The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-10-01

into idleness and into indifference to
the fact that other nations were push
ing up to destroy it, whether by force
of arms or by the more peaceful but
equally fatal method Of commercial
regulation. In every case the want
Of some Of that energetic patriotism
which made the country has caused
history has been, Death through bad
citizenship" Signs have not been
wanting of recent years that all is not
right with our citizenship. Ominous
warnings have been heard from many
authorities and many sources, in al
most every branch of our national life.
These have been recently summed up
in the following words: The same
cause which brought about the fall OF
the great Roman empire are working
today in the United States"
One sign of the disease Is the horde
of the unemployed leading miserable,
wasted lives in all parts Of the country
These people, having never been
taught to look after themselves, or to
think Of the future or their country's
good, allow themselves to become
slaves. Training in self-reiiance and
forethought would prevent much Of
this. The natural field for the remedy
lies in the rising generation and its
AICOAO1C ENOOSCNSAI
says: Save a man you save one per-
son, save a boy and you save a whole
multiplication table" The boys of the
nation are full of enthusiasm and
spirit, and only want their heads
turned the right way to become good.
useful citizens. This splendid mate
rial is being allowed to run to waste
come harmful to the nation simply for
want of education, for the want of q
hand to guide them at the crisis of
their lives when they are at the Cross
roads where their futures branch of
for good or for evil Is there any
remedy? What form can that remedy
take? How can a private individual
help? The remedy must be applied to
the rising generation. It's aim should
be to instill character" into the men
of the future. BY character is
meant a spirit of manly self-reliance
and Of unselfishness.
Cannot this be furnished to an ex-
tent by the boy scouts organization?
Here are the scout virtues" a clip
ping from the manual:
There are some things which
scout ought to know and which
should be characteristic Of him, If he
is going to be the kind of scout for
which the boy scouts OF America stand.
One of these is Obedience. To be
oOOu SIOul q IVY ilu5l A6di II " OOOy
the orders of his patrol leader, scout
master and scout commission. He
must learn to obey before he is able
to command. He should keep such
strong grip on his own life that he will
not allow himself to do anything
which is ignobls, or which harms his
life or weakens his power of obedience.
Another virtue of a scout is that of
courtesy. A boy scout ought to have
a command Of polite language. He
ought to show that he is a true gen
tleman by doing little things for others.
Loyalty is also a scout virtue. A
scout ought to be loyal to all to whom
he has obligations. He ought to stand
up courageously for the truth Or for
his parents and friends, and never
yield in a good cause.
Another scout virtue is self-reEpect
He ought to refuse to take money
from anyone, unless absolutely neces-
sary. He ought TO work for the money
he gets
For this same reason he should
never look down upon anyone who
may be poorer than himself, or envy
the life of anyone richer than himself.
A scouts self-respect Will cause him
to value his own standing and make
him sympathetic toward others may be
on the one hand worse of, or, on the
other hand, better off so far as wealth
is concerned. Scouts know neither a
low nor high class. for a scout is one
who is a comrade to all and who is
ready to share that which he has with
others"