The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1920-12-03

ciates who mean more to him than
any others and with whom he likes to
herd" particularly after he gets to
be about twelve years of age. Some
boys of twelve years are only nine
or ten years of age mentally and 9TH
ers are as much in advance {. their
age, but Scouting takes care of all
that because the competent scout lead
er, or scoutmaster, as he is officially
termed, knows enough of the psyche
logy of boyhood to enable him to
handle the proposition, not as a prob
lem but as a pleasure n a privilege.
One of the strongest points of the
Scouts, movement, is the maintenance
of this spirit. Groups of boys are as
signed to a unit known as a patrol:
eight boys with a patrol leader and
often an assistant and six to follow
the leaders-and four such patrols
constitute a troop of thirty-two, under
the guidance of a scoutmaster and
usually Il or more assistants.
Need Definite Program
The troop should meet once a week
on stated days on a stated hour; but
that is not enough. The sCoutmaster
and his assistants, together with the
patrol leaders and their assistants,
should meet at some other time, say
twice a month, and discuss the posi-
bilities of the development of those
under their charge. While scouting
provides innumerable opportunities or
activities for the boy to follow, they
are themselves of a negative charact-
er until made positive through develop
ment-being put into action. There
for, a program should be worked out,
not a time table, but a definite pro-
gram prCdiCated upon covering a GER
tain amount of real scout work say
three calendar months, and so far as
possible a certain amount of that
work should be assigned to each of
the meeting nights; but it must be
handled in such a way that, though,
at the end of the three monhs the
schedule shall have been covered, the
actual handling of the work, night af-
ter night, must be elastic in plan and
scope, because there are certain con-
ditions which help or hinder the
carrying on the work at stated times.
But the goal should be set, and reach
ed by the conclusion of the quarter.
The first element of a successful
lTOOp is dDSOlule OlluutlCt VII lut
part of all concerned in the mar who
has been selected as scoutmaster of
the troops. Almost any boy will ac-
cept anything once, but fool him once
or try to-and he is through. He has
lost his confidence and little or moth
ing can be done with him from then
on, nor is this confined to scouting.
Therefor, a scoutmaster should be as
scrupulous of his appointments, his
engagements, his promises and his
reputation as the most astute business
man would be in his dealings with
big business. There is no bigger bust
ness than the productive handling of
the boy, nor is there any investment
which pays such returns.
Can Organize Anywhere
Every church, every school, every
organization which has any sort of a
home in which it meets should offer
to house a scout troop, and a group of
three or more men known as the
troop committee should become moral
ly responsible for the working of that
troop and should recommend a scout
master. The application of the troop
committee, accompanied by a blank
thoroughly filled out by the prospec-
tive scoutmaster is then sent to Ma
tional Headquarters and if found &C
ceptable is passed upon, and the man
commissioned as scoutmaster of that
troop. Nor do the duties of the com
mittee end here. They individually
must be willing to give a certain
amount of time to visiting that troop
and seeing to it that the standards of
Scouting are being lived up to. To do
this, they must become more or less
familiar with the scout program and
its possibilities, which is entirely pos
sible Through literature which S fur
nshed by National Headquarters for
that purpose. 1t is a good thing for
the minister of a church or the prin-
cipal of a school or the head of an
organization, to choose from among
his people men whom he believes will
successfully function as troop commit
tee and as scoutmaster, but he him
self should act rather in an eXecu-
tive capacity than as scoutmaster, and
keep his eye upon them, seeing to 1t
that they function as they should.
The scoutmaster then becomes the
head of a group of boys known as
the troop and makes it possible
through his conference with his junior
LEADERSHIP patrol leaders and their
assistants-to satisfy the wishes of the
boys, engage them in productive work
and productive play and keep them
so busy that they never ask for some
thing to do, but are constantly inter
rupted toward the close of what they
are doing with the admonition ia
finish quickly that they may take VI
something of equal interest, in Other
words, the activoies of the troop, il
it is to be successful, must overlap
like shingles on a root but in which
the nails holding them do not show
A boy does not want to know whai
is holding him; he is willing TO bt
held if his heart is in the work.
The scout movement is in no sense
reformatOTy. This does not mean tina
the so called bad boy" is ineligible Il
scouting, but it does eman that hi
must show some willingness to bt
other than a so-called bad boy" be
fore he is mixed with a group. Thi'