The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-01-31
THE GIRL SCOUT MOVEMENT

of the National Council OF Girl Scouts,
al It's eighth ANIMAL convention in Sa-
vannah, Ca January IS. is the wife
os the Secretary OF Commerce. Dur
ing the ensuing year she win bend
every effort 10 building up this bene-
fetal orGa uization. which now num-
bers over 10000
Following her election, Mrs. Hoover
| told newspapermen she wished TO
stress the great reed for more young
women captains. declared she had been
scout in spirit and in practice since
AT an carly age she went on many a
long camping trip with her father IN
California and told why the movement
should receive The support OF every
parent OF scout age.
T want 10 bring 10 the attention o.
the women OF this country the fact
that we are IN serious recd oe cap
tains FOR our troops" said Mrs. HooF-
er. i've wart a. this moment 10000
women, capable and intelligent and at
least twenty -one years Of age, who
arc willing to lit themselves to take
charge Of troops Right now over 100
600 girls are anxious to join the Scouts
--liut we cannot take them because OF
this lack Of leaders. In another six
months there viii be need of another
TO- 600 captains. The life OF the Girl
Scout movement has not been long
enough to provide enough alumnae for
the work, 50 We must seek our cap
tains from raw material.
"The principles under which this
movement has developed are now fair
liz we'll known, but the propaganda for
procuring captains cannot be too wide
Is spread or too urgently stressed II
is because | know of my own Enowl-
edge the great, intrinsic worth of the
wori, that l am willing to devote my
time To Il. II is because OF this intrin-
SIC worth that the movement has gone
forward 50 surely and 50 rapidly. The
training rounds out every side OF the
girl as well as giving her amusements
III a wholesome, Instructive sort.
ITO my mind ono 81 the most i'm
portant aspects is found in the recrea-
ton provided. This applies to the girl
in the country as well as TO her sister
IN the city. speak particularly of
recreatio occupying the time spent
neither in school nor In the home-the
free time OF tic girl spent with her
girl friends. | have long thought that
we are quite as much Influenced by
our lay as by our work ana our stud
les, ard the Girl Scouts so direct this
play as to bring decidedly beneficial
results to the child. II is quite true
that if we could each lead the ideal
family llfe,--if mothers ard fathers
lad sufficient time and inclination, as
well as talent to devote to Ene intell-
gent amusement of their children
this particular work of the Girl Scout
would be unnecessary. But the aver
age family cannot, unfortunately, pro-
vide it's children with all the needful
wholesome amusement. Hence this
most obvious field for Scout activities.
But the Girl Scout aim to develop
the serious and practical side of the
child's life as intelligcntly as they
do her play. All girls--even those
whose school and home environments
have been acknowledgements ultimate
IN brought face to face with the prob
lens Of the big outside world. They
their only preparation has been acade-
mic or by precept. The Girl Scout aim
Is to prevent this. Under Scout di-
rection the girl is encouraged to take
her small part in solving the problems
of the troop; and then to see the
troops share in the civic problems or
her community. Later on, as she
grows in years and experience. she
accepts naturally her responsibility in
the solution of the larger problems OF
the state ana nation.
I'm the domestic field the work of
the Girl Scouts is very important. Dur
ing the last fifty years, as compared
to earlier times, few girls have re-
ceived much real domestic training. To
Ae sue the girl from the country and
the village is usually observant, and
has learned much from her mother.
bat generally speaking they have not
been taught in conscientious detail
how their homes are or should be run.
They lack knowledge OF The mechan-
isin-the mechanics of home making.
The same generalization applies to
girls living in the small apartments
OF the factory or the highly congested
districts Of the city. Among the latter
group many OF even the essentials OF a
home are often lacking, and conse-
quently the girls have little opportuni-
~ to know what real home should be.
ii is the eudeavoG OF the Girl Scouts
to aid in supplying this important
knowledge, aud many troops consider
their domestic training as their most
activities.
Valuable as their domestic training
is, however, the out-oe-door recrea-
ton side of the work is even more ap-
pealing to me. K seems very impor-
tant TO take, say, a New York girl
across the Hudson river and into the
country air Of the Palisades to learn
the manifold beauties spread out there,
and the joy or energetic exercise w.th
,oDEenial fellow spirits