SCOUTS AND GUIDES.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, Issue 17690, 2 July 1927, Page 13

SCOUTS AND GUIDES.

TOPICAL NEWS AND NOTES* , The Forum. (Conducted by “Silent Warrior.”)’ “Silent Warrior.” will be pleased to receive news items of interest to Scouts and Guides. They should be addressed to. reach 1 him, c/o “Herald,” not later than- r '-^u day each week. • Says the Chief Guide, Lady . -deuPowell:— ( “The name ‘Handy Girl’ is apt to call up the picture of a rather modern young woman who has a hammer and small tacks constantly concealed in one of her many pockets. She is prepared to nail up a picture, lay a carpet, and do mysterious things with a hairpin and piece of wire when the electric' light fuses, and all this at a moment’s notice. “But for the girl who is a Gui’de and would be a real handywothan some clay a good deal more Is involved than this, for our. aim is to make efficient and happy women citizens good home-keepers and mothers—by developing character, health and love of service for others. “The Girl Guide movement owes its existence to the insistence of the girls themselves, who wished to join the Scouts unless some similar organisation was provided for them.

“From the moment a girl joins as a Brownie, at eight years, old, her training begins. She .is taught without realising that she is learning, for, while amusing herself, @he is doing things for others. ”■■■■■

“A girl can become a Guide when she is eleven, and then the all-round training in usefulness goes on' apace.

“She is taught how to keep herself fit, because so much depends pn her good health. ’ She learns ‘flrgtaid,’ and to look after not only hpr own health, hut that'of pther people. She is taught to cook and to irpn, or perhaps she may take , up sope handicraft, such as basket-weaving,, .oy-making, or lace-making-ifhat will be of use when the time conies to clioose her .work in life. 1 '

“Above all, a Guide goes camping, and here she has ample opportunity to put into practice all the character training, self-control / and practical knowledge she has been storing tip. “Guide training,helps to form that most needed citizen, the ‘Handy Girl,’ who can rescue the drowning or cook a dinner—she is able tp lend because she knows how to serve.”

In these days; when the Boy Scouts are so much iii, evidence everywhere, the attentipn of. the public is inevitably drawn to the signal services which the founder of the Boy Scouts movement, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, has rendered to his country and to the world (states a leading article in the “Waikato Times”), The movement, which began in a ! small way in 1908, hfts spread rapidly. Boy Scouts at. the present time must be numbered by the million. They are .übiquitous and active, a fact which Was strikingly evidenced during the Prince of Wales’ tour.,, Whether in Sierra Leone or in Chile, the Boy Scouts of the land visited were always on (he scene, with a disciplined activity directed to the good of others and a splendid spirit of friendliness arid cheerfulness. Sir Robert BadpnPowell’s organisation has now for nearly twenty years served th® cause of good citizenship and ipany ideals. ,It has taught enormous multitudes of boys to be self-reliant, loyal, honourable, and patriotic. It has given them a zest for the outdoor life-which is peculiarly desirable in the case of such,a city-bred population as ours. In view of the magnitude of the Scout movement and of its undisputed beneficence, .it lias always aroused some wonder in tlio public that fuller official recognition has not been given to its founder. Sir Robert, it is true, holds many orders and titles, but not those which 'would single him cut as one of the most creativeminds and one of the greatest inspirers of character and noble conduct that our age has known. • Cam it be true that 'the prophet is never fully appreciated in bik own couiitry? Sir Robert’s years are drawing on, but the public will gladly see . him receive some distinction -Which bears visible witness to the affection and gratitude with which’ his name is remembered by his fellow-citizens.

The aim of the Girl Guide Movement is to make efficient future women citizens, good home-keepers and mothers. The method is to bring this about by training .the girls through activities which appeal to them to develop (1) character; (2) . handicraft; (3) health .and hygiene; and (4) service to others. The Girl Guide Movement was started after the Boy Scout Movement, partly, owing to many girls wishing to become Boy Scouts. Results have w r ell proved the need of such a movement. Clippings. “There is nothing better in life than good habits. There is no drag in life compared with a bad habit.” —Scoutmastership. • “Happiness is yours if only you paddle your canoe ■ right.”—Roverins to Success. “The sticker beats the merely clever man so often in the race of life; stick to it, and make yourself indispensable. Patience and perseverance win the day.”—Young Knights of the Empire. “Force a smile, and then laugh at the comparative smallness of the irritation.”—Rovering to Success. ' “If you find yourself in a position of difficulty pr danger, keep your head, think what is your duty and do-it.” —-Scoutmastership.