Local Council Approval

Clause 4-All recommendations for commissions or certificates of membership for Troop Scouters under Local Council supervision are subject to the approval of the Local Council before transmission to the National Council.

Volunteer Scouters

Clause 5-All Scouters other than executive officers of all ranks employed as professional Scouters shall serve on a volunteer basis.

Scoutmaster

Section 2-The success of the Boy Scout Program is dependent upon the volunteer Scoutmaster who serves without financial compensation. His conception of the rules, spirit and purpose of Scouting and the quality of his leadership control the possibilities for practical results in the work of the boys. For this reason, the greatest care should be exercised by all concerned in recommending men for such commissions. A Scoutmaster shall be at least twenty-one years of age and shall be chosen because of good moral character and his interest in work for boys. He need not be an expert in all of the Scout activities but should be able to command the respect of boys in the management of his Troop.* He should attend all meetings and outings of his Scout Troop* delegate as much of his duties as possible to Assistants and Patrol Leaders and make use of different experts in the various activities included in the Scout Program. He, with the cooperation of the Troop Committee, is responsible for the general program and supervision of the work of the Troop.* All recommendations for commissions for men to serve as Scoutmasters shall originate with the Troop, Ship, or Tribe Committee or the fathers sponsoring a Neighborhood Patrol.

The Scoutmaster

By Edgar A. Guest

There isn't any pay for you, you serve without reward, The boys who tramp the fields with you but little could afford,

And yet your pay is richer far than those who toil for gold,

For in a dozen different ways your service shall be told.

You'll read it in the faces of a Troop of growing boys, You'll read it in the pleasure of a dozen manly joys, And down the distant future-you will surely read it then,

Emblazoned thru the service of a band of loyal men.

Five years of willing labor and of brothering a Troop, Five years of trudging highways, with the Indian cry and whoop,

Five years of camp fires burning, not alone for pleasure's sake,

But the future generation which the boys are soon to make.

They have no gold to give you, but when age comes on to you

They'll give you back the splendid things you taught them how to do,

They'll give you rich contentment and a thrill of honest pride

And you'll see your nation prosper, and you'll all be satisfied.

Assistant Scoutmaster

Section 3-Each Troop or Tribe should have one or more Assistant Scoutmasters. Assistant Scoutmasters shall be at least eighteen years of age and may be selected and promoted because of their experience as members in a Troop or Tribe and efficiency in Scouting. An Assistant Scoutmaster performs such duties as may be assigned by the Scoutmaster.

All recommendations for commissions as Assistant Scoutmasters originate with the Troop or Tribe Committee.

Citizenship Requirements

Section 15-In all cases men serving in any official relationship with the Boy Scouts of America shall subscribe the statement of religious principle (Article III of the Constitution), the Scout Oath and Law and the

* Troop, Ship, Tribe, Neighborhood Patrol.

Constitution and By-Laws of the Boy Scouts of America, and shall be citizens of the United States; or in all cases excepting members of the National Executive Board, shall have legally declared their intentions to become citizens of the United States; or in the case of minors shall take an oath of allegiance to The Flag and Government of the United States; except that in the discretion of the Executive Board of the National Council, and under such rules and regulations as it may prescribe, commissions or certificates of membership as Scouters may be issued to citizens of countries or territories under control of the United States, in those countries or territories.

Warrant Officers

Section 16, Clause 1-Senior Patrol Leader. The Troop Committee on the recommendation of the Scoutmaster may authorize the appointment of a Senior Patrol Leader. This office is open to First Class Scouts who have served a minimum term of twenty weeks as Patrol Leaders, are of strong character, proficient in Scouting and of marked ability as leaders. The Senior Patrol Leader performs such Troop administrative and executive duties as are assigned him by his Scoutmaster. He ranks in the Troop next to the Assistant Scoutmaster.

Section 16, Clause 2-Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. Local Councils upon the recommendation of the Scoutmaster or Troop Committee, may issue warrants as Junior Assistant Scoutmasters to First Class Scouts who are sixteen years of age or over. This rank may be utilized to provide for Assistant Scoutmaster service to the Scoutmaster in cases where there are no men eligible for commissions as Assistant Scoutmasters or where there are not sufficient Assistant Scoutmasters. This office may also be used for the purpose of holding the interest of First Class Scouts, sixteen years of age or over, as expert instructors or for other service to the Troop, but not the usual executive duties of Assistant Scoutmasters.

Smoking And Intoxicating Liquors

The policy of the National Council upon the use of alcoholic liquors and tobaqco by Scout Officials is expressed in the following resolution, adopted February 11, 1913:

RESOLVED, That the National Council recommend that intoxicating liquors be not used in connection with Scout meetings, and that all Scoutmasters and other officials while on active duty refrain from the use of tobacco, and that those who are accustomed to the use of tobacco do not conceal the fact from the boys, but discuss frankly with them the desirability of refraining from its use until they have attained their full development.

Technical Military Training And Uses Of Firearms

The Constitution of the Boy Scouts of America states:

Article III, Section 3-In carrying out the purpose of the Boy Scout Movement as stated herein, technical military training and drill shall not be included for the reason that they are not equal in value or as suitable for boys of Scout age in training for good citizenship as the program of Scout activities.

In the Scout Program, drill is a means to attain discipline, not an end itself. It should not be unduly emphasized. Boys of Scout age are unfitted to receive technical military training. Gen. Leonard Wood said, "Personally, I do not believe we should give the training until the year in which the youth becomes nineteen." Scout training develops men capable of taking care of themselves, and hence valuable alike in peace or war.

The Scout Movement is neither military nor anti-military. On the other hand it does teach valuable information which a soldier must have. The Marksmanship Merit Badge recognizes the supervised use of firearms. The use of guns in mass and for drill purposes, however, is alien to the Scout Movement and is not permitted to Scouts.

Tips