age-old condition. And this condition must be ended, not only for
the good of Appalachia, but for the welfare of the trading areas that
lie east and west of the mountains. Our port of Baltimore, for ex-
ample, would benefit greatly from increased economic activity in
Appalachia — activity which would provide products for export from
the port and an interior market for goods and supplies coming into
the port.

As Governor of a State which has three counties in the Appalachian
region, I can only add my own voice to the call for urgency which has
been sounded so clearly by our President. The people who live in
the Appalachian area are no strangers to promises. They have stood
on their street corners and outside their homes for many a year in
the past and listened to the brave promises of well-meaning candidates
for political office. All too often these promises have turned to ashes,
not because they were insincere, but because, once in office, the
former candidate found himself powerless, with the limited means at
his disposal, to accomplish anything truly meaningful for the people
of Appalachia.

No state has the resources to cope with conditions that are as wide-
spread and as economically deep-seated as we find in Appalachia.
This is why the present program is so desperately needed. This is
also why the people of Appalachia — for the first time — have per-
mitted themselves to believe that at last something effective is really
about to be done. I travel frequently in the three Maryland counties
in the Appalachian region, and I can assure you that the usual skep-
ticism of the people has been put aside as far as this program is con-
cerned. They have faith in President Johnson and in this Congress.
As far as this bill is concerned, they have laid aside their normal
protection shield of pride and silence. They have exposed themselves
and their plight for all to see. It would indeed be a cruel hoax if we
let them down now when their hopes are highest.

Before closing, I would like to quote once more from my address
before the first Conference of Appalachian Governors in 1960. Inci-
dentally, I quote from these remarks not because I am fascinated by
my own words, but to make the point very clear that this bill repre-
sents something which was originated by the Appalachian region
itself, and is a true example of cooperation of government at all
levels — federal, state and local. We who have portions of our states
in the Appalachian region consider this bill to be our bill, not a
federal government bill. We conceived the regional approach, we
formed the pilot organization, and we hammered out the details of

81