USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 4
USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 4
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remarkable man who was able to overcome all of the troubles and adver- sities of his boyhood and youth and attain and hold the position he acquired. He was for many years at the head of the Board of Education in Riverside and was ever active in promoting the cause of education. He also took a great interest in the public library and was president of the board for many years and to him was left the selection of the religious and philosophical works. From early life he had a desire to enter into the ministry and although not reared in the Universalist Church that was the church of his choice.
Shortly after his entry into the ministry he married and lived long enough with his companion to celebrate his golden wedding and died at a good ripe age having passed the psalmist's fourscore. He succeeded in not only building up a good congregation, but in getting up a fine building which was largely due to his efforts not only during his pastorate and after, for he never lost sight of the fact that he was always after retirement a part of the congregation and church.
The Universalists accept the doctrine of ultimate salvation for all, a belief that today is not seriously controverted by the leading denomina- tions, total depravity not really being seriously entertained.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS. The Christian Scientists were early in the field of Riverside with an organization in 1889 and in 1900 they built a fine building in Mission style on the corner of Sixth and Lemon streets at a cost of over $15,000. As is customary in that body the church was all paid for before it could be dedicated. Under Mrs. Davis, the founder, they have had remarkable success and in their case at least, "to the poor the Gospel is preached" for although they have frequently noted lecturers from abroad in public meetings in the city, nothing is ever charged for admission nor is the hat passed round.
They are probably the most earnest and steadfast body of worship- pers in Riverside, for almost to an individual they can be said to have been benefitted by the application of Christian Science. The claim that Mrs. Eddy was the discoverer of Christian Science is not well founded, for the principles of healing were well known and practiced long before Mrs. Eddy was heard of, but unquestionably she was the one who organized its devotees into a united and influential body. Not all of the followers of Mrs. Eddy are succesful healers, but undoubtedly many remarkable cures have been effected but not greater than that done by others outside the pale of their church as practiced by noted individuals. Sometimes Chris- tian Scientists are inclined to think that their methods are superior to all others and with greater authority behind them.
Healing as a religious manifestation is not now confined exclusively to the Christian Scientists for other churches have taken the matter up with more or less success. The Scientists, however, were the first who made the direct claim that they were carrying out the injunction of Jesus where he says that one of the signs that would accompany them who be- lieved in him would be healing the sick and that they would do even greater things than he did and certainly his immediate followers carried out his injunctions in being accompanied by the signs that would follow them that believed in him. Perhaps the weak point in most of the healers both in and out of the Church of Christ Scientist lies in ascribing the gift of healing to a supernatural agency in place of natural law.
The Scientists in Riverside had at one time two churches, owing to some personal differences in opinion or formula, but are again united into one body and their particular Shibboleth is pronounced in a uniform manner again.
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The Christian Scientists perhaps have been the most remarkable suc- cess of modern times and have compelled the world to acknowledge that there are invisible forces in the universe that our materialistic age not only ignored but denied. Edison has shown some material ones and the Scientists have gone further and asserted with success that in addition to material forces there are also spiritual ones that cannot always be demon- strated to the material eye.
Perhaps and beyond peradventure when the great body of our churches will demonstrate in a material way the truth of these statements there will be more of spiritual life than is at present manifested. They will be able then to show to the great body of indifferent people who are on the outside that there is more in the church and in religion than ap- pears at first sight.
All Christians assert a belief in the communion of saints, none prac- tice it except the Roman Catholic. The Catholic calls on the Saints and believes he is helped. Can anyone say that he has been calling for ages without any result? Herein lies the strength of the Roman Catholic Church showing that it is a live faith and the Protestant bodies will have to come to something similar before they attain to the power and influ- ence they aspire to.
Riverside might be termed a city of churches and possibly it has more than any other city of its size in California. The Protestant Episcopal Church, the Christian Church, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Seventh Day Baptists, the colored people have also their organizations, in addition to which the Methodists have several congregations in and around the city-Arlington and Highgrove being well represented.
The Seventh Day Adventists have always been very determined in opposition to Sunday laws and but for that opposition there might have been rigid Sunday laws enacted like there is in most of the states in the Union. However, the Adventists are so rigid and exclusive that out- siders are not drawn to them and fear appears to be to the outsider one of the main arguments used to draw people to their side.
RIVERSIDE Y. M. C. A. The Riverside Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation had its inception in 1882, when a small group of young men from several churches formed the Young Men's Christian League. Meetings were held Sunday afternoons in a building on Eleventh Street, between Lime and Mulberry. In the fall of 1883 Frank Culver of Pasadena came to Riverside and met with about ten young men, including members of the Young Men's Christian League, and a Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation was formed, meeting in the old Baptist Church on the corner of Eighth and Lemon streets.
