The Washington times., 1913-06-15
NEW SCOUT STAFF
Is MORE RELIABLE
Made Of Stronger Wood and
on Design Which Makes 1t
More Dependable. -. g.


So. ... - ----... - d.
The new stan recently designed for
Boy Scouts here and formally adopted
4 by Troop 4S, is declared to be much
more reliable and dependable than these
formerly used. The change - stases
was made necessary, IL Is said, because
30 many Boy Scout slaves We're broken
during the suffrage and inaugural pa
rades last March. -, - ...-.-.- .-
The new scout stan was designed by
Scoutmaster c. n. Filkins and Prof. r.
Kent Beattie, Of the Department Of
Agriculture. A series Of experiments
, were carried out to determine the shape
and material OF the stan best fitted to
meet the requirements of the scouts
Round, regular hexagonaI, and octag-
onal slaves were eliminated for the rea-
son that they roll toe easily upon
smooth surface, such as asphalt pave
ment.
Stats Broken By Hoodlums. -
During the suffrage parade II was no
uncommon thing for a hoodlum to wrest
the staff from a scouts hand, and send
1t flying along the pavement by giving
il q kick broadside.Es- A square -stau
, orercame this objection but, on the
other hand, 1t Is not easily handled
! 1t was finally decided to adopt an ir-
regular octagonal pattern made in the
ratio of 1:2, meters. long. the
regulation length. These can best De
made by making a perfectly square
staff and then chamfering tne eoees
down so that the chanfered side is eniy
oue-half of the, original side. The stan
with thus have four wide sides and four
narrow ones. These can be nulzed az
follows: One side for the Ehgnsn
measure, one side for the: trenSn lius-s
tric) scale, one side for the. Bntmore
measure "a special rule used for meas
,ring the Diameter Of standing uees,
and one side for the name OF the scout
The figures and letters can be made
very nicely by using steel dies mprln.-
ing them carefully into the nara Mooa'
ana then inlting In with Higgins watsr-
proof ink The scouts name, troop
number, name Of patrol. etc. can De
stamped into the staftaf e. =" 81 -:
The best slaves are made Of second
: growth hickory. White ash also makes
an excellent staff Oak possesses great
strength. but is rather heavy. c-:;rc 3
Advantages of New Staff. 20. %.
On account of its peculiar design 1t
provides a Arm grip for. the scout IN
actual mob work. as It cannot be read
ily twisted from his hands. 1t will not
roil on the pavement. q BY being kept
white by sandpapering, II is easily 10
Gated In the dark. 1t fits firmly into the
square socket of the improvised hands,
less frying nan, and, being square, does
not allow the frying pan, TO turn over.
In this way scouts can use thefr irsins
pans and stay in a 'iean-to' when II
rains.
liability of the staff, such as srescuing
drowning person from broken Ice, or
fire fiehting At such times weak
stan is worse than useless. ~ =
The staff Is very, useful for. beating
tout bush fires and outbreaks which
occur on open heaths. a weak stan is
quickly broken, and the scouts work Is
over.
While clear view can be obtained by
looking through a small hole drilled
through the stan. this should not be
done, as it tends to weaken the. Etah
at that point, and renders it more liable
to break. besides Just as clear a view
can be obtained brsquintfng Though the
almost clenohed nst. fJEN '--1-- -r- --..
In wading stream two or three
scouts grasp the staff which should al
way be strong ene7 to, stand the ur-
usual STRAIN or some one will get
wetting. E-1o s..-s' - -
In scaling wall. or Wanting over
logs rocks, fences, etc, the staff should
at all times be a! dependable one.
otherwise bad falls viii result, and
broken bones and other serious acci-
dents. -#T -..- -
In making an improvised stretcher of
coats and slaves, a strong. reliable
staff is essential, otherwise the injured
person may be precipitated- upon the
ground and the injury win be the
more. - 20 .-. .'.r o.. -
When climbing fences gates, etc. ii
is advisable 10 give yourself a push
with YOUR staff. Hard falls and serious
accidents can be avoided by using
strong staff. i'- q, o.
Reliable staff Necessary.
What an efficient weapon in combat
ing a mad dog, or stopping runaway
horse a strong staff is. whereas a weak
brashy staff would be broken with the
first onslaught, and the scout would
probabIy be seriously injured
For jumping ditebes, climbing noun
tains, self-defense, bridge building,
lsvering UP stones and logs, a strong,
reliable staff is essential. A strong
staff will do everything. the cheaper
ones will. and they will, do many things
the cheaper ones VIII not.