Scouting, Volume 48, Number 2, February 1960 Page: 8
80 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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By ARTHUR A. SCHUCK
Chief Scout Executive
SCOUTINg's achievements in America did not just happen. Our move-
ment is a heritage from countless men, and it has developed to meet
growing needs through fifty changing, expanding years.
Every decade has had its serious problems and its genuine triumphs.
Yet when one reads the records of Scouting's first decade, one is constantly
reminded of the strong foundations laid in early days — foundations
on which we are still building today. Scouting's early development grew
out of the devotion of many men — Colin Livingstone, James E. West,
W. D. Boyce, Dan Beard, Ernest Thompson Seton, Theodore Roosevelt,
Mortimer Schiff, E. M. Robinson, and a host of others.
The spirit of Scouting was as important then as it is today. Like
today's leaders, those early-day Scouters were deeply in earnest. The
Good Turn as it affected the boy's personal growth was of prime importance
to Scout leaders in 1910, as it continues to be in 1960. The development
of leadership skills in boys through providing opportunities for them
to carry genuine responsibility in troop and patrol has been emphasized
at every turn of the trail since Scouting's origin.
We should be continually impressed and grateful that those pioneer
Scouters who staked out early fundamentals built such firm foundations.
True, through the years we have improved and expanded and outgrown
some procedures but seldom have we had to start over again on a new
principle. Foresight, insight, and careful planning have been a part of
Scouting's heritage.
8
Early problems 1910-20
What were the problems of that first decade of Scouting in America —-
the 1910-20 period? Public interest in the new movement ran high.
Expansion was rapid, but securing financial support to match it was not
easy. Scouting was new and our people gradually had to come to feel the
need for it. Scout troops sprang up quickly, and too many of them ceased
to function soon after they were set up — often for lack of understanding
and adequate guidance.
There were pressing problems — the need for training leaders, inter-
preting the program to institutions, program planning, for sound camp-
ing procedures. Able dedicated men of good will rallied to meet these
needs; there seemed no task too great for them.
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 48, Number 2, February 1960, periodical, February 1960; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329284/m1/10/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.