The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-04-11
NAVAL FLAG MAKING.
Many Skilled Needlewomen ut Work
In Navy Yard in Brooklyn.

vessels, ranging from the great battle
ships down to the tiny launches, with
their prescribed quota requires the
constant manufacture of many thou
sands Of flags. To cut out, sew and
complete these Uncle Sam maintains
an extensive plant. going at full blast
all the year round and employing
nearly half hundred skilled needle
women and few men.
The flag room is on the third floor
of the Bureau of Equipment building
On entering the large room the visi.
I tors first impression is a blaze of
color. Rolls of bright bunting are
heaped up waiting to be cut, while
long lines of electrically driven sew
ing machines, with women operators,
are reeling off and putting the finish
ing touches to American and foreign
ensigns OF many different hues and
patterns.
Especially difficult and tedious is
the hand embroidery of the peculiar
and intricate designs and centerpieces
used by the flags of most of the
South American countries and other
foreign nations. Last year this flag
factory cost the government 100000;
$4,000 of this amount was for material
alone and $4,000 for labor. The num-
Der of flags turned out was over 100000.
These included three hundred dis
tinctive and special kinds.
A good idea Of the number of flags
that must be carried by a single ship
can be gathered from large pile,
shoulder high and fifteen feet long,
just finished for the new battleship
Connecticut. About one-half of the
lot is composed Of the foreign flags,
encased in thick paper bags. The
name of the country is stencilled on
the bottom. The remainder, inclnd-
ing those for ordinary use, signal sets
and the international code, etc., are
not wrapped, but tied in round bun
dies and lettered. The pile contains
$50 different flags. the regulation num-
Der every ship of our navy has to car
ry, the material and making Of which
cost Uncle Sam just $4,000 for each
ship. This sum, multiplied by the
number of ships in the service, foots
up to many thousands. 1t is necessary
to equip them for all forms of cere-
monial and official occasions, salut-
ing and signalling, both at home and
in foreign waters.
With an extensive array of flags
stored on board, the ship is prepared
to meet and show the proper naval
etiquette to all high rank officials of
any nation who should come aboard
or whose waters the vessel enters
while on cruise. The foreign COM
plement contains forty-three flags,
each 25 feet long and 10 feet WIDE
Certain of these are full of animal
shapes, curious designs and marine
landscapes. They are, therefore, diff
ficult to make, and require a surpris-
ing length of time to finish.
This flag manufacturing establish
ment is under the supervision Of
Thomas Maloy, officially termed mas
ter flagmaker, and Miss NJ. A. Woods,
quarter woman fagmaker. Besides
critically inspecting the finished out
put, they also test all the bunting.
This comes from Lowell, Mass, in
lots of several thousand yards at a
time. One day sample lot Of bunt-
ing is soaked and washed in soap and
fresh water. The next day the same
process is followed with salt water.
1t is then exposed to the weather for
ten days, thirty hours of which time
must be in the bright sun. This is for
the color and fading test
The last test is for tensile strength.
For this test strip two inches wide
of the warp is placed in machine and
must withstand a pulling strain of
siXty-fve pounds. while two inches
of the filling must sustain forty-five
pounds strain.
The flags are cut out from measure
ments arranged on chalkmark lines
and metal markers on the floor. Large
stripes and certain designs can be
more conveniently stitched in this
way. Daily this checkered section of
the floor is covered at all hours with
several different flags, with the men
and women cutters at work. The
final sewing is done on the machines
by the women. Each machine is swift
ly run by a small electric motor. Some
of the women excel in sewing on
the stars, others are skilled in fin
ishing certain parts of the flag.
Nearly all have been many years in
the establishment. The pay runs from
$1.2O to 81 day. With the bright
colored, fantastic flags of all nations
dangling from their machines, the
long row of flagmakers presents pic
tureSque sight.
The thousands of white stars used
on the flags are cut out by an ingeni-
Gus machine, specially devised for
this purpose, operated by electricity.
only few years ago the stars were
cut out by hand. Now a plunger,
fitted with steel knives the shape and
size of the star wanted, with single
downstroke cuts out from fifty to one
hundred stars at time. Pressing
ho lo1
chine. Some eight different sizes of
stars are used, each having special
cutting dye. Running the machine
for only an hour a day furnishes
enough stars for several days. In the
same room two veterans, one of whom
served with Admiral Farragut when
his fleet ran the gauntlet of the Con-
federate batteries on his way to take
New Orleans. The other served in the
civil war and also in the Spenish-
and the wooden knobs to the finished
flags. Afterward the border is stamp
ed with the name of the ship, flag and
date of contract
The largest flag made Is the United
States ensig No. 1, SO feet long by
10 feet wide, which costs $40 to turn
out. The presidents flag requires the
longest time of any to make, as it
takes one woman whole month to
finish it. This consists Of a blue
ground with coat-of-arms of the
United States in the center. The life
sized eagle, with lung outstretched
wings. and other emblems are all hand
embroidered and involve the most pa
tient work. This flag is made in two
sizes, 10 feet by IA feet and feet by
5 feet. The embroidery silk used on