352               Vetoes

the General Assembly, I was hopeful that this year a new
bill would deal with the subject of the powers of the Uni-
versity of Maryland in such manner that I might give it
approval; for I do not take pleasure in vetoing acts of the
General Assembly, particularly when they have received the
support of large majorities in both Houses. On the con-
trary, both as a matter of personal inclination and in the
diplomacy of the Governor's office, I find it much more
agreeable to avail myself of every possible opportunity to
show deference to an expression of the legislative will. With
genuine regret, however, I have concluded that House Bill
No. 26, now before me, embodies substantially the objection-
able features of the earlier bill and is so ill-advised that I
must disapprove it.

It has been claimed by supporters of the bill that it repre-
sents a compromise reached by the Attorney General with
the University, and that it now meets with the Attorney
General's approval. This is not correct, according to the
information given me by the Attorney General himself.
When the Legislative Council came to consider the subject
this winter a sub-committee did confer with Mr. Hammond.
It reviewed with him the various provisions of the newly
drawn bill. Some of the objections to the old bill were re-
moved from the new draft. Other criticisms offered by Mr.
Hammond were disregarded. Recognizing that he had no
vote on the Committee, there was nothing more he could do.
He has not declared himself satisfied with the bill in its
present form and is far from approving it, but he feels that
he has gone as far as he should go. I refer to this because
some members of the Legislature may have been induced to
vote for the bill in the mistaken belief that Mr. Hammond's
objections had been fully met and that he now favors the
bill. At all events, the question was not one of legality for
him to decide officially as Attorney General. As a citizen he
has done his full duty, and there is no room for criticism if
he does not carry the fight further against what he con-
siders an unwise policy. My responsibility as Governor,
however, is broader, and my duty to pass on the policy of the
measure is inescapable.

Let it be granted at the outset that in certain aspects of
the conduct of a university it is appropriate to give it a
broader freedom of action than is customary in other de-
partments of government.

I ally myself with defenders of academic freedom, and
declare my strong conviction that in a democratic society a
teaching institution is entitled to full protection against
out-side control over its teaching methods and curriculum;