Two rooms were rented in the building now known as the Central Block for headquarters, but they soon proved too small and a room at the corner of Eighth and Orange was rented. The association grew so rapidly that in 1886 there was agitation for a building in which to house the work. Frank Miller's offer of a lot at the corner of Main and Sixth streets was accepted and a canvass for funds was started. The building was completed in 1889, after a campaign to raise funds was conducted by Mr. G. C. Baldwin (later president of Pomona College of the State Committee of the Y. M. C. A.).
This building served as the association headquarters for twenty years until the new building on the corner of Eighth and Lemon streets was completed in 1909.
B. W. Handy was the first president of the Riverside Y. M. C. A., and is still active on the directorate. K. F. Hendry, B. B. Bush, A. A.
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Adair, D. G. Mitchell, S. C. Evans, Thos. Stephenson and several other Riversiders still living were active in the early work of the association. The new building of the association was erected in 1909, under the lead- ership of the late C. E. Rumsey, who was active president of the organ- ization for many years.
The organization is growing rapidly, having over 600 members on its rolls during 1921, and reaching over 300 additional boys and young men through extension activities.
The building provides headquarters for the American Legion, Boy Scouts and American Red Cross, and serves a meeting place for several civic and religious bodies.
Four hundred and twelve boys in its Boys' Department, 212 enrolled in gymnasium classes, forty-two boys and young men in Leader's Corps, 309 boys in boys' clubs, seventy-two in Bible study groups, thirty-four in educational courses, 803 young men using dormitory accommodations, forty women in helpful auxiliary work-these acitivities indicate the growth of the work in Riverside and magnify the need for the completion of the building with the remodeling of some of the departmens for the modern program of activities promoted by over 9,000 organized Y. M. C. A.'s throughout the world, with a membership of over 1,500,000.
BOY SCOUT MOVEMENT IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY. (By C. J. Carlson, Boy Scout Executive for Riverside County.) The general interest of the citizens of Riverside County in the Boy Scout Program challenges the in- telligent interest of everyone having the welfare of the community at heart. Since October 1, 1920, the Riverside County Council has been laying the foundation in the way of organization for the boys of River- side County that they might partake of the spare time education which the Boy Scout Program offers.
Riverside County has about 2,300 boys of scout age, that is, over twelve years of age, for whose general welfare the work of the Boy Scouts of America is being promoted in an intensive way by the Riverside City Council. It is well that people should understand the aims and general policies of an organization that appeals so vitally to boys.
The organization is governed by the National body with headquar- ters in New York City, and is charted by Congress and incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. The purpose of the organization will be found in Section Three of the Constitution and By-Laws which read as follows :
"That the purpose of this corporation shall be to promote, through organization, and co-operation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scout craft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods which are now in common use by Boy Scouts."
And also from Article Three-Principles and Policies, Section One.
"The Boy Scouts of American maintain that no boy can grow into the best kind of citizenship without recognizing his obligation to God. In the first part of the Boy Scout's oath or pledge the boy promises, 'On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the scout law.' The recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe, and the grateful acknowledgement of His favors and blessings, is necessary to the best type of citizenship, and is a whole- some thing in the education of the growing boy. No matter what the boy may be-Catholic or Protestant or Jew-this fundamental need of good citizenship should be kept before him. The Boy Scouts of America therefore recognize the religious element in the training of a boy, but it
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is absolutely non-sectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the organization or institution with which the boy scout is connected shall give definite attention to his religious life."
It will be readily seen that an organization which operates under such principles and policies can make of itself a great power in the life of every boy who is given the opportunity to partake of the program. Scouting develops the power of initiative and makes a boy remarkably resourceful, in that the whole program teaches him to use every available means from without and from within to make of himself all that God intended him to be.
Scouting includes, instruction in first aid, life saving, tracking, signal- ing, campcraft, woodcraft, nature study, chivalry, and all of the handi- crafts. No expensive equipment is required. All that is needed is a group of boys, a competent leader, a meeting place, and the great out-of- doors, for the promotion of the Boy Scout work.
Dean Russell of Columbia University has said that the Boy Scout Program is "the most significant educational contribution of our time with a program that appeals to a boy's instincts and a method adapted to a boy's nature." The Boy Scout learns by doing. The movement pro- vides a host of interesting worth-while things for the boy to do at a time when he is extremely restless and looking for an outlet for his great activity. As someone has said, "It is learning made attractive and is literally educational in that it does not plaster something on from the out- side, but plants something within the heart of the boy or arouses some- thing that is already latent within his heart that makes for constructive habits and occupations in a way that provides an outlet for his unbounded energy."
