a necessary preliminary step, it was felt by
the Committee that forceful steps must be taken to bring to the minds of all
citizens, the present-day situation, and it was with this in mind that the Com-
mittee decided to concentrate on the first 7 days of October, November, and
December as "Safety Weeks. " The first two weeks, last month and the month
before, were productive of excellent results. Through the cooperation of hun-
dreds of our leading citizens, the newspapers, the radio, and other agencies,
the message of Safety was made known to many thousands of our residents,
and I am happy to report that during October Week and November Week,
there were 10 less deaths than in the corresponding weeks of the previous
year. We had selected these three months of the year for such publicity efforts
because accident records have shown that they were the worst months of the
year from a fatality standpoint, and therefore, seemed to offer the greatest
opportunity for improvement. I am happy to say too, that the records of
these two months, which I will discuss later, showed the results of our efforts
in a reduction of fatal accidents for each of the two months.

In considering today's address to launch December Safety Week, it oc-
curred to me that it might be a good idea to broadcast in the late afternoon,
rather than in the evening, and thus possibly reach other interested groups
that might not be contacted by an evening broadcast. I refer particularly
to the young men and women of high-school age, or older, who have secured
their operators' licenses in the last several years; to that great group of
younger high school boys and girls, who are just learning to drive, preparatory
to securing their operators' license; and to housewives and mothers, who are
vitally concerned. Not only are these young persons a problem from the