Scouting, Volume 10, Number 9, October 1922 Page: 4
8 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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SCOUTING, October, 1922
Blue Ridge Conference
(Continued from page 2)
in such a position that they would have
to share in the responsibility of what we
were planning for the boyhood of Amer-
ica. We sent them a proof copy of the
revised Scout Oath and Law and of the
Handbook for Boys. After all of that
process had been gone through with great
care, we insisted that there was another
group we ought to reckon with. They
were the men engaged in active Boys'
work at that time, so far as we could find
out.
"A group of some 4500 names were
assembled, everybody that we reckoned
had any right to have a say with regard
to the boyhood of America. Perhaps no
book has ever been published with such
a large number of editors as the Hand-
book of the Boy Scouts of America. I
wish I could tell you something of the
many valuable suggestions which grew
out of that process, but the thought I want
to impress upon you men who are here
tonight is this, that what was done ten,
yes, eleven years ago, was done with a
view that some day there would be assem-
bled a group of men about whom it might
be said as I have said tonight: They
represent the largest organized activity
for character-building and citizenship-
making. We had in mind that we must
build our foundations with great care, so
that they would stand the strain of the
coming years, and those* of you who have
been with us know how well they have
stood that strain.
Today's Responsibility
' '"V7"ES, we built solidly, and today we
^ are standing the test. As chosen
representatives of this great cause,
as trustees of something which is so worth
while, it is our responsibility to see to it
that we critically analyze our status, our
daily procedure and our plans for the fu-
ture, to see if we cannot in some way
strengthen our opportunity to do a larger
service. And so your committee has with
great care taken into consideration all the
suggestions it could secure from the field,
taken into consideration the suggestions
that could be had from our national staff,
and brought you here to discuss and act
upon these matters with the aid of out-
side talent, as well as with the aid of our
own membership. We propose in a heart-
to-heart fashion from day to day to look
at facts as they are and endeavor to find
a solution where a problem is presented."
The Challenge of Boyhood
MR. WEST presented the underlying
purposes of the program to a most
attentive audience. He concluded
his high call to consecrated effort with a
direct challenge to the Conference. "After
all, we as local executives and national
executives, notwithstanding the many prob-
lems that we have, should look at our
job from two very simple standpoints.
We should see that it is, after all, our
fundamental and everyday responsibility
to be alert to maintain conditions so that
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| Greetings Sent to President |
and Mrs. Harding
| The following message was telegraphed |
1 to President Harding by unanimous vote g
1 of the Conferences
| Blue Ridge, N. C., |
September 19, 1922. §
1 Thd Scout Executives of the |
1 Boy Scouts of America assembled |
I in their second Biennial Confer- |
1 ence at Blue Ridge, North Carolina, |
| send Greetings to their Honorary |
| President, and wish to express their 1
| deep gratitude for the improved |
| condition of Mrs. Harding, and |
| their sincerest wishes for her cer- |
1 tain, early, and complete recov- |
| eiry of health. |
(The President's Reply) §
1 My dear Mr. West:
The President asks me to make |
| acknowledgment of the message |
I which you conveyed on behalf of 1
| the Scout Executives and the Boy |
| Scouts of America. He would like |
| you to know that it was gratifying |
I to him to be assured of the sym- |
1 pathy and interest of your mem- |
| bership, and he is sure that Mrs. |
| Harding will be appreciative wheto 1
1 she may know of it. 1
Sincerely yours, §
Geo. B. Christian, Jr.,
1 • Secretary to the President.
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boys actually desire to be scouts. We
must be ready to justify any argument
from the standpoint of its relationship to
that fundamental consideration: Does it
really contribute in helping boys to desire
to be scouts ? Does it really contribute in
maintaining the desire on the part of boys
to be scouts ? Do you know what I
mean? A program such as Scouting can
only be successful in proportion to the
willingness of the boy to voluntarily sub-
mit himself to the discipline of the move-
ment. In proportion to his desire to be a
scout will he take seriously his Oath. So
in this conference we must keep in mind
this very fundamental thing, as also we
must keep in mind this second fundamen-
tal thing; that it is our responsibility as
local and national executives to maintain
conditions so that men of character really
think it worth while to give of themselves
in personal service in carrying out our
program. We must be able to show that
there is going to be a return for the invest-
ment in something that is worth while.
As we think about these fundamental re-
sponsibilities I am very hopeful that we
will, as we did two years ago, and as the
brief time we have been together promises
will be a fact here in Blue Ridge, there
will be an increasing development of com-
radeship, of the spirit of co-operation and
the feeling amongst us all that we are
jointly responsible, local and national,
East and West, North and South, small
city and large city, all of us, as members
of this great brotherhood of Boy Scouts
of America, through our combined effort
to do our best for the upbuilding of the
boyhood of our nation into God-fearing
men who will function as citizens in a
way which will make us feel that our
labors have not been in vain."
A Bird's-eye Yiew of the Program
THESE extracts from the address of
the Chief Scout Executive are made
because they so definitely give the set
up of the Conference deliberations. At
the very start the Conference was organ-
ized into twelve "scout troops'' of approx-
imately 34 men each, each under a "scout-
master," and with a fair semblance of
troop organization by patrols and patrol
leaders. This system proved a real advan-
tage in carrying through various parts of
the program, particularly the Organized
Recreations.
Well in advance of the date set, special
commissions were appointed to gather from
all parts of the field, data bearing on the
major activities and oroblems of the Move-
ment. The reports of these commissions
were printed as separate pamphlets and
distributed to the executives for study, in
advance of the Conference, in order to
conserve the time for discussion and action.
These reports are themselves a very valu-
able product of the Second Biennial Con-
ference. They furnish permanent data
for guidance of executives and were the
basis of many definite recommendations
affecting the whole field.
Some Important Results from the Discussions
at Blue Ridge
A QUITE complete summary and
analysis of all the sessions and ac-
tivities of the Conference is given
by Dr. Fisher in the current issue of the
Scout Executive. Practically everything
focused upon increased service to scout-
masters and the troop, in the last analysis.
Formal recommendations were made on
many points, but it is in the consensus of
opinion registered by the executives in
informal manner that the trend of the
Conference is most clearly seen.
P^OR example, that scout leadership must
increase its skill in reaching a larger
proportion of boys in all communities.
That attention to machinery must be sub-
ordinated to attention to troop mainte-
nance and extension. That the meaning of
service to the leader in Scouting is effec-
tive contact with the boy, with the man
and with God.
nPHE need for a universal program of
-*• training, whereby every scoutmaster
might be expected to secure at least the
minimum essentials, was recognized. Also
that the truest troop discipline is a good
working program. Week-end camps for
patrol leaders were pronounced effective.
I HE conviction was registered that
•®- orderly exit of scouts from troops
should be insisted upon through a proper
system of honorable discharge.
I HE Conference agreed on the value
of teaching Scouting activities by
games which are fun to the boy. It was
found that Scouting is holding older boys
to a larger degree than is realized. The
average age is above 15 years. A goodly
number are held at 16, 17 and 18. It was
the decided opinion that the best method
for holding the older boy is to start the
tenderfoot right, and develop the standard
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Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 10, Number 9, October 1922, periodical, October 1922; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth310758/m1/4/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.