Scouting, Volume 7, Number 24, June 12, 1919 Page: 4
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SCOUTING, JUNE 12, 1919
THE CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
The Address of Hon. W. G. McAdoo, in New York, May 19th,
at the Dinner to Lieut.-Gen. Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell
YOU HAVE been made to under-
stand that the specific purpose for
which I was selected was to do a
difficult job, which means—that I
am not to talk, because I found in public
life the easiest thing was to talk; and
the purpose that you have in mind in my
taking any part in this great Movement
is to produce some practical results.
I do not believe that any argument is
necessary to convince the American peo-
ple of the value of the Boy Scout Move-
ment. I think that all we need to do is
to let them understand that this Move-
ment needs support; and I myself am
perfectly willing to confess that until we
found it necessary to raise great sums of
money in this country to finance the
greatest war in all history, not only our
own part in it, but our Allies as well, I
knew neither the extent nor the efficiency
of the Boy Scout Organization of Amer-
ica.
Found Scouts Efficient in Liberty Loan Drives
MY FIRST contact with it came when
these great loans had to be offered
to the public and it became necessary to
mobilize every available organization in
this country, and enlist the interest and
support of all of the citizens of the
country, men and women alike. Then I
found it desirable to familiarize myself
with the Boy Scout Movement and organ-
ization; and what we did with the Boy
Scouts was this: Towards the end of
these loans, when all of the adults of the
country had been given a chance to skim
the cream of subscriptions, and to ex-
haust the subscriptions, or the possibilities
of subscriptions in the country, we called
out the Boy Scouts and set them to work.
In other words, when there was some-
thing almost hopeless to be doneJ we
called on those boys because, knowing
their enthusiasm, and knowing the train-
ing that they had received; and knowing
the ideals for which they stood, as indi-
cated by this Boy Scout Oath, which you
heard them repeat here tonight, and
knowing their passionate love of country,
and their thirst for action, their enthusi-
asm for doing, we put them on the job,
and they raised, as has been stated to you,
something like three hundred million dol-
lars in these Liberty Loan campaigns.
Scout Movement Essential in America's Future
SO, WHEN I was asked if I would give
a part of my time for the purpose of
strengthening and making more potential
this great Movement, I felt if there were
no other reason than my gratitude to
these boys for the great things they had
done for their country, I should accept it;
but I did it not for that reason alone, but
primarily because I regard this great
Movement as one of the most essential
things that we can do to improve the
character of America in the future, and
one of the most effective things we can
do to thoroughly Americanize America
for the future. (Applause.)
This war has taught us, of course, a
great many lessons, and if we are intelli-
gent enough, we shall learn a great many
things as a result of the war. One of the
things that I think we have already
learned is that we cannot have a nation
here made up of groups of different na-
tionalities, owing a secondary allegiance
to America. (Applause.)
America is a single word of four sylla-
bles, and it does not need any appendices
or attachments. (Applause.) It is the
duty of every man and woman who comes
to this great free land of ours, and ex-
pects to participate in the benefits of our
great democracy, to Americanize them-
selves. America will never be America
to them, in the full sense of the term,
unless that process is absolutely com-
pleted in every instance.
Potential Agency to Americanize America
NOW, I LOOK upon the Boy Scout
Movement as one of the most poten-
tial agencies we could employ to Ameri-
canize America. We do not hear any-
thing about hyphens, any more, because
that is one of the things the war shot
away. The war put dynamite and explo-
sive shells under the hyphens, and they
have disappeared from view, and I do not
think they will ever dare to assert them-
selves again. As a matter of fact, I think
it was the result very largely of an un-
thinking and unconscious attitude about
America that the national spirit was not
more highly developed when the war
broke out in 1914.
One of the glorious things about this
war is that we have at last become
acquainted with our National Anthem
(laughter) and that we also recognize the
Stars and Stripes and take our hats off,
as every real American should, when that
beautiful banner of liberty goes by in the
line of march. (Applause.)
It is not because we did not value those
things before, but because we simply did
not think about them—we did not expect
ever to get into a great war in Europe,
nor anywhere else, for that matter, and
the result was that we thought we were
a very homogeneous people and that all
these little groups and schisms made no
particular difference. We had not there-
fore a highly developed national con-
sciousness ; but the war brought all
this home to us so thoroughly that we
now realize that what we must do for
the future is to make that consciousness
a supreme thing in this land of ours and
always the expression of the soul of
America.
A Thoroughly Democratic Movement
THIS BOY SCOUT Movement is a
thoroughly democratic Movement. If
we can get enough support to extend this
Movement to embrace the largest part of
the eligible boyhood of America, why you
will get the descendants of every nation-
ality represented here, interested in this
great service; you will obliterate the
lines and distinctions which have charac-
terized America heretofore, and you will
bring about the condition I have just re-
ferred to—a condition which will mean
that America has been thoroughly Ameri-
canized for all time. That is one of the
aims of the Boy Scout Movement, but it
is not the only one.
Individuals, like nations, must have
character, and this Movement is essen-
tially a character-building Movement. In
addition to the character it develops, we
are teaching these boys the practical
things which have been exhibited on this
stage tonight; we are teaching them self-
reliance and resourcefulness and giving
them that interest and that enthusiasm
and that love of country which makes,
after all, for the very finest and highest
quality of American citizenship.
Letter from Cardinal Gibbons
I RECEIVED a letter today from a great
Christian gentleman, who commands
the respect and esteem of Americans, re-
gardless of their .religious beliefs, or polit-
ical affiliations—Cardinal Gibbons (ap-
plause), whose aid we have sought for
this great Movement, and I should like
to read it to you. (Reading.)
"Dear Mr. McAdoo:
" The young boys of the nation are its
fathers-to-be. We, as a nation, are best
prepared when we train them in the right
principles of American patriotism. To
make them the fit citizens of tomorrow is
the sacred obligation that rests upon us
all.
" The Catholic Church, with untiring
efforts, seeks to train them from their
earliest years. Religion is the basis of
true citizenship for the young and for
the old. We welcome with our fellow-
citizens any agency which, developing this
religious spirit, will train them in the
immediate obligations and duties of citi-
zenship. The Boy Scouts, particularly in
their splendid labors during the war, have
shown how their organization helps
toward such a result. It is an organiza-
tion that does not deny, but builds upon
the religious faith of the boy member.
That exacts of him the faithful observ-
ance of all his religious duties.
" Such a Movement for the promotion
of right citizenship has our hearty ap-
proval and we recommend to the priests
and laity of America, in answer to the
call of the President, the formation of
Catholic _ units of Boy Scouts.
" Praying God's blessing upon the boy-
hood of America, I remain,
" Faithfully yours,
"J. Cardinal Gibbons."
(Applause.)
I have heard a great deal said here to-
night about the boyhood of America, and
I would infer from the remarks of some
of the speakers, that the boyhood of
America is about the only thing that is
worthy of consideration, but I am just
as much interested in the girlhood of
America as in the boyhood of America.
(Applause.)
I am glad to learn that efforts will be
made to enlarge and increase the strength
of the Girls' Movement in America. (Ap-
plause) so that girls may have the same
character of training suited to their par-
ticular needs and necessities as this great
Boy Scout Movement is giving to the
boys.
Would Have Women Manage the Girls'
Movement
I DO NOT mean to say that we men
would dare attempt to further the Girls'
Movement directly; but in this great
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 7, Number 24, June 12, 1919, periodical, June 12, 1919; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth283074/m1/4/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.