The record-union., 1897-09-22
WHERE FLAGS ARE MADE.
BUILDING OVERLOOKING WITH
STARS AND STRIPES.
Fourteen Women Expert F1agmak-
ers do the Machine as Well as
the Hand Work.

If ore wishes TO see stars-all sizes
and III any desired number-one need
not rake a header off a bicycle for the
express purpose. Instead, one should
pay visit to Uncle Sans Navy Yard
IN Brooklyn, where IN building No. T.
on Second street, flags Of our own coun-
try and OF forty three other countries
Of maritime persuasion are constructed
by a corps OF nimble fingered women,
under the supervision Of James Grim
minis, the master fiagmaker.
On the third floor in building Z three
large, pleasant rooms are devoted to
fiagmaking Not only are our own star
spangled emblems built there, but the
man-of-war flags Of nearly half hun
dred other countries are also evolved
and the display of bunting, showing the
most brilliant and beautiful colors, is
quite rainbow bit Of splendor. Com
mander c. S. Sperry is the real head
of the flag department, but he is on
leave now. and Lieutenant James t.
Smith is the courteous acting head.
With his kindly permission a Tribune"
reporter invaded the equipment depart
ment few days ago and saw stars"
under the most favorable circumstan-
ces. James Crimmins. the veteran flag
master has been at his post since 1879,
and what he does not know about the
building of flags is torn out of the
book Fourteen busy women seemed
inextrica bly, mixed up with yards upon
yards of red, blue, white, yellow, green
and black bunting; and stripes. strips,
stars and designs galore glOrified the
glistenng bare floors and overfiowed
long cables, machines and chairs A
big innocent looking flatiron was on
a rest near a long pressing table; no
fire was visible but that iron had
bunting TO press Gf not to burn). for a
connection with an electric battery kept
it at great heat.
EXPERT FLAGMAKERS.
You see" said Mr.. Crimmins, I'VE
have to do careful work here. Every
flag, srar. bar and device is measured
to geometrical accuracy, and the sew
ing must be strong and neat. Our flag
makers become expert. Now, here is a
flag where the stars have just been
put on and Mr.. Crimmins took a large
American flag from a woman and
passed it over for inspection. The way
in which the ninety stars were put on
was beautiful to behold Every Ameri-
can regulation flag has ninety stars on
it-forty- five on each side, back to
back They are put on so carefully and
evenly that when the flag is held up
to the light the stars seem to have gone
through to the other side and appear as
one. The tiny stitches that accomplish
this particular work are all put in by
hand, and are wonderfully even and
dainty.
Formerly all the flag was made by
hand" continued Mr.. Crimmins, but
now The long stripes are sewed together
on the machine All the stars are
put on by hand, however, and all the
designs on the foreign flags"
THE CHINESE FLAG.
Here he unrolled a large yellow
bundle and spread over the floor the
Chinese man-of-war emblem, with the
most dreadful looking dragon sprawling
over il, with enough wings and scales
and legs to him to furnish half a
dozen monstrosities with freakish ana
tomical appendages. But the work was
beautiful The feroci0us looking dragon
was applqued on in the most admirable
way. every stitch of him being done by
hand. His capacious mouth was wide
open, and was described by one of the
flagmakers as a creature with an ex-
ceedingly open countenance.
That is a difficult flag to make is
it not?'
Yes: the Chinese and Japanese flags
are both hard to make, owing to the
dragon figures. At one time the de-
signs used to be painted on the flags,
but that was not found so satisfactory
as making them out of colOred bunt-
ing and stitching them on by hand.
How many flags are made here dur
ing the year?''
Thousands, 1 should say. Often we
make hundred a week"
Why do you make foreign flags
here?"
When one of our ships sails into
foreign waters il is naval custom and
etiquette to fly the man-of-war flag OF
whatever country she happens to be in.
Above the foreign flag flies our own
pennant, showing the ship is in COM
mission. When she runs up the for
eigner's flag she is Immediately sa-
luted by the foreign ships"
Where is the bunting made?"
"AlI Of it is made in Lowell, Mass
1t has to come up to certain require
IEeNIS III regard 10 color ana SlT6uS IN
1t has 10 be made entirely of wool OF
the best quality, showing no imperfec-
tions 1t must weigh five and quar-
ter pounds avoirdupois per piece of for
ty yards. nineteen inches wide. The
yarn must be evenly spun, the warp
and filing to contain not less than
thirty -four threads to the inch and the
warp must be two-ply and the filling
cne-ply. properly twisted. The fabric
must have tensile strength of sixty.
five pounds to the warp and forty five
pounds to the filing, in test pieces two
inches wide The colors must be as
fast as they can make them, and mus
not be seriously affected by beins
soaked continuously for twenty-foul
hours in fresh water and then thor
oughly washed in water using a gooC
grade of laundry soap
Mr. Crimmins then went to the ma
chine where the tensile strength is as
certained and demonstrated the pro
cess.
In a small room at one end of tn
large apartment two fiagmakers wer'
found seated on low benches, finishing
off the flags. Queer-looking leathel
and horn straps were bucl<led arounC
the right hand of each sewer. and tn.