How Girls Can Help Their Country Part 2

DO A GOOD TURN to some one every day. That is one of the Scout laws. Tie a knot that you will have to untie every night, and before you go to sleep think of the good turn you did that day--if you find you have forgotten, or that the opportunity has not arisen that day, do two next day to make up for it. By your Scout's oath you know you are in honor bound to try to do this. It need be only a small thing. Help some one across the street or show him the way to the place he wishes to go. Aid a person overburdened with packages, or pick one up that has dropped.

Any little thing of this sort will count.

Habits

"'Tis today we make tomorrow." One of our wisest men has said that each one of us is a bundle of habits. We are so made that once we perform any act, that particular thing is ever afterward easier to do. We tend to do the things we have already done. By selecting the right things to do and always doing them, we actually are making our destiny. Each one of us has her character made by her habits. Habits are repeated acts, and we may choose what our habits should be by choosing our acts. As Scouts we choose to be happy, loyal, helpful girls. As we practice the Scout laws they become a part of us.

Modesty

Girl Scouts have often been complimented for their modest bearing. One does not hear them talk about what they have done, or what they are going to do. They just do the thing and say nothing about it. They go about their business or pleasure quietly and gently, and never draw attention to themselves unnecessarily by behaving noisily and talking or laughing loudly in public. They should be particularly careful of this when in the company of boys or men. Girls and boys should be comrades and should never do anything to lose the respect of older men and women.

Girls of good feeling should be especially careful to be modest in dress and deportment on social occasions. Unfortunately many girls who are perfectly innocent and unconscious, cause comment and are the cause of improper feelings being aroused among their companions. Girls should not risk, by their manner of dress or method of dancing, bringing temptation to others. It is easily possible for a girl to exert an excellent influence upon her friends by setting a proper example.

Reading

Wherever you go you will have the choice of good or bad reading, and as reading has such a lasting effect on the mind, you should try to read only good things. If you find that you are tempted by reading rubbish, it is easy to stop doing so. Once you know what your fault is you can fight it squarely. Ruskin says, "All your faults are gaining on you every hour that you do not fight them."

The thing is, when there is danger before you, don't stop and think about it,--the more you look at it the less you will like it,--but take the plunge and go boldly in at it, and it will not be half as bad as it looked, when you are once in it. This is the way to deal with any difficulty in life. If you have a job, or if any trouble arises which seems too difficult to meet, don't shirk it--just smile, and try and think out a way by which you may get successfully through with it. Read in _aesop's Fables_ how the old man advised his son that it was easy to break a bundle of rods, but only if you took them one at a time.

Economy

More women are engaged in housekeeping than in all the other professions and employments combined. This is a difficult profession and requires knowledge and training, if good results are to be secured. Housekeepers need to have a plan, and especially a budget of expenses. One of the chief duties of housekeeping consists in seeing that there be no waste of any kind. The efficient housekeeper prevents a waste of food, of light, fuel, and of every other item. The wise individual gives special care to preventing a waste of time on the part of herself and others.

The real orderly Girl Scout has a place for everything and keeps everything in its place. She has a time for performing each of her duties and does it at that time.

Thrift

It seems easy to learn how to spend money, but it is an art to learn how best to spend. Scouts gain experience by being allowed to purchase for the company, also by keeping the accounts, and they should always keep their own accounts neatly. We have to keep accounts when we grow up, and it is well to get into the way of measuring our expenditure from the first. You will remember that one of the Scout laws is to BE THRIFTY.

The girl who begins making money young will go on making it as she grows older. It may be difficult at first, but it will come easier later on, especially if you earn money by hard work. If you try to make it only by easy means you are bound to lose after a time. Any number of poor girls have become rich, but in nearly every case it was because they meant to do so from the first. They worked for it and put every penny that could be spared into a savings account. The history of the majority of the world's greatest millionaires is that they began life without a dollar.

To become a first-cla.s.s Scout a girl must have a certain amount in the savings bank before she can have the honor of receiving her badge. By saving only two cents a week at least a dollar a year is saved.

Employment

"Stick to it" the thrush sings. One of the worst weaknesses of many people is that they do not have the perseverance to stick to what they have to do. They are always wanting to change. Whatever you take up, do it with all your might, and stick to it. Besides the professions of nursing, teaching, stenography and type-writing, and clerking, there are many less crowded employments, such as hair-dressing, making flowers, coloring photographs, a.s.sisting dentists, and gardening. There are many occupations for women, but before any new employment can be taken up one must begin while young to make plans and begin collecting information.

"Luck is like a street car; the only way to get it is to look out for every chance and seize it--run at it and jump on; don't sit down and wait for it to pa.s.s. Opportunity is a street car which has few stopping places."

CHOOSE A CAREER: "Be prepared" for what is going to happen to you in the future. Try to master one trade so that you will be independent. Being punctual is a most important thing. This counts for a great deal in filling any kind of position.

Be Observant

In the early days of human development, centuries ago, the chief training men had was gained from fishing, hunting, and the other activities of savage life in the woods. This is a very valuable kind of training which city people miss. This knowledge of the woods, of animals and their habits, and of all the other phases of nature necessary for life in the open is called "Wood-craft." It is possible to train ourselves to be observant of nature and to develop a keenness of sight and hearing that are very valuable. It is a part of the duty of Scouts to see and appreciate the beauties of nature, and not be blind to them as so many people are.

