The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

cause the description of the flag was telegraphed from Congress every where, and this man. and many oth- CTS, raised flags from this description
 and waited them to the breezes long
 before March IS. General O'Neal in Florence, Ala. was speaker on the oc-
 casion when on the 1th day of March,
 under their captain. S. A. M. Wood the Florence Guards unfurled their ban ner exactly like the Confederate flag I could enumerate instance after in- stance like this, so I see no proof what ever for Mir Smith on that score.
 Major Walker lays great stress and
 counts on the fact that Mrs. Cory vol
 untarily states she does not deny that Major Smith sent a model of flag to
 Montgomery.
 Answer: I must still continue to tell
 the truth. l tried in my arguments to
 be not only fair but kind, out of kind
 ness for my opponent I felt glad that
 I could say I believe her father had sent a sample flag to the Confederate Congress. Was that so remarkable a thing to do? There were over Al flags sent in. The records of Congress fair ly fluttered with the patriotism of flags but the report sent out from Congress says not one of the flags sent in was chosen, and the record of the flags kept and seen does not contain the flag which MT. Smith says he sent in the second week in February, so it doesn't seem so remarkable a thins
 after all nor prove anything, that in
 kindness I said that Mir. Smith might have sent in one of the many flags which the committee thought not suit able and all of which they rejected But General Walker is not so kind; he will not admit that MT. Marschall's design was sent to the committee and
 says there is nothing to show this, although the son of Mrs. Lockett and the daughter of Mrs Lockett and q
 near and dear friend of Mrs. Lockett
 and of MT. Marschall all testify that MT. Marschall gave Mrs. Lockett the
 designs she asked for the committee.
 If l were going to send something to
 a committee I would rather hand it
 to them, as Mrs Lockett did. than send it through the mail. MT. Smith has no vestige of proof that his flag was ever
 received. He even acknowledges he
 doesn't know to whom the flag was
 sent.
 It is positively asserted in the re- port of Chairman Miles that the com
 mittee could not agree on flag. Later in letter to General Beauregard about the battle flag, only few months
 after March f. when the flag was
 raised at Montgomery on August 27, 1861, MT. Mailes says in part: Although was chairman of the flag commit tee, who reported the present flag
 (stars and bars) it was not my indi-
 vidual choice. I urged upon the com
 mittee a flag of this sort (design
 sketched). This is very rough the pro- portions are bad (design sf Confed- crate battle flag as it isl.
 The above is better. The ground red. the cross blue (edged with white), stars white. This was my favorte. The three colors of red, white and blue were pre- served in it. It avoided the religious objection about the cross Grom the Jews and many Protestant sects) because it did not stand out so conspicuously as if the cross had been placed upright thus (de- sign sketched). But l am worrying you
 in my pet hobby in the matter of the flag. wish Congress would change the present one. Your reasons are conclu- sive in my mind, but I fear it is just as hard now as 1t was in Montgomery to tear people away entirely to appropriate some "reminiscences of the old flag. Elev- en years later, in 1872, MT. Miles writes substantially the same thing, which in no wise conflicts with the congressional i flag report or the letter of August 27 1861. The records of the Confederate Con- gress are most unsatisfactory, as only a very small part of what was said and done was reported. It is very certain that MT. Miles on account of the fact that none of the designs sent were satisfac-