The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1910-06-17
TRIBUTE IS PAID STARS GAD
4 STRIPES BY COLUMBIA ElKS
Continued from FIRST Page.l

ritual
> Mr.. WhitthOrne said:
Brothers and Friends:
In the sense that fl has met unequal
:, conditions and withstood them, that ii
has challenged unnumbered periIs and
conquered them, that it has encounter
ed uncommon hardships and sur
mounted them, the American flag may
be said to be of most heroic origin.
The conflict in which it was born, and
from which it rose to its present Cmi-
nince, added more of lustre to the an
nails of history and resulted in more
of good to human kind than all of the
tournaments, than all the crusades,
than all the wars of the past.
At first an audacious piece of bunt-
ling, crudely woven and contradictory
in design, it thrived and expanded I'M
It'll it gave to the world a new coun-
try, new form of government, a new
model of citizenship. To the language
of the flag it contributed new word
|
of home, a new ideal of the Preside,
ltruer conception of the brotherhood of
man. Choosing as its primal task the
subjugation of vast wilderness. it be-
came the chief geographer of the flrm-
ament, the chief pilot Of the seas, the
chief trailmaker of the forest, the val
ley and the plain.
1t must have been foreordained that
this flag should lead all others in the
flight of the centuries, for it was the
flag of Geo. Washington and Thos. JEFF
ferson; of John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin and Patrick Henry; the flag
of Betsey Ross, whose Quaker hands
| first fashioned it into robe of glory. /
Inspired by souls like these, kindled
lat shrines like these, the spirit or
"seventy-six" became the spirit Of all
the succeeding years, and the flag
through which it spoke became the
flag of Bunker Hill and Lundy's Lane; I,
of Buena Vista and Chapultepec; the /
flag that cast its protecting shadows
where rolls the Oregon; that blossom
ed and famed in the SHOWS of Alaska;
and anchored her watchfire upon the
island of Hawaii: the same that 1omp- /
ed with freedom in the bays of Manila
and Santiago and was planted in right :
eous defense upon the walls OF China;
the same flag that gashes rock-ribbed
mountains and causes the oceans to
mingle their waters; the first flag !
that was born to represent a people
rather than monarch or savage;
the flag that has never known sur
render: the flag that is destined to
win the world from wrong, to Danish
unholy strife, and to usher In the thou /,
sand years Of peace.
OF all the flags of history this Ameri-
can flag is the greatest, the most ben
the most beautiful. Sporting
in the breeze, 1t is mosaic OF ribbon
ed loneliness; dropping in softer airs, o
It's staff is transformed into Maypole 9
Of festal delight. 1t is an honest flag. 6
a benevolent flag, righteous flag. b
Do you think of it as a command. c.
ing influence in the world about you? p
It is a safeguard of states and ma ls
ions and races. Do you think of 1t s
rs an agency in the active affairs of Il
life? It is the captain of all the indus Is
,ries, the ruler of every mart. Do you Ell
.hink of 1t as a factor in the realm pl
If science? It's discoveries and inven- ii
ions and creations are innumerable. pl
Do you think of its history? 1t is a
orch of learning, lamp of expert tt
nee. a colossal tomb of achievement. th
10 you think of it as bounty of ma m
ire? 1t has sown blessings broad OF
asst, it is teeming harvest field, m
arden Of opulence, vineyard rich in
urple clusters. pr
Do you think of it from the stand be
oint of art? It has dotted the land of
Nth arches, and palaces, and domes tx
nd statues. Do you think Of 1t as mu- ha
ic? It has in 1t the assertiveness OF
he robin, the plaintiveness of the
owe, the madrigals of all the larks.
10 you think of it from the viewpoint u
home and the Preside? 1t enfolds 81 :,
he laughter Of children. the breath ali
[ love, the courage Of manhood, the
ope and faith Of age. Do you think -
[ 1t in a more sacred relation? 1t is
/ once hymn, precept. and ben
diction. It CLEANS from housetop and
illtop, from schoolhouse and work
1op, from tower and steeple, from
ainmast and mizzen, appealing to
very noble emotion, shielding every
orthy cause, lighting the way OF pro- ~
less across mighty continent and Ss'
the world with girdle Oh 80