ve never in all my life seen him in a hurry.
(Laughter) All scouts can claim Uncle Jeb, he is the universal award
that every boy scout wears in his heart. (Uproarious applause)

"Scouts, this is a gala day for me. It beats three helpings of
dessert----"

"Sometimes we get four," the irrepressible voice shouted.

"I have been honored by the privilege of coming here to visit you in
these quiet hills----"

A voice: "Sometimes it isn't so quiet."

"and to distribute the awards which your young heroes have earned.
You can all be scouts; you cannot all be heroes. That is well, for
as the old song says, 'When every one is somebody then no one's
anybody.' (Laughter)

"I wonder how many of you scouts who are down for these awards
realize what the awards mean? They are not simply prizes given for
feats--or stunts, as you call them. To win a high honor merely as a
stunt is to win it unfairly. Every step that a scout takes in the
direction of a coveted honor should be a step in scouting. The Gold
Cross is given _not_ to one who saves life, but to a _scout_ that
saves life. Before you can win any honors in this great brotherhood,
you must first be a scout. And that means that you must have the
scout qualities.

"Scouting is no game to be won or lost, like baseball. After all,
the high award is not for what you _do_ alone, but for what you
_are_. You are not to use scouting as a means to an end.

"In trying for a high award a scout is not running a race with other
scouts. There is no spirit of contest in scouting. To be a hero,
even that is not enough. One must be a _scout_ hero. He must not use
the animals and birds and the woods to help in his quest of glory,
whether it be troop glory or individual glory. He must not ask the
birds and animals to tell him their secrets simply that he may win a
piece of silver or gold to hang on his coat. But he must learn to
be a friend to the birds and animals. For that is true scouting.

"You will notice that on the scout stationery is printed our good
motto, _'Do a good turn daily.'_ There is nothing there about high
awards. Evidently the good turn daily is considered of chief
importance. Nothing can supersede that. It stands above and apart
from all awards. Kindness, brotherliness, helpfulness--there is no
metal precious enough to make a badge