The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1897-07-03

~ flung to the breeze on that
day.
The flagmaker Of twenty
wears ago had smaller capital invested,
did less work, and made greater margin
of profit than the ilagmaker OF to-day out
the competition which drove the flagmaker
to reduce the price of his wares developed
an increase of business that more than
doubled his trade The flag business
TODAY amounts to half a million dollars
year, and fully one-half the yearly product
is Immediately destroyed. AS more than
one half the flags sold are used on the attn
of July, it may be reckoned that Sl25, 600
worth of flags which are displayed on indie
pendence Day this year, will he thrown
away. All these will be replaced year
hence. Truly, the tlagmaker has reason
to bless the American habit of celebrating
patriotic anniversaries.
There is no business more caprlclous
than this flag business. That was Illus
trated during the campaign of last Novem-
ber when people who favored the election
of Mckinley and Hobart were asked to
display the national colors on the Saturday
before election day. New York city ON
that day saw a greater display OF ''old
GLORY" than ever before. Ordinarily New
York is not so patriotic as some other oil
the large cities of the United States. In
fact, Gagmakers say the greater demand
for flags is from the Western cities. But
Cd Flag Day, the New York dealers were
swamped with orders and the demand
could not be supplied. In Chicago there
were not enough flags to 90 around; a mil
lion more banners could have been used if
II had been possible to buy them. In
every other large city, the stock OF dealers
was cleaned out long before the day, and
py,sses we're working over time turning out
fags up to the last minute.
1t is estimated that half million dol
lara worth of flags were displayed on that
occasion-an amount equal to the normal
business of an entire year.
ORDERING IN ADVANCE.
The conditions were extraordinary how
ever. Usually big demand for flags can
be pretty well foreseen. Dealers all over
the country keep their eyes on future oates
when flags will be needed For example,
this year the dealers in philadelphia saw
that large supply Of flags would be
wanted when President Mckinley visited
the city to help dedicate the Washington
Monument. They notified the iIagmakef s
several months in advance, and there was
n sufficient supply on hand when the day
came. When the Turner's were to meet IN
st. Louis few months ago, the lo"at
dealers were well supplied with flags Tor
the occasion. They had ordered their
supply far in advance, calculating the
demand from the estimates of the number
to be present, and their experience with
similar occasions in tie past. The demand
ior decorations for Grant Day in New York
was anticipated. 1t amounted to about
$4,000. 4 supply of flags for the Christian
Eudeavor Convention in San Francisco was
made and shipped long ago AS for the
Fourth OF July trade, that keeps the
presses going from early in January until
a week before the day.
Most Of these flags are made in New
England. One concern there is said to
control four-iifths Of the business of the
country; but if it had any disposition to
create monopoly it could not do so, be-
cause every awning maker in the United
States is flagmaker.
All the flags for the navy, and many of
those for the army, are made in the army
and navy establishments.
The cheapest flag you can buy is the
muslin flag, two by three inches at II
cents gross. The most expensive article
in the regular stock is a hand made silk
flag for 800; the largest is forty feet long.
SILK flags can be bought for 80 cents II
dozen, and you can have a silk flag made
at cost of $1,000 if you like. \
great many flags costing $50 to $500 are
made every year, and an order Tor an $500
flag would not he considered remarkable.
Yet the demand is for the cheaper flags,
and the bulk OF the business is in the
printed muslin kind. The money repre-.
scented in flags Of silk and bunting, how
ever, is greater annually than tile amount
spent in the cheaper flags,
The muslin flags and the cheap silk flags
are printed on fast presses like news
paper. A web of muslin or silk is fed into
the press, and it comes out after the one
operation printed in two colors on both
sides. The muslin is in oil colors which
will not run; but silk flags are not in fast
colors, and they should never be exposed to
the rain. Oil Jlors on silk would run in
printing, and they would cake and grow
hard afterward, The problem of printing
silk in fast colors has been puzzling the
flag makers for many years. They expect
to solve it soon; and if they do, more silk
flags will be seen in out-ofd doors display.
The printed web is cut up into ipdi-