Boy Scouts

“ Then he went to England, where he and General Baden-Powell put their heads together and worked out the Boy Scout idea. In this country the boys are known as 'the Boy Scouts of America,' but nearly every civilized nation has its Boy Scouts under some name or other, and the movement is very popular among the boys.
"I invited you up here to-night to get acquainted with the Band. Skinny, I mean Gabriel, tells me that you are all live wires. I want to know if you will join the Scouts. You can have a patrol of your own, select your own patrol leader and your own patrol animal." ”

“ And how those Boy Scouts did exert themselves! Every one grunted; most of the eyes seemed to be popping out of their heads; a good many held their breath or tried to do so, and all appeared to be putting forth the most strenuous exertions to overtake the fawn-like figure darting down the course, continually glancing behind her, and not forgetting to scream with delight, for she was certainly holding her own, and strive as much as they might, there wasn’t a lad that seemed able to lessen the distance between himself and the little one. ”

“ THE BOY SCOUTS
By RALPH VICTOR
The Boy Scout Movement has secured a hold on the American boy that is remarkable in its far-reaching effects. It is doing a great work in the development of manliness, self-confidence and physical perfection and is making better citizens out of the members of the organization.
This series will foster interest in the Boy Scout Organization. There is excitement such as every boy’s book should contain. There are many and varied experiences, and much worth-while information about out-door sports and camp life, in which the youths take part. ”

“ Every boy in the village is now a member of the tribe, and three other bands have been formed in the neighborhood. All this was in 1900. Since then thousands of workers have become interested and the work has spread, until today the Boy Scouts of America is one of the best known organizations of the country.
One reason for the growth of the Boy Scout movement is the fact that scouting usually makes boys cleaner and more manly than they were before. ”

“ And the consequence was that a new patrol was 255 quickly organized, eight fellows subscribing to the rules and regulations of the organization of Boy Scouts, and being mustered in during the winter as the Eagle Patrol of the Cranford Troop.
“That’s one of the best things that came out of our Maine trip,” said Thad to his chum Allan, as they were on the way home from the meeting when those eight new members had been sworn in, and promised to live up to the rules laid down for the guidance of all scouts by the heads of the organization. ”

“ Thought he grinned a little when I was telling how scouts communicated with each other. He knew all about that, the sly old rascal did; and this has been going on for years and years before Boy Scouts were ever heard of."
"Thad, they're all around us; we're surrounded by these moonshiners, with their handy guns; and if Old Phin says we've got to stay up here in the mountains, why, it's going to be a case of being marooned for us. We don't dare run, because they'd take that for a sure evidence of guilt, and pepper us for all that's out. ”

“ Of course, what Step Hen referred to was the well-known rule by which the great body of members composing the Boy Scouts’ organization of America has been governed, in order to teach the units of each patrol and troop the benefits to be derived from making themselves useful to others.
In the morning every scout is supposed to pin his badge upside-down, on the lapel of his coat; and is not allowed to change its position until he has found an opportunity for helping some one, either by act, or advice that is really useful. ”

“ These Boy Scouts had seen some pretty lively times during the past year or so, down in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where they visited the former home of Bob White, and found themselves mixed up with the moonshiners of that wild, inhospitable region; and later on up in Maine, where they had gone partly on business for Thad's adopted father and guardian, and to enjoy an outing, with a little hunting thrown in. ”

“ Andy wanted to know. When the patrol leader turned to glance back at him, he saw that while the [Pg 180] boy's face might be somewhat pale, there was a dogged look around the eyes that spoke volumes.
"Well, they say that Boy Scouts never should fight unless driven into a corner, where they have to defend themselves to save their own lives, or the lives of others," Rob shouted back. ”

“ In the second volume, The Boy Scouts on the Range, were recounted a series of strange adventures that befell some of the Eagles during a visit to the Far Southwest, where they took part in the wild life of a cattle ranch.
Through the pages of The Boy Scouts and [Pg 13] the Army Airship the reader will find that Rob and his comrades always bore themselves manfully, no matter the emergency; and that they scrupulously observed "scout law" under any and every occasion, as every true wearer of the khaki makes it a point to do. ”

“ Perhaps they intend paying you a little visit before we start to Verdun," he added.
"They sure are headed this way," the lad said. "And the fellow underneath is riding that way on purpose. I wonder why?"
"Who can tell why a boy does anything?" was Fritz's comment.
"I can tell you why Boy Scouts do a great many things," declared Jimmie vehemently. "They do the things that are right and square because it is best and because they are living up to the rules of conduct that they are taught. That's why they do those things!"
"And do the Boy Scout rules teach them to be spies?" ”

“ He was, so to speak, a heap big Scout, and Troop 1, Saranac Lake, which is away back in the Adirondacks, felt uneasy.
"There aren't many of you," said the Commissioner to the group of Scouts gathered about him, "but you're all good stuff. You have a chance most Boy Scouts don't get. You were all born in the big North [316] Woods. You have inherited instincts that can't be driven into a boy with teaching. You don't have to be taught trailing, or woodcraft, except maybe for an organized way of handling them. You can open old trails as a good turn to the public. ”

“ It is practical religion, and a boy honors God best when he helps others most. A boy may wear all the scout uniforms made, all the scout badges ever manufactured, know all the woodcraft, campcraft, scoutcraft and other activities of boy scouts, and yet never be a real boy scout. To be a real boy scout means the doing of a good turn every day with the proper motive and if this be done, the boy has a right to be classed with the great scouts that have been of such service to their country. ”

