[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 29, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E200-E201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LAMAR S. SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 29, 2000

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this month the 90th anniversary of 
the founding of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was celebrated in our 
nation's Capitol. At the event I had the honor of hearing the remarks 
of Norman R. Augustine, who describes below what scouting means to 
America and the impact it has had on his life. I believe it is 
appropriate that at the beginning of the new millennium we pause to 
reflect on the accomplishments of this organization. It is a tribute to 
the vision of the founders of the BSA that the basic ideals upon which 
Scouting was founded have endured and are as important at the dawn of 
the 21st century as they were in the early years of the 20th century. I 
hope you will enjoy Norman R. Augustine's testimonial as much as I did.

 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, FEBRUARY 8, 2000, 
                            WASHINGTON, D.C.

       I have been asked this evening to draw upon my 56 years of 
     membership in scouting to describe ``in five minutes or 
     less'' what scouting means to America and to me. The task 
     brings to mind the time my friend, David Roderick, then 
     Chairman of U.S. Steel, was given an introduction so brief 
     that it noted simply that he was one of America's most gifted 
     businessmen, and as evidence thereof it was said he had made 
     a million dollars in California oil.
       Approaching the podium, it was obvious that David was 
     uncomfortable. He began by saying that it had not been 
     California, it had been Pennsylvania; and it had not been 
     oil, it was coal. Further, it had not been a million dollars 
     it was $10,000; and it wasn't he, it was his brother. And he 
     hadn't made it, he lost it!

[[Page E201]]

       So bravely and perhaps unwisely disregarding the hazards of 
     brevity, I will . . . in the spirit of scouting . . . ``do my 
     best.''
       With respect to the impact of scouting on America, that is, 
     ironically, the easier of the two questions for me to answer. 
     Simply stated, scouting helps build new generations of 
     leaders . . . leaders who understand that character does 
     count. On many occasions I have noted that I learned more 
     about leadership from scouting and sports than from any of 
     the other things I have ever done.
       In my youth, the professional and volunteer leaders whom I 
     came to know, and who not
       I suspect that if one were suddenly required to choose from 
     a hundred total strangers a single individual to whom to 
     entrust one's life or our country's future, and were 
     permitted but a single question of them, a good start would 
     be, ``have any of you been scouts'' or better yet . . . ``are 
     any of you eagle scouts?''
       Turning to the impact of scouting on my personal life, 
     first and foremost scouting afforded extraordinary 
     opportunities to build lasting and remarkable bonds between 
     my father and myself and my son and myself. My son is an 
     eagle scout, and we continued into adulthood many of the 
     pursuits we first enjoyed together in scouting. The last 
     adventure we undertook before he died this past year found us 
     standing together on the north pole, much as we had stood 
     together on mountain peaks in Colorado during his youth. Many 
     of my fondest memories of Greg were inspired by our 
     experiences in scouting.
       That is not to say that those experiences were invariable 
     easy. I have been to both the north pole and the south pole, 
     but by far the coldest I have ever been was on a cub scout 
     picnic! And there was the time when I was the only adult 
     available to take my son's patrol on a long-anticipated hike. 
     There was one minor problem: My leg was in a cast and I was 
     relegated to walking with crutches. I assembled the boys and 
     told them, very forcefully I thought, that I would serve as 
     their adult leader . . . but only on the condition that they 
     never get so far ahead of me on the trail that they could not 
     see me: Whenever I should begin to drop out of sight they 
     were to stop immediately and wait for me to catch up. All 
     expressed enthusiastic agreement with this policy . . . so 
     the hike began.
       That was the last time I laid eyes on any of the boys until 
     I came across the campsite they had established for the 
     night!
       Scouting of course helps prepare one for the challenges of 
     life. In that regard I recall fondly the time my son and I 
     became lost while backpacking in the rockies. I immediately 
     began sighting nearby mountain tops with my trusty compass. 
     Greg, being of another generation, smugly whipped out from 
     his pack a hand-held GPS receiver. After a few minutes of 
     button-pushing and several puzzled glances at
       This sort of thing may be the reason why my loyal wife, 
     mother of an Eagle Scout, wife of an Eagle Scout, has over 
     the years gradually come to consider ``roughing it'' to mean 
     a slow bell hop!
       Those not familiar with scouts and scouting might ask, do 
     you really enjoy sleeping in the rain with a rock poking you 
     in the ribs after a dinner of burned hot dogs and sandy 
     marshmallows? Truthfully, the answer is no.
       So then why do we do it?
       I found the answer to this question when I was serving as 
     Under Secretary of the Army and was visiting the 82nd 
     Airborne Division. Talking with a grizzled old paratrooper 
     who had parachuted more than 1,000 times, someone remarked 
     that he certainly must like to jump. To our utter surprise, 
     he responded, ``I hate it''. Asked why, then, in a volunteer 
     Army, did he do it, his answer was simple: ``I like to be 
     around the kind of people who do.''
       There is in fact a certain kinship among all who have ever 
     been involved in scouting. For example, there was the 
     occasion a couple of years ago when I was leaving a Cleveland 
     hotel and was being assisted in loading my baggage into a 
     waiting car by the doorman, a large and powerfully built 
     black man with a fetching smile.
       Noting the scout pin in my lapel, he remarked, ``I was a 
     scout 22 years ago.'' He went on to point out with pride, ``I 
     am an Eagle Scout,'' to which I responded, ``So am I.'' He 
     said, with obvious satisfaction, ``I can still say the scout 
     law.'' I assured him I could as well. Oblivious to the group 
     of people standing around us on the curb awaiting their cabs, 
     my new-found friend looked at me with a twinkle in his eye 
     and decided to put me to the test: ``Trustworthy'', he said! 
     ``Loyal'', I responded. ``Helpful'', he replied. From there 
     on we sort of continued together, ``Friendly, courteous, 
     kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and 
     reverent.''
       When we finished, the crowd on the curb burst into 
     applause! As we shook hands to depart, I realized that this 
     man was an instant friend simply because he had been a scout 
     22 years ago--and I one some 56 years ago.
       The newspapers are fond of referring to wayward souls who 
     have strayed from the beaten path by noting, ``He is no boy 
     scout.'' One of the finest compliments I can imagine anyone 
     could pay to me is to say, ``He is a boy scout''.
       And I know . . . because I am also a rocket scientist!

       

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