Scouting, Volume 6, Number 29, November 28, 1918 Page: 3
16 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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New York State Boys to Register December 3rd
All Boys, Including Scouts, Over 16 Years of Age Required to Register under the Provisions of the Military
Training Law in the State of New York. No Change However in Plans for Scouting Unit.
The proclamation of Governor Whitman,
printed in part below, addressed to the
citizens of New York State with reference
to the registration, on December 3rd, of all
boys in the State of New York, 16 years
of age and over, is a matter of great im-
portance to all scout officials in the State
of New York and will be of interest to the
scout officials everywhere.
The Governor in his proclamation draws
attention to the value of the training which
the youths will undergo. He says:
"With the coming of peace, the varied
training contemplated by this act becomes
more important than ever through its in-
terpretation as a universal selective train-
ing programme, instilling in our youth a
sense of responsibility to the State in time
of peace as well as in time of war, and
preparing them to meet this responsibility
intelligently and effectively, not only
through the lessons of good hygiene, cor-
rect personal bearing, discipline and obedi-
ence to properly constituted authority, so
prominent in military drill, but also by em-
phasizing the importance of vocational
training which may be of service to the
State."
Scout leaders in New York State are
urged to cooperate with the authorities in
the state in every way in their power in
making effective the registration plan.
While it is true that the Military Training
Commission has made special arrange-
ments with' the Boy Scouts of America
whereby, under certain conditions, credit
will be given for scout work, this does not
in any sense relieve scouts from the obliga-
tion of fully complying with the require-
ments in Governor Whitman's proclama-
tion. Please cooperate in making this clear.
No change has been made in the agree-
ment entered into by the Military Training
Commission and the Boy Scouts of Amer-
ica, which is shown by the letters reprinted
herewith :
Scouting Unit of New York State Cadet
Corps
December 6, 1917.
My dear Scoutmaster:
It is with great'pleasure that I am able
to enclose a copy of a letter from the New
York State Military Training Commission,
which distinctly recognizes the value of the
program and leadership of the Boy Scouts
of America in a way which may be of
particular value to boys in your troop 16
years of age or over, who come within the
scope of the new Military Training Law,
as explained in the enclosed pamphlet.
It is very much desired that the Boy
Scouts of America take advantage of this
opportunity in such a way as will not only
be for the best interests of each of the
boys affected but for the good of the move-
ment throughout the whole state.
Enclosed are application blanks for your
use in presenting the names of boys of your
troop whom you desire to have enrolled as
members of the Scouting unit of the New
York State Cadet Corps.
As is pointed out in the letter from the
Military Training Commission, those mem-
bers of the Boy Scouts of America who
become members of the Scouting unit will
not be required to attend the drills and
N ovembe r 28, 1918
regular formations of the Cadet Corps, ex-
cept such occasional assemblies as may be
held, on which occasions the regular Boy
Scout uniform will be worn, the Military
Training Commission having accepted the
Scout uniform as the official uniform of the
Scouting unit.
The basis upon which we made our ap-
plication to the Military Training Commis-
sion was that the program and the leader-
ship of the Boy Scouts of America has such
fundamental values to the boy and to the
State as to justify the acceptance of mem-
bership in the Scouting unit as equivalent to
participation in any other of the units of
the Cadet Corps. It was further pointed
out that in many cases membership in the
Cadet Corps without such recognition would
jeopardize the boys' membership in the Boy
Scouts of America because of lack of time
This Boy Scout Honor Roll was crectcd by Troop
No. 1. West New York, N. J.
or strength to keep up active membership
in both.
We urged further that we needed all of
our older boj'S in order to give leadership
to the younger boys, and for these reasons
we are very anxious that great care be ex-
ercised and that in no case there be any
hesitation to take advantage of this oppor-
tunity which the Military Training Commis-
sion has offered if it will insure mainte-
nance of the membership of a boy in a
regular troop under conditions which will
justify you, as the scoutmaster, in certifying
to his participation in the scouting program
in the way required by the Military Train-
ing Commission.
The Military Training Law is very dras-
tic in its effect and compels r 11 boys between
the age of 16 and 18, inclusive, to faithfully
carry out the program of the Military
Training Commission. This means that all
the members of your troop within these ages
must be members of some one of the units
of the New York State Cadet Corps.
Eligibility for the farming, industrial and
scouting! units has been definitely deter-
mined. All other boys automatically be-
come members of the military unit.
For the purpose of maintaining the unity
of the Boy Scout Movement in the State
of New York, your earnest cooperation is
requested in working out this matter
promptly. The application blanks are here-
with for you to use. In case you are under
a local council, they should be transmitted
to this office through the local council,
otherwise directly without delay.
James E. West, Chief Scout Executive.
State of New York
MILITARY TRAINING COMMISSION
Albany, December 1, 1917.
My Dear Mr. West:
Supplementing our conference with ref-
erence to the organization of the Corps of
Cadets, State of New York, in accordance
with the provisions of the New York State
law, it is planned to have four separate di-
visions in this corps as follows :
Farm unit, industrial unit, scouting unit
and military training unit.
Each of these units will have special or-
ganization, but all will be parts of the Corps
of Cadets, State of New York, and be sub-
ject to the control of the officers of the
corps for such assemblies as may be neces-
sary from time to time.
The Military Training Commission de-
sires to have the scouting unit made up of
boys above the age of 16 years and not over
the age of 19 years, who are registered
members of the Boy Scouts of America and
who regularly participate in carrying out
the program of the Boy Scouts of America
as set forth in its official handbooks under
such leadership and conditions as will jus-
tify you in certifying to the Commission
that these scouts will actually receive in-
struction and training to meet the require-
ments of the New York State law and ths
rules and regulations of the Military Train-
ing Commission. The Scouting division
may organize ambulance units and Signal
Corps upon approval.
The Commission has agreed to accept the
regulation scout uniform as the official uni-
form of the Scouting unit of the Corps of
Cadets, State of New York, and all scouts
duly enrolled in this unit when reporting
for assemblies or other formations of the
Cadet Corps will wear this uniform and
form a special division to be known as the
scouting division.
In view of the character of the work
covered by the program of the Boy Scouts
of America and that the time that is re-
quired to carry out this program exceeds
that which is required by the Military
Training law, it has been agreed that faith-
ful attendance upon regular scout meetings,
duly certified to, in accordance with the
regulations to be prescribed, as well as at-
tendance tipon the general assemblies shall
be accepted as equivalent to the require-
ments of. the Military Training law and the
rules and regulations prescribed thereunder.
For administrative purposes, the State of
New York hns- been divided into six dis-
tricts with Zone Supervising Officers in
(Continued on page 5)
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 6, Number 29, November 28, 1918, periodical, November 28, 1918; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282996/m1/3/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.