Omaha daily bee., 1914-10-04
BOY SCOUTS HELPING OUT
British Lads Are Patroling the
Shore Watching for Airships.
SOME SIGNING AS BUGLERs
All the Youngsters Understand sig
mailing and Are OF Great scrv-
Ice In Assisting THIS
Branch Of warfare.

Correspondence Of the Associated PressD
LONDON. sept i5--The Boy Scouts Of
Great Britain are distinguishing them
selves In almoet every way suggested
ny Juvenile fiction.
From the north Of Scotland down the
eastern coast TO the Isle OF Wight on the
SOUTH sea scouts are pa;rolling the shore
watching for the dreaded Zeppelin or for
some armed raider that might have
escaped the British North Sea fleet, with
a view 10 sinking the army transports
in the channel Railway bridges and
reservoirs are watched by camps Of
Scouts. relieving the soldiers who are
needed at the front
Orders come into the scout district
headquarters for buglers for Lord
Kitchener's new army. for British buFlers
are from u to Is years Of age and enlist
by their parents consent. a Scout Of
II at one office has received the
necessary consent and ne gives his COM
rades a wink OF triumph as the scout
master signs a letter 10 the recruiting
office lie will serve In tho Middle Sex
public school battalion.
scout Ideal supreme.
These are some Of the military aspects
OF Scout life. But the Scout ideal Of serv-
ice useful TO the public still Is supreme.
Those entering Lord Kitchcner's army as
buglers are a mere handful out OF the
10000 scouts in Grea: Britain, coast and
railway patrols are unsrmed, and merely
assist the military as eyes
owing to the rapid recruiting In war
time. no one-not even STR Robert Baden
Powell-knows the exact number Of
Scouts in the tinted Kingdom. But in.
London alone there are $50 acting as
orderlies In the war office. about. the
same number In the admiralty. tending
TO telephone calls and acting as mes
ECngers. and 100 or more who do the same
service at the Red Cross and recruiting
headquarters. Besides. there are about
800 Scout cyclists who tend TO important
strand running between the various. sta
tons Scouts are 10 be found at every
train. guiding refugees with money to
boarding houses approved by the British
elef societies.
II anyone wants 20 learn about a Ger
tain street. he calls for a pathfnder-a
Scout who has obtained special rating as
a guide in London, after passing an eX-
animation even moro severe than that
required by the county council for taxi
chauffeur's license. Scouts have been
loaned to the American relief committee
and the American embassy, whore their
services are invaluable.
As all Scouts above the rank OF tender
foot understand signaling. their assistance
Il often called for in this respect.
Has BuuinessIike Air.
One thing that has particularly i'm
pressed Americans In London Is the BUSH
ness-iike and military air OF the British
Scout. He has no sleepish feeling about
appearing in uniform. He is proud of his
organization and takes his duties seri-
lousiy.
The scouts are volunteers In the fullest
sense. even TO paying for their own uni
forms. But n publicly assisted canteen,
which serves mcRlE at from ! to
pence now keeps down his cost OF living.
The Girl Guides. the feminine branch OF
Baden-PowelIs organization, are no less
busy. There are more than 10000 OF these
guides In tho kingdom and since the war
their uniform has become quite familiar
on London streets The girls are con-
oerned. In part in knitting mufflers and
stockings for the Scouts but only in part.
To take random instances OF their use
fulness the guides at Leeds scrubbed
down house that was being turned into
a military hospital. In Hertfordshire they
did the mending and darning for n regi-
ment OF territorials. At Crawley they
made puzzles to amuse conyalescents and
sewed newspapers together for extra win
ter blankets, Al the London refugee
camps for homeless Belgisns the girls
act as nurses for the children. AZ Har-
row they are raising vegetables for the
poor.
Every Red Cross hospital has its corps
OF Girl Guides. who wash the dishes and
do general cleaning, run errands, and
sometimes save steps by wigwagglng.