BOY SCOUTS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 September 1925, Page 4

BOY SCOUTS

(Contributed.) The “ Birthday Party ” of the 2nd Hokitika Boy Scouts and Wolf Cubs takes place on Thursday evening next week, and on that date the Troop enters on its third year’s work. Xormallv three years is considered the maximum period requisite for producing n fully trained scout and the coming year ought to have been a specially interesting one in which results should begin to be apparent, but unfortunately there have keen too many changes ill the personnel of tlve troop in question to allow of any of the hoys having realised the more advanced firms ol .Scout mg. This coming and going of troop members i- the most unfortunate characteristic of scouting on the West Coast, and both in Hokitika. and Oroymouth. Scoutors are out to discover a remedy. A certain proportion of loss is due to removals from the town and is unavoidable. As far as ran lie ascertained the number of removals in this district is only a little higher than in other parts of Xew Zealand. Then there is the loss of hoys who fail to maintain interest in the Seoul Programme. Here the Scoutmaster and his assistants are probably to blame as it has been proved again and again that there is sufficient in Scouting properly presell Led to cnlhuso any and every healthy hoy through the second decade nf his life. In nuv (Use the Sc outer- are w illing to take the resnnusihility lor this wastage and to take steps to lessen it. But unfortunately the largest percentage o| loss locally appears to he the fault', of parents who conceive Scouting as a childish game to he pul away about the time of passing from lie Primary School. It would do smile ol the parents in qne.-limi good to go to Dunedin and see -lor example—ti’. l ' patrol that represented Xew Zealand at Wembley last year, whose average height must he upwards of lift, or Tito hefty lot of young men whom the Australian State- are -ending over to represenl them next January. It is unfair hot h to hoys and those who are running the mnvomoul to remove them Iroin the troop at the most critical stage of their development, which is at tln- same time the period of greatest possibilities. Scouting is. a In.vo all things, education in -elf reliance and responsibility and it is not till childhood is Doing left behind that the hoy is physically capable of putting a great part ol his training lo practical Use.