Water Resources People and Issues
feeling that this was a kind of epiphany for Senator Muskie and made him
realize that coming on strong for the environment was good politics. Later on,
he made pollution control a major thrust in his campaign for the presidency in
1972. Unfortunately he was knocked out in the primaries, but he continued his
career in the Senate as "Mr. Clean." I always felt that the Augusta hearing of
the Select Committee is where he really got the message about the political
importance of being for pollution control by watching the way Senator Kerr
handled the water pollution issue there and seeing how it was so popular with
the people in that hearing room.
Another interesting thing at that time which is completely irrelevant and I
probably shouldn't mention. The request to have a hearing in Massachusetts
was from Senator Jack Kennedy. There was a blizzard or a bad storm, so we
had to drive from Augusta down to Boston and at 70 miles an hour in a
snowstorm because there was a reception for us that night before the hearing
the next day. When we got to the Massachusetts line, there was a phalanx of
policemen on motorcycles and squad cars with sirens blaring to speed us along.
remember it well because Senator Kerr and Senator Muskie were riding in a
big Cadillac limousine and I was riding in a Rambler, driven by somebody I
didn't even know. They were driving at 70 and 75 miles an hour with this
police escort, and we were trying to keep up on snowy roads and hoping we
would get there in one piece.
We finally got there, to the Copley Plaza Hotel and they had laid out a
reception and a spread for us which could not be equaled, followed by a
sumptuous banquet. The next day we had the hearing in the Federal
Courtroom, with Speaker John McCormick sitting up there with us; Senator
Kennedy wasn't there. And they brought in a very fancy luncheon, which we
had to take turns eating because we didn't plan to have a luncheon break.
Because of my conservative nature, I kind of protested and told them we were
not used to being treated like that.
But I was told that having this hearing was very important to Jack Kennedy and
that he had asked that we be given the best of everything. So I thanked them
profusely, saying that we appreciated it very much, and I said something like,
"This must be costing you guys a fortune. And again I was told that Kennedy
had asked for us to be given a royal treatment.
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