of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 97

jealously. For looking across the ocean to what is happening in the countries
of Europe, every American without exception, can experience the same thrill
of patriotic enthusiasms, the same deep-seated satisfaction, when he gazes
aloft to the Star Spangled Banner that adorns our various public buildings,
as did that famous Marylander, Francis Scott Key, when he beheld through
the early morning haze the Star Spangled Banner as "it caught the gleam of
the morning's first beam" and "in full glory reflected, it shone on the stream. "

STAR SPANGLED BANNER DAY

Fort McHenry, September 14, 1939
Baltimore

ENSHRINED in the history and the tradition of our Country, the spot upon
which we stand may well be called holy ground. Amidst these surroundings,
one hundred and twenty-five years ago, there was given to a then weak, dis-
couraged, embattled and infant people, an Anthem which best expressed its
soul and its aspirations—a poetic creation which gave voice to the significance
of its Flag.

It is to celebrate the anniversary of that immortal transaction that this
occasion has been provided.

While the exact scene of the birth of that Anthem may be in doubt, we
do know that at a point upon these waters—easily within vision as we stand—
a son of Maryland, Francis Scott Key, was called by destiny to express the
hope and dreams of a weak and struggling Nation. Out of the brain of that
genius, while thus held prisoner by the enemy of his Country, amidst "the
rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, " from the very furnace of battle,
in this river entrance to the city of Baltimore, the immortal song of our
people, the "Star Spangled Banner, " was born.

The citizens of Maryland may be permitted, therefore, to take, as they
do, an intense and natural pride in the memory of these events, and in the name
and fame of that one of her sons, who left all of us a legacy so rich and rare.

It is always stimulating and advantageous that celebrations be had, com-
memorating the virtues and extolling the accomplishments and ideals of the
leaders of our people. Such occasions may well be the nursery of a patriotic
future. It is by emphasis, and the retelling of the story of our best and great-
est deeds that we are encouraged in the truest sense of our pride, and fortified
against diversion and false ideals in the future. Such is especially true in con-
nection with this occasion, and the events it memorializes. Our National
Government has taken note of all this in making the provisions it has made
to have such eminent representatives, by their presence, give significance to
the things here sought to be remembered and applauded. After all, Francis
Scott Key and the "Star Spangled Banner" are not the proud possession of
Maryland alone—they are the heritage of the entire people of the United States.

It is especially well that a celebration such as this be had at this time,
for an additional and significant reason. At this moment the fires of Liberty
have either been extinguished or seriously threatened in the major portion of
the European world—the land of our forefathers, the source of our culture,