The need of such a program is obvious to anyone who is at all in touch with boys of the present day. It has been estimated that the average hoy who is not working, but simply attending school, has on the average of 3,000 hours spare time per year. As a rule this spare time period pro- vides a point of contact for the spirited and energetic boy with evil influ- ences and companions. This undirected or misdirected spare time period is utilized by the boy in a way to suit his own characteristic fancies. Dur- ing this period the boy is guided by his natural tendencies and character- istics into ways of thinking and into the doing of things which tend to destroy whatever good work may have been done by the home, church or school. Boys have many characteristics, but perhaps they can be classified into four outstanding ones, viz : Unbounded energy, adventure, creative and inventive impulse, and the religious impulse. The program of the Boy Scouts of America is so constructed and builded as to appeal to all of these instincts in a way that receives immediate response from practically every boy twelve years of age.
Someone has said that "Character is the sum total of our emotions, instincts and attitudes as modified by experiences which govern the indi- vidual response to a situation." The building of a character or a life is a slow process, but if builded constructively it partakes of a permanency that is almost fixed, especially when character building habits have been formed between the ages of twelve and eighteen years.
The energy in the life of a boy, if properly directed, is the propelling force that will make of him a clean-cut, upstanding, honorable citizen, equipped to do his full duty toward God, home and country. On the other hand, the boy's impulses and characteristics may be utilized by evil minds and environments that will build a life detrimental to the boy himself and to society. A boy's energy must be properly utilized, his spirit of adventure should be gratified, and creative impulse must find
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outlet, and his hero worship must be stimulated and directed, along with these other characteristics, by leadership in a program that will appeal to the boy's mind and heart.
The program of the Boy Scouts of America does this very thing in that it adapts itself to the boy as he is, not as one might wish to find him, presenting a program of activities, which the boy not only accepts volun- tarily, but one which the boy takes into his very life and being. Every detail of the Boy Scout program is carried out in actual life, and the things learned by the boy actually become habits. He is taught to use his eyes, his ears, hands and feet to the best advantage, and he is also taught to use his head.
Before a boy can become a Boy Scout he must meet certain require- ments. Here we will quote Article Six of the Constitution and By-Laws of Program, Section One and Section Two.
"The program of the Boy Scouts of America shall be carried out throughout the organization of boys into groups, consisting of at least one and not more than four patrols of eight boys each, under the leadership of a man of clean, virile and high moral character, to be known as the scoutmaster. Only boys who have passed their twelfth birthday shall be eligible to membership. Authority for enrolling more than thirty-two boys in a troop may be secured from the chartered local council having jurisdiction, or in case the troop is not under the supervision of a council from the National Council."
All scouts must know and subscribe to the Scout Oath and Law as follows :
On my honor I will do my best-
1. To do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout law :
2. To help other people at all times ;
3. To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
1. A scout is trustworthy.
A scout's honor is to be trusted. If he were to violate his honor by telling a lie, or by cheating, or by not doing exactly a given task, when trusted on his honor, he may be directed to hand over his scout badge.
2. A scout is loyal.
He is loyal to all to whom loyalty is due ; his scout leader, his home, and parents and country.
3. A scout is helpful.
He must be prepared at any time to save life, help injured persons, and share the home duties. He must do at least one good turn to some- body every day.
4. A scout is friendly.
He is a friend to all and a brother to every other scout.
5. A scout is courteous.
He is polite to all, especially to women, children, old people, and the weak and helpless. He must not take pay for being helpful or courteous.
6. A scout is kind.
He is a friend to animals. He will not kill nor hurt any living creature needlessly, but will strive to save and protect all harmless life.
7. A scout is obedient.
He obeys his parents, scoutmaster, patrol leader, and all other duly constituted authorities.
8. A scout is cheerful.
He smiles whenever he can. His obedience to orders is prompt and cheery. He never shirks nor grumbles at hardships.
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9. A scout is thrifty.
He does not wantonly destroy property. He works faithfully, wastes nothing, and makes the best use of his opportunities. He saves his money so that he may pay his own way, be generous to those in need, and helpful to worthy objects. He may work for pay, but must not receive tips for courtesies or good turns.
10. A scout is brave.
He has the courage to face danger in spite of fear, and to stand up for the right against the coaxings of friends or the jeers and threats of enemies, and defeat does not down him.
11. A scout is clean.
He keeps clean in body and thought. stands for clean speech, clean sport, clean habits, and travels with a clean crowd.
12. A scout is reverent.
He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties, and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.
There are three principal steps in the Boy Scout Program ; tenderfoot, second class and first class scout. The requirements, in the main, for each class are as follows :
REQUIREMENTS FOR TENDERFOOT
1. Know the scout law, motto, sign, salute and significance of the badge.
2. Know the competition and history of the national flag and the customary forms or respect due it.
3. Tie all of the following knots : square or reef, sheet-bend, bowling, fisherman's, sheepshank, slip, cove hitch, timber hitch and two half- hitches.
