Scouting, Volume 8, Number 19, December 9, 1920 Page: 6
8 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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SCOUT HELPS
\Djcr,ca
Here are three awfully
homely pamphlets
They are gotten up with all the
style and class of government re-
ports ! and yet, inside, they are
pretty good stuff!
§
It's hard, sometimes, to turn a new
kid over to the tender mercies of
a patrol leader, and let the "pa-
trol system " have a chance.
f
We all feel anxious to interest any
new boy during these re-registra-
tion days. This homely book will
hold the kids and enable you to
keep your big, bulky form out of
the patrol leaders job!
§
How so? Well, I tried 'em.
f
The patrol leaders came up for
more.
They turn in some soiled ones for
the next course; but their tender-
feet come, may we say, with
cleaner hands, and they have
under their thatches about as
much tenderfoot lore as if I'd
spoon-fed them myself.
f
Headquarters has some timid lit-
tle quantities of 2000 of each.
They can get more, of course, but
with a whole new year ahead
they might not do it all at once.
What they have are yours at 15
cents each. I hate to pay 15c.
But my S. P. L. Kalfain says,
" Wc need at least 8 more of
those tenderfoot books "—troops
actually growing!
Try them on your
candidates and your stalled old-
timers who are stuck in the mud
Department of Scout Supplies, B. S. A.
200 Fifth Avenue, New York
SCOUTING, DECEMBER 9, 1920
TRAILING
By Edw. H. Breisacher, Oreland, Penn.
Last Sunday
I took a walk
In my truck patch.
On the new fallen snow
I saw fresh tracks
That rabbits had made,
So I followed one
That looked likely.
The little cuss had
Double and back-tracked,
And made me walk a mile.
And then I saw him;
And he saw me.
And he beat me running.
So I started
All over again
On the trail
Of a smaller one.
And it led to a field
Where some lazy farmer
Had left his hay out
In piles, to rot.
And that rabbit
Certainly tried hard
To fool me.
He hopped around
Every pile
And over some pf them.
And finally I saw
The trail end
A few feet ahead of me.
And I stopped—sure enough
He was in it.
So I stooped over
And grabbed
The fuzzy gray ball
And he scratched
Like blazes,
But I got his hind legs
And held them tight
And petted him, and
Cooed him with soft words.
Finally, I let him go
And Oh! what a glorious
Feeling
Came over me.
You see, I'm a Scoutmaster
And for three years
I've been teaching boys
Theoretical tracking
But I never did
Any trailing myself.
And on my first attempt
To catch a rabbit.
Verily, my Troop shall hear
No end of it.
Scoutmaster Writes Parents
Bloomfield, N. J.,
December 1, 1920.
To the Parents and Guardians of our Scouts:
Christmas is coming—just a few, short
weeks off, and that boy of yours, down deep
in his heart, is hoping that when he rubs
the sleep from his eyes on the morning of
the 25th of this month and steals downstairs
to see what old Saint Nick has left during
the night, that among the things awaiting
him will be the Scout supplies he needs and
which he has perhaps been speaking to you
about. If he does not find them, you may
be sure he will be disappointed, although he
will be grateful for any other remembrances
he may receive. On the other hand, if you
are able to provide him with the things that
he really needs to make him a full-fledged
Scout, his joy will be without bounds.
In some respects your boy is like the family
who wish to " keep up with the Joneses."
He envies the good fortune of the boy who
has a Scout axe, a Scout knife, a compass,
a sweater, a haversack and a cooking kit.
These, or any one of them would make a
mighty acceptable gift on Christmas morning.
He is of an age now when he wants to do
things for himself. The great out-of-doors
calls to him, and he considers it a real treat
to go hiking, to build his own fire and cook
his own food. You parents should encourage
him in this for it makes him self-reliant and
manly. He has as his companions boys of
around his own age who come from good fam-
ilies and who place the highest value on honor.
The Scout movement is a wonderfully fine
thing for-your boy. When you were a young-
ster, nothing of this kind was in existence.
You had your pleasures in some other form.
Nowadays, conditions are different. The
movies, with their frequent blase appeal, the
pool rooms, the street corner gang, all bid
for the patronage of your son. The tempta-
tion is strong to a boy in his teens. Scouting
offers a strong counter attraction and has
helped many a boy, perhaps your boy, to
decide for the higher things of life.
You have, of course, noticed that on Thurs-
day evenings, your boy is in a fever of ex-
citement to get into his uniform and hasten
to the Troop meeting. .That in itself is proof
that he enjoys Scout wo,rk. His Scoutmaster
will never be found too tired or disinterested
to give him a hearty welcome, and all the
instruction that his boyish mind can grapple
with for a week.
Scout supplies are on sale in Newark at
Bamberger's, Hahne's and Marshall & Ball.
Scout uniforms are only sold to boys having
registration cards. All other equipment may
be purchased by anyone. If your son has
not already spoken to you of his needs, you
can with ease learn just what he lacks. Then
on Christmas morning, notice that smile on
his face as he tells you that what you have
for him is just what he has wanted and
hoped to get.
Yours for a better boyhood,
H. W. COLE,
Scoutmaster.
Salute or Scout Sign
HEBREWS, Protestants and Catho-
lics, engineers, attorneys, advertis-
ing men, employees and employer
can sit down together at a Boy Scout table
in perfect harmony; even the unloved in-
surance man is welcomed in a scoutmas-
ters meeting, but how hard it is for a
semaphore and a Morse scoutmaster to
dwell together in harmony.
We had just put a final wreath of proof
reader's marks around that last-issue edi-
torial about examinations which force
upon scouts the first-aid interpretations of
the examiner, when in walked Scoutmas-
ter A. H. Thomas of Atlanta 19 with two
questions of a similar kind. 1. Should
the Scout Laws be given at the scout
salute or scout sign? 2. Should the oath
be said first or the laws first?
The Scoutmasters' Handbook shows a
picture of a scout being sworn in with
the troop at salute, but the text says the
oath should be given at scout sign. In
connection with the pledge of allegiance
which is, in, effect, a salute to the flag,
the position of salute is unquestionably
preferable. In the case of the oath, the
uplifted scout sign similar to the affirma-
tion of a witness in court seems to us
and to Mr. Thomas as it did to the Hand-
book editor, altogether preferable and has
in addition the benefit of a change from
the first position.
Mr. Thomas suggests that inasmuch as
the oath is a pledge to keep certain laws
it is appropriate to state what they are
before reciting the oath. There are others
who feel that it is better to make the
pledge and then amplify it, and there are
still others who feel that the recitation
of the pledge should not be indulged in,
that a boy having once taken it should
be made to feel that it was taken for all
time and weakened by repetition.
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 8, Number 19, December 9, 1920, periodical, December 9, 1920; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth283189/m1/6/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.