602 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



involvement of people in those forms, shapes, experiences, and re- 

 sponses which are usually thought of as producing beauty. Sensi- 

 tivity to these stimuli will tend to develop sympathy to the concept 

 that life can be beautiful. 



One avenue to these goals is through one's free time. Modern 

 living has produced greater amounts of free time than ever before. 

 All indications lean toward even greater amounts in the years ahead. 

 Give opportunities for expressions of beauty through the use of free 

 time in the traditional mold of leisure and culture; through personal 

 experience permit the development of beauty within each individ- 

 ual; provide catalysts, exciters and inciters to set the spark and 

 breathe on the tinder until the flame licks at the cords of beauty free- 

 ing them for enjoyment by all. 



Government can and should play an integral part in this search for 

 beauty. Though there is a need that the landscape, the cityscape, 

 the countryscape and the riverscape should be devoid of ugliness, 

 appreciation of beauty must be instilled in people and government's 

 second responsibility is to filter ways and means of appreciating 

 beauty to the general population. Civic participation is the key. 

 Arouse nuclei of people interested in finding and creating beauty. 

 Nourish these groups so that they grow, germinate and reproduce 

 in great numbers until the message of beauty, tangible and intangi- 

 ble, is received at the grassroots level of our country. Let the Fed- 

 eral Government take the reins with programs providing facilities 

 and services to people that they might find beauty in their environ- 

 ment. Let State, county, and city governments continue the struggle 

 until there is an overwhelming demand from all people for beauty 

 in their heart. Let the people carry the cudgel until the new con- 

 servation of today becomes the classic conservation of tomorrow and 

 our Nation is saved from human and material blight and despair. 



EUGENE P. CONSER. Consideration of natural beauty obviously 

 involves real estate: ( 1 ) preservation of its natural beauty wherever 

 it remains in the unspoiled state and (2) restoration to the extent 

 feasible toward a state of natural beauty where it has been lost by 

 virtue of adverse natural forces or by manmade forces. 



Conversion from the natural state to accommodate the needs of an 

 expanding population, whether aboriginal or civilized, rarely results 

 in enhancing natural beauty. It may be possible to create a mag- 

 nificent city from within an abysmal swamp, but more likely an 

 abysmal city will be created from a magnificent landscape. Yet 



