The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-29
MADE TO EAT THE FLAG.
Penalty an Insulting British Sailor
Was Made to Pay.
Washington Post.

Washington Post.
II observe that William Page Bryan, the
United States minister to Portugal, re-
Gently objected to the Portuguese govern
ment to the use throughout Portugal of the
American flag for a BARRIERS sign, and that
the Portuguese government consented to tip
the BARRIERS off that that sort of use of the
American flag wouldn't do any more" re-
marked man who used to be chief petty
officer in the United States navy. cit was
nice of Mr.. Bryan to register his objection,
and nice of the Portuguese government to
take it so kindly and attend to 1t. But
there are more strenuous ways of handling
people who in any way abuse the American
flag, or used to be, at any rate. once
saw a man compelled to eat an American
flag, stick and all. 1t wasn't big Ameri-
can flag, but it was meal that wouldn't
have helped my digestion out any, small as
the emblem of liberty was.
'It happened in Honolulu. An American
man-o'-war was in that harbor. A British
warship was in the harbor, too-her name
was the Wild Swan. AS a general thing,
American and British men-o'-war's men
don't chum SOS you could notice 1t. On the
contrary, they generally do about the best
they know how to knock each others
blocks off after the sak or the vino or the
pulQue or the mescal gets to flowing good
and steady. But the liberty parties from
these two shius of war got on we'll enough
together at first I'm Honolulu. There were
no scraps. They kept well apart. If the
Fourth of July hadn't drifted along, there
might never have been any trouble. But
Independence day did come along while the
two ships were in the harbor, and nearly
all hands from both ships went ashore on
the day, the Americans on holiday liberty,
and the lime-juicers. as the British fiat
had been arranged by the British officers
without. of course, any reference to the
fact that it was the Fourth of July, and
nexation, was in all essential respects an
American city. The Honolulu folks didn't
like the looks of that outfit Of sailors and
marines from the Wild Swan marching
through the streets of Honolulu in their
side-arms on the Fourth of July, but they
let it go with the emission of a few low
growls, did our men-o'-war's men on
when in the evening the British tars had
got. through with their practice march.
their officers foolishly allowed them to
few hours before reporting aboard the
ship. OF course too, the British flat-feet
sudsed up, and when lime-juicing sailor
gets his system suffused with the 'swipes'
and saki of the Kanakas, he loses out some
on tact.
ANY how bunch Of the Wild Swan men
drifted into jim DOdd'S emporium de booze,
while a party OF the American -o'wars
men were in there. Jim Dodd was very
patriotic American. At one end OF the bar
he had a wire basket filled with small
American flags on little wooden sticks.
They were souvenirs to be picked up by
patrons and attached to their hats or their
clothes and carried away. They were about
five inches square, with, as I say little
wooden sticks attached to them.
"A big red-headed British man-o-war's
man picked up one of the flags and delber-
ately dipped it into his mug of beer and
swashed it around in the malt liquor.
| Then he tossed it into the saw-dusted floor
at his feet and stepped on ii.
"Only one man among the American sail
ors saw this move. The one man was a
soft-voiced bosunS mate who had never
been known on board ship to get into
heat about anything, no matter how the