The San Francisco call., 1898-08-09
FOLD GLORY.
IILLIAM L. STONE, a scholar of some NAf pute in the East, has writer to the New 4o Sun letter III which he says:

ILLIAM L. STONE, a scholar of some tAf pute in the East, has writer, to the New York \ Sun letter. III which he says:
 "A the newspapers except the Sun have, within late years, given the title of our Stars and Stripes as Old Glory name which the English, for 200 years have given par excellence, to their flag but even as far back as ten years flag known by no such title; only by that of the Stars and Stripes Hence, I ask, why import into the nomen- clature of our flag the name which England has used for so many generations namely, Old Glory !? It would certainly seem as if we had a paucity of names when this one is adopted from England
 To the great majority of the American people this statement will news, and strange news at that Throughout the length and breadth of the land the appellaton "Old Glory applied to the national banner has become one of popular phrases, as familiar and as dear household words. It has be- come accepted as something peculiar to our land and to our time; title for the flag in civil wars a name of honor bestowed upon 1t by the love and loyalty of an exuberant patriotism It IS something of shock therefore to be told that after all have but borrowed the phrase from the British, and that calling our banner "old glory is like adopting national anthem song set to the music of God Save the Queen
 MT. Stones reputation for accuracy and general scholarship gives weight to his statement concerning the origin of the phrase and yet if 1t be that the BTltSn nave preCeQeu III tle use OI IL iS certain they have never employed 1t enough to make it familiar to the general public Even dictionaries of phrase and fable and other reference books of the kind do not record 1t as of British origin use There has long been discussion in this country as to the authorship of the term and considerable study has been devoted the subject but MT. Stone is the
 first to our knowledge trace back to the English
 The question is of literary curiosity merely and yet it is of interest to all Americans As the case stands to-day the phrase is American and not British by general use and common consent We have made it the name of the starry banner by adopting it familiar phrase in common conversation and embody ing it in oratory, poetry and general literature It requires special and curious scholarship to know
 that the term has been applied to the standard of St George St. Andrew and St Patrick but all the world knows it as name for the beautiful banner of the stars and stripes.
 It must be remembered however, that the term has been adopted by for the sake of brevty than for anything else "Od Glory is not so beautiful phrase as the "star- -spanged banner, and moreover it is in any way descriptive of the flag For the higher uses of oratory and poetry therefore will never usurp the true and genuine of our stand ard It is short and terse and telling; has good mouth filling sound that suits well for cheering and nurras but it lacks the beauty of an exact descrip- tiveness and the suggestion of eternal splendor which are compact in the rghtful of the banner of the stars.