Frank made a suggestion at this point which I thought was very good. “There are other debating clubs,” he said, “we ought to get acquainted with. There are societies for doing other kinds of work which is worth while. There is the Epworth League, and the Christian Endeavor Society, and the Boy Scouts, and the High School literary society, and the Girls’ Library Club, and lots of organizations which are just as good as ours. I think it would be great to get together with them just as much as we can—have joint programmes and all that sort of thing, you know. It might be good for them, and I know it would be fine for us.”
“Splendid!” I could not help exclaiming.
“I move that it be one of the duties of the President to see these clubs and carry out this idea,” said George Perkins. This motion was carried enthusiastically. After more discussion the enumeration of the other duties of the officers was left to a committee.
One office was created for which I suppose I am responsible. The boys felt pretty “cocky” and Jack said something about the good work they were going to do in their club. They had asked me before to take part in their discussion and I ventured to ask: “How will you know whether your work is good or not?”
“Well,” Charlie Taylor replied, “when we have a debate with that Onarga bunch and lick them good and plenty, I guess they’ll know we are doing good work.”
“Well, we may not find judges who will stand for ‘lick them good and plenty’ arguments,” interrupted Frank. “That kind of talk won’t go in a dignified debating club.”
“Anyway,” I replied, “suppose you don’t know what kind of work you are doing until the result of some debate contest tells you. Isn’t it quite a while to wait?”
“I tell you what, boys,” I continued. “I know folks say there is a great deal of education in learning through our mistakes, and of course there is. But there is also a lot of energy wasted in doing things the wrong way. We would look well, wouldn’t we, if we insisted in finding out for ourselves every fact in geography or physics when we have available the accumulated experience of centuries. So don’t try to do it all alone, boys. Get some older men who have gone through the mill themselves and get them to act as your critics and advisers. You will save a lot of time and get along much better.”
This advice seemed good, and they adopted the following section: “The President shall appoint at each session of the club a Critic, whose duty it shall be to criticize the conduct of the meeting and of the individual members in all respects and to render to the club such other help in advice and counsel as may seem wise to him. Such Critic shall, when possible, be appointed from the honorary members of the club.”
When they came to the question of membership there was a hot debate. There was an almost even division on the question of admitting the girls. There was no nonsense about the boys; they were not rough or boorish on the one hand, nor “sissified” on the other. One faction contended stoutly that it would be a good thing to have the girls with them. They urged the difference in the minds of boys and girls and felt that any question would be better understood if they had both points of view about it.