Scouting, Volume 12, Number 3, March 1924 Page: 1
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SCOUTING
MARCH, 1924
Copyright, 1924, by Boy Scouts of America
VOL. XII. NO. 3
Boy Scouts of America Takes Over Lone
Scout Movement
Statement Made to Lone
Scouts by W. D. Boyce
FIFTEEN years ago, the charter for
the Boy Scouts was issued to me and
others, by the District of Columbia,
upon my request and at my expense.
The work and expense attached to a na-
tional undertaking of that magnitude was
too much for me to carry on alone, so other
men interested in the American boy were
invited to join.
THE Boy Scout organization has grown
until hundreds of thousands of boys are
active members, thousands of men are
active scoutmasters and thousands of right-
minded persons contribute to its support.
The Boy Scouts, with its patrol system,
developed into a wonderful city and town
institution. It has and is doing a splendid
work wherever a number of boys can be
reached and brought together. It has al-
ways made me very happy to feel that I
brought the Boy Scout work to the United
States and made its success assured through
a corporate existence, which always will
live.
NOW comes the second chapter in my
scout work. By the very nature of
the organization, the country boy, the
isolated and lonely boy, was left out. He
could not conveniently join a patrol and
have the advantage of a scoutmaster. The
Boy Scouts of America did not at that time,
nine years ago, feel that they could add to
the work they had undertaken, so I incor-
porated the Lone Scouts of America, just
the same as I had done with the Boy Scouts.
I worked out and organized a plan whereby
the country boy could secure his share of the
benefits of scoutcraft. More than 500,000
boys have joined the Lone Scouts during
the last nine years. The basic aims of the
Lone Scout and the Boy Scouts always have
been the same—THE WELFARE OF THE
BOY.
NOW I must write the third chapter
in connection with the Boy Scouts
and Lone Scouts in America. In my
judgment the two organizations always
should have been under the same manage-
ment, and I feel that my greatest wish was
realized when, in Washington, D. C., on
March 1, we elected the officers of the Boy
Scouts to be the officers of the Lone Scout
corporation. The two corporations remain
separate, but they now have the same
officers in charge.
I HAVE given fifteen years—the best years
of my life—to this work for the American
boy, and I will remain his faithful
friend until I am called to another world,
where I hope to meet when they arrive,
hundreds of thousands of friendly boys who
will remember that I tried to do something
for them on earth.
W. D. Boyce,
Chief Totem.
Our New Brother Scouts
BY THE merging of the administration
of the Lone Scouts of America with
the Boy Scouts of America, from
50,000 to 100,000 boys have been
ushered into the Boy Scout fellowship.
Let's make them heartily welcome. They
are a real accession to our ranks as boys of
like ambitions with our own membership—•
of which they now are a part. They are
following a program of training that works.
They have a real system of advancement
through successive "degrees," or ranks of
membership. Each degree is a real test
in personal ability. These boys have been
"going it alone" in their Scout work.
They have the true scout spirit. They are
entitled to the Scout Salute, the Scout
Handclasp, and Scout Fellowship.
W. D. BOYCE
HERE is a great opportunity for every
scout and scout leader who lives within
reach of a Lone Scout, to show in prac-
tical fashion what the 4th Scout Law means.
A Scout is friendly. He is a friend to all
and a brother to every other Scout. Do not
wait for these boys to come up and say,
"I am a Boy Scout now, too," but look
them up. Get acquainted with them.
Find out where they stand in their program
of advancement. Help them in every way
possible. Give Lone Scouts a chance to
visit troop meetings, participate in hikes,
attend summer camps.
WE MUST, however, keep in mind that
the Lone Scout will for the time being
stick to his own program, subject to
the rule and regulations and standards and
policies of the Boy Scouts of America.
(Continued on page 6)
Statement by the Chief
Scout Executive
THE following announcement was
made by Mr. West for use by Mr.
W. D. Boyce in his publications.
WE ARE happy to announce that
arrangements have been com-
pleted whereby the members of
the Lone Scouts of America are
to have the benefit of the leadership and
facilities of the Boy Scouts of America.
The control and management of the Lone
Scouts of America was formally transferred
to the Boy Scouts of America at a meeting
of the Trustees of the Lone Scouts of
America held in the City of Washington,
March x, 1924, when officers and members
of the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts
of America were elected as successors to the
officers and trustees of the Lone Scouts of
America.
IT WILL be remembered that because of
a "Good Turn" done by a Boy Scout of
London for Mr. W. D. Boyce, of Chi-
cago, the Boy Scouts of America came into
existence. Mr. Boyce was so much im-
pressed with the value of a movement which
would cause boys to take seriously their
scout obligation, that he secured the co-
operation of Sir Robert Baden-Powell, and
on February 8, 1910, incorporated the Boy
Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of
America has a membership of nearly 600,000
men and boys, organized into over 21,000
troops, with 631 local councils. Since or-
ganization, over 2,000,000 men and boys
have been enrolled as members. The Presi-
dent of the United States and many of the
country's most distinguished citizens are
actively identified with the Movement in
all parts of the country. Under its leader-
ship over 2,500 troop and council camps
were maintained last summer, and it is
estimated that 300,000 boys had the benefit
of such camps.
A monthly magazine for boys, known as
Boys' Life, is published by the Boy Scouts
of America, FOR ALL 'BOYS EVERY-
WHERE.
Mr. Boyce has felt so much pleased with
the management and success of the Boy
Scouts of America that he has sought to
have its benefits made available to the Lone
Scouts of America, which he organized in
1915, primarily for boys on the farm and in
rural communities. During the last nine
years, over 500,000 boys have been enrolled
as members of the Lone Scouts of America.
All of these still interested and active are to
be given the benefits of the facilities and
leadership of the Boy Scouts of America.
THE Boy Scouts of America have main-
tained a Pioneer Scout Division for
boys in rural communities, and the
Lone Scouts of America and the Pioneer
Scouts will possibly be merged. The mem-
bership of all Lone Scouts will be recognized
by the Boy Scouts of America, and mean-
while the same procedure for qualifying
for the various Degrees will be maintained.
Mr. Boyce has extended the courtesy of his
office to the Boy Scouts of America for
carrying on the Lone Scout work, and all
communications to be addressed, as here-
tofore, to them at 514 North Dearborn
Street, Chicago, 111. All orders for litera-
ture, badges and scout supplies, from Lone
Scouts, will be promptly taken care of.
Mr. W. Armstrong Perry, former Chief
Pioneer Scout of the Boy Scouts of America,
has been placed in charge for the present.
It is hoped that plans may be developed
(Continued on page 6)
HOW DOES YOUR TROOP MEASURE UP TO THE JAMBOREE TESTS? BE PREPARED!
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 12, Number 3, March 1924, periodical, March 1924; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth310774/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.