He then takes the scout oath, is enrolled as a tenderfoot, and is entitled to wear the tenderfoot badge.
To BECOME A SECOND CLASS SCOUT
A tenderfoot must pass to the satisfaction of the recognized local scout authorities, the following tests :
1. At least one month's service as a tenderfoot.
2. Elementary signaling: know the semaphore, or general service alphabet.
3. Elementary first aid and bandaging.
4. Track half a mile in twenty-five minutes.
5. Go a mile in twelve minutes at scout's pace-about fifty steps running and fifty walking, alternately.
6. Use properly knife or hatchet.
7. Prove ability to build a fire in the open, using not more than two matches.
8. Cook a quarter of a pound of meat and two potatoes in the open without cooking utensils.
9. Earn and deposit at least one dollar in a public bank.
10. Know the sixteen principal points of the compass.
To BECOME A FIRST CLASS SCOUT
The second class scout must have served two months as a second class scout and pass the following tests :
1. Swim fifty yards.
2. Earn and deposit at least two dollars in a public bank.
3. Send and receive a message by semaphore, including conventional signs, thirty letters per minute, or by the general service code (Interna- tion Morse), sixteen letters per minute, including conventional signs.
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4. Make a round trip alone (or with another scout) to a point at least seven miles away (fourteen miles in all going on foot, or rowing a boat, and write a satisfactory account of the trip and things observed.
5. Advanced first aid.
6. Preparation and cooking of food in the open.
7. Read a map correctly, and draw, from field notes made on the spot, an intelligible rough sketch map.
8. Use properly an axe for felling or trimming light timber ; or pro- duce an article of carpentry or cabinet-making or metal work made him- self. Explain the method followed.
9. Judge distance, size, number, height and weight within twenty- five per cent.
10. Describe fully from observation ten species of trees or plants or six species of animals, and describe three constellations of stars.
11. Furnish satisfactory evidence that he has put into practice in his daily life the principles of the scout oath and law.
12. Enlist a boy trained by himself in the requirements of a tender- foot.
Riverside County has to date forty-two troops of Boy Scouts, scat- tered over every section of the county with an enrollment of over 600 boys. The objective for the year is for fifty troops with an enrollment of 1,000 boys. The Riverside County Council is incorporated as a non- profit corporation and will promote the Boy Scout Program as provided by the Constitution and By-Laws of the Boy Scouts of America in every detail, including hikes and camps.
A permanent camp site in the San Jacinto Mountains has been given to the Boy Scouts of Riverside County by C. L. Emerson of Idyll- wild, and a summer camp will be conducted this year along lines approved by the National Council.
The county organization is operating under a charter of the first class and has made excellent progress in the Boy Scout movement because of the splendid co-operation of the citizens and scoutmasters who have generously given of their time and talents for the promotion of this excel- lent program for boys in building for Riverside County a citizenship of high quality.
PROHIBITION. Riverside has always been known for its sobriety and hostility to the saloon, and possibly if all had been of the same habits as the pioneers there would never have been within its limits any saloon at all. Under the county government which prevailed at the time of settle- ment and for years after any one who chose could get a license to sell liquor on payment of five dollars per month. The class of labor that then was to be had on the outside, there being no other place to go, spent much of its spare time in the saloon and there being no regulation of the saloon as to hours and days they were kept open as late at night as was conven- ient and profitable, Sunday and all. This was the case, too, with the stores which would be open until nine or ten o'clock at night and on Sunday they would be open for some hours in the forepart of the day. The saloon question was one of the leading topics that induced the people to move for incorporation as a city of the sixth class. San Bernardino itself had more or less worked antagonistic to the wishes of the people of Riverside in the fixing of water rates, regulation of liquor selling and in many other ways, but in any case the city was growing steadily and had now a population of 3,000 or more and it was felt that self govern- ment was the best thing for all concerned. Then there was always a population of irresponsibles consisting of Indians and the flotsam and
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jetsam of a population corresponding somewhat to our modern tramp who were always on the move and who whenever they got any money spent it in the saloon.
Now the Indian (although it was contrary to law to sell him liquor could always get it when he got money), has always been a peacable citi- zen when sober, was a different being when drunk and generally kept among his own people when he was drinking, still he was always a menace to sober people. He was not to be blamed, although for under Spanish customs wine and brandy, especially wine, was looked upon as one of the necessities, and was often paid as part of his wages in liquor by unthink- ing people. However, it is not to be said against the Californian that drunkenness was one of his sins, for as a rule the Californians were a sober race, even when their fiestas or merry makings were going on. It is not to be supposed that the Indian was naturally a drunkard either, but under American rule and American custom of drinking stronger liquor the Indian could not control himself when under the influence of liquor and then there was trouble.
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