Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-04-18
our NAvY'S FLAGS
Each Vessel Carries Nearly a Ton
of Bunting.

navy. from the monster battleship to
the tiniest tug. is slowed away nearly
ton of flags. which go to make up
the number each vessel is required to
carry for use on different occasions.
About half of this vast pile of flags
consists of emblems of foreign nations.
The making of the flag equipment for
the navy costs more than 100000
year. Each ship carries forty -three
foreign flags. which are thirteen feet
wide by twenty-five feet long.
As ships quota of flags is renewed
every three years it is no small under
taking to keep them replenished. and to
this end Uncle Sam keeps a large flag
making establishment running at full
time the year around at the Brooklyn
navy yard. Employed there are some
hundred skilled needlewomen working,
cutting the different colored buntings
into the required widths and sewing
them together. Making the United
States flag is not a difficult Job. but
the making Of some of the foreign en-
blems is quite a different matter. and
this is what most of the work at the
flag establishment consists Of
Take. for example. the flag of San
Salvador. In the background there Is
a belching volcano pouring forth its
lava and white smoke. On the sides
of the mountain is the green foliage
and shrubery. while directly in the
foreground is a tranquil sea Of sap
phire blue. Above the volcano is a
rising sun set in a design of overflow
ing cornucopias and a diamond from
which the rays are scintillating in ev-
cry direction. To the left and right Of
the belchirg mountain are draped in
varied designs banners which bear a
similarity to the stars and stripes.
Around the whole concentration is a
wreath OF cactus branches lovingly
embracing the volcano. while at the
top the date of the country's independ-
ence is inscribed To make a flag of
this description costs the government
$3.50. and when one of these flags is
placed on each ship of the navy every
three years it can be readily seen that
the insignificant little republic to the
south of US is really costing the tax
payers of the country more than has
ever been thought of.
The flag of Costa RIGA. with its seem
&c beauty of mountains and sea. is an
other extravagant emblem. costing
something like $50 to complete. So il
seems that the smaller the nation the
more costly its flag.
The largest flag made by the United
States is the Ensign No. l. which meas
ures thirty-six feet long and nineteen
feet wide. The cost of this monster
is $40 or Whereabouts.
The presidents flag. while not the
largest by any means. takes longest to
make. requiring the labor of one per,
sou for 4 month 10 complete it. 1t is
of simple design, being Il blue field
with the coat of arms of the United
States in the center. The life sized
eagle with outstretched wings and
other emblcms are all hand embroid.
cred and involve the most patient
work The embroidery silk used on
this flag. which is fourteen by ten feet
costs 50 pound.
Uncle Sans flag emporium is II
charge of his flaCmaster. whose bust
ness. among other things. is to test al
the bunting bought by the establish
ment. One day sample lot Of bunt
ing is soaked and washed In soap anC
fresh water. the next day the same
process is followed with salt water. II
is then exposed TO the weather for ter
days. thirty hours of which time mus
be in the sunlight This is termed the
color and fading test. Another test i!
always made for the tensile strength
a strip of the warp two inches wide
is placed in machine and must stant
pulling strain of sixty-fve pounds
while two inches of the filing mus
stand fortyfive pound strain.
All over the floor of the workshop
are arranged chalk lines and meta
markers by the aid of which the flag
are cut out. Large stripes and Ger
tain designs can be more convenient,
stitched this way. The sewing is don
by women on machines run by cleo
trio motors
II - al IHltTestllIS SiSht W SeO liz
big machine at work cutting out star
for the United States flags. 1t is tn
only machine of its kind in this cOun
try. 1t consists Of plunger titte'
with steel knives the size of the sta
wanted. and with a single dOwnwar
stroke it lays on a table 100 stars
There are eight different sizes of star
used for the different flags. and o
| course the machine is provided wit
the eight different dies for the pun