to malnutrition, and a youth who is underweight for other reasons. 
The former can be expected to gain weight and strength rapidly* in 
a CCC camp5 the latter ordinarily cannot. 
Dependability 
A youth who can be depended upon, when his superiors are 
not watching him, to abide by the spirit of camp regulations 
policies, is an asset in a CCC camp. This means that he must be a 
w i l l i n g worker . A youth who is not a willing worker harms not only 
himself but others in the camp. 
The enrollee must be worthy to be trusted with Government 
property. He must have a sense of the ordinary moral concepts of 
right and wrong. He must be Trilling to subordinate his own desires 
for freedom of action and movement to the restrictions which CCC 
camps must impose. 
These traits, which have been grouped for convenience under 
the heading "Dependability," are believed to be important character¬ 
istics for youths who aspire to success in a CCC camp - and elsewhere. 
How is it possible to discover whether a youth is dependable 
or not? Can it be done through an interview? Only partially. It is 
sometimes possible, for example, to discover through interview and sub¬ 
sequent verification, when an applicant has not been honest. It is not 
uncommon for a selecting agent to become uncertain about a youth who is 
excessively self-assured, or "cocky." It is often desirable, when such 
characteristics are noted, to make a very careful verification of the 
background of the applicant. His school record, information from pri¬ 
vate social agencies, other public agencies, and even neighbors and 
associates will give a clearer picture of the true characteristics 
than can be determined in an interview. 
9 
Previous conduct which shows a strong habit of going off at 
a tangent from the groups with which the applicant has lived and asso¬ 
ciated, such as his family, school, etc., and an unwillingness to abide 
by usual standards and rules of conduct, ordinarily indicate lack of 
dependability in an applicant. All of the information that can possi¬ 
bly be obtained about an applicant’s background will help the selecting 
agent to arrive at a final judgment as to the applicant's dependability. 
It is an important fact that compulsion is not the basis for 
CCC discipline. When boys are not willing to accept the rules of con¬ 
duct necessary in a CCC camp, they either desert or are discharged for 
misconduct. In doing so, they may cause several other boys to desert 
or be discharged in a similar manner. It is very clear, therefore, 
that selecting agents cannot select for enrollment youths who "need 
reforming" or who "need to be disciplined" and expect such youths to 
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