A CRITICISM OF BOY SCOUTS4
THE criticism in this pamphlet is both prejudiced and ill- natured, and to such a degree that it will cause no alarm to the friends of the movement it seeks to condemn. Its taste may be ganged by the illustrations which are those of a third-class comic paper. Some of Captain Nemo's methods of attack are merely laughable, such as his statement that the headquarters authorities make the tests for proficiency badges easy, and purposely exercise no supervision in the granting of them, because they wish to sell as many as pos- sible to increase their funds. When we consider that the price of most of these badges ranges from one penny to three- pence the prospect of a golden harvest does not seem very promising. According to " Nemo," if a proper system were introduced the number of badges granted would be reduced
by a quarter. He says : " This is an eventuality which head- quarters is hardly prepared to face, and therefore the method of obtaining badges is purposely allowed to remain ridiculously easy." To estimate the absurdity of such a charge we take a few of the names of Council of the Association :—The Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chief Justice, Sir T. Lauder Brunton, Sir Edmond Elks, Lord Kitchener, the Rev. C. Silvester Horne, Lord Roberts, and, of course, Sir Robert Baden-Powell. The criticism of the Boy Scout movement
• Garaening for the Ignorant. By Mrs. C. W. Earle and Ethel Case. Loudon Macmillan and Co. [1s. net.] t The Boy Scout Bubble. A review of a great futility by Captain Nemo. London: George Allen and Co. (is.]
does not stop at the financial aspect, but is directed to every- thing connected with it from beginning to end. The only possibility of good coming from the Scout idea is found in the suggestion that the idea should be taken up and worked by Boys' Brigades. The Scout law comes in for a good deal of criticism, of which the following is a sample. The law naturally enjoins obedience to officers, including Patrol leaders. As an example of what this means, " Captain Nemo" draws a dreadful picture of a Scout in camp sent to steal turnips from a neighbouring field for the troops' dinner, and so having to make the choice of being a thief or of disobeying. Scoutmasters come in for a good many hard knocks, which, should they ever hear of them, are not likely to trouble them much. Of course the whole good of the movement must depend on the characters of these officers. "Nemo " states dogmati- cally that 30 per cent. of the Scoutmasters have taken up the work for ignoble ends, and that no supervision as to their appointment exists. This is, of course, not the case, and " Nemo" gives us no evidence that Boys' Brigades, which he is always holding up in contrast to Scouts, are more careful in the selection of their officers. The final criticism is the unfairest of all, and shows how " Nemo" has allowed his prejudice to blind him to facts. He very truly says that all work for the improvement of character must be built upon a foundation of true religion, and his last words are, "In the Scout scheme at present this foundation does not exist." In answer to this most serious charge may be quoted some words from the statement issued by the Headquarters Committee as to the principles of the Boy Scout Association. Here it is definitely laid down that:
"In the Scout's Promise the obligation of duty towards Almighty God is put in the first place as the necessary founda- tion of the whole, and it is expected of every Scout that he shall belong to some religious body and regularly attend his own place of worship. . . . (The Association) can, under no circumstances, admit to affiliation any bodies omitting the first part of the Scout's Promise—viz., Loyalty to God.' "
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