Evening star., 1912-06-30
The UNuoN" Or 46STAR
In THE ELAGWHICH
DIES ON JUX 4TH

with relation to Old Glory is interesting.
Strange to say, neither Congress nor the
President, through executive order, has
ever said just what the proportions of the
flag should be. The various departments
have never come to an agreement on this
point, and as result each department,
when 1t lets its contracts, stipulates the
proportions it wants in its flag. The navy
flag, for instance, makes its standard
banner ten feet wide and nineteen feet
long. All the other flags are made in the
same proportions. The War Department
uses similar flag. the post flag, but the
proportions are different This banner
is ten feet wide by twenty feet long, and
the other flags of the army are nearly
all made in that proportion. The garri-
son flag, the biggest banner Of the War
Department, Is twenty feet wide by thir-
ty-six feet long. Strangely. there has
never been any authoritative ruling on
what the proportions Of the flag should
be. This irregularity does not exist in
the flag OF any other nation. The Brit
ish. in ordering flags, merely give their
length In yards, 1t being understood that
the width Is half the length, and those
proportions are always the same.
~
The union. that Is to say the portion Of
the flag containing the stars, is two-f1fths
of the length of the navy flags and one
third the length Of the army flags, there
by furnishing another example Of a lack
of uniformity. In the grouping of the
stars. however, there is always uniform
ity. The President appoints commission
whenever a new state is admitted to de-
eide what shall be the official grouping
of the stars. When there were forty-five
states there were six lines of stars, three
of eight and three of seven, the different
lengths alternating. When Oklahoma was
admitted four lines of stars became long
and two short. In the new flag, which
has just been arranged by a special COM
mission appointed for the purpose, there
is the solid block.
The general supply committee for all
the departments has protested against the
varying proportions of the flags, and
commission has been appointed to bring
about uniformity and has made a report
to the President. but that report has not
yet been acted upon.
There is now pending before Congress
a bill. introduced by Mr.. Ansberry of
Ohio. which proposes an entirely new
arrangement Of the stars. This arrange
ment fixes the stars in five arcs When
ever new states are admitted these arcs
at the ends In urging this arrangement
Mr.. Ansberry cites the fact that, with the
addition of the next state, the new solid
field will be again broken up. This
WOuIQ PROBABLY neCeSSltdte an arrange
ment in seven lines of seven stars each,
making up the necessary forty-nine The
admission of the fiftieth state would break
up this combination and an entire rear
rangement would again be necessary.
X \
The great majority of the official flags
that the people of the nation see are
made in Washington. The flags that fly
over all of Uncle Sans post offices. fed
eral courts, customs houses, department
buildings, embassies. consulates, and
whatever other government office aside
from the military. come from this shop
It was from this shop that the largest
official flag that was ever made came.
This flag hangs in the Post Office De-
partment. This great building is con-
structed about a hollow square at the
bottom of which is the glass-roofed floor
space where mail is handled. Above this
areaway rise nine stories of masonry
inclosng the hollow square. In the
middle Of this hangs the great flag, reach
ing nearly the height and width of it. 1t