“ Growdy," Paul went on. "Perhaps you may not know that we have started a troop of the Boy Scouts here in Stanhope. Some twenty of us have joined, and later on we hope to get uniforms, and other things needed, when we have earned the money to buy them. Those boys you heard running away were my friends and comrades, every one going to be a true scout." ”

“ We learned that they are working like mad to excel in all the arts that interest the scouting fraternity. Competitions were being run off in every branch of the woodcraft business. We saw fires started, camps made, trails followed, boats mended, fish flies tied, rods that had been made by single members; we heard of all sorts of clever things that were being done in Aldine that would give the troop marks in the grand round-up. We listened to splendid speeches from the really efficient scout master, and our hearts warmed within us toward the gallant foe against whom we must soon be pitted ”

“ That Exhibition, he thought, was a wonderful one, and it marked an important step in the development of the future usefulness of the Scout movement. It showed that it was of value in modern times by teaching boys handicrafts, doing what used to be done in the land when there was the apprenticeship system. No Scout ought to be numbered among the "Never Nevers."
Our Empire has been built up by individuals full of pluck and industry, using their talents on behalf of the nation, and he claimed that the Scout movement was training boys to be such individuals. ”

“ Because the principles of this movement are affirmative, I believe they are sound. The boy may not be merely passive in his allegiance to righteousness. He must be an active force in his home, his church, and his community. Too few people have a clear realization of the real purposes of the Boy Scouts. In the popular mind the program is arranged for play, for recreation, is designed solely to utilize the spare time of the boy in such a way that he may develop physically while engaged in pleasurable pursuits. ”

“ What these boy scouts of the Philippines have just done, I think our boy scouts in every town and country district should train themselves to be able to do. The movement is one for efficiency and patriotism. It does not try to make soldiers of boy scouts, but to make boys who will turn out as men to be fine citizens, and who will, if their country needs them, make better soldiers for having been scouts. No one can be a good American unless he is a good citizen, and every boy ought to train himself so that as a man he will be able to do his full duty to the community. ”

“ These were those worn by Boy Scouts who had passed as Fireman, Signaller, Pioneer, Marksman, Horseman, and Musician. The officer in charge of the squad looked on with an amused smile as the drummer exhibited his honors.
"The kid is crazy over the Boy Scouts," he said. "He's been hunting for comrades among the Mexicans, and I reckon he found a few, at that. Well, I'm in favor of the organization myself. It teaches, honor, manhood, self-reliance, and has made a man of many a flat-chested, cigarette-smoking youth. ”

“ As the excitement spread, people rushed out of stores and dwelling houses, and upon every tongue could be heard praises of the Boy Scouts.
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“What won’t they be doing next?” men asked each other as they noted how splendidly Hugh and his two chums had made that stretcher for the wounded man, and how cleverly they were utilizing their wheels in place of a wagon in order to convey him from a distance to the town hospital. “It certainly was the best thing that ever happened for the boys of this country when that scout movement started here, and it has spread like wildfire. ”

“ We have not thought it necessary to make use of our searchlight so far when dropping a bomb; but now that we know others besides ourselves are up here, we must be more careful. Perhaps I would hesitate to say all this to most people whom I happened to meet by accident, but I know what Boy Scouts are and how devoted they have always proved to patriotic motives. I'm positively certain that nothing could tempt one of you lads to betray any confidence I placed in you."
"Thank you, sir," said Hugh, flushing with keen pleasure at hearing such words of praise from an army officer. ”

“ And if war ever does come to the land we all love, thousands of those who rally to her defense will be found to have once been wearers of the khaki as Boy Scouts.
The camp of the Flying Corps was now seen ahead of them. A challenge from a sentry and the giving of the countersign in a whisper by the lieutenant, told the lads that they were actually in a military camp. Of course this was not their first experience among genuine soldiers, though those whom they once before assisted in the yearly maneuvers as signal corps operators had properly belonged to the State militia. ”

“ They were all excited and beginning to feel the strain upon their nerves.
"This is getting to be one of our usual strenuous trips," announced Jack. "I declare we never go anywhere, it seems, but we dash head foremost into excitement and trouble. The only thing we need now to start us right is to discover a Boy [pg 42] Scout or two out here and we'll be prepared to go ahead and have some adventure."
"Never mind, Captain, we'll find the Boy Scouts, all right. Don't think our luck will turn yet. Just remember the horseshoe I picked up on the street in Mobile," urged Tom. ”

“ Many leaders in the organization, from coast to coast, have long recognized that the Boy Scouts of America enjoy a high privilege as well as a high responsibility in truly democratizing the boyhood of this country. ”

“ Once more the scout master was called upon to explain some of the duties and rewards that came the way of the wearers of the khaki. That he did his work well could be told in the satisfied remarks made by the groups of visitors as they departed for other fields.
It was a rare pleasure for Hugh to sow the good seed in this fashion. His heart was in the work, for he believed in the mission of the Boy Scouts to lift American lads to a higher plane of usefulness, and to a better way of living. ”

“ There were just twenty-one names on the roll now, and all present saving two, Wallace Carberry and another. It was decided to organize two patrols at once, the first to be under the charge of Paul as scout leader, while Jud Elderkin took the Gray Fox crowd.
The more the assembled lads learned concerning the duties and sports of the Boy Scouts, the greater became their enthusiasm. As the evening progressed they were fairly bubbling over with excitement, and it began to look as though the success of the new movement were already assured. ”

“ Of course, it is a fundamental principle of the Boy Scouts of America to insist on {251} clean, capable leadership in its scout masters, and the influence of the leader on the boy scout should be of a distinctly helpful character.
Work, Not Luck
Life, after all, is just this: Some go through life trusting to luck. They are not worthy to be scouts. Others go through life trusting to hard work and clear thinking. ”