Girard College
an institution in Philadelphia, Pa., for the education of poor white orphan boys; founded under the will of Stephen Girard, and opened Jan. 1, 1848.
Jan. 1, 1848. By a provision in the will missionary, or minister of any sect whatever is to have any connection with the college. In 1919 it reported:
Professors and instructors, about 100; students, 1,540; volumes in 25,000; endowment and plant, $40,000,000; president, Chees- D.
GIRGEH (jēr'je), a town of Egypt, on the Nile, 10½ miles N. of the ancient Abydus. It was here that the discontented against Mehemet Ali.
Outside the town is a Roman Catholic monastery, said to be the oldest in Egypt.
GIRGENTI (jēr-jen'tē), a town of Sicily, near the site of the ancient Agri- S. coast, 84 miles S. S. E. of Palermo. The town is the seat of a bishop, and has a trade in grain, oil, , salt, and fish. Its port is Porto Empedocle. Pop. of district, 409,000.
GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA. A national organization having for its object the general welfare of girls, giving them through wholesome pleasure those habits of mind and body which will make them useful, responsible women, ready home, civic, and national affairs of the and willing to take a definite part in the country. The association was founded in 1912, and the movement became popuover 82,000 members, representing an increase of 40 per ganization is non-sectarian and non-par- cent. over the preceding year. The orcent. over the preceding year . The ortisan. The activities are designed to bring to the girls the opportunity for home, and in the community. Woman an all-round life, indoors, outdoors, at is recognized as a producer, a consumer, and a citizen, and the girl scout is trained toward these ends . Throughout all the activities is the definite ideal of character building . The governing body is the GIRONDE National Council, composed of representatives from local councils and other members elected by the National Council. National headquarters are maintained in New York to carry out the policies of the National Council. A local council may be organized in any community. This is a body of men and women, representing the schools, churches, social and civic organizations, playgrounds, newspapers, and such bodies as the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Clubs. This council is organized for the purpose of promoting and supervising girl scout units in the district. The unit of organization is the patrol of eight members each. One or more patrols form a troop, and they are grouped whenever possible according to age and congeniality. Each patrol has a leader and a corporal, and each troop a captain.
The captain may choose lieutenants to assist her. It is advisable that a troop of two patrols have a lieutenant, and that for every additional two patrols another lieutenant be secured. Each troop selects for its name a flower, tree, shrub, or bird. The members wear the emblem over the left pocket of their uniforms.
Troops may be formed in connection with any church, school, playgound, settlement, or other institution or organization. Unattached troops are also successful. Troop meetings are held weekly, with the program fairly divided between recreation and education. Any girl from ten to eighteen years of age, who is willing to subscribe to the promise and laws required of candidates, to the effect that they will try to do their duty to God and country and make certain resolutions, may become a scout after passing a "tenderfoot" test. Captains are over 21 years of age and are commissioned by the National Headquarters on paying a fee of 50 cents. There is a fee of 25 cents for each scout, and a subscription to the "American Girl" magazine is also required. Parallel organizations exist in Hawaii, Russia, Norway, Central America, Alaska, Denmark, the Philippines, West Indies, Great Britain, Palestine, Canada, Australia, Poland, Serbia, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, New Zealand, and China. In France a similar organization is called "Les Eclaireuses," and in England there are Girl Guides. In 1920 a campaign was set going for funds to aid the organization.
GIRONDE (zhē-rônd'), a maritime department in France; form formed of part of the old province of Guienne; area, 3,761 square miles; capital, Bordeaux. It is watered mainly by the Garonne and the Dordogne, and by the Gironde, the estuary formed by the union of these two rivers. The E. two-thirds of the sur- GIRTON COLLEGE face consists of a fertile hill and dale region; the remainder, in the W. next the ocean, belongs to the Landes. In the E. and N. E. the soil is chiefly calcareous. Wine is the staple product of the department. Grain, vegetables, potatoes, pulse, and fruit are grown largely. On the downs or sandhills of the W. coast there are extensive plantations of pine, from which turpentine, pitch, and charcoal are obtained. The principal manufactures are salt, sugar, wax candles, porcelain, and glass, chemical products, paper and tobacco. Pop. about 830,000.
GIRONDIST (ji-ron'dist), or GIRON- DIN (-ron'din); the name of a great political party in France; one of the most powerful factors in the earlier part of the first French Revolution. When the Legislative Assembly met in 1791, it was found to contain representatives of the upper, the middle, and the lower classes.
The Girondists were the party of the middle classes, and were republican in sentiment. They obtained their designation from the fact that their most celebrated leaders, Vergniaud, Guadet, and Gensonné, were members for the department of the Gironde, originally lawyers in the law court of Bordeaux .
In 1791 they were the most powerful party in the Assembly, and for a time shaped the policy of their country.
When conservative Europe threatened France with invasion, it was the Girondists who, in April, 1792, declared war, the Jacobins deprecating hostilities, as fearing the result. To overcome their monarchic rivals, the Girondists coquetted with the last-named party, and found that they had gained, not a servant, but a master. The quarrel between the two arose after the massacres perpetrated in August and September, 1792, and the extreme revolutionists ultimately prevailing, an armed mob on May 31, 1793, assailed the Convention, and demanded the imprisonment of 29 Girondist deputies. These were arrested on June 2, and 21 of them were guillotined on Oct. 31. Others were subsequently put to death; a few escaping, reappeared in the Convention after the fall of Robespierre.