Most of you remember how Mr. Wirtz's predecessor, now associate justice of the Supreme Court, the Honorable Arthur Goldberg, was asked by President Kennedy in 1961 to arbitrate a grave problem in the music world - the disagreement between orchestra and management of the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York.

Wherever your heart may have been in that contest, there was one result of that arbitration beyond discussion or disagreement: our musical organizations, at least the biggest , were no longer purely private corporations - they could not be self-contained, and they had achieved a role of such importance in the life of the community that they had become a public concern. Several times since, in a number of cities, local government has helped in similar crises.

We meet here for the primary purpose of strengthening the bridge between the music world and government. If the much older music establishments of the several European countries had - at any point - been left to private initiative only, not one organization would function today.

In the , a new awareness of the arts in general is evident. More is being written about the problems of the artist and his role in today's society; ever-increasing numbers of the public are becoming interested in and are attending artistic events; and of course, studies such as the Rockefeller Panel Report are adding valuable information to our knowledge of the performing arts. This new awareness has extended into the area of government. By coming to the rescue when interruptions threaten our important musical activities, the public sector in our society - government - has acknowledged that music is a necessity. ( p. 37-39)

Most of you remember how Mr. Wirtz's predecessor, now associate justice of the Supreme Court, the Honorable Arthur Goldberg, was asked by President Kennedy in 1961 to arbitrate a grave problem in the music world - the disagreement between orchestra and management of the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York.