Why I Believe in Scouting
for Girls
By MARY ROBERTS RINEHART
Series No. 10
189 Lexington Avenue
New York City
Why I Believe in Scouting
By Mary Roberts Rinehart
Girls are great idealists. No onefamiliar with the working of the girlmind can fail to recognize how quicklythey respond to ideals. They dreamdreams, not of success, but of happiness.They look up rather than out.
But they are vague and uncertain,full of wistful yearnings that lead nowhere.Given a cause and a leader,and they will bring to it an almostpathetic eagerness, staunchness, loyalty,enthusiasm and unselfish effort.
There comes a critical time in a girl'smental and spiritual life, when she iswaiting impatiently for young womanhood.The things of her childhoodhave lost their interest. She has abandonedher dolls. The little boys sheplayed with have deserted her, andfound the girl-less associations of the'teens. They have their clubs, theirsports, their meeting places. But tothe young girl there is nothing but thatperiod of waiting. She is peculiarlyisolated. Her family often finds herstrange. She is moody and dreamy.She begins to spend an almost alarmingamount of time and thought uponher appearance. The family says:"What in the world is the matter withJane?" And her father suggests it istoo much going to the moving pictures.
But the truth is that Jane is idle.She does not belong, between babyhoodand womanhood, anywhere in the socialorganization. She is active and romantic.Her days are a long waitingfor maturity, and with maturity thefulfilment of her dreams, of love, ofmarriage, of motherhood. She hauntsthe movies because she finds there vicariousromance and vicarious adventure.The great out-doors is hers toplay in—on the screen.
And at the same time, with no increasedoutlet for her activities, herimagination is being stimulated asnever before. Books, magazines, automobiles,moving pictures, all are revealingto her this strange thing wecall life, which is hers to observe butnot yet to live. She is a yearning onlooker.
It is time to realize that hundreds ofthousands of young girls in this country—doublyimportant now that theyare future citizens as well as thepotential mothers of future citizens—mustbe given occupation, a feeling ofresponsibility, a practical ideal towhich they may bring their innate loyaltyand enthusiasm. They need organizedplay and athletics. They needsomething concrete to tie to. Theyneed to be taught, if you please, whatis the "gang" spirit among boys. Theyneed to learn that their young bodiesare to be used, instead of decorated.Until they learn that, we shall havesickly mothers and puny babies. Nosingle movement for the improvementof American people as a race, no advanceof science or sanitation, can comparein importance with the necessityfor building up morally, spiritually andbodily, our future mothers.
They need to be taught certain loyalties,sex loyalty. Loyalty to ideals.Loyalty to country. This last, loyaltyto country, has to be taught. Whena man learns to take off his hat to theflag, he has a new respect for it.
Some of our girls need to be taughthonesty. They cover their dreamswith small deceits. They seek romanceout of sheer boredom, and are driveninto hypocrisy. The boy has fewerdreams to conceal, and he is honestwith the honesty of fre