274 State Papers and Addresses

and its hearts to the oppressed of the world; that under the protection of the
flag we love, our Country received and assimilated peoples from every land,
and with their help grew to be a Nation without equal in all the world.

Your Farm Bureau officials, every delegate and visitor to this great
Convention are to be congratulated on having the opportunity this afternoon
to view this thrilling pageant of the Flag, and to carry away with them a
reawakened appreciation of the unforgettable principles and ideals which it so
gloriously represents.

COMMISSION APPOINTED TO STUDY CONSERVATION

State House, December 11, 1940
Annapolis

I AM most appreciative of the presence here today of each one of you. It
indicates your willingness to place your services at the disposal of the
people of the State in an effort to evolve a forward-looking program on Con-
servation that will prove acceptable to all our citizens who are interested in
one way or another in this all-important problem.

As you, of course, realize fully from your contacts with the problem, the
matter of building a program upon which the various divergent interests of
the State can agree will not be an easy one. The goal we are seeking is so
important, however, and will have such a far-reaching effect upon the future
of our State, and the well-being of such a large section of our inhabitants,
that its solution is worthy of all the attention, all the study and discussion
that could possibly be given to it.

In naming the members of your Committee, I made it clear, and I wish
to emphasize this point again, that there will be absolutely no restrictions
whatsoever upon the Committee, the conduct of its deliberations, or its recom-
mendations. You are entirely free to suggest the program that promises the
greatest long-range benefits to the people of our State, and this is exactly what
I know will be expected of you by the people of the State at large.

As the recipient of the beneficial results of the prolonged discussions
that have gone before on the matter of Conservation, I know that you will
be concerned with the interests of all the various groups that are most deeply
affected. Certainly you will not disregard the fact that some thousands of our
. people depend upon the continued production of seafood, particularly in the
tidewater areas. At the same time, the large number of sportsmen among
our citizenry have a great stake in the matter, and their interests, too, must
be conserved.

Not so much publicized, but of paramount importance to all sections of the
State, are such matters as the preservation and extension of our forests and
State parks, the safeguarding of our farm lands and shore lines against the
ravages of erosion, and other protective and restorative measures that rightly
belong under the general head of Conservation.

On November 5th, 204, 822 citizens went to the trouble to express them-
selves on the subject of Conservation. It is to the credit of so many Mary-
landers that they are sufficiently interested in this problem to have registered