Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1914-06-17
WARSHIP BUNTING.
It Takes a Lot of Flags to Fit
Out Uncle Sans Navy.
USE C0L0RS OF ALElNATI0NS.

Ti Which the Material Is. Subjeeted.HG- :
Something like $4,000 a, year is re,
quired to keep Uncle Sans many naval
vessels properly equipped with flags.
In. addition most every other depart
lnent of the government appropriates
various sums for flags for buildings
and ships under its control In all,
il is safe to say the United States
spends S125,OOO q year for flags.
The largest factory belongs to the
navy. In large room, called the flag
loft" at Brooklyn navy yard half Il
hundred skilled needlewomen and quite
few men are kept constantly at work.
Officially it is the naval flag making es-
adjustment.
Thousands Of flags are required to
supply the hundreds Of vessels, from
battleships to launches. On entering
the flag loft the visitors first impress
sion is a blaze Of color. Rolls Of bright
bunting are heaped everywhere. Long
lines of electrically driven sewing ma
chimes, with women operators. are reel
ing off and putting the finishing touches
to American and foreign ensigns OF
many different hues and sizes. In addi-
ton to our own flag, the navy has to
keep Il supply Of every other nation In
the world which has coast line.
Each battleshiD, cruiser, gunboat or
scout in the navy requires about 500
Gags to outfit its flag locker properly.
Hcaped up, they make pile shoulder
high and twenty or twenty-five feet
long The foreign flags. incased in can
vas bags. bear the name OF the coun-
try stenciled on the end. The remain
der, including flags for ordinary use.
signaling. etc. are wrapped without
bags and numbered at the end. Each
flag has its separate place in the flag
locker. \ quartermaster would be re-
buked severely if one became mis-
placed. Each ship follows the same or
der in this. so that any one familiar
with the flag locker on one ship knows
the location Of every flag on any ship.
Uncle Sam pays about $500 to outfit
each ship in the service. This multi
piled by the number of ships will show
that flags are not an inconsequental
item Of naval expense. The foreign
ensigns are all made twenty-five feet
long and thirteen feet wide. They are
used whenever a'n American warship
enters 4 port Of another nation. The
flag of the visited nation is hoisted at
the top Of the foremost while the
American ship salutes. 1t is also hoist
ed when returning salutes OF foreign
vessels in American ports.
The most snowy and expensive flags
in the lot are those of foreign nations.
although the United States has two
flags that are close rivals, the flags of
the president and vice president. They
require the longest time to make OF
any flags. 1t takes one woman month
to finish each one. The presidents
flag is blue ground with the coat Of
arms of the United States in the cen
ter. The life sized eagle with out
stretched wings and other emblems are
all hand embroidered in silk The silk
used costs 50 n pound. The vice presi-
dents dag is the coat of arms on a
field Of white. Both flags are made IL
two sizes. 1G by II feet and by feet.
The larger is used on ships and the
smaller on launches and similar craft.
The largest flag made is the United
States ensign No. ], which is &c by 10
feet. 1t costs $40.
The bunting used in flag making is
put to severe tests before the flag max.
ers use it. One day a sample bundle Is
washed in soap and water. The next
day the same process is followed with
salt water It is then exposed to the
wea ther for ten days, thirty hours Of
which mist be in the bright sun. fit
doesn't fade in that test the govern
ment experts pass it. Then two inches
wide of the warp is subject to a pull
ing strain Of siyty-five pounds. Even
with all those precautions ship is al
lowed new set Of flags every three
years. while the signal flags and ship
and boat ensiSns in frequent use must
be replaced every few weeks.
One flag or pennant. rather, most
used by the navy and least known to
the public is the commission pennant.
It is hoisted to the masthead of every
naval vessel when it goes into commits
sion and is never removed. 1t is n
long. narrow streamcr. blue at the
staff, with thirteen stars in the field,
arranged in one line. and the flag di-
vided into two stripes, red and white,
the red at the top. When ships long
on foreign stations leave for home q
new commission pennant is always
hoisted. Usually it is one made and
paid for by the crew. In some cases
those "homeward bounders" stretch
out 500 feet and. made of silk, cost a
pretty penny. ~-..- ,-.f: -.
The thousands Of white stars used in
our own and many other ensigns are
made, by IAN electrically driven ma
chine which, cuts them. in fifty or a.
hundred lots. Eight different sizes of
stars are used.-Kansas City; Star aaa