THE CONFERENCE GALL 3 



There is much the Federal Government can do, through a range 

 of specific programs, and as a force for public education. But a beau- 

 tiful America will require the effort of government at every level, of 

 business, and of private groups. Above all it will require the concern 

 and action of individual citizens, alert to danger, determined to im- 

 prove the quality of their surroundings, resisting blight, demanding 

 and building beauty for themselves and their children. 



I am hopeful that we can summon such a national effort. For we 

 have not chosen to have an ugly America. We have been careless, 

 and often neglectful. But now that the danger is clear and the hour 

 is late this people can place themselves in the path of a tide of blight 

 which is often irreversible and always destructive. 



The Congress and the executive branch have each produced con- 

 servation giants in the past. During the 88th Congress it was legis- 

 lative-executive teamwork that brought progress. It is this same 

 kind of partnership that will insure our continued progress. 



In that spirit as a beginning and stimulus I make the following 

 proposals : 



The Cities 



Thomas Jefferson wrote that communities should be planned with 

 an eye to the effect made upon the human spirit by being continually 

 surrounded with a maximum of beauty. 



We have often sadly neglected this advice in the modern American 

 city. Yet this is where most of our people live. It is where the 

 character of our young is formed. It is where American civilization 

 will be increasingly concentrated in years to come. 



Such a challenge will not be met with a few more parks or play- 

 grounds. It requires attention to the architecture of building, the 

 structure of our roads, preservation of historical buildings and monu- 

 ments, careful planning of new suburbs. A concern for the enhance- 

 ment of beauty must infuse every aspect of the growth and develop- 

 ment of metropolitan areas. It must be a principal responsibility 

 of local government, supported by active and concerned citizens. 



Federal assistance can be a valuable stimulus and help to such 

 local efforts. 



I have recommended a community extension program which will 

 bring the resources of the university to focus on problems of the 

 community just as they have long been concerned with our rural 

 areas. Among other things, this program will help provide training 



