of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 377

, Here in Maryland, the. ideals of liberty have been so much a part and
parcel of our existence, the tenets of complete individual freedom have been
so entwined in all the laws and history of our State, that it would be absolutely
unthinkable for us, as Marylanders to consider yielding any part of those
priceless liberties at the behest of a conquest-maddened Dictator. Three hun-
dred years and more have not altered or lessened the spirit brought to our land
by the first Maryland Pilgrims, a spirit that survived the war of the Revolution;
that displayed itself at the Annapolis Tea Party with the burning of the Peggy
Stewart, and that was written into unquenchable song at the bombardment of
Fort McHenry, in the writing of the Star Spangled Banner.

That this same spirit permeates our people today, there can be no question.
Every true Marylander looks with horror at the condition of the over-run
countries of Europe today. Every true Marylander can be counted upon to give
his all to ward off from our Country, and from our beloved shore of Maryland,
the fate that has overtaken the conquered people of Europe.

The crisis in which we now. find ourselves calls for the United efforts of
a united nation. It calls for the full support of the President of the United
States and the measures passed by the National Congress. Here again develop-
ments of the last week, and even as reported in this afternoon's paper, bring
out the fact that anyone, no matter how 'great his contribution to the Nation
previously, who falters now in the defense for democracy, or who suggests
that democracy cannot survive, rightly draws the indignation and censure of
all liberty-loving people.

It is unfortunate that we as a people failed for so long to grasp the fact
that the growth of the European dictatorships during the past decade has been
a challenge and a threat to us, as well as the balance of the world. That failure
on our part, while unfortunate, is easy to understand. We were, and are, a
peace-loving people, given to the practice and preservation of the doctrines of
individual liberty and the quality of men. We found it well nigh impossible
even to conceive that there could arise on any national or international scale,
a movement challenging the very fundamentals of civilization, and openly seek-
ing to overthrow the attainments of mankind during the past thousand years.

The right of individual liberty; the right to worship God according to the
individual conscience; the right of assembly; the right of free speech, free
press and radio—in spite of what we heard or read from time to time, we simply
could not conceive that even a dictatorship would ever attempt to take these
liberties away.

We know better now, however. Unwilling as we were to conceive such a
thing, we have had our eyes opened to the sinister fate that now threatens us
along with the remainder of the free peoples of the world.

Today, there is no longer any question in the mind of any right-thinking
American citizen. We must prepare ourselves for defense as we never have
been prepared before. We must be on the alert in our every-day lives to de-
tect subversive elements that would work with the enemies without our gates
in an attempt to overthrow our Democratic System of Government. As Ameri-
can citizens all, we must be prepared and resolute to do the part assigned us,
whether that part be to join the military or naval forces of our Country, or