The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-01-25
Will Enter Dispatch-Be
Service Of Country
'HANDLEF LACDAYSpEECH
Perform Duty Which Will Be
Appreciated BY Public; the
Great Purpose
From Mondays Daily.


President Wilson has sent the fol-
lowing letter to Mr.. Colin H. Living
stone, president, National Council,
Boy Scouts of America:
'My Dear Mr.. Livingstone: / de-
sire to entrust the Boy Scouts of
America with new and important
commission, to make them the
government despatch bearers in
carrying to the homes of their COM
munity the pamphlets on the war,
by the committee on pub
lie information The excellent serv-
ices performed by the Boy Scouts in
the past encourages me to believe
that this new task will be cheerfully
and faithfully discharged. Yours
sincerely, Woodrow Wilson"
The Boy Scouts of America, num-
bering nearly 100000, have responded
to the request of the president with
hearty unanimity and will under
take, as their first depatch-bearing
service, a distribution of copies of the
presidents Flag Day address, pub
lished by the committee on public
in pamphlet form on
September Is, 1917, and regarded as
The most comprehensive statement
that has been issued by the govern
ment in regard to the fundamental
issues in the war.
Desire of Administration.
1t is the desire of the administra-
ton that this pamphlet have careful
study by the people of the country
4. dnn fnh
bearers directly under command of
the president, will place the docn-
ment in the hands Of five million citi-
zens of every city, town and hamlet
of the country, with specific instruc-
lions that its contents be carefully
considered and that the reader then
make it his personal responsibility to
see that at least one other citizen OF
the community also reads the copy.
By these means a minimum of ten
millions of thoughtful citizens will
have had this important message i'm
pressed upon their minds or will
have been refreshed in memory as to
the principles of the war expressed
by the president on September Is.
Will Be Sent to Scouts.
The pamphlets will be sent through
the mails to the individual scouts and
in each package there will be a
manual for the guidance of these
young government messengers. Act
ing under the local instructions OF
the Scoutmasters the depatch
bearers will deliver such printed
matter as may be issued from time
to time by the committee on public
information to citizens, carefully
avoiding duplication. They will &C
cept signed receipts from the persons
visited and also their personal as
surance that they will comply with
the requests made, particularly to
aid distribution by passing the docu-
ments to others.
Will Be Identified.
Each Boy Scout is provided with
an Identification card, bearing his
name, troop number, city and state,
and declaring his appointment as an
aide to the committee on public IN
formation to serve as despatch
bearer for the government during
the period covered by his registra-
ton, under the direction of the Ma
tional Council, Boy Scouts of Amer
lea. President Wilson's letter re-
questing the service is reproduced In
facsimile on the reverse side of the
Identification card.
Each Scout despatch bearer will
have access to franked postal cards,
returnable to the committee on pub
lie information, by means of which
any citizen may order mailed to him
any of the various war pamphlets
which the committee on public infor-