Excerpts From the President's Remarks Opening the White House Conference of Governors.

AS CHIEF EXECUTIVES of the States and of the Nation, you and I have a tremendous responsibility for the security and welfare of our people. It is fitting, it seems to me, that we should consult on the overriding question of the peace and security of our country.

The conduct of foreign affairs and the business of war and peace are under our Constitution the responsibility of the Federal Government. But in times like ours the danger to our country involves the civilian population in the cities and towns and on the farms of our States. The responsibility of all local governments is immense.

Quite beyond the matter of responsibility is the matter of counsel and judgment. All political wisdom does not reside in the White House, nor in the Executive Branch, nor in Washington itself. It comes from the minds and hearts of sincere and devoted men, wherever their field of action--whether in Federal, State and local government or in private life.

The purpose of these sessions is to share with you some of the information we have and some of the plans we are making in the area of national security.

It is our firm belief that in that way we can take a long step toward the goal of a united people determined to defend its way of life, to prove worthy of the leadership of the free world.