THE BOY SCOUTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16296, 1 February 1915, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE BOY SCOUTS

Br soouTMi-vrsa-M SooutaiMter " will be piea#ed to reoelT# w £>orU of Dannies and other items ol interest lot LUbeiUoa m Uii» ooluimj. Tilts should bo left t/i« at&oo of Uie Unity iuoen not Ut«r U>»» uoou ou M.ouu*jre, *ua ttliould b* utidrewed !• " boouUuai*i«r.''

AU inquiries local troops, etc., Rbouia bo mttue to the uistnct. becretury, Duoedin Boy scoutx, Box 31a. OJ. J .U., lJuoediiu

Scouts throughout Mew Zealand will be sorry to huir tliat Colonel Cosbgrove. OU* litoemed Un.ei Uoimaiasioner, is ni and oonliinod to ins bt-d. As a result, he is unable to vjsit uiy troops itiit ore in camp. We wish lor nun a spec-v recovery.

A roll oi honour is being prepared by the English heauquiii'ttus on wrncn it is their m oixuion to ylii the names of all officers and ex-scoutb who are. with the Expeditionary Fo.-ces. New Zealand will not be lacking in supplying her quota. " Atoms oi tho Jtmpire ' is the name that " Vedette," the writer of the Boy Scouts' column in the Lyttolton Times, suggests as vey suitable for the Boy Soouts ol tha British Empire. He says tnat it every scout realises that he is an "atom" of our Empire it will awe him an increased incentive to be true to his oath. I paes on the wish tliat every scout in Otago will honestly strive to do his duty in these troublous times,

A recent War Office proclamation stated that " a shoemaker may be as useful a patriot aa a soldier," meaning that there is work for all to do at the present crisis in our Empire's history. Every scout can be of great use if he will but care to fit himself for the position. One of the effects of this great war will, I believe, be an increase in the trade of the British peoples, and this will wean that more labour will be required to produce the increased output from our factories, etc. Thon will ooiae the chance for tho boy who has bem prepared. See to it, scouts, tliat you are not lett behind. BELGIAN BOY SCOUTS.

The following extracts of English press reports are culled from tho Scotmaatew' Headquarters Gazette: — (From the Daily Telegraph.) Belgium is the first country to make a wide use of the services of the Boy Soouts in time of war. Here in Brussels they are employed as despatch riders between the various departments of State; as orderlies at the numerous depots of the Red Cross Organisation ; as " policemen " they patrol the streets during the day, and in case of any disturbance can at once summon assistance ; and) upwards of a hundred are daily collecting money for the Red Cross Society, and for the various funds started for the relief of the families of the men. at the front.

There are to-day some 4500 Boy Scoot* in Belgium—3ooo in the organisation based on the lines of the English Boy Scouts, and 1500 belonging to the Catholic Brigade. Belore hostilities commenced boys of 10 years of age were admitted to the former, 'but in view of the many duties which the scouts now perform, the age has been raised to 14. Each candidate must have a good general knowledge and be of exemplary conduct. Their uniform is idjentical with that of the English Boy Scouts. In the Rue des Sables the Boy Scout# have for the time being handsome headquarters, labelled " Boy Scouts etat Major," where an efficient staff directs their movements for the day. Here the scouts who have had no duty asigned to them assemble at 8.30 a.m. to take their orders.

Each lad wears a band on his right arm with the letters "S.M." —"service mitibaire."

Many of the boys possess bicycles, while not a few have motor cycles. These boys are employed as despatch "riders." One cannot but remark the facility with which they handle their machines, especially tha motorists, in streets which &t all hours are thronged with crowds eager for the latest news, and with numerous motor cars and motor vehicles moving at a very rapid pace, and all, or nearly all, bearing- the letters "S.M." or the Red Cross.

Other soouts may be seen in these motors, hurrying perhaps from some school or hotel or other building, which has been oonverted into a. temporary hospital, in of stores. I have seen a scout, of certainly not more than a dozen years, pack a fairsized motor car with dressings and • various cases of utensils required by some hospital, checking his list and working in a most businesslike and methodical manner. Or, again, these young and energetio citizens have on their h arid-carts transported beds and hospital furniture from the army stores or from shops to buildings throughout the town which have been converted into hospitals. Last Friday I found that I required a pass from tho Burgomaster. On arriving at the " Bureau du Bourgmestre," I was at once asked my business by a scoutmaster, who, with a score or so of scouts under his command, had charge at the entrance to the budding. With the utmost courtesy, and with a celerity wholly unknown among the older officials at any Government or municipal office with which I am acquainted, I was conducted to the department where I had to obtain the pass. While talking to one of the scouts I observed in the courtyard of the Hotel de Ville a crowd of women and children, who, I learned, had com.e to draw an allowance made by the Government to the wives and families of the men at the front. There were some hundreds of people in the queue, which was marshalled in perfect order, and kept in that order, by four youngstera, not one of whom was over 13 years of a ore. Two of the scouts, holding a scout pole at either end, stood at the head, and from time to time allowed half a dozen women, with their children, to enter the office where the money was being paid out. Once that pole waa placed in front of the waiting crowd no one attempted to pass it. It was really amazing to see those four small boys—two m front and two walking up and down— maintain order and prevent anyone pushing in before her turn. Outside in the street a similar scene was witnessed. There was an even greater crowd, all waiting for their allowance from the Government. The people were drawn up in a long line, in double file, so as not to occupy too much of the pavement. Certainly more scouts were engaged, but this was due to the fact that there was also a constant stream of pedestrians on the pavement. The Boy Scouts form a useful adjunct to the Garde Civique, a purely voluntary force, which has been called out. The youngsters always have a genial smile. If you stop them and ask a question they at once stand to attention and answer with intelligent interest. _ The conversation finished, there is a soldierly salute. It is not till 8.30 p.m. that the Boy Scouts cease from their many labours. Keen .and eager, and possessed' of a staunch spirit of duty, they never grumble, and report morning after morning at their day's rendezvous, ready and willing for any duty which the day may demand. "(From The Times.) Tho Boy Scouts in Liege have been disbanded by tho Germans, who call them enfants terriblee, and are rather hostile to them—on account no doubt of the number of German spies they have tracked. (From a Special Correspondent of the Daily Express.) Tho Boy Scouts are on duty all oyer Belgium. It was a Boy Scout (looking exactly like an English Boy Scout, even to his neckerchief and khaki shirt) who took my pass to a member of the general staff at army headquarters in the field' yesterday. It was a Boy Scout who showed me the route from one village to another when I lost mv way. And it was a Boy Scout who helped to capture a German cavalryman near Liege last woek.

I was at the station -when a troop tram arrived with a tremendous uproar. Before it stopped every window framed a man of tousled heads as the men of the 11th Infantry 'Rogiment demanded fre6h -water for their flasks.

Tt. arrived without delay. Boy Scouts, detailed to slako the thirst of an army, filled groat tins at the station tips, and went methodically from carriage to carriage. In lrss than fivo minutes the men had drank their (ill and replenished their bottles, and the train moved away. Much will be written about the Boy Scouts before this campaign is ended. One is inclinrd to laugh when a groy-beard!ed general eomes to the door of his office and shouts " Boy Scoot," but nevertheless they are playing a very serious part in the affairs of the Belgian Army. Sir Robert would be very proud of hia lads if he could see them on active service.