October 28, 1911.
My dear Judge Lindsey: --
Miss Lathrop has handed me your letter in regard to the Boy Scouts.
For many years at Hull-House I wished that we might find something which would give the boys pleasure and also the training which comes from military drill, without any touch of the military spirit. It seems to us that the Boy Scout movement gives this. Not a gun is allowed on the premises and all the activities of the boys are turned toward outdoor sports and trade instruction. At the same time they have the fun of the quasi-uniform and the [maneuvers]. If I thought it was at all military I would not have it for a minute, but our experience has shown that it holds a rough sort of a boy as nothing else can. Every scout is obliged to have one afternoon a week in the gymnasium quite free from drill and another afternoon in which drill is included. The whole of the drilling side is minimized although, at the same time, it is very popular with the boys.
There are several things I should like to talk over with you and I hope I shall have the pleasure of seeing you when you are next in Chicago.
Sincerely yours,
Jane Addams. [signed]
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