The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-09-27
THE NAVY'S
COSTLY BUNTING

! Slowed away on every ship of the
! United States navy, from tugboat to
| 16,Cg0 ton battleship. is bundle of
flags. shoulder high and about fifteen
| feet long. About half the lot is COM
posed of foreign flags, which are en-
cased in thick paper bags, with the
| name of the country stenciled on the
end of the bag. The remainder. in
| not wrapped, but tied in round bundles
and 1ettered. The pile contains $50
flags, the regulation number that each
ship must carry.
The making of this number of flags
costs the United States 100000 a year
OF which $4,000 is paid for material
alone. Each ship has forty-three for
eign flags on board constantly. These
teen feet wide. With these on board
the ship is prepared to meet and show
the proper courtesies which naval ETH
quette demands to all nations whose
high officials should come aboard or
while on cruise.
AS a ships quota of flags is renewed
every three years, it is no small job to
keep enough flags on hand, and to this
end Uncle Sam keeps large flag max
ing establishment running at full blast
The year round at the Brooklyn navy
yard Here there are nearly 100 skilled
needlewomen working every day of the
year, except Sundays and holidays, cut
ting the varicoIored bunting into
strips and sewing and stitching them
together in their proper place
The most difficult part OF the work is
the making of the foreign flags for
some of them, be it known, are fear
fully and wonderfully made. Take, for
example. the flag of San Salvador. In
the back is a belching volcano, pouring
forth its lava and white smoke. On
the sides of the mountain is the green
foliage and shrubbery. Directly in
front is a tranquil sea of sapphire blue.
Above the volcano is rising sun, set
in a design of overlooking cornucopias,
and diamond, from which the rays are
scintillating in every direction. To the
right and left of the volcano are draped,
in varied design, banners, which Ia
boriously try to pattern the stars and
stripes, and yet not show the plagiar-
ism. Around the whole concentration is
a wreath of cactus branches lovingly
embracing the volcano. while at the top
the date of the country's independence
is inscribed
To make a flag of San Salvador costs
the United States government just
$52.5 and when one of these flags is
placed on each battleship every three
years it can be readily seen that the
insignificant little republic to the south
Of us is really costing the taxpayers of
the country more than they would care
to admit.
Then there is the flag of China, with
its long, crawling, mythical blood red
dragon. To make that flag costs the
government something like $40. The
flag of Costa Rica, with it's scenic
beauty of mountain and sea. costs $50,
nearly as much as the costliest of them
all, that of San Salvador.
The largest flag made by Uncle Sans
flag makers is the United States ensign
No. L, which is thirty-six feet long and
nineteen feet wide. It costs. $40 to turn
out a flag of this style.
The presidents flag, while not the
largest, requires the longest time OF
any to make, as it takes one woman
whole month TO finish it. 1t is a simple
design, being blue field with the coat
of arms of the United States in the
center. The life sized eagle. with out
stretched wings and other emblems, are
all hand embroidered, and involve the
most patient work The embroidery
silk used on this design, which is 10 by
IA feet i'll size, costs So pound.