The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1913-07-27
DAN BEARD GIVES
ADVICE TO SCOUTS
Don't Be Ashamed to Kill AMI
mails If You Are Hungry, Is
His Declaration.

Dan Beard. well known to every Boy
| Scout in writing to the Boy Scouts Of
| Philadelphia in connection with the
| third annual enCampment of the Phila
| delphia troops, gives some excellent ad
| vice to Boy Scouts.
| "A Boy Scout is never wishy-washy.''
he writes He never Stops over. He
is normal, healthy. honorable. straight
| forward and honest. He loves all nature
and natural things because it is right
| and normal for him to do so. but he
is not what is known as I ''zoophile"-
that is. he does not love dog. cat,
| woodchuck or a COW more than he
does human being He looks at things
squarely and does not lose the proper
perspective.
There are a lot of weak minded
human being who spend their money
and their time and their sympathy on
sick cats and NANCY dogs. They look
at these things so closely that the big
problems of life are dwarfed in COM
parison to the miseries of the poor,
wTetched animals.
Like Animals.
Now fellow Scouts, remember that
the man who is talking 10 you this way
has been a lover of animals all his life:
but he loved them as animals, and not
as babies and children.
Never be cruel to anything. but
do not think il cruel TO kill chicken
when you need one for dinner. II Is
no more cruel for YOU TO kill 1t in
proper manner that it is for you to
hire some one else to do it for you.
As long as civilized beings eat meat,
just so long will 1t be necessary for us
to kill animals: and the more domestic
animals there are killed for the market,
farmers breed to supply their places.
But every wild animal killed, be il
bird, mammal, or fish, just makes
one wild animal less in the world.
Consequently Boy Scouts are very chary
about unnecessary killing of wild crea-
dear sisters and our dear sweethearts
have wiped out of existence many oil
our beautiful birds simply because they
wanted to wear their badly upholstered
remains as gristly and gruesome orna-
ments on their hats and heads.
For Conservation.
But Boy Scouts stand for conserva-
ton and the saving of our wild life,
our forests and our plants. They hesi-
tate even to gather any quantity of
wild flowers, because they know every
wild flower gathered Is so many seeds
less for the next crop. This Is not
foolish and wishy- washy sentimentality.
lit is simply common sense: because
they recognize the fact that there are
now. so many, many thousands of peo-
pie in our country that IL they all
started to pick wild flowers, or If they
all started to kill or pluck any wild
thing, they would wipe that thing right
out of existence. BY wild flowers, or
course, j do not refer to daisies and
goldenrods and all those prolific, beau
tiful weeds that thrive on our country
roadsides, but do refer to the delicate
little flowers like the moccasin flower,
improperly called lady-slipper. and the
blOodroot, the fringed gentian, the
cardinal flower, all OF which stand
in grave danger of being eXtermina-
ted.
Need Flowers.
I'VE want all these beautiful things
in this world. and need them: we want
everything that there is that is usfeul
in supplying our needs, and Is useful
in adding to the pleasure OF life; but
the most important conservation is
that in which the Boy Scouts of Amer
lea are engaged.
That is the great work of conserv-
ing our boys, the most valuable crop
produced in this country. and the one
that has been neglected the most.
Good luck to you all Good luck to
your council; good luck to your troops;
good luck to your patrols, and health
and happiness to every one Of you.
Boy Scouts"