Scouting, Volume 3, Number 21, March 1, 1916 Page: 1
16 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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SCOUTING
Published semi-monthly by National Headquarters, Boy Scouts of America
For Scout Officials and Others Interested In Work for Boys
Vol. III.
NEW YORK, MARCH 1, 1916
No. 21
COMMITTEE ACTS ON
IMPORTANT MATTERS
Lone Scout Plan is Approved and "Safety
First" Merit Badge is
Adopted
ACTION on important matters of vital
interest to every scout -official was
taken at the meeting of the Commit-
tee on Merit Badges, Awards and Scout
Requirements, held at National Headquar-
ters on February 23, and approved by the
Executive Board on February 28.
The members of the committee in at-
tendance were: Dr. George J. Fisher, of the
International Committee, Young Men's
Christian Association; Ormond E. Loomis,
Scout Commissioner of Boston, Mass.; R.
A. Stevenson, Scout Executive, Pittsburgh,
Pa.; W. W. Brundage, Scout Executive,
Buffalo, N. Y.; W. S. Cowing, Scout Exec-
utive, Philadelphia, Pa.; Willis B. Hol-
combe, Scout Commissioner, Brooklyn, N.
Y.; Rev. R. E. Locke, Scoutmaster of
Troop 1, Rutherford, N. J., and Dr. Frank-
lin D. Elmer, Scoutmaster of Troop 3, and
President of the Local Council, Pough-
keepsie, N. Y.
Representatives of the National Council
in attendance were: James E. West, Chief
Scuot Executive; H. D. Cross, National
Field Scout Commissioner, Pacific Coast,
M. B. Sackett, Deputy Field Scout Com-
missioner, and E. S. Martin.
Lone Scout Plan Approved
One of the most important subjects dis-
cussed was that of the "Lone Scout." A
plan was proposed by means of which boys
may become members of the Boy Scouts of
America without having membership in an
organized troop. These plans were adopted
in principle and are now being perfected.
It is hoped that a complete announcement
of the Lone Scout requirements can be
made to the field at an early date.
The solution of the Lone Scout problem
is one which will be welcomed by thou-
sands of boys in all parts of the country,
for as the Boy Scout Movement has de-
veloped, the demand that National Head-
quarters have some form of Lone Scout
registration has become increasingly insis-
tent. The Lone Scout plan will extend the
benefits of Scouting to thousands of new
boys.
Another important action was on the
recommendation of a merit badge for
"Safety First." After considerable discus-
sion it was decided to add Safety First to
the list of merit badges which are now
offered. The requirements for the badge are
now being worked out and will be presented
to the field at the earliest possible opportu-
nity.
Scores of other matters which have been
brought to the attention of the committee
by scout officials in all parts of the country
(Continued on page 5)
New Official Regulations
Recommendations from Committee
on Badges and Awards Approved
by Executive Board
THE following recommendations
of the Committee on Merit
Badges, Awards and Scout Require-
ments approved by the Executive
Board at its regular meeting on Feb.
28:
1. That the rank and badges for
commissioned officers of the local
council be made uniform throughout
the country as follows:
(a) Scout Commissioner,
Dark blue with wreath
(b) Deputy Scout Commissioner,
Dark blue without wreath
(c) Asst. Deputy Scout Com-
missioner,
Light blue without wreath
(d) Scout Executive,
White with wreath
2. That insignia for Scout Scribes
be provided for Tenderfoot, Second
Class or First Class Scouts, accord-
ing to the scout's rank, with two
pens crossed below the badge.
3. That the cooking require-
ments for the First and Second Class
test be harmonized so as to avoid
confusion.
4. That requirement for knot ty-
ing in the Tenderfoot degree be
made more specific by requiring
that the scout be able to tie any
four of the eight knots, and that this
be interpreted to mean that the ex-
aminer will call on him for any four
of the eight.
5. That the merit badge test for
Bugling include the list of standard
calls as published in the BOY
SCOUT DIARY.
6. That the Executive Board work
out some plan for suitable recogni-
tion for five years' service on the
part of the scoutmaster.
7. That the National Council,
through the various local councils
and other ways at their command,
recommend the use of leather put-
tees by officers only.
8. That a registration plan for
Lone Scouts be adopted.
9. That a Safety First Merit
Badge be approved and requirements
for same be perfected.
THE SCOUT MOVEMENT
AN EDUCATIONAL ASSET
Address of the Chief Scout Executive at
National Meeting of School
Superintendents
Delivered at Detroit, Mich., Feb. 25, 1916
I AM here today on behalf of the Boy
Scouts of America—182,622 men and
boys—143,782 boys under instruction as
tenderfoot, second class and first class
scouts, and 38,840 carefully selected clean
men of strong character giving leadership
without compensation, as members of local
councils, troop committees and scout com-
missioners, scoutmasters or assistant scout-
masters—to ask you as representative edu-
cators of our country to accept the program
of Scouting as an educational asset.
Not only do we desire your attention to
what can be said in support of the claims
that scouting is an educational asset, so that
it may fully justify a place in your pro-
gram, but we earnestly hope the possibili-
ties of this Movement as an asset in the
work to which you have committed your
lives will be made so clear that each of
you here will become personally interested
in the proper development of the Move-
ment so that through the resources which
you command, it may become more largely
available to the boys of our country.
Fills a Real Need
I hope that I will not give offense by
claiming that the inadequacy of our public
school system to meet the full needs of the
growing boy makes necessary the boy scout
scheme or something similar, to cope with
present day conditions. The school is han-
dicapped by its traditions and by its limited
opportunity for control and influence in
the life of the average boy. Even under
favorable conditions, the school provides
leadership for only about 1,000 of the 5,000
hours a year a boy has for activity. It
is seldom that the school exerts such a
hold on the boy as to furnish him with a
motive or anything like a program for his
activities after he is released from the
school-room for the day, or for his vaca-
tion period.
The complex conditions of present day
civilization add to the problem. Unfortu-
nately the home and the church also fail
to provide adequate leadership or a definite
program for the time of the boy outside of
the schoolroom. Modern invention and im-
proved living facilities decrease the de-
mand upon the time of the boy for chores
about the home. Generally speaking, the
boy has no opportunity to choose how he
will spend his leisure time. This is largely
a matter of chance, governed by environ-
ment. With the coming and going of the
various seasons, his interest passes without
definite program or any direction in the
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 3, Number 21, March 1, 1916, periodical, March 1, 1916; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282791/m1/1/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.