728 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

A. Not a bit. I think President Johnson wants to end the Viet Nam
war. At least he says so fairly frequently, and that's all I just said, that
I think it would be wonderful if it could end, and the $30 billion
drain should stop. I didn't mean to suggest, at all, that the way to
stop it is to give up, or capitulate, or withdraw and say we shouldn't
be there at all. I think we've got to find some rational, legitimate
means of getting out compatible with our objective to stabilize the
security of Southeast Asia. I don't know whether this is going to come
about, but that's all I meant to indicate by that.

Q. Governor, if the situation remains static and there is no end to
the Viet Nam war, would you be extremely hesitant in future ses-
sions of the Legislature to ask for additional tax money?

A. Well, again, I would have to wait and see what the Federal picture
looks like; and what the thrust of Federal taxation is; and what effect
that has on our revenues. It very well may occur that the situation
may loosen. I can't foresee what's going to happen, but certainly what
happens to Federal taxation has a great and immediate impact upon
our own State's picture. Not only in the fact that it affects the taxes
we collect, but it also affects how much the Congress is willing to send
to assist us with our programs. So I can't forecast that until I sec
what's going to happen.

Q. Governor, to get back to the Nelson report — for a moment —
they not only chastised you for not raising taxes to support the pro-
gram, they also recommended cutting pharmacists' fees, cutting dental
fees, yet they wanted to retain the present level of doctors' payments
— but even more significant — they made no mention at all about the
hospitals. Do you think this suggests an unwillingness of the hospitals
to participate in reducing this load?

A. I must say very candidly that I was not alone in my observation
that the total omission of the hospitals from these desperate austerity
moves provokes some comment. I think that hospitals have to be
included in the austerity measure too, and I think that the phar-
macists had a valid point, this morning, when they said that every-
body is being asked to pull in his belt but the hospital operation.
For this reason I am not willing to accept the Nelson report 100%
without making some further investigation. After all, these people
came to me originally, and offered to do this very much appreciated
study on the basis that they could do something to control spiraling
hospital costs — and there's been no comment about that in the report.
Q. Governor, what's the basis behind your strong opposition to Bal-
timore County's district court plan?