The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-19
THE BOYS WORKING RESERVE

A big drive to organize the boys of
ko nsas into a working reserve it is
announced will begin March Is.
In Massachusetts there were about
twenty boys camps last year The
movement did not include a state mo-
, bi;iZation camp or state appropria-
lions. Funds were provided. largely
by private subscriptions. and practi-
-cally all of the management and su-
pervision was by volunteer workers.
The boys camp plan had its inception
in thepublic safety committee of Mas
sachusetts. A special subcommittee,
with the co-operation of high schools
Y. NJ. C. A. and other agencies, created
a camp organization, obtained enlist
ments of boys too young for military
service yet old enough to work on
farms, provided for proper supervi-
SIGN, and succeeded in furnishing a
considerable amount of this help to
the farmers duRng the summer. The
Massachusetts committee, in reporting
upon the plan in that state, takes &C.
casion to<emphasize the value of pre-
liminary training as a feature of the
farm camps. Summing up the general
results il the state, the ssachusetts
committee said, among other things,
that the experiment had demon
strated:
That the right type of boys under
efficient supervision are valuable in
food production; that mutually advan-
taSeous working arrangements be-
tween boys and farmers can be
brought about"
The manager of one of the Iarg-
est farms in the vicinity of Bolton,
where one of the Massachusetts, camps
was located, is quoted by the state
committee as saying that the Bolton
camp accomplished these things:
1T gave to a more or less discour-
! aged group of farmers new view of
their own possibilities and the posi-
bilities of their farms
by bringing a supply of seasonal
labor when needed, It enabled the
farmer to increase his acreage one
third to one-half, and insured the
proper cultivation of the crops at an
expense he could afford.
1T has been one of the most valu-
able parts of the city boys education.
in that it has given him a first-hand
experience in production which he
could get in no other way"
In Berkshire county, Massachusetts,
where there were two camps of about
thirty-five boys each, the committee
reported that 1.-The county agent was
very much gratified to have no kicks
o. ha he ~
persons who are employing the boys"
At Somerville, Mass, high school
boys We're placed with farmers, under
the direct administration of one of the
high school teachers, who visited the
farms, interviewed the farmers, and
was convinced that conditions were
wholesome and the boys assured Of
good treatment before he placed them
One would assume these boys gave
satisfactory service, from a report of
this section, made the latter part of
the summer. which said that nearly
all OF the boys have been advanced
in pay since they began farming and
most Of them have been benefited
physically"
/ In one Massachusetts, camp thirty
boys started bank accounts. In an
other camp a dozen boys subscribed
/ to liberty bonds. In another six boys
who had planned an academic course
liked farm life so well they altered
their program and applied for admis-
sion to the agricultural college. At
still another camp an investigator
asked each boy whether he would re-
turn to farm work che next year
There was only one negative response
and that boy explained that he was
going into the navy.