BETTER BOYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1922, Page 4

BETTER BOYS.

YOUNG CITIZENS’ LEAGUE. FORMED IN NEW PLYMOUTH. ITS AIMS EXPLAINED. \ The formation of a Young Citizens League in New Plymouth was unanimously decided on at a fairly large meeting of ladies and gentlemen at the Victoria League rooms last night, following an address by Mr. E. C. Cutten, senior stipendiary magistrate at Auckland, and founder of the Young Citizens’ League in that city. Mr. Cutten explained the necessity for some such body, the aims and objects of the work, and then piloted the meeting through the early stages of the formation of the league. Mr. Cutten was introduced by the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson), who presided. Mr. Cutten said it was not the usual thing to call a public meeting for the purpose of forming a league. He usually tried to spend a few days in meeting people who would carry on the work, but his time in New Plymouth was short. However, he had been able to meet that day several of the masters of the schools, who expressed approval of the scheme. The league was combatting a world-wide trouble, and New Zealand was not alone in requiring active measures for looking after the young people. The need arose because for the last 80 years we had been becoming too materialistic, and the cogs of the machinery had become blocked. The materialism had created unrest, and it was attacking the young. The education systems were educating the intellect without training the heart, but a great deal of the difficulty had been overcome by the teachers, who were the only class in the community who were doing their whole duty. The others were all looking for short cuts, but the teachers, by their uplifting influence, had improved the situation until materialism entered the home. The children were well behaved in the schools, but outside they went wild, and the trouble would go on increasing until it was definitely checked.

THE CHILDREN’S PROMISE. When a Young Citizens’ League council was formed, it drew public attention to the league and then co-ordinated the work of all young people’s -Welfare institutions, so that all would work together for the good of all. Afterwards the league could start clubs to fill in the blanks in the work of the other organisations. To get over the difficulty of starting clubs in new centres and the consequent night attendances, they endeavored to get the teachers to start rolls of membership in the schools and devote some part of the week to league work. The teachers got the children to sign the league promise: “I promise on my honor to do my best day by day, in thought, word and deed, to become a true and worthy citizen.” Then a little initiation ceremony was conducted, when the promise was explained, word by word, and attention drawn to the place the Bible and the flag should occupy. All he suggested should be done in New Plymouth at the present time was to start the work at the schools. The children were given a certificate of membership, while they could also obtain a membership badge. The children’s promise formed a definite thing for the teacher to appeal to, and in many ways they had already built on it; while the fact that the children knew that others throughout the Dominion were given the promise created an esprit de corps. The object' was to get at the homes, but it was no use appealing straight to the parents. They could, however, be got at through the children. That the scheme had been successful in actual practice was shown by the fact that the headmasters in Auckland bad unanimously endorsed it, while individual masters had spoken well of it. The movement had been supported in Christchurch, and they had gone ahead and beaten Auckland; while in Dunedin it was received with open arms. He was sure they would find the teachers would support the scheme; those to whom he had spoken that day had endorsed it. CARING FOR GIRLS.

He wanted them to realise that if they formed a league in New Plymouth their work would not be confined to New Plymouth alone, but they must be prepared to assist in the formation of leagues elsewhere in the country districts. Each was a separate body and was quite independent of any other, although they all subscribed to the one constitution. As long as each league kept along the lines of the spirit of the movement, that was all that was wanted. The effect of all the teaching was loyalty to Christian service. In Auckland the league had formed an employment bureau, and they asked the employers to take an interest in the boys. They had become inundated with applications from employers for boys belonging to the league, because they found that the boys recommended were honest, which was, unfortunately, not the caes with all boys. In three years they had had only two disappointments with their boys. Another thing was that the league was influencing the relations between labor and capital in a beneficial direction. He recommended that the league, if formed, should try to form girls’ clubs, with the object of influencing girls in the adolescent stage and bringing them under good influences. There was no finer influence than that of a good woman, and the good she could do with girls was incalculable.

Answering questions, Mr. Cutten said that all controversial matters, such as prohibition and religion, must be kept out, as there was such a diversity of opinion on these matters. All the constitution required was the observance of the two laws, “Love God” and “Love one another.” If clubs were formed they could encourage the boys and girls in healthy games, the girls also being given instruction in housekeeping, needlework, cooking, etc., and the boys in knotting, bridging, and other activities on the lines of the boy scout movement. There was no subscription, the income for carrying on the work being obtained by appeals to the public, without whose support the league could not succeed, but he did not think that there would be a great deal of expense in New Plymouth. They were very proud of the fact that the league had been started in New Zealand, and now it had spread to Eng land, Canada, America, the Continent, Australia and Japan, so it was world-wide. The Education Department was behind him in supoprting the scheme, while the Minister of Education had publicly endorsed the work of the leagues and recommended them to the Education Boards. A LEAGUE FORMED.

Mr. H. Dempsey moved that a league, comprising those present at the meeting, be formed, the resolution being seconded by Mrs. A. Jemison and carried. Mr. W. H. Freeman was appointed honorary organising secretary, the following being elected to the council: Mesdames C. H. Burgess and Martin. Misses Dowling, Mclntosh, My*

nott and Andrews, Messrs. J. A. Valentine, W. Ambury, C. H. Weston, W. H. Moyes, H. A. Stratford, H. Dempsey, A. M. Mowlem; P. J. H. White, F. E. Wilson (Mayor), ID. P. Evans, S. King, O. Johnston, —. I Allan, Archdeacon Evans, and the Revs. O. Blundell, E. H. Strong, W. J. Elliott, G. T. Beale, A. H. Collins, and Commandant Middlemiss. The council was given power to add to its number and elect the remaining officers required. Votes of thanks to Mr. Cutten, the Victoria League for the use of the rooms, and to the chairman, closed the meeting.