Lone Scouts of America - Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America strongly defended their right to the usage of the term Scout, and West wrote to Boyce voicing his concerns, but the BSA never brought litigation against the LSA. In 1916, the BSA created the Pioneer Scout program in direct competition to the LSA, but it was never very successful.

In April 1924, Boyce finally accepted James West's persistent offer of a merger with the BSA. On June 16, 1924 the merger was formalized. When The Lone Scout ceased publication, many of the boys dropped out of Scouting entirely. About 65,000 Lone Scouts transferred to the BSA, and membership peaked at 108,000 in 1926. The BSA ran the program unchanged for about a decade as the Lone Scout Service and then the Lone Scout Division. The unique program features were then eliminated and the Lone Scouts transitioned to the standard Boy Scout program. Lone Cub Scouts were added after the Cubbing program was introduced in the 1930s.

The last issue of The Lone Scout in April 1924 announced the merger with the BSA. The BSA continued to print The Lone Scout for a short time before it was merged as a section of Boys' Life. Some of the more literary Lone Scouts later helped form the National Boy Scout Press Association.

Both the Lone Scout and Lone Cub Scout programs continue to serve boys who cannot take part in a nearby troop or pack on a regular basis because of such factors as distance, time, disability or other difficulties.