The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times., 1918-09-12
Old Glory
BY ELLIS PARKER BUTLER
Of Tho VigiiaHfes

-nnu the other day / made him n
boat out In the back yard, with n
sail that he can raise and lower, and
nt the tCp of the mast | tackled on n
flag" to iluttcr In the breeze that
blows continuously here on Long Is
land. The flag" like the sail, Is II
piece of old canvas. II flaps In the
breeze like any flag. but II does not
mean II thing! / can look out of my
window and see that flag" futtering
and not feel the slightest emotion of
nny sort. l made 1t. l know IL Is
nothing hut piece Of old canvas.
ripped from a large piece and nailed
there.
Some day-but God forfend any
such day--that flag" might have II
meaning for me. ] might look out of
my window and see 1t iuttcring there
and know that my boy would never
again look up ut It In his play and
the sight of the poor rag might fill my
heart with agony. IL any noighbor
then came into my yard and laid rough
hands on that flag and tore II down
ana trnmpcd on II l think | would
hii illil' hN pun ibS "''li Wv ~
cred because of the memories that
clung To 1t.
Il Is because it means so much, Is
the symbol OF so much, that our ma
tlon's flag Is so sacred that the man
who dcfilcs It deserves to be shot
down In the act.
A flag Is n symbol, sign, as the
to. an a nd 20 b.. rel n N ppln
Is Il symbol. The mere silk or bunt-
Ing of the flag are nothing. A burial
squad tramps through the woods bear
Ing the body of dead comradc, and
digs his grave and covers him over In
his last bed. On the ground lie two
bits of wood. They are nothing but
bits of wood, to be burned, or to hc
left TO decay The dead mans com
rades pick them up and bind one
across the other and plant the cross
thus made at the head of the grave
Now tho