332 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



compared with those at other less beautiful points in the city. I 

 would like to see a balance sheet that showed what the park has cost 

 against what it has contributed to the city, just in dollar and cents 

 values alone, leaving out the qualitative pleasures the park brings to 

 the people who enjoy it. 



President Johnson said that beauty "is one of the most important 

 components of our true national income. 53 I am sure that he is 

 right. I am also sure that this can be shown, and that when it is 

 shown, our job will be very much easier. 



In his natural beauty message, the President also pointed to some 

 of the costs of blight. Safety and physical and mental health were 

 among the factors he mentioned. I believe he might have added tax 

 revenues, property values, police costs, juvenile delinquency costs, 

 and some social welfare expenses, as well. The subject needs serious 

 expert analysis to develop economic guidelines dollars and cents 

 comparisons that will help people to see that what is good is also 

 profitable. 



Let me cite just one other example of the sort of thing I'm looking 

 for. Wouldn't it be helpful in talking about reclaiming the blight 

 of abandoned open pit mines, such as the trap rock quarry in Mount 

 Taurus in New York, if we could show how such blights detract from 

 property values and how, and by how much, economic benefits have 

 accrued to other areas from rehabilitation of landscape in similar 

 situations? 



Conservation discussions are traditionally conducted on such a 

 high plane that such practical matters now seem a little crass. But 

 we must not be ashamed to bring the discussion to this level. If we 

 need to be ashamed of anything at all, it's our past failure to do so. 



When our reserves of water or helium or other valuable natural 

 resources are threatened, we prepare for a campaign of conservation 

 with an exhaustive economic analysis. Scenic assets are no less valu- 

 able and no less jeopardized ; they deserve no less attention. 



When faced with a conflict between industrial or commercial 

 demands and the demands of conservation, someone is always saying, 

 "Well, you can't block progress." I want to be sure we all know 

 what real progress is. 



If we are going to launch the needed programs to achieve a more 

 beautiful America, we are going to have to enlist a broad popular 

 support behind the banner, and high-sounding phrases alone won't 

 doit. 



