you know what winson churchill said when he was asked in his great biography, he said i'm working on the fifth of a projected four volumes. well, not to equate myself with winston churchill, but i'm in the same boat and in a way, this talk tonight is an explanation of how i got there. the role of government, the responsibilities of government, that's the theme of this symposium and the focus on lyndon baines johnson, 36th president of the united states. on lyndon johnson's concept of what the role of government should be, and that theme be explored in detail in the panels tonight and tomorrow. but to begin this conference i will talk about the origins of this concept, about its beginnings, about where lyndon johnson's belief in the role of government came from, about the most fundamental, basic, beginnings from lyndon johnson and not the beginnings of lyndon johnson, but the beginnings before washington and i will also talk about the origins not only of lyndon johnson's general beliefs, about the role and responsibility of government and also about the origins of the program in which