shed.

In the various cities, towns, and villages, the welfare of the boy
scouts is cared for by local councils, and these councils, like the
National Council are composed of men who are seeking for the boys of
the community the very best things.

In order that the work of the boy scouts throughout America may be
uniform and intelligent, the National Council has prepared its
"Official Handbook," the purpose of which is to furnish to the patrols
of the boy scouts advice in practical methods, as well as inspiring
information.

The work of preparing this handbook has enlisted the services of men
eminently fitted for such work, for each is an expert in his own
department, and the Editorial Board feels that the organization is to
be congratulated in that such men have been found willing to give
their time and ripe experience to this movement. It would be
impossible adequately to thank all who by advice and friendly
criticism have helped in the preparation of the book, or even to
mention their names, but to the authors whose names are attached to
the various chapters, we acknowledge an especial obligation. Without
their friendly help this book could not be. We wish especially to
express our appreciation of the helpful suggestions made by Daniel
Carter Beard.

We have carefully examined and approved all the material which goes to
make up {vi} the manual, and have tried to make it as complete as
possible; nevertheless, no one can be more conscious than we are of
the difficulty of providing a book which will meet all the demands of
such widely scattered patrols with such varied interests. We have
constantly kept in mind the evils that confront the boys of our
country and have struck at them by fostering better things. Our hope
is that the information needed for successful work with boy scouts
will be found within the pages of this book.

In these pages and throughout our organization we have made it
obligatory upon our scouts that they cultivate courage, loyalty,
patriotism, brotherliness, self-control, courtesy, kindness to
animals, usefulness, cheerfulness, cleanliness, thrift, purity and
honor. No one can doubt that with such training added to his native
gifts, the American boy will in the near future, as a man, be an
efficient leader in the paths of civilization and peace.

It has been deemed wise to publish all material especially for the aid
of scout masters in a separate volume to be known as "The Scout
Masters'