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Moderator WHEELER McMILLEN Editor-in-Chief Farm Journal and the Pathfinder Magazine
FOREST WITCRAFT Scout Executive Huron, South Dakota
HOWARD F. FOX Supervisor, Vocational Agriculture, New Castle, Pa.
VERNON NICHOLS Scoutmaster Crosby, No. Dakota
L. H. ELEAZER Cubmaster Pelion, So. Carolina]
★ We have it on good authority that 53% of the boys of America live “way out there,” in the little crossroads settlements and on the miles-apart farms.
We all know that we have a big opportunity and responsibility to reach out into that open country. We also know that it is a hard job.
To help bring this rural business into the spotlight, SCOUTING Magazine asked eight men to join in one of our Round Table discussions. These men represent all phases of rural life and of Scouting. The “moderator’s gavel” will be wielded by the Chairman of our National Committee on Rural Scouting, Wheeler McMillen, who as the Editor-in-chief of the _Farm Journal_ and the _Pathfinder Magazine_, has a host of friends throughout America.
=McMILLEN: I feel honored to join you fine men, who represent so many aspects of modern farm life. We all have one thing in common—we want that boy who lives on the farm to have a good break. Some of us believe that the Scouting program can play a big part in his growth.=
=We should face this whole question objectively and constructively. Let’s start by asking a rather blunt question: _Do rural boys really need Scouting? Or is their normal life already filled with the ingredients which make for character and good citizenship?_=
=VERNON NICHOLS, SCOUTMASTER=: They need it very much. Scouting not only builds character, but it helps especially in developing leadership, a quality often lacking in farm boys.
=HOWARD F. FOX, SUPERVISOR, VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE=: The boys who live in small towns need Scouting, but I think those who live on farms need it in less degree.
=JOE C. CARRINGTON, COUNCIL PRESIDENT=: I can’t agree with Mr. Fox. Farm boys need it even more than town boys, who have more supervised playgrounds, more church and school and club-sponsored programs. The rural boy has very little to round out his life, and really needs Scouting.