The morning call., 1894-04-28

beaver on their ensigns. Massachusetts,
displayed white flag with green pine
tree Maine was originally part OF
Massachusetts, so she still keeps the pine
tree as her State emblem. though she has
Stale flag. Our first naval flag was that
OF Commodore Hopkins. his nag showed
a banner of yellow with rattlesnake In
the act of striking and the motto under
meath, 'Dnn't tread on me-.
In 1776 the day after New Years,
Washington displayed at Cambridge what
they began to call the great Unlon lag.
Ihat had the thirteen stripes, just as We
have now, one for each colony. According
TO superstltious people thirteen may be an
unlucky number for guests sitting at q
table. but it has proved the lucKlest OF
numbers in the political history OF our
country. In the left upper corner they
had the crosses of st. Andrew, the
patron saint of Scotland, and the cross
OF ST. George. who was the patron saint OF
England. The cross of st. George is an
upright cross. like our sign OF addition
most appropriate because we had added
extensive and valuable territories to Eng
land. The cross OF st. Andrew was an
ObliQue cross, like our sign of multiplca-
tlon-also appropriate. as the addition OF
these colonies greatly multiplied the
sources of wealth for the Old Country.
"Fhe corner occupied by the com bined
crosses they called the canton. the word
still used in the science Of heraldry. We
commonly call it the union That was
also the fitting word for the same part Of
the old English flag. which bore in that
corner the three crosses OF st. Andrew for
Scotland, st. George for England and ST.
Patrick for Ireland. Now the United
States has dropped the crosses and filled
the place with the stars, which, as Con-
gress fifty said in the act OF 1777. stand for
Il.f
political world
SIN 1894, when the number of colonies
had grown to fifteen, the flag was changed
to fifteen stripes and fifteen stars. Thal
plan lasted for more than twenty years.
Then. In 1918, they changed the number
of stripes back TO the original mum Der
thirteen-and that number has been ac-
copied as fifty recording the original num-
Der of colonies which formed the first
American Union. The recognition and
the recording of the increasing number Of
States is done among the stars up in the
left-hand upper corner. Every time a
new State comes into the Union new
star rises in the blue sky of that patriotic
armament
1.-The law has nothing to say about the
arrangement of the stars. We may set
them as we like. But the War Depart
ment usually sets them in the very hand
some and appropriate form of a large
star-that Is, a STAR made of stars. The
navy sets them in parallel lines. The
stripes must be arranged in this way: A
red at the top and the bottom, making
seven red and six white stripes The
union must be seye stripes deep. The
proportion of the flag is about two to
three.
THE flag is made of bunting. That is
kind of wooden goods woven Of peculiar
kind of thread or yarn spun very evenly
and made TO have as little fuzz as posi-
BILE. The fabric must show alike on both
sides. 1t is said that the only factory for
the making of this bunting Is in Lowell,
Mass, and belonged to General Ben But
Ter.
1.-THE left-hand upper corner. called the
union must be made of blue and bear
the stars in white. The stars must he
ve-ponted. This part of the flag Ia
used alone. You may frequently see 1t
flying. especially from United Sites ves-
sells. 1t is called the jack. ''or in full the
union ia ck.'
"The eioquence and the poetry which
have clustered round the Old Flag will be
given you by some of the speakers of the
hour Nine is the humber to remind you
of the history and the statistics which ap-
pear in the flag. The stripes stand, al
ways, for the old, original thirteen; the
stars for the present number of States,
WhatCNOi ~ may Ues OO TIC OlU tnlIlebD
have double honor on the flag. they have
each stripe and a star, while those
which have come in since have each a star
alone.
1T Is ours to keep them ever bright, to
see that no stripe is ever taken away, that
20 star is ever dimmed. Ours to emulate
the noblest words Of Americas nobiest
orator:
"'Let my last feeble and lingering
glance beho old the gorgeous ensign of our
republic. now known and h0n0red
throughout all the earth, still full high
advanced, its arms and trophies streaming
in their original luster, not stripe erased
or p0llu tea, not single star obscured,
bearing for its motto no such misera bic
interrogatory as "What is all this worth ?"
or those other words of delusion and folly,
Liberty first and Union aftsrward," but
everywhere, spread all over in lstters Of
living light, that nober sentiment dear to
every true to American heart, liberty and
union now and forever, one and INSOFAR
able"
After the address the whole audience
sang The Star-Spangled Banner" and
then saluted the flag. Lincoln School has
an advantage over some others in its big
hall. At the Commercial High School
there Is Tot this advantage and the classes
celebrated in their own rooms. These
exercises took the general character in all
the schools of that at Lincoln School. Al
Jefferson Primary a most exciting time
was had, the youngsters friends and rela-
tives helping to fill the great hall. The
Denman School and other schools also had
their patriotic exercises.
->-&"