Evening journal., 1914-06-13
FLAG nay AND THE FLAG

Glory The American Flag Association has played a
leading part stimulating public interest in the day
issued literature bearing upon the history
Of our national colors which timely instructive and
interesting.
The American flag is a growth rather than Gre
alton Its history be traced back to the Twelfth
Century nearly 600 prior to the first Flag
Day" June a. 1871.
During the first crusade in 1195, Pope Urban II
assigned to ali OF the Christian nations standards
crosses varying in color and design emblematic Of
the warfare in which they engaged. To the
Scotch troops was assigned the white saltire known
as the white Of st. Andrew, on blue field The
British used yellow cross, but century and quar-
ter later they adopted red cross on white field
known as the red cross Of st. George.
When James vi OF Scotland, ascended the throne
of England James l. he combined the two flags, and
issued proclamation requiring all ships to carry the
new flag at their main masts AT the same time
tho vessels Of South Britain to carry at their
foremasts the red cross cf So George and the ships
Of North Britain to carry the white Of St.
Andrew
The new flag was known as Kings Colors," the
"Union Colors" or the Great Union,7 and later
the "union Jack and was the one under which the
British made all their permanent settlements in Amer
It the flag of Great Britain only by proclama-
ton however; not until 1907 did Parliament pass
definitely uniting the two countries and their flags.
In the year the government issued regulations
quiring the Navy to use what known the white
ensign the Naval Reserves the blue ensign, and the
Merchant Marine, the red ensign. Owing to the fact
that the British merchant vessels everywhere,
the colonsts in America to look upon this red
ensign the flag Of Great Britain
The people in the New England colonies Bit
tery opposed to the cross in the flag. In 1885
of the troops in Massachusetts, declined to march under
this flag and the military commissioners forced
to design other flags for their troops with the
left out The design they adopted has not been pre-
served. IA 1862 a mint was established IN Boston
Money coined in this mint had the pine tree stamped
side of it. The pine tree design also used
New England flags certainly by 17O4 and possibly
early as 1886.
AT the outbreak Of the Revolution the American col
onies had no nag common to all Of them In many
cases the merchant marine flag OF England was used
with the pine tree substituted for the Union Jack Mas
sachusetts adopted the green pine tree a white
field with the motto "An Appeal 70 Heaven" Some
Of the Southern States had the rattlesnake flag with
the motto Don't Tread Me-" a white Or yellow
field. This flag had been used by South Carolina as
early l764 Benjamin Franklin defended the rat
tesnake device the ground that the rattesnake Is
found only in America and that serpent emhems
considered BY ancients 10 be symbols OF wisdom
IN September, 1875. there displayed iii the
South what Is by many believed to be the first dis
tinctvely American flag. 1t was with white crescent
and matched the dress Of the troops who wore caps
inscribed, Liberty Death"
The coonists desired to adopt a flag; but
they had yet declared independence and we're not
at first seeking independence They took the British
flag as they knew it. and made colonial flag by
dividing the red field with white stripes into thirteen
alternate red and white stripes This known as the
Cambridge flag, because it first unfured over
Washingtons Headquarters at Cambridge Mass, on
January l. 1916 II complied with the law of 1907 by
having the Union Jack on it, It also represented
the thirteen colonies by the thirteen stripes
AS the coonists gradually became converted to tho
M fhC
necessary they began to modify the flag by
4 ing on the Union Jack and using only the thirteen
horizontal stripes. The modified flags were not always
red and white but regularly consisted of combinations
of two colors selected from red white blue and yell
| low. The final modification was the replacement OF
the Union Jack by the white stars on a blue field
The stars are the only distinctive feature OF the
American flag. The charming story which credits
Betsy Ross with making the first flag Of stars and
stripes is stll accepted by historians When Wash
ington suggested the sxponted star she demonstrated
the ease with which lye-ponted star could be made
by folding piece Of paper and producing one with {
single clip Of the scissors Some writer's are OF til,
opinion that both stars and stripes in the flag wef
derived from the coat Of Of the Washington fam
iy but this theory is not generally held
The official adoption Of our first Nag was in INT
On June IA Of that the Continental Congress passe
act providing that "the aag Of the thirteen Unite
states he thirteen stripes alternate white tha
the union be thirteen stars white on a blue field rel
rssentng a new constellation" The thirteen stai
were arranged in circle to symbolic the perpetu
Of the union Of the States
Vermont was admitted to the Union in 1871 and Ke1
q tueky in 1892 It felt that these two new stat
ought TO be recognized the flag SO in 1894 Conere
passed an act making the flag fifteen stars and
teen stripes.
This remained the nag Of the United states throug
out the War Of 1872 until there were twenty stat
in the Union. In 1916 effort was again made
modify the flag that all he States would
represented IT, To be continually adding strip
would make the lag very awkward in shape and a
pearance so. after arguing the matter for two yea
Congress decided to return to the original thirte
stripes star for each State. Congress has
determined the arrangement of the stars the sha
and proportions Of the flag, and there has been gre
variation especially in the grouping OF the The
still many who believe that the symbolic circul
ernnnine f stars shnnld be resfnrnd