Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-06-17
History of the American Flag.


Tuesday. the 18th inst. was Flag
Day. - which makes some reference
TO the origin OF the American flag,
the glorious old Stars and Stripes. Of
special interest 1t has oeen proper
Is said that it was a development of
growth, rather than d creation. In
1774, Capt. Markoe, of the Philadel-
uhja Light Horse. used flag with 13
stripes. In the latter part of the
succeeding year DR.. Franklin and
MesSrs. Lynch and Harrison We're
appointed to consider the subject of
a national flag. The result of the
conference was the recommendation
Of "a flag representing the King
colors, or Union Jack, with field of
u stripes Of red and white aiternat-
ing, embematic of the union of the
IL colonies. The new flag was raised
for the first time on the I'd of Janu
AIRY. 1776, over Il camp III Cambridge.
When independence was determined
upon, the British Jack was dropped,
and tie stars were naturally subSti
tuted as the emblem of States and
the blue ether of the sky doubtless
suggested their field. Congress, on
the 18th of June, III. adopted this
basis of the existing national flag,
the only change in which is provided
for by Congressional act, the addi-
ton of star Ga each recurring natal
holiday July 4th succeeding the
admission OF a new State.
A committee of Congress. accom-
panied by Washington. had previ-
ously called upon Mrs. John Ross, of
Philadelphia, and engaged her to
make a model flag. from a rough
drawing, which was modified by Gen.
Washington, in pencil. who substi-
tuted star Of five points for the Six
pointed star that had been used in
the original draft. The stars were
first arranged ia a circle, but as the
number increased, this idea had to
be abandoned for obvious reasons.
and on adoption of the flag two addi-
tional stripes that had been added to
represent new States were dropped
and the number fixed on ID. This is
the flag now used on land and sea.
1t may not be uninteresting to note
that in the transitOry period previ-
Gus to independence. among the COL
MES, the British was of course the
recognized standard, and the Union,
with its two crosses of St. Andrew
and St. George. marked its essential
~ British characteristic. Even after
the war began, the Union was re-
tanned to show that the war did not
mean separation. There were, how
ever. two classes of flags in vogue in
the early days of the Revolution
the "pine-tree" and the rattle
snake" The first was of q New
England origin, and the rattlesnake
flag contained a representation of a
serpent cut into IL pieces, each
marked with an initial of q colony,
and the legend Join or de-
THE Presbyterian general assembly
complains that 'there's no Sunday in
Alaska.'-EI.
And none here too, if we may
Judge from the "hum of industry"
incident to the sound of hammer and
saw that is heard every Sunday, to
say nothing of the sight Of surveyors
on the streets running lines for
prospective "fills," or the steady
grind of the dredger. which cost too
much money to allow it a day of rest
on Sabbath. While we admit that
capital may claim exemption from
scriptural rules Of morality, how
about the engineer" who carries
his tripod and jackstaff on highways
and byways to pile up bills for mile.
age on the Lords day, or the Ben
Hur, who drives his chariot six days
q week and devotes the seventh to
repairs !?