Figure 1.--This postcard back pgotograph shows Troop 32, but no further identifiction. All the boys are wearing short pants and knee socks. At the time most American scouts wore the knickers uniform like the scout Master, except at camps. Most of the Scout troops wearing shorts at the time were in southrn sttes. Put your cursor to see the rest if the troop..

American Scouts mostly wore knickers through the 1930s. The photographic record shows almost all Scouts wearing knickers in the 1910s and 20s. The primary exception was at camps and jamborees. The Boy Scout Association in the 1930s and 40s promoted the short pants uniform. Apparently the BSA wanted American Scouts to be more like the Scouts in other countries who mostly wore short pants. The monthly magazine, especially during the summer months, would often have a full page showing the merits of wearing the short pants uniform. The promotions, however, do not seem to have been very effective, especially in the In the 1930s. A HBC reader writes, "The Boy Scout magazine had a full page in each issue pushing short pants as part of their uniform. The promotions explained why it was best to wear short pants. as their scout uniform. Again, my Boys Scout troop the majority wore short pants as part of their scouting uniform. As I said previously, my entire Cub Scout pack wore short pants with their Boy Scout uniform." We do not notice many instances of Scout troops where there were mixed uniforms, shorts and knickers. We mostly e all biys wearing knivkers or all boys wearing shor pants. When hre were mixing, it was usually just a few boys not dressed like most of the yoingr boys. Scout shorts in the 1930s had button flys and plain pockets.