The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-02-26
LABOR NEWS
FROM BRITAIN
Britain's Experiment In Voluntary
Organization OF YOuth-Trade
Negotiating Bodies Formed

Conscription of young people for
military training is an Old-establiShed
feature of the Fascist regime Musso-
lini's wOlf-cubs have been taught to
bear arms from the age of eight. Even
younger children, to the age of four,
are exposed to the attentions of the
drill-SerSeant in the Totalitarian
States. Not SO i'm Britain-where Il sig
nificant experiment in the voluntary
organization of youth is under way.
Britain'S Minister of Labor is now
calling up for registration all boys and
girls between the ages of 16 and Is.
Registration of the boys aged II was
to be completed ON January 81. All
boys of this age who are not members
of any of the Armed Forces or under
going training as cadets in the military
cOlleges-and DOminions subjects not
ordinarily resident in Britain are
called upon to register then at a local
office of the Ministry of Labor, or at
a juvenile employment bureau of a
local Educational Authority.
Keeping i'm Touch With Education
Most of them will register at the
latter place The whole purpose of the
registration is to bring the boys and
girls urged 16 to Is into close aSSOcia-
ton with the local Education Authori
ties The object of the scheme is to
encourage those who have not aSsO-
ciated themselves with any youth or
ganization, or with some form of train
ing for national service. to do so,
whether they are still at school, or
have started work in wage-ealning EN-
ployment. The main value of the
scheme is that it will reach the boys
and girls who have left school and
are NO longer under educational super
vision.
AS soon as the 17-year-old youths
have been registered they will all be
interviewed by representatives of the
local Education Authorities. 1t is not
proposed to lay upon the boys any OBJ
legation to undertake any specific train
ing, or form of national service.
Many youths of this age are already
undergoing training. There are volln-
tary organizations such as the Boys
Clubs. Young Farmers Clubs, Boys
Brigades. Youth Centres and several
junior Service organizations including
the Air Training Corps and Cadets
which have attracted many boys, and
cOunter-partS of these organizations
have recruited many girls Civil De
Tense services also provide many OPP
portunities for both boys and girls of
these ages. But large numbers Of our
youthful citizens are not fully engaged
in the national effort.
Analysis of Opportunities Taken
Registration of these age groups Will
give the authorities the information
they need about the numbers who are
already engaged after working hours
i'm some form of voluntary activity of
a socially useful kind 1t will show
how many are fully occupied with the
opportunities officially provided for
continued education, through night
schools and evening continuation
classes Many girls, of course, have
domestic duties to attend to when they
have finished their days work. But
the survey is expected to show that
a considerable number of the young
people are not members of any youth
organization, or actively interested in
any socially useful occupation for their
leisure time
Here the local Education Authorities,
with the help Of the numerous vol,n-
tary associations, religious and Secu-
lar, hope to find their opportunity.
1t is emphatically not the case that
the object is to apply methods of COM
pulSion to the young people, or to make
membership of amy youth organization
obligatory The idea rather is to evoke
an active interest among the nation $
BOYS and girls i'll aspects Of the great