Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-05-21
our NAvY'S FLAGS
Each Vessel Carries Nearly a Ton
Of Bunting.
EMBLEMs OF ALL NATIONS.
Come Of the Designs Are Quite Expsn.
sivs, and, a. . Rule. the Smaller the
Nation the More Costly lts Banner
Uncle Sans Flag Emporium.

sive, and, ~ Rule. the Smaller ths
Nation the More Costly lts Banner
Uncle Sans Flag Emporium.
On every vessel Of the United States
navy, from the monster battleShlp to
the tlniest tug. Is slowed away neurly
n ton of flags. which 20 to make mp
the number each vessel is required I"
carry for use on different occasions
About half Of this vast pile Of flags
consists Of emblems Of foreign nations
The making of the dag equipment for
the navy costs more than $G0.NN q
year. Each ship carries forty three
foreign flags. which are thirteen feet
wide by twenty-five feet long.
As n ships quota Of flags is renewed
every three years II Is no small under
taking to keep them replenished. and to
this ead Uncle Sam keeps a large tiag
making establishment running Mt full
time ths year around at the Brooklyn
navy yard. Employed there arc some
hundred skilled needlewomen working
cutting the different colored buntings
into the required widths and sewing
them together. Making the United
States eag Is not difficult job. but
the making Of some Of the foreign en-
blems Is quite different matter. and
this Is what most Of the work at the
dag establishment consists of.
Take. for example. the flag OF 'san
Salvador. In the background there IL
a belching volcano pouring forth It's
lava and white smoke. On the sides
Of the mountain is the green fo!ias"
and shrubery. while directly In the
foreground Is a tranquil sea OF sap
phire blue. Above the volcano Is II
rising sun set In a design of overflow
Ing cornucopias and q diamond from
which the ruys are scintillating In rv'
cry direction. To the left and right VI
the belching mountain are draped IN
varied designs banners which bear n
similarity to the stars and stripes
Around the whole concentration is
wreath of cactus branches lovingly
embracing the volcano. while at the
ton tho date Of the country's indepcnd
ence Is inscribed. TO make Il dag 0f
this description costs the government
$52.5 and when one OF these flags L.
placed on each ship Of the navy every
three years II can be readily seen tlia'
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 fiag of Costa Ricu. with Its seen
ic beauty of mountains and sea. Is IN
other extravagant emblem. costing
something li!;r $50 to complete. 81 II
seems that the smaller the nation the
more costly its flag.
The largest flag made by the Chl'ed
States Is the Ensign No. I. which meas
ures thlrty-six feet long and nineteen
feet wide. The cost of this monster
is $40 or thercabouts.
The presidents hag. while not III"
largest by uuy means. takes longest 10
make. requiring the labor OF one per
SOL for mouth to complete II. Ii Is
Of simple design. being blue heiu
with the coat of arms Of the United
States IN the center. The life sized
eagle with outstretched wings and
other emhlems are nil hand embroid'
cred and Involve the most patient
work. The embroidery silk used on
this dag, winch Is fourteen by ten feet.
costs 81 a pound.
Uncle Sans flag emporium Is III
charge Of his 6agmaster. whose busl
ness. among other things. ID to test all
the bunting bought by the establish
ment. One day sample lot OF onht
Ing Is soaked and washed In soap ana
fresh water. the next day the same
process ia followed with salt water. II
is then exposed to the weather for ten
days, thirty hours Of which time must
be In the sunlight. This IL termed the
color and fading test Another test Is
always made for the tensile strength
A strip Of the warp two inches wide
Is placed In q machine and must STAND
q pulling strain OF sixty-tve pounds
while two inches Of the filling must
stand O forty.fve pound strain.
All over the Hoor Of the workshop
sre arranged chalk lines and metal
markers by the aid Of which the hags
are cut out. Large stripes and Ger
tain designs can be more conveniently
stitched this way. The sewing IL done
by women on machines run by cleo
tric motors.
II is an interesting sight to see the
big machine at work cutting out stars
for the United States aags. 1t Is the
only machine Of It's kind In this coun.
try. Il consists Of Q plunger fitted
with steel knives the size Of the star
wanted, and with Q single downward
stroke Il lays on q table 100 stars.
There are eight different sizes Of starl
used for the different days. and Of
course the machine u provided with
the eight different dies for the pur'
pose. Until recent years these starr
were cut out BY hand, which was q
long and tedious task, but now . day'a
work Of the machine win supply stan
for q weeks work on dash-Harpers
Weekly.