The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-09-18
NAyYs COSTLY BUNTING


Slowed away on every ship OF he
United States navy. from tug boat ~
5000 ton oattleships. 5 = bundle OF
flags, shoulder high and about fifteen
feet long. About half the lot IS conf
posed OF foreign flags. which ara en-
cased in thick paper bags, with the
name OF the COUNT stenciled on the
end OF the bag. The remainder. in
GLIDING those II ordinary use. are Lot
wrapped but tied IL round bundles
and lettared. The pile contains 80
Gags. the regulation number eaca ship
must carry
The making OF this number % flags
costs the United States S6o.p1 a year.
OF which si3 900 IS paid for ma .E-a-
alone Each ship has forty thrze toT-
aign fags on board constantly. These
fags are twenty-five feet Ion and
thirteen wide. With these on boar The
ship is prepared TO meet and SOW
the proper cOurTeSies which navai al
Quette demands 10 all nation whose
high officials should come board CT
whose waters the vessel shouid eEte.
while on q cruise.
As : ships quota o. flags IS renewed
every three years, il Is no small -oO
| 10 keep enough flags on hand. AMI -
this end Uncle Sam keeps Z large lag
making establishment running al Id!i
blast the year round IT the Brooklyn
navy yard. Here there are nearly ne
hundred skilled neeilewomen working
every day in the year except SUNDAY
| and holidays, cutting hin strips and
sewing and stitching them together n
their proper plac@.
The most difficult part Of the work
is the making Of the foreign flags, Tor
| some of them, be II known, are q
fully and wonderfully made. Take. or
| example, the fag Of San Salvador. in
| back is a belching volcano, pouring
! forth its lava and white smoke. On
! the sides Of the mountains is the green
foliage and ~shrubbery. Directly n
| front is a tranquil sea o. sapphire
| blue. Above the volcano Is q rising
sun. set in 9 design OF OverdO"in2
! c~ornucorias. and a diamond, from
which the rays ar sciniillating in
| every direction. To the right and left
q fthe volcano are drapedy in varied de-
signs, banners, which labOrlOuSly Try
to pattern the stars and stripes, and
vet not show the plagiarism Around
the whole concentration is Il wreath
| of cactus branches lovingly embracing
the Volcano. while at the top the date
of the country's independence is in
scribed.
To make a flag OF San Salvador costs
the United S1a;a3 government just
$500, and when ore Of ,hese flags 6
placed on each ba'u2sh.p 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 care % adj
nit.
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. Th5
Costa Rica, with its scenic beauty
of mountain and sea, costs $50, nearly
as much as the cOstiiest Of them all
that of San Salvador.
The largest flag made by Unol:
Sans flag makers is the United States
ensign No. /. which is thirty-six fee;
long and nineteen feet wide. 1t costs
$40 to turn out a flag Of this style.
The presidents 1ag, while no. he
largest, requires the longest time 81
any 20 make, as it takes n woman a
whole month to finish it. 1t is a sim
pie design, being Il blue field with the
coat of arms Of the United States n
the centre. The life sized eagle, with
outstretched wings and other emblemS
, are all hand embroidered, and involve
the most patient work, The embroid-
cry silk used on this design, which is
ten feet by fourteen feet n size, costs
50 a pOund.-Washington Post.