The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-11-24
Are You Boy?-Were You a Boy?-
Have You Boy

Are You 6oy?-Were You Boy?-
Have You Boy
In any Of these cases you will find
great interest in the Boy Scout Move
ment in America. The facts will be
presented in these articles from time
to time.
Boys Will Be Boys
But they don't need to be juvenile
delinquents. Boys are not naturally
inclined to be bad But they are nat
urally inclined to be busy. That be-
ng busy may take the course of vi
olating the traditions and conventions
of their elders unless their elders see
to it that the training is in the d..
rection Of right, true, manly ideals.
Most juvenile delinquency finds its
roots in adult thoughtlessness. The
boy wants to be busy, but the older
people are to busy to help him.
The tension Of the boy and the mat
tention of the man lead to mistakes
on the part of both. The result is un-
pleasant t. both. The public also
suffers. The Boy Scout movement is
the ounce of prevention that is worth
more than the pound Of cure.
Boy All Over
The Boy Scout movement is just
boy all over 1t takes that original
instinct of the boy to be busy and
supplies the things to keep him busy.
1t gives the boy all the liberty COM
patible with developing true manhood.
1t utilizes the things that boys want
to do. 1t is built from the ground up
on the constructive basis. Negatives
are turned into positives. The boy is
shown the why" of the things he
does. Body, mind and soul are exer-
cised in clean, straight living. The
boy wants it. There are practically
no deserters among boys who once
join, il proper leadership is provided
to keep them in the movement.
It Is American All Over
Scouting is based on the idea Of ed
ucation, which is prominently an
American ideal. 1t is scientific educa.
ton, for it begins with what the boys
know and goes from that to things
they ought to know.
1t does things that the schools can't
do and that Sundays can't do. And
yet the whole force Of t Is to increase
the boys interest In the things that
the schools can do and the things
that the Sunday schools are doing.
Boys are undetermined They
want action. They don't want to just
sit and listen. But they will listen in.
tently If what they hear is related to
what they are going to do little lat.
err. That is where the scout teaching
ing ties up with what the schools and
Sunday schools want him to think
about.
Ever since our Colonial fathers
planted the little red school-house on
the New England hills, it has been
our American ideal to provide for our
coming generations. The Importance
of the boy has never doomed larger
than it does right now at the close OF
the Great War. The need Of efficient
education and American ideals has
never been so thoroughly recognized.
We must omit no opportunity for
moulding the character Of our boys
along these lines. The Boy Scout
movement is one of the greatest of
these opportunities.
Absolutely Non-SectariaK
Recognition Of God and service 70
Him are fundamental in scouting, but
the movement is absolutely without
any sectarian bias. Wherever it is
practicable troops are organized in
connection with churches of all de-
nominations. II scoutmaster is
available in that church, he is at once
put in charge of that troop. No boy
is trained away from the thought of
his own religious environment This