[English] BOY'S GOOD TURN. PRODUCES 790,741 SCOUTS IN AMERICA.

BOY'S GOOD TURN.

PRODUCES 790,741 SCOUTS IN AMERICA.

How a London Boy's good turn was the direct cause of producing 790,741 Boy Scouts in the U.S. is told in a recent issue of the "Scouts' Weekly News." About eighteen years ago Mr. W. D. Boyce, the American publisher was in London. Caught in a fog in the neighbourhood of Fleet Street, Mr. Boyce was conducted to his hotel by a newsboy who happened to be a member of a Scout Troop. When Mr. Boyce offered the boy a tip he was greatly astonished and impressed when the boy saluted and told him that as a Scout he had to do at least one good turn a day and he was unable to accept a present.

Mr. Boyce was so impressed that he had a conference with Sir Robert Baden-Powell and as a result, upon his return to America, he proposed a Boy Scout organisation based upon the lines of the British Boy Scout movement. He finally succeeded in enlisting the help of friends in Washington and in due course an organisation known as the Boy Scouts of America was formed and on February 8, 1910, Federal Incorporation was granted by special Act of Congress.

As a direct result of the London boy's good deed, says the "China Press," there are now three-quarters of a million American Scouts and the movement is still growing.

Source:

1. Page 6, "China Mail", Friday, 16th April, 15th Year of the Republic of China

   • 5th Day, 3rd Lunar Month, Bing-yin Year

   • Friday, 16th April, 1926 Common Era