_Why I Believe in Scouting for Girls_ By MARY ROBERTS RINEHART [Illustration] Series No. 10 GIRL SCOUTS NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS189 Lexington AvenueNew York City Why I Believe in Scouting _By Mary Roberts Rinehart_ Girls are great idealists. No one familiar with the working of the girlmind can fail to recognize how quickly they respond to ideals. Theydream dreams, not of success, but of happiness. They look up rather thanout. But they are vague and uncertain, full of wistful yearnings that leadnowhere. Given a cause and a leader, and they will bring to it an almostpathetic eagerness, staunchness, loyalty, enthusiasm and unselfisheffort. There comes a critical time in a girl's mental and spiritual life, whenshe is waiting impatiently for young womanhood. The things of herchildhood have lost their interest. She has abandoned her dolls. Thelittle boys she played with have deserted her, and found the girl-lessassociations of the 'teens. They have their clubs, their sports, theirmeeting places. But to the young girl there is nothing but that periodof waiting. She is peculiarly isolated. Her family often finds herstrange. She is moody and dreamy. She begins to spend an almost alarmingamount of time and thought upon her appearance. The family says: "Whatin the world is the matter with Jane?" And her father suggests it is toomuch going to the moving pictures. But the truth is that Jane is idle. She does not belong, betweenbabyhood and womanhood, anywhere in the social organization. She isactive and romantic. Her days are a long waiting for maturity, and withmaturity the fulfilment of her dreams, of love, of marriage, ofmotherhood. She haunts the movies because she finds there vicariousromance and vicarious adventure. The great out-doors is hers to playin--on the screen. And at the same time, with no increased outlet for her activities, herimagination is being stimulated as never before. Books, magazines, automobiles, moving pictures, all are revealing to her this strangething we call life, which is hers to observe but not yet to live. She isa yearning onlooker. It is time to realize that hundreds of thousands of young girls in thiscountry--doubly important now that they are future citizens as well asthe potential mothers of future citizens--must be given occupation, afeeling of responsibility, a practical ideal to which they may bringtheir innate loyalty and enthusiasm. They need organized play andathletics. They need something concrete to tie to. They need to betaught, if you please, what is the "gang" spirit among boys. They needto learn that their young bodies are to be used, instead of decorated. Until they learn that, we shall have sickly mothers and puny babies. Nosingle movement for the improvement of American people as a race, noadvance of science or sanitation, can compare in importance with thenecessity for building up morally, spiritually and bodily, our futuremothers. They need to be taught certain loyalties, sex loyalty. Loyalty toideals. Loyalty to country. This last, loyalty to country, has to betaught. When a man learns to take off his hat to the flag, he has a newrespect for it. Some of our girls need to be taught honesty. They cover their dreamswith small deceits. They seek romance out of sheer boredom, and aredriven into hypocrisy. The boy has fewer dreams to conceal, and he ishonest with the honesty of fresh air and the great out-doors. When wegive our girls occupation, when we get them out of doors, when we givethem organized play in the open, there will be fewer morbid women. Give them something to do that interests them. Get them out into theair. Fill in the waiting years with work and play. Give them some rulesof life which will appeal alike to their imaginations and to theirinstinctive desire for something better. Let them look out as well asup. Nearest of all the proposed plans to cope with what an increasing numberof families are finding to be their problem, the adolescent girl, theGirl Scout movement fulfills all these requirements. It is sane, healthyand normal. It teaches honesty, purity, vigor and love of country. Andit takes the girl in her 'teens and gives her a live interest in thepresent instead of the future. It should have nation-wide support.