The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-01-17
THE NAvY's COSTLY BUNTING.
Each Ship Carries $50 Flass-'ne
7ota, EXPENSE is S6o,ooo Year.

Total Expense IS Sou,ooo
Slowed away on every ship OF the
United States Navy, from tugboat 10
10000 ton battleship, Is a bundle VI
flags, shoulder high and about ntteen
feet long. About half the lot Is coi''
posed of foreign flags, which are en-
cased in thick paper bags, with tne
name of the country stencilled on ene
end Of the bag. The REMAINDER III
Guiding those for ordinary use, are
not wrapped, but tied in round bunoles
and lettered. The pile contains 1'o
fags, the regulation number each snip
must carry.
The making of this number OF taes
costs the United States $4,000
year, of which $4,000 is paid for ma
terial alone. Each ship has fcrty-
three foreign flags on board constant
ly. These flags are twenty-five Ieet
long and thirteen feet wide. WIN
these on board the ship Is prepared
to meet and show the proper courte'
sizes which naval etiquette demands 10
all nations whose high officials snoulo
come aboard Or whose waters the
vessel should enter while on a cruise.
As a ships quota of flags is re-
newed every three years, It Is no
small Job to keep enough flags on
hand, and to this end Uncle sam
keeps a large flag making estaollsn-
ment running at full blast the year
round at the Brooklyn navy yaro.
Here there are nearly one hundred
skilled needleIwemen working every
day of the year, except Sundays and
holidays, cutting the varicoloreo
bunting into strips and sewing ana
stitching them together in their prop
er place.
The most difficult part Of the work
is the making Of the foreign 1ass'
for some of them, be it known, Ne
fearfully and wonderfully made. rake,
for example, the flag Of San Salvador.
In the back is a belching volcano
pouring forth it's lava and Wn1te
smoke. On the sides of the mountain
is the green foliage and shruhoery.
Directly in front is tranquil sea OF
sapphire blue. Above the volcano IS
a rising sun set in design OF over
flowing cornucopias, and a diamond
from which the rays are scintillatlng
in every direction. To the right anu
left Of the volcano are draped, III
varied design, banners which laoor.
iously try to pattern the stars ano
Stripes, and yet not show the plasaar-
ism Around the whole concatenatlon
Is a wreath of cactus lovingly en-
bracing the volcano, while at the top
the date Of the country's independence
is inscribed.
To make flag Of San SALVADOR
cost the Government just $3.50, and
when one of these flags is placed on
each battleship every three yecrs II
can be readily seen that the inslgnln'
cant little republic to the south OF is
IS really costing the taxpayers OF tne
country more than they would care TO
admit.
Then there is the flag OF emma,
with its long, crawling, mythlcai
blood red dragon. To make that nag
costs the Government. something IKE
$40. The flag of Costa Rtca, with us
scenic beauty of mountain and sea-
costs $50, nearly as much as the COST
liest of them all, that of San Sal
vador.
The largest flag made by Uncle
SANS flag makers is the Unlteo
States ensign No. 1, which Is tnnts'
six feet long and nineteen feet wide
It costs $40 to turn out flag OF this
style.
The Presidents flag, while not tne
largest, requires the longest time OF
any to make, as it takes one woman
a whole month to finish it:;-Washlns'
ton Post.