The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1920-01-30

VA scout practice of doing a good turn
~ \ daily for some person some cause.
M What is good turn? 1t is an act OF
0nO&@ unselfsh service done with no thought
OF praise reward, simply and sincerely render
ed Tor sheer good wills sake. A scout Is helpful
Nearly every individual, institution and organ
ization in this country has become accustomed by
this time to seeing khakcTad boy scouts bustling
about, lending hand here and there and every
where, wherever and whenever there is some
thing to be done. The latter day version of the
adage: IF you want thing well done, you must
do 1t yourself seems to be 'f you want a thing
done WELL get the boy scouts to do it,
What scouts have done towards winning the
world war and their usefulness generally in times
OF peace is now fully realized by the American
people. No agency called into service by the
government in wars emergency responded with
more enthusiasm with greater efficiency than
did the army of almost half million boys who
constitute the Boy Scouts of America.
In the five Liberty loan campaigns, boy scouts,
acting always cleaners after the reapers and
working solicitors only in the last few days of
each drive, secured 2,32S,3OS separate subscrip
tions amounting to $685., 22975. Reducing this
total to average for each scout. 1t means a
sale of 1880 worth of bonds boy 80
The treasury department has recognized this
service by awarding to scouts 66.914 service
emblems and 28,497 bronze bars, making a total
of 95.411 awards to scouts for distinguished
ice in Liberty loan work.
Soliciting Liberty loan subscriptions was a pa
triotic service done at definite, stated times. But
throughout the war-and they still hard at
it-these boys sold 21S9,417 War Savings stamps
to the total amount of $43,022044. For excep-
tional work in the sale of stamps the treasury
department has given 23,111 achievement buttons,
each button representing sales made in 25 different
homes and 1921 medals for sales totaling
$3.50
But it is only a small part of scout service
that can be measured in terms of money. In the
soliciting of funds for Liberty loans scouts were
God
fulness and achievements in this respect are
things of which scouts are proud. they are proud
est Of their other work that was more Individual
IL. characteristicaly, scout Good Turn service
There Is much that is included in the term
ecout service, but analysis of individual good
turns as applied to the community or nation re-
duces 1t simply to the job to be done next. AS
rule there were so many jobs that there was
next-they all had to be done at once and what
Ia more-they were. In connection with Uncle
Sans loans there great deal Of publicity for
the scouts to spread broadcast. Between local
headquarters, scout messengers strengthened the
lines of communication; scout messengers helped
out the banks and made lighter the work of city
and federal officials. Those posters the wind
shield Of practically every automobile In the land
we're put there by scouts.
AT the loan rallies and other big patriotic meet
ines In every community in the land, 1t was a
nov scout that ushered you in. boy scout that
gave YOU the subscription blank, boy scout that
acted as orderly for the speaker; 1t boy
scout band very often that played and 1t was
how scouts who formed corps Of assistants to
the police.
Scouts at the outdoor rallies attracted the at
teution Of passersby with scout demonstrations
or loan speakers and everywhere served in any
capacity in which the scout uniform and what 1t
stands for" gave prestige to the occasion and
helped sell bonds.
Another big item in war service was scout gar
dens No plot was too large or too small for
the efforts Of the scouts whose slogan was Every
scout to feed soldier and one other" In cities
scouts made vegetable gardens grow in back yards
that used be mass Of unkept grass and
weeds Boys who have back yards asked
owners of vacant lots to let them cultivate the
land and then paid rental with some of their
choicest products. Country scouts planted war
gardens on large scale and had the advantage