The authors of this paper underscore that the supply of mineral resources that go into the making of our cities is in jeopardy. Accordingly they pose as a basic principle, as a "Mineral Conservation Ethic," the proposition that any action leading to waste or misuse of a mineral resource is a public concern. They analyze the outstanding elements of the problem as they see it, and suggest various lines looking to solution. Messrs. Dunn and Broughton are, respectively, Professor of Geology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and State Geologist of New York. While they are writing here especially about their subject as it presents itself in New York, they would apply most of their findings to the country at large. They emphasize that they approach the problem as specialist- enthusiast for minerals-and they recognize that these must compete with other necessities for enlightened public attention and action. But they believe that minerals have been receiving much too small a share. /CSG/