Scouting, Volume 43, Number 5, May-June 1955 Page: 2
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Scouting Magazine and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.
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our conTinuinG
1910
With a gesture which took in twelve stal-
wart young men 111 the uniform of the
Explorer program of the Boy Scouts of America, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives asserted, "We
have no more urgent task than the conserving of this
youth, teaching this youth the great lessons of life and
of citizenship, fixing their faces to the front, pointing
their feet in the right direction, and teaching them to
be citizens, understanding citizens of this nation."
The occasion was a colorful breakfast in Washington
last February 8, a part of our annual report to the
nation. Present were top leaders in Congress, in other
branches of our government, in Scouting, and in various
phases of American life. Present also were the twelve
Explorers representing the several regions, each one
flanked on one side by the congressman from his home
district and on the other side by a national representative
of the organization that sponsors his Scout unit.
The program did more than recognize the outstanding
achievements of the banner year that had just passed.
There were men present who remembered the day when
Congress had granted a federal charter to the Boy
Scouts of America, back in 1916. They bore witness to
the fact that the purposes of character-building and
citizenship-training for which we were granted a charter
when we numbered less than 200,000 are still our clearly
defined purposes now, as we approach the 4,000,000
mark.
Sam Rayburn, speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, was introduced to the audience by Scouter-Con-
gressman Brooks Hays of Arkansas. The Speaker pre-
sented to President John M. Schiff a letter addressed to
the Boy Scouts or America from the four members of
the present Congress who were alsc members of the
Sixty-fourth Congress that voted our charter.
The letter quoted the following statement from the
chartering bill: " 'It shall be the purpose of this corpora-
tion to promote, through organization and cooperation
with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for
themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and
to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and
kindred virtues, using the methods which are now in
common use by Boy Scouts.' "
The letter then continued, "We, the undersigned mem-
bers of the Eighty-fourth Congress who were also in the
Sixty-fourth Congress, take pleasure in greeting you, the
3,700,000 members of the Boy Scouts of America, on the
occasion of your forty-fifth birthday, and reminding you
that the purpose for which the charter was granted con-
tinues as your vital service to our beloved America. ' It
was signed by Sam Rayburn, speaker of the House of
Representatives; Carl Vinson, congressman from Geor-
gia; Alben W. Barkley, senator from Kentucky; and
Carl Hayden, senator from Arizona.
"The purpose for which the charter was granted," said
this letter, "continues as your vital service to our be-
loved America."
Yes, we are proud to agree, it does continue as our
vital service. In these days of testing, when our whole
democratic way of life has been challenged, we are in
hearty agreement with Speaker Rayburn that there is
no more urgent task facing America than "the conserving
of this youth, teaching this youth the great lessons of
life and of citizenship, fixing their faces to the front,
pointing their feet in the right direction, teaching them
to be citizens, understanding citizens" of our nation.
We as Scouters strive, by precept and example, to
train, challenge and inspire our millions of Cub Scouts,
Boy Scouts, and Explorers, as Speaker Rayburn further
urged, to "be leaders in the future, when you are men,
as you are leaders in your youth." Certainly the great
army of devoted men and women who give sacrifically
of their time and energy in behalf of Scouting are a
mighty force for the training of youth and a shining ex-
ample of devotion to the ideals of participating citizen-
ship.
Wheeler McMillen, editor of the Farm journal and
chairman of our Committee on Rural Service, in ad-
dressing the breakfast group, paid tribute to the in-
stitutions in America that charter 97,000 Scout units and
to the men and women who make this country better by
serving far into that future that begins with the boys of
today.
Dr. Arthur A. Schuck, Chief Scout Executive, stated,
"I like to think of the nearly one million Scouters in
America who have registered for service to America
through helping with the training of American boyhood.
They are a powerful force for good."
Alexander II. Moore, the Explorer who represented
Region VI, clinched the argument. How did it happen
that he had stayed in Scouting for ten years? His answer:
"If those who ask me that had had the Den Mothers,
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 43, Number 5, May-June 1955, periodical, May 1955; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329236/m1/4/?q=%221910~%22: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.