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Abe. I think it sounds like a good idea.”

Well, by Tuesday many people had this idea, and the bill wasintroduced in the Senate and in the House, and there was nothing I could do in the way of giving Fortas anything because it was alltaken out of our hands. Fortas was rather cross because I think he thought that I had stimulated all of this in the Senate and House and that I should have done it in an orderly way. Actually, it was due to the spontaneous interest of a lot of people who liked the idea.

I didn't say anything to Johnson that night before the funeral about the commission on cancer, heart and stroke. When I returned to Washington on the 4th of December to a meeting of the National Cultural Center to discuss what should be done to encourage the legislation which was now proposed to pay not for all the needs of the center but to match money with the money that was raised on a voluntary basis.

Is the total sum still 70 million?

No, it was reduced as the result of a suggestion I made to President Rennedy to 30 million, plus the cost of a garage, which would be about 14 million, underneath the building.

Johnson was needed to appoint some new trustees to the Cultural Center as Congress has just passed a bill in the fall for the appointment of some additional trustees which would give it a more national character. I also wanted to talk to him about giving a dinner in behalf of the Cultural Center so as to