Try to see everything. Consider it almost a disgrace if, when with others, they see anything big or small, high or low, near or far, that you fail to discover. See it first if you can.

Careers

Well educated women can make a good income by taking up translating, library work, architecture, and many professions which formerly have been open only to men. In Russia, a munic.i.p.al fire brigade has been commanded by a young woman. The medical profession offers a great opportunity to women. Nursing is more easily learned, and is of the greatest advantage at the same time, for every woman is a better wife and mother for having been a nurse first. Even so long ago as the first century women devoted their lives to the medical profession, as Zenais, a relative of St. Paul, Leonilla, and Hildegarde of Mont Rupert. Later, Nicerate, in 404, studied medicine and practiced with great ability.

Fifty years ago no woman could become a doctor. Now it is within the power of any intelligent girl, through study and perseverance, to enter the medical profession, and even to rise to distinction and to honorable celebrity. Mme. Curie has done such wonderful work in chemistry, that the Academy of Paris has long debated whether she should not be made an academician for her discoveries in connection with polonium and radium.

Study

Each one of us has her own destiny in her control, and has her own personal problems in life to settle. Thus, we all need all the knowledge and wisdom that we can secure. Each one of us should be a student, ever growing in power of thought and in usefulness to others. Too many people think that education consists in memorizing all kinds of information exactly as it is put down in the books. What each one of us really needs is to have a mind that can think definitely and intelligently upon all the problems presented in life. It is possible for us to train our minds for this kind of useful and independent thought. In the first place we should select subjects for study that are of real interest because they bear upon some problem that concerns us.

Whenever we begin to read a book, or undertake any topic of study, it should be done with a definite purpose in mind. Propose to yourself some question that you expect to be answered by this book, or by this subject. Do not be satisfied with the statement of one author, but also find out what other authors say, and what some of your friends think upon this question. When you have done this, try to arrange the different thoughts and statements according to a plan. Pick out the largest truth in the whole matter and arrange other statements or thoughts as they are related to this central one. Making an outline of a book is an excellent plan. Do not commit yourself entirely to the author's point of view, if it does not agree with your own. Each one of us has a distinct individuality and is ent.i.tled to his own views, to a certain extent. However, we should keep our minds open, ready to accept new truths as they are brought to our attention. Science and knowledge are constantly advancing, and what we believe now, we may find, some years hence, to be only a part of the truth. Thus, it is not necessary to memorize lessons and subjects until after we have thought out what the real meaning is, and arranged the whole subject on a definite plan.

Then, we will usually find that we know the topic without having to memorize it formally. Finally we should try to put to use the ideas we have gained. The real value of ideas lies in making them serve us. When you have actually put into practice some bit of knowledge, you may then feel that it really belongs to you.

In our work and study we need to learn to devote our whole attention to one thing,--to do this one thing with all the power that we have. Too many of us form a habit of dividing our attention, trying to carry two things in mind at the same time. This is a weakness that interferes with our success. If we are truly interested, we should put our whole attention upon the one matter and develop power of concentration.

To make what has been said about study clearer, let us use an ill.u.s.tration. Suppose one of our Girl Scouts is fond of gardening. The family has no garden, and there is a vacant s.p.a.ce in the yard that could be used for this purpose. She begins the reading of one of the farmers'

bulletins on this subject, and has in mind, all the time, making a garden of her own. This object of making her own garden is her guide in the study. She wishes to learn what plants are best suited to her plot, which ones will give her the best return for the kind of soil that she has, and so, as she reads, she chooses for herself from the ideas that are presented. The whole subject is arranged in her own mind around her own plan of making a garden. After reading this bulletin she is likely to consult her friends who know anything about this subject, and to read other articles. Finally she puts into practice the notions she has gathered, and finds through actual trial whether they succeed or not. If she is successful in growing flowers and vegetables, the ideas have been put to a very practical and beneficial use. This girl will know a great deal more about gardening than if she merely read the book.

Patriotism

You belong to the great United States of America, one of the great world powers for enlightenment and liberty. It did not just grow as circ.u.mstances chanced to form it. It is the work of your forefathers who spent brains and blood to complete it. Even when brothers fought they fought with the wrath of conviction, and when menaced by a foreign foe they swung into line shoulder to shoulder with no thought but for their country.

In all that you do think of your country first. We are all twigs in the same f.a.got, and every little girl goes to make up some part or parcel of our great whole nation.

Part II

MEMBERSHIP

This Organization is Non-Sectarian and Non-Political

Any girl over ten years old may become a Girl Scout and she may belong to other organizations at the same time.

She first ranks as Tenderfoot or third-cla.s.s Girl Scout, then, after one month, she becomes, after pa.s.sing certain tests, a second-cla.s.s Girl Scout, and finally attains the rank of first-cla.s.s Girl Scout.

After she has reached the age of eighteen, a girl can become a lieutenant, and when she is twenty-one years old she may become a captain if she has pa.s.sed the first-cla.s.s examinations. Girl Scouts'

patrols in Europe are sometimes formed by grown-up women, who wish to carry out the Girl Scout program of preparedness, and these are called Senior Scouts.

Grades

Tenderfoot Second Cla.s.s First Cla.s.s