44 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



become a potent political force. Its impact is being felt every day 

 through the mass communications media and our educational 

 systems. 



We now have important acts of Congress to aid us. We have a 

 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. We have a National 

 Wilderness Preservation System. We have a wetland acquisitions 

 program. The list is almost endless and there are more on the way; 

 for example, Senator Muskie's new Water Pollution Control bill, S. 4. 



I am confident that we have or will have the tools as a result of 

 this conference. But will we be able to establish effective admin- 

 istrative procedures to accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves? 



As I see it this is why we need this panel and the two related 

 panels the one on Education and the other on Citizen Action 

 which will follow tomorrow. 



Senator MUSKIE. I recall the first piece of advice that the then 

 Senator Lyndon Johnson gave me when I came to the Senate. He 

 reminded me that when I was talking, I wasn't learning. This is 

 good advice to give a freshman Senator and, I suppose, it is good 

 advice to give to a Senator at any time. 



I have often thought we could substitute for the filibuster rule 

 of the Senate a sort of unwritten rule that many people practice. 

 I recall the story of an out-of-Stater who was trying unsuccessfully 

 to strike up a conversation with a Maine native and finally, after 

 considerable frustration he said in exasperation, "My God, do you 

 have a law against talking in this town?" The native said, "No, 

 but we sort of got an understanding that we don't say anything that 

 doesn't improve on silence." 



I think that's a rule that the Senate might follow. 



And so, undertaking to observe that Maine rule, rather than the 

 more liberal filibuster rule of the Senate, I am going to confine myself 

 to a relatively few comments. 



We could, of course, if we got into the substantive issues of con- 

 servation and beauty, embark upon a long discussion of all of the 

 issues which are of concern to us as individuals. But I take it that 

 we are concerned here principally with the problem of the mechanics 

 of creating and implementing effective public policy on the Federal 

 level, State level, and local level in dealing with this new concept of 

 conservation which is stimulating and exciting so many Americans. 



We are concerned, of course, with water pollution, air pollution, 

 and in these two fields we are, I think, involved in emerging organi- 



