The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-04-08

colonies, the idea was bought back to
! its native soil, the United States.
Many Of the biggest men in the eoun-
try, those who are at the head Of most
| OF our largest movements. believe that
the boy scouts idea offers to America
the greatest opportunity 10 raise the
qualities Of the boy and the man in
! all phases of life President Taft has
consented to serve as honorary presi-
dent OF the boy scouts of America
| Speaking in terms Of hoyhood, the
scope of the boy scouts Of America is
equal to the interests Of boyhood it.
self Between the ages of twelve and
eighteen the interests Of boy are gen.
eral and reach all the way from the
catching OF minnows and tadpoles to
finding God in the stars.
The boy scouts OF America aims to
supplement- the various existing eduea-
tional agencies, such as the
church, home, school boys club, Sunday
school, bows brigade, Y. M G. A !,
Young Mems Catholic association, Young
Mems Hebrew association, etc Its
ltional activity may be elassed
under Scout craft, camp craft, track
ing or observation wood craft, ehivalry.
life saving, health, patriotism.
The aim of the boy scouts OF Amer
lea is TO promote the ability in boys
to do things for themselves and for
Others 1t seeks TO teach boy re-
sourcefulness by knowledge Of wood
craft and outdoor life; il seeks to
make him strong and healthy; ii seeks
to make him chivalrous and to do little
kindly deeds daily for someone else; it
seeks to teach him life-saging; 1t
seeks to teach him patriotism and
citizenship so that as member Of The
nation, he may give gladly Of himself
for the proper discharge Of his duties
as a citizen
The boy scouts Of America seeks to
organize representative groups of men
called local committees or councils in
the various states and towns Under
the direction OF this local council. men
over twenty.one years Of age are Sc
cnred as scout masters or scout lead
ers Each becomes the leader Of a
troop which consists Of at least three
patrols A patrol of scouts numbers
eight, the eighth member being an older
boy and the patrol leader This ar
rangement guarantees adequate leader
ship and recognizes the gang instinct.
The scout idea takes the non-super-
vised leisure time Of boys and fills il
with recreationa and educational ac-
tivities II teaches him facts about
nature and citizenship and how to get
the most ont Ct life At the present
time all over the country there are in
sistent demands for field secetaries to
organize and promote the work
The scout idea is peace movement
Every possible precaution had been
taken to guard against it being lken
ed TO military movement We do
not permit arms The boys are not al
lowed to carry guns even in connection
with the camp activities Before he
becomes a scout hoy must take the
scouts oath thus: "On my honor
promise that l will do my best
Il. To do my duty to God and my
country
y. To help other people at all times.
- To obey the scout Laws"
and then after he has qualified he is
put in the class Of the tenderfoct and
after he has complied with certain
opttlilttt tbitdiAAuiss itt - tiiNlbitu W
wear the badge of a tenderfoot After
thirty days of further study if he
passes satisfactory examination and
shows that he has bank account of
81 90, he is entitled to receive promo
ton as a second class scout. After wait
ing another period and complying with
certain conditions, he can become
first class scout The whole field Of
scout activity is then open TO him. Ii
he desires TO become proficient in any
line he can make a special study with /
a view to qualifying to pass the test
which will ontitle him to merit badge
for which he has to pay himself. Moth
ing is given the boy We insist that [
he either pay for the badge out OF his |
own allowance. or earn the money. We |
discourage the endowment Of groups OF /
boys by wealthy people
The outlook before the movement Is /
most promising. The four thousand /
leaders can be multiplied and remulti- /
piled before our task shall have been ac- |
Great though out outreach /
has been, the vast scope Of territory /
of the United States seems to promise /
a larger chance for the application OF /
the scout principles than any other /
at present working with idea. /
At the present time the scout idea has /
been taken up in nineteen different +
countries Written for The Survey /
by James + West. executive secretary, 1
boy scouts OF Americal