neighbours; and these she may get as well from England. There is no reason at all for France being flooded with chemical products, dyeing materials, drugs, electrical engines, etc., coming from Germany or made by the Germans in France under the mask of French companies. France has money, men and, in nearly all departments, the requisite raw materials. Let us hope that, after the war, French industrials and tradesmen will have a full comprehension of their task and of the fields open to their activity; and that both financiers and capitalists will foster the enterprising spirit of their country and understand that it is absurd to lend money, at a low rate of interest, to industrial undertakings abroad, when it is possible to use it in stimulating the creation of useful associations at home. German penetration has been the more dangerous in France because it was carried on amid a population which was not always well-informed enough to perceive, or courageous enough to oppose, the schemes of the invaders. Strange to say, a people which has shown as much gallantry on the battlefield as at any time of its glorious history, is sometimes timid in business ventures. This timidity does not prevent Frenchmen from exporting their capital; on the contrary, they might be blamed for having, in many cases, opened credits in favour of foreign States that did not deserve it. It is rather a kind of laziness which prevents them, after having worked hard and put aside important savings, from looking personally after undertakings in which they take a financial interest. They did not understand that in many branches a fertile field was open before them in their own country.

Some people have gone so far as to contend that German intervention was, after all, of some real use. Nobody raised any objection to Herr Thyssen adding, year by year, more acres to his Normandy estates. He considered that, even if the bowels of the earth failed to furnish his works with all the minerals he expected, it was a safe investment to get good pastures and fertile wheat-fields in the Cotentin. But French people should henceforth remember the eloquent appeal which Montchrestien, their great economist of the 17th century, addressed to their ancestors: Foreigners enter freely the room where we are trying our arms and learning how

to fence; they become aware of our strokes; they fight with us and very often against us. In one word, they know all our fencing, and we do not know theirs.' Some German writers, for instance Herr Rommel, try to justify the infiltration of their fellow-countrymen in France by contending that it is due to the natural law of communicating vessels; the water must stand at the same level in both. On one side the population is too dense, on the other side too thin; is this not sufficient to explain why the sons of the larger families fill the rooms where there are fewer children? One of the secret supplements of the 'Deutsche Export Revue,' which is sent only to German subscribers, declares that, in order to conquer a country economically, it is necessary to export into it men; this has been done with the tenacity which is one of the features of the German character. Where the ground was favourable, as in Antwerp, they flooded it. In France, where they knew that public sentiment was, in a certain sense, against them, and where they met, with powerful national organisations, they acted more modestly. But everywhere they were doing their underground work, trying to extend their influence, to penetrate all the secrets of the country of which they were the guests, and to prepare in silence a way for their armies. If things had continued thus for a decade or two longer, one may ask what would have stopped the German progress in France. The great shock which has wakened all the energies of the nation has also shown the right way to those who are in charge of its economical future. One must think deeply about the lessons which are taught by this German penetration, which was as remarkable for its organisation as it was dangerous in its consequences.

RAPHAËL-GEORGES LÉVY.

Art. 7.-THE BOY SCOUT MOVEMENT.

THE Boy Scout Movement owes its origin to the genius of Lieut.-General Sir Robert Baden-Powell. The idea of training boys in scouting dates from 1884, when he applied it to recruits in his regiment, and, in revised form, from 1897, to young soldiers in the 5th Dragoon Guards. He had found that it was necessary to develope a man's character before putting upon him the routine training of drill. The system was based on education as opposed to instruction, and was an evolution of the ideas of Epictetus, the code of the Knights, the Zulus and Red Indians, Dr Jahn, Sir William Smith, Dr Arnold, Thompson Seton, Sir Robert's own father, and others. The possibility of putting responsibility on boys and training them seriously was brought to the proof on a small scale during the siege of Mafeking, when Sir Robert and Lord Edward Cecil raised a corps of boys. The success of the experiment was so great, that the possibility of further developments, on an extended scale, was forced on the attention of the originators of the idea.

