The daily Alaskan., 1916-10-09
HORRORS OF
 WORLD MAR
Restored by Special Process Alter Having Been In Tatsers For Years They Are a Living Proof of the Hero- ism of Our So,d.ers ard Sailors.


 ism of Our Soid.ers ard Sailors
 In the auditorium of the academic , building at the United States Naval academy at Annapolis are 15,OOO square yards of flags, most of them trophy flags.
 The capture of ,Lcse tattered ban ners helped to make the stars and stripes respected Jy the nations of the earth and reflect uuGyiEg glory on the men of the U"i,cd states navy. They are living proofs of the hcroism and courage of the soldiers and sailors who fought to maintain the flag when the nation was struggling for independ- ence and later when it was fighting to establish firmly the foundations of the greatest republic of the world.
 From 1877 to 1901 this collection of flags. which should be one of Amer lca's most highly prizei treasures, was kept at the Naval academy and eXhib tied in the old naval institute hall.
 In 1901, when it was decided to tear down this building, the flags were packed in iron boxes and stored away, Being in a dilapidatcd condition when they were taken down to be packed, grave fears were entertained that they would be further damaged by moths. During the ten years they remained in storage repeated efforts were made to have the government take some steps to put them in permanent state | of preservation, but without success. In 1912 congress appropriated $30.000 for the work of preservation. About three months later Mrs. Amelia Fowler, an expert on flag preservation, obtained the services of forty needle women, who began the arduOus task of sewing over by hand every inch of the 15,OOO square yards in the flags, as the natural decay of age as well as the almost hopeless ravages of moths made any ordinary method of preservation seem impossible.
 A special process was originated by Mrs. Fowler, which Is described as spreading the tattered remnants of each flag upon backing of heavy Irish linen oi neutral color"
 The delicate work was guided by the original measurement of the flag, by knowledge of its design and by plac- Ing in vertical and horizontal line the warp and wool threads in the frag- ments of bunting.
 What remained of the original flag was then Sewed firmly to the linen backing by needlewomen under Mrs. Fowlers instruction and guidance.
 Less than year after the labor of repairing was begun, on May 16, 1913. the flags were completed and put on exhibition at the Naval academy.
 In the ceiling of the academic build ing is one of the most interesting of the trophy flags. It is a British royal standard taken from the parliament house at York, now Toronto, then the capital of upper Canada. when the place was taken by the squadron under Commodore Isaac ChaunCey and land force under General Zebulon Montgom. cry Pike, April 27, 1913.
 The squadron, with about HOO sol. diers aboard, effected landing at York under cover of a fire of grape from the ships, cleared a way through the h. dians and sharpshooters that the Eng. fish had formed to oppose them and stormed the batteries. The capture of York resulted in the acquisition of the royal standard, the only British royal standard captured and held by any nation.
 The flags captured by Admiral Dewey at Manila bay are in thls auditorium. and some of them arc exquisite. The one flown at the main of the Spanish cruiser Don Antonio de Ulloa is a re- hinder of the plucky captain of that cruiser Enrique RObiou. who refused to surrender at the battle of Manila bay on May 1, 1898, so the Ulloa sank with its guns blazing defiance and all flags flying.-BoSton Globe.