We all know what a miserable thing a game becomes when it is not played according to the rules. If we cannot trust our opponents to play fair, the spirit of the whole game is lowered, and we are forced to not only pay attention to our own play but feel obliged to watch our opponents and the umpire at every point. A game like this, where there is suspicion of foul play, either on one or both sides, ceases to be play, because there can be comparatively little enjoyment in it. There is no confidence in the honor of our opponents, and therefore there is no respect and there can be no friendship. When foul play is suspected on one side, It offers a temptation to the other side to behave in the same way, and a lack of self-respect takes the place of the sure trust and loyal confidence that heightens the enjoyment of the game between friends.
The fact is that the rules of the game are the foundation of the game; because, when the rules are not kept and the game ceases to be play, it becomes a scramble or a swindling match. And for this reason fair play has been the thing which men of our race have always loved most of all, because it represents faithfulness to an obligation of honor. True sportsmanship rests upon this foundation: that a man would rather lose a point, and indeed lose the whole game, than play against the rules; just as a soldier would prefer a thousand times to be killed than to be a coward and neglect his duty.
The presence of an umpire, of course, does not mean that players are not to be trusted, and that it is the umpire's duty to be a kind of policeman and so prevent foul play. The umpire's business in the game is to decide questions according to the rules, when the judgement of one player may honestly differ from that of another, and so to save time and settle all questions as promptly as possible.
The rules of the game really form a solemn agreement according to which the players have decided beforehand to play; and, therefore, a deliberate breach of the rules is just as much a violation of honor as the breaking of a business agreement or a treaty between nations.
In a game of ball, a many may at some time be tempted to claim a run, without having touched second base; and, even in the excitement of the moment, we must compel ourselves to stand up for the truth at all costs and realize the obligations of honor which it is our duty to hold sacred. As American Scouts we have taken Abraham Lincoln as our standard bearer; and this is just what he meant when he said: "I may fail, but I am bound to be true."
This same principle is recognized in all professions and employments, -- wherever men work together and depend upon one another to carry on their work. Many of the agreements are, so-called, unwritten laws and depend only upon the general sense of honor which grows finer and finer in a man in proportion as he is faithful to the plain obligations of duty about which nobody can make any mistake.
It is easy to see, for instance, that the cashier of a bank cannot steal the bank's funds without a breach of honor; but it is not so obvious to young and inexperienced people that, if a committee of men are working together for some common end, either in politics or business or any other field, it is not honorable for one or a few to work on their own account privately, without consulting their associates. In business, in politics, in war, and in every other line of action, there is the same obligation to "respect the rules of the game", whether they are the laws of the land, or written agreements between men, or else unwritten and even unspoken agreements which are taken for granted as a matter of course.
The people who settled this country in the early days of our history brought with them a tradition, or custom, which had been handed down from one generation to another, -- which was against all underhanded and sneaking attempts, in any line, to take a mean advantage of any one else. The same tradition exists among true gentlemen of all nations, but there seemed to be a particular emphasis put upon it by the old Anglo-Saxons which is greatly appreciated in this country by men who are descended from other races. To read other people's letters without their knowledge or consent; to listen to, or try to overhear private conversations between other people; to accept favors and then talk meanly about those who have benefitted us, -- all such things are underhanded and squirmy acts which keep people in the habit of breaking the rules of the game. Among all decent people such acts are considered despicable and weak, and the unwritten law requires that every one should, in his secret heart, close his eyes to what he is not meant to see; stop his ears to what he is not meant to hear, and keep his mouth sealed to protect another's secret. It is just because these little, mean, slimy things can be done so often, without being found out, that they are so mean; but they are often betrayed by the very tone and manner of the people who practice them; for men and women, whether old or young, who love to be straightforward and aboveboard just as they love fresh air, have a bearing and a manner which can not e successfully imitated, and which is very different from that of a sneak.
The spirit of faithfulness to all written or unwritten obligations results in confidence and happiness, because these laws and agreements represent really the groundwork of society which makes decent and happy human lives possible; but the thing which gives it its special enjoyment and arouses in us on certain occasions a thrill of enthusiasm, is that it requires the sacrifice of all the mean and selfish things which stand in its way. We love to think of Hobson sinking the Merrimac to block the harbor of Sandiago, because it proved that he was willing to throw his life away for the good of his country; and that same spirit may be working in the minds of the most obscure or humble man or boy who prefers to give up some keen pleasure or advantage for the sake of doing his plain, everyday, humdrum duty.
The man who does his duty steadily and faithfully because he loves the law of duty, and is unhappy when he is not playing according to the rules, is the man who will be prepared to take advantage of exceptional opportunities when they occur.
When we read the story of Captain Craven, who went down with his ship at the battle of Mobile Bay, there seems a special charm and beauty in his act, although it was nothing bu his complete willingness to do the nearest duty at hand. He had not only been trained in the navy, where orders have to be obeyed, but he had the spirit of devotion which gave to his act a peculiar grace and freedom. When the ship was struck by a torpedo and had begun to sink, he was up in the turret with the pilot, and the only way out was down a little iron ladder through a manhole. Only one man could go down this ladder at a time; and the captain, -- remembering his responsibility for the lives of those on board, -- quietly stepped back and said: "After you, pilot", and went down with his ship.
He had done the same thing in spirit many times before; whenever, in fact, he had done a difficult duty against odds in the daily routine of his life; and now, when the odds were merely the loss of his own life, according to the rules of the game, there was no hesitation and no difficulty.
There are rules of the game in the navy, and in the army, and in every other public service, and they are not so very different, for they are all derived from central law that personal advantage must be sacrificed to the public welfare. Different professions have different ways of expressing this principle, partly because they have to work with different weapons, tools, or instruments in different conditions of life. The lawyer in his office, the carpenter at the bench, the judge in court, the blacksmith at his anvil, -- for all of these there is just as much a set of rules of the game as there is for soldiers and sailors and frontiersmen. Only, when the rules apply so deeply and are concerned with the foundations of life instead of recreation and play, -- when they are so serious that we cannot lightly talk about them and they cannot be settled by an umpire, -- we do not call them or think of them as rules, but as laws of life.
Now, when we speak of a number of laws which belong together for common purpose, we call them a "code" such as the old Roman code or the Code Napoleon; but, when they are deeper than the civil law and apply to the inner thoughts and motives of men and not only to their outward acts, we call them a Code of Honor.
This is just what the Scout Law is, and therefore it is necessary for us to study and practice it. But
we must remember one thing at the very start, -- that we can not understand it just by reading, or
studying, or even learning it by heart; but only by trying our best every day to obey it, and then
carefully noting when we have succeeded and when we have failed. Doing this will help us to
understand the law better and better as time goes on, and to practice it with increasingly good
results.