The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-13
FOR OLD GL0RYS BIRTHDAY.
FACTORIES TURNING OUT STARS
AND STRIPES FOR JULY 4.

Hundred and Twenty Years old
the Fourteenth of This Month.
How the Flag Is Made and Who
Makes 1t.
New York, June n.-Although in the
mind of the small boy, and that of many a
large boy, too the American flag is a
glorious thing without birth or death, there
is, to those most closely concerned in the
life of the flag, a beginning as real and
practical as that of the most prosaic pro
duct that ever makes it's appearance in
this world.
The American flag will be 100 years old
the 14th day of this MONTH and for 100 years
it has been constant and unfailing
source of livelihood to thousands of men
and women who work from years begin
ming to years beginning upon the making
of the flag.
There are forty flag factories in the
United States, scattered through the coun-
try, but for the most part located in New
| England, where the great manufacturing
businesses lie. One of the largest is at
Lowell, and there Ben Butler turned out
| bunting for years for the flag. Bunting
such as up to that time had never been
seen! There was patriotic look about
| every inch of the Ben Butler bunting, and
though now you can find a great deal of
| the same color and weight and Just as
good, in the days when Ben Butler started
his flag factory there were very few flags
that looked like flags at all, unless they
came from there.
At this time of the year all the flag
factories are in full blast. They are never
very idle, for the American public uses UP
100000 flags every year, enough to keep
ali the flag factories working all the time
but at this particular season the smoke
rises high. from the chimneys night and
day, and the electric whirr from the new
electric mills fills the mill towns in which
the factories are located with delightful
noise.
They are working night and day upon
old Glory" and though they know that
most of the results of their patient labor
will be destroyed, torn into shreds, burned
up and eaten by the wind and rain within
a month, they nevertheless put the same
amount of pride upon the work as though
1t were to last forever.
The first big demand for the American
flag comes on flag day, when all the public
buildings have new flags and when the
school children carry them to celebrate
their new holiday and patriotic citizens
hang out their new flag to celebrate the
day Next comes the Fourth of July.
which is proverbially a day of the waving
of flags and by the time of flag day and
the Fourth are over there will be very few
of the new flags left
Inc life of an American flag Is a short
one. In other countries they buy a flag
TO last; they take care of it; take it down
when it rains, do not let the sun shine
upon it and treat it as though it We're a
thing rich and rare. But the Americans
do not treat their flags in this way; the
public buildings fling them from the flag
posts and leave them there until they are
weather-beaten; then they are taken down
thrown away and-a new flag put up.
There are three ways of making a fact
all three are equally well patronized and
of the three millions that are made it
may be said that there are 100000 of each
without Partially as to quality or ex-
pense. roY erasTr
The commonest flag. that which YOU see
in public most upon the largest buildings
is the woven flag. 1t is made of cotton
bunting, upon loom that is built espe-
cially for flags. The colorS are supplied to
the loom in regular order and the machin-
ISry takes and distributes them so that
when a certain number of inches have
been woven you see coming out of the
loom a completed flag.
After the loom gets through with ii the
flag is handed to a number of small bows
and girls, who tack 1t upon a staff; it is
then handed to another group of work.
ers, who roll it around the staff and slip
! 1t in a paper wrapper 1t is then sent to
| the packing room to be done up in boxes
OF 100 each and shipped to the retailers
There is another kind of flag which is
more expensive than this, though not so
| good for all purposes. This is the sewed
flag. 1t is made out of strips of silk or
| bunting Bunting flags are sewed to-
| gether strip by strip and fastened to the
| pole; the blue field is then sewed upon
the corner and the white stars are glued
or sewed in place. Silk flags are made in
| the same way, strip by strip, carefully
| overhauled together. with the field" and
stars sewed or pasted upon it,
Silk flags are used for draping public
| halls and for hanging back of patriotic
| speakers. They are very dear, a silk flag
| 12x1S feet costing 500. What becomes Of
the flags no one knows, for unless they
| fan into the hands of the destructive small
| boy their final end is a mystery; 1OOO0OO
of them, however. perish every year.
A great number of these fine flags go
| out of the country every year in the
| trunks of travelling American citizens
| who find it very convenient to spread a
| flag over the top of their belongings, so
! that the custom house people can see It
|
The commonest flag is the little printed
one This is done upon ordinary calico
! and is turned off in sheets. These sheets
are given to girls to cut apart and glue on
sticks. The flags are then packed in boxes
! for shipment.
| When a state is admitted to the union
! Il means a great deal of extra work for
! the flag factories, as the entire star de-
! sign must be changed. This Is done by
| law on the following Fourth Of July. When
! Utah became a state there was a great
| deal of trouble In adding the forty-fifth
| star. Secretary Lamont appointed Lieut.
| Rockwell Of Philadelphia to place the ex-
ira star, and he made room for It In the
| fourth row from the top upon the right
| OF the existing stars At the same time
| the regulation size of the army flag was
made smaller 1t Ia now FIVE and a half
| feet long and four feet four inches vide
| The old army flags We're too hlg:they hung
spritless around the pole instead OF n.y.
ing proudly TO the breeze as a smaller
! flag would. The stripes are now four
inches wide and the rows Of stars four