YOUTH AND ROTARY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 55, 27 November 1937, Page 4

YOUTH AND ROTARY

Aids to Good Citizenship WORK IN GREAT BR1TAIN "One could not attend the conference without realising the inspiratiOn of RfetaXy, and all the delegates must have returned to their home towns and citics and' countries with a wider conception and inspiration." said Canon C. Mortimer- Jones in his address to the Hastings Rotary Club yesterday when he reported on various aspects of thfe conference of the Rotary International of Britain and Ireland at Bournemouth, England, which he attended, while abrohd, as a dfelegate from New Zea-r land. "Undoubfedly Rotary is intensely in. earnest in England - and is doing a Wonderful lot of good in a humble mam ner," he addfed. "There was expressed a tremendous desire to carry out the things that Rotary called upon to be done, and it was noted that there ha? been a big expansion in the movement by the extension of the Clubs in a healthy and progressive manner." After r-eading various extraCts from addresses and reports presented at the conference, Mr Mortimer-Jonea said. that one of the things that impressed him most was the appeal being made on belialf of thfe youth of the world,. "There has to be faced a big problen^ and it is one that also applies to this country, though necessarily to a lesser degree, and it concerns the boy ahd girl after leaving school/' said the speaker, who explained that the prihcipal advocate was Mr Tom Warren, the new president of the Rotary International of Great Britain and Ireland. It whs nrged that there should be, some control exercised over the .youth from the age of 14 years, when leaving school, to 21 years of age, and Mr Warren urged Rotary International to assist in moulding public opinion towards some action being ;taken in. this directitfn. "It is obvious that there muot be some control, under authorised leadarShip, of youth during those vital years," said the speaker, who explained that at the conference it was stated that Certainly not more than 40 per cent. of the youth was taken in hand by the Churcli, Boy Scouts, Girl GttidfeS and othfer organisations. In New Zealand thfe percentage was even less and unfortunately thero was not the scope for thfe follow-through of inovenleats startfed in this Country.' The objective in the Old Country was to get thfe other 60 per cent. uader some Control, either voluntarily or by compulsion. It was realised in England that therfe was a tremendous danger in the uncontrolled and unguided youth.