birds, trees, and flowers, and so to make our country more beautiful and not more ugly, because we have lived in it.

The same qualities that mean success or failure to the nation as a whole, mean success or failure in men and boys individually. The boy scouts must war against the same foes and vices that most hurt the nation; and they must try to develop the same virtues that the nation most needs. To be helpless, self-indulgent, or wasteful, will turn the boy into a poor kind of man, just as the indulgence in such vices by the men of a nation means the ruin of the nation. Let the boy stand stoutly against his enemies both from without and from within, let him show courage in confronting fearlessly one set of enemies, and in controlling and mastering the others.

Any boy is worth nothing if he has not courage, courage to stand up against the forces of evil, and courage to stand up in the right path. Let him be unselfish and gentle, as well as strong and brave. It should be a matter of pride to him that he is not afraid of any one, and that he scorns not to be gentle and considerate to every one, and especially to those who are weaker than he is. If he does not treat his mother and sisters well, then he is a poor creature no matter what else he does; just as a man who does not treat his wife well is poor kind of citizen no matter what his other qualities may be. And do not ever forget that courtesy, politeness, and good manners must not be neglected. They are not little things, because they are used at every turn in daily life.

Let the boy remember also that in addition to courage, unselfishness, and fair dealing, he must have efficiency, he must have knowledge, he must cultivate a sound body and a good mind, and train himself so that he can act with

quick decision in any crisis that may arise.

muscle,

Mind, eye,

all must be trained so that the boy can master

himself, and thereby learn to master his fate.

Very sincerely yours,

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

CAMP FIRE GIRLS OF AMERICA

GERTRUDE E. MCVENN

Within a few years after the Boy Scouts had been organized, a movement was started in America to organize girls into bands that they might be encouraged to do womanly things, just as boys were learning to do manly things.

A Camp Fire is really a girls' club made up of girls from twelve to twenty years of age. The leader is known as the "Guardian of the Fire." These girls stand for Work, Health, and Love. Fire is taken as the emblem of service and romance. It stands for friendship, for hospitality, for love of mankind. Camp Fire Girls believe that health is a blessing and that every girl should know and practice the rules of health. They think that love of mankind which goes hand in hand with service is the greatest thing in the world.

Through this association girls are to learn the value of coöperation. They will become interested in what is happening in the world about them. They will be trained to meet emergencies and to be helpful—all of which means they are preparing to be healthy, wide-awake, and useful

women.

There are seven points in the "law" of the Camp Fire Girls:

There are three principal ranks and tests for membership. The first grade is that of Wood Gatherer. This grade is not difficult to attain. Any willing girl may be a Wood Gatherer, and as such she has few obligations. She wears a ring which is the symbol of the first degree.

The next higher grade, that of Fire Maker, is attained only by hard work. A girl must do many useful and helpful things before she can become a Fire Maker. When a girl attains to the grade of Fire Maker she is given a chain of beads as a sign of her honors. This award is made when the band is gathered around the ceremonial fire.

The highest rank among the Camp Fire Girls is that of Torch Bearer. "That light which has been given to me I desire to pass undimmed to others," is the Torch Bearer's desire. She is a leader, a guide going before and lighting the way. The Song of the Fire Makers expresses the high ideal of the Camp Fire Girls:

'As fuel is brought to the fire,

So I propose to bring

My strength,

My ambition,

My heart's desire,

My joy,

And my sorrow

To the fire

Of humankind,

For I will tend

As my fathers have tended,

And my fathers' fathers

Since time began,

The fire that is called

The love of man for man,

The love of man for God."

USING MONEY IN THE BEST WAY

CAROLYN SHERWIN BAILEY

Watching Uncle Sam make the money that we use in the United States is like living inside a story from the Arabian Nights. It starts in the deep cavern of some dark mine where miners, wearing lamps in their caps, and working long hours with picks and shovels, dig up the precious gold and silver that make our coins.

The ore is then sent to the United States mint which is nearest the part of the country where it was mined. The mints are at Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, and Carson City. The mints at Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver really coin money. The others prepare the gold and silver for coinage.

The first step in making a five dollar gold piece or a silver dollar is to purify the bullion, as the metal is called. It has lead and other foreign substances mixed with it as it comes from the mines, which must be melted out.

After this the gold is hardened by being mixed with other ores. Pure gold would scratch and bend so that a coin made of it would soon wear out. So Uncle Sam adds to the gold one-ninth of its weight in silver and copper, and then it is shaped into huge bars, ready to go to one of the United States mints where coins are made.

There are great metal rollers in these mints between which the melted bars of gold are run until they are pressed flat to the proper thickness for making a coin. This rolling process hardens the gold so that it must be heated again to bring it to the proper point for smoothing and cutting.

The little gold coins are cut next in something the same