That foundation seems to me to be in the rising generation. If the whole of our youth were taken in hand and taught good citizenship, we should have a solid foundation on which our nation could stand for a long time to come. But it does not exist at present.
We have at the present time in Great Britain two million boys, of whom one-quarter to one-half a million are under good influences outside their school walls.
(See Sir John Gorst's "Children of the Nation" and Dr. Macnamara's Report.)
2,000,000 boys.
270,000 under good influence.
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Remainder = 1,730,000 independent of such.
The remainder are drifting towards "hooliganism" or bad citizenship for want of hands to guide them the right way towards being useful.
It is this remainder, nearly two million boys, that we want to tackle and reduce.
They are boys, full of spirit and enthusiasm, approaching the cross-road, where they take the turn, either to good or evil. In spite of the improved school teaching and of the good work of Boys' and Church Lads' Brigades, Y.M.C.A., and kindred associations, a large proportion of them are drifting, owing to their environments, to evil, that is, to becoming "hooligans" and ultimately "wasters" for the natural term of their lives; no good to themselves, worse than no good to their country, just from want of a guiding hand or two at the turning point of their career.