The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-04-14

LAI1ONS BUT MElHODS WILL BE DIFFERENT.
 Plans now are being made for a temp organization called The Camp Fire Girls of America which
 may develop into a national society in
 the fall if such a, step seems Justified The aim of the organization is to provide for girls outdoor activities corresponding to those furnished boys by the Boy Scout movement. It seeks to encourage a greater interest
 among girls in exercises in the open
 with the threefold aim of developing their bodies, minds and characters. It is recognized, however, that the act1v-
 ities provided for the girls must be
 fundamentally different from those of
 the boys and that special attention
 must be paid to the home Keen in-
 terest in the organization for girls
 has been aroused because of the great
 influence already exerted by the boy Escout activities.
 Hero-worship has been the keynote
 to the success of the boy scout work.
 The movement has spread rapidly be-
 cause the leaders have recognized
 that fact and have enabled the boys to see in the scout work in the woods
 and within doors that they have an
 heroes of their favorite story books
 have done. While thus being train
 ed physically and mentally under the
 supervision of a trained scout master,
 they are influenced to be more cour-
 teous and are taught to understand
 the value of service and the true
 things of life
 The aim of the Camp Fire Girls
 of America is to develop womanly
 qualities in the girls. It is appre- ciated that activities must be provid-
 ed of an entirely different character I froy orro rad fnr Ina h1,r it is hoped that the aim of character
 building will be attained. The lead- CTS in the girl work hope to get many
 girls interested in camps and outdoor
 life this summer, with the view of
 testing the principles they have work ed out.
 Several meetings of prominent men
 and women have been held in the Horace Mann School, Broadway and 120th street New York. and a tenn
 porary. organization has been effected.
 The chairman of the committee Is
 Mrs. Mary Schenck Woolman of Teachers College. Mrs. Charlotte J.
 Farnsworth, wife of Professor Chas H. Farnsworth. is secretary.
 At the meetings already held it have been made in various parts of the world to establish such an organ ization. 'The Girl Guides has been formed in England and Canada. In New Zealand there is a society called
 Peace Scouting for Girls while the Girl Aids" are in Australia. Work along this line is being done by the
 Health and Honor League under the auspices of the Y. w. c. A. There is
 a small group, called ''The Camp Fire Girls,'' in Thetford, Vt. It finally
 was decided at the meetings that
 to establish a central committee to which all persons interested might come for information and suggestions; second, to make available for distri- button information concerning what already has been done, and finally, to defer the actual formation of the or
 ganization until the study and test ing of the various plans that have been suggested can be accomplished. Speaking about the new movement,
 Mrs. Farnsworth, secretary. said: From girls of all parts of the country comes the question to those in the Boy Scout movement, What | is there for girls that corresponds to the Boy Scout organization 2 To consider these demands. a tentative organization has been formed which may grow into a national organiZa- 1 ton for girls, in the fall, if plans which are to be tried out with var | ious groups, this summer, seem to | justify such step.
 'The men and women interested q l 16Sl ludI lHc dCllNlI1oS TOT SlrlS SnOulQ | be fundamentally different from those | for boys, that as the founders of the l Boy Scouts recognized the potent in- | f1uence here worship has upon boys ] by giving the impetus to their activi- l ties, through the imitation of the healthful out-of-door life led by pion- | ger heroes, so the founders of an or
 ganization for girls should consider | the womanly qualities and provide forms of expression which do not sim l ply copy those of the boys, but which | bring out the fundamental fact that | through all the ages woman is the conserver of the home, of the fire as | symbolic, of the home whether the | fire is a campfire out-of-d doors or the | hearth fire of the dwelling The nu- cleus of the home is the fire and it's | guardian. Activities to arouse. what 1 is most womanly in the girl are to center around the camp fire and the
 hearth fire and appeal to the girls in ! stinct to please, as the boys impulse
 to compete is made the basis of his
 activities.
 ''This instinct to please will be util- l ized in the three ways in which it eX- presses itself. namely. through the personal appearance, through mak- ing beautiful objects, and by doine | kindly deeds. Under these heads the work to be tried and the activi- ties to be followed this summer vii
 be grouped"
 All persons interested in the new organization and desiring to see i become permanent can communicate