these matters they fix their attention upon the civic and moral
virtues and overlook the instincts of activity and sociability which
call the gang into being, and the club degenerates into a preachy
Sunday- school class.

[Illustration: The boys need a chance to get together.]

In organizing clubs, or rather in presenting opportunities for the
organization of clubs, we must recognize that bodily activity,
taking the form of athletics, or of workshop effort, or of camping,
hunting, etc., is a fundamental condition of healthy growth for the
boys and girls. As every group must have its meeting place, this
should be first provided, and it should be of a nature that allows
gymnastics and hammering and boxing to go on without any
restrictions beyond those required by the nature of the little
animals. That is, there is need for sleep and rest and meals--and
perhaps certain definite hours for school and church--but beyond
such disagreeable though necessary interruptions the meeting place
of the club should be a busy place at all decent hours. We are
tempted to force literature and debating upon our clubs; these
things usually come later, and appeal at best to but relatively few
boys. Literature and debating are good, but they can never take the
place of parallel bars and boxing gloves and hammer and saw.

We are also tempted to pick out the boys for the clubs that we are
interested in. This is a serious mistake. It is this sort of thing
that causes the failure of so many well-meaning attempts to redeem
the children of the "slums" or of the street. We must let the groups
form spontaneously; the boys' instincts are keener in detecting the
sneak and the coward and the traitor than yours are, and if the club