When Sir Robert came home from South Africa in 1902, he found his book, 'Aids to Scouting,' being used in schools (and by Boy Organisations) for teaching boys. As the book had been written for soldiers, it was not really suitable for boys. An experimental camp for boys, under Sir Robert's own direction, was held in 1907; and as the result of the work there carried out the book was re-written, as 'Scouting for Boys,' in 1908. At that time there was no intention of having a separate organisation of Boy Scouts. Rather was it thought that the Boys' Brigade, the Junior Y.M.C.A., the Church Lads' Brigade, and other similar organisations would utilise the idea. However, a large number of boys and men, outside these organisations, took up the idea; and it was found necessary to form some kind of a directorate to control it. This directorate, at first, consisted only of three persons, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Major McLaren, and Miss Macdonald; they did their work, with the help of a grant of 500l. from the late Lord Strathcona, in a room provided by Mr Arthur Pearson. The movement grew and assumed such proportions that Sir Robert gave

up the army in 1910, in order to be able to devote his whole time and energy to the Scouts. The methods, aims and organisation underwent close examination by the Privy Council in 1910; and a Royal Charter of Incorporation was granted. His Majesty the King became Patron, and H.R.H. the Prince of Wales became Chief Scout for Wales.

Such, in bare outline, is the origin and development of the movement. At the present time the cowboy hat and the bare knees of the Scout are such a familiar sight that the scoffer-and there were plenty in 1910-has ceased to regard them as a legitimate target for his banter. Further, in a vague kind of way, many people are even beginning to realise that the picturesque uniform and uncanny cries of the Scout conceal possibilities of educational and moral progress of a high and serious character. At the same time, it is amazing that, after almost six years of marked progress and development, so few people have anything but the most indefinite ideas as to what the Scout Movement really means. There are people who think it is 'good for the boys,' especially slum boys, because it may keep them out of mischief. There are bitter anti-militarists who regard it as a dodge of the conscription party and oppose it accordingly. There are military men who see in it the same idea, but regard it as merely playing at soldiers.' Not one of these numerous classes has caught the merest glimpse of the ideas of the founder. Here and there may be found some man of note-statesmen like Lord Rosebery, educationists like Mr Sadler-who has realised what it may mean to the nation, and who has not hesitated to express his approval in unmeasured terms.

It

To put the whole thing in a nutshell, Scouting is a moral force-a game perhaps, but a serious game, a matter (as Lord Rosebery has said) 'of high importance, inspiring and uplifting every detail of a boy's life. is a great fellowship, embodied to preserve and observe great principles-self-help and help to others, patriotism, loyalty, honour, faith and duty.' During the few years of its existence, this movement for the development of character has laid its hands on the whole civilised world, and has spread with the rapidity of a new faith. At the end of 1913 there were close on 200,000 Scouts of all

ranks in the United Kingdom and in the Overseas Dominions. It is estimated that in foreign countries there are at least half a million. Of these, the greater number, 300,000, are in the United States of America. In Germany there are over 50,000. There is not one of these hundreds of thousands of recruits but has felt an influence, such as the ordinary systems of education have failed, in greater or less degree, to apply. The influence has been felt most where it is most needed. It is like washing; the results are most apparent where it is most required; the need, however, is universal.

A moral movement rests upon a set of principles or rules, which its adherents must recognise, understand, and be prepared to follow. The moral basis of the Scout Movement is the Scout Law. It may be described as the Boys' Decalogue. It is in a language which they understand, bears a message which they recognise, and is a call to action which they are willing to follow. No boy can be enrolled as a Scout until he has promised, on his honour, to keep this Law.

The following is a brief statement of the Law:

1. Honour.-A Scout's honour is to be trusted.

2. Loyalty-A Scout is loyal to the King and his officers, to his country and to his employers.

3. Helpfulness.-A Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others.

4. Friendship.-A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs.

5. Courtesy.-A Scout is courteous, especially to women and children.

6. Kindness to animals.-A Scout is a friend to animals. 7. Obedience.-A Scout obeys the orders of his patrol leader, scoutmaster, and parents, without question.

8. Cheerfulness.-A Scout smiles and whistles under all circumstances.

9. Thrift.-A Scout is thrifty.

10. Purity.-A Scout is pure in thought, word, and deed.

It will be noticed that these laws are all commands to the boy to do or be something, not to forbear doing or being something. A boy wants to be actively, not passively, virtuous. It is easier for him to help his mother by weeding the garden than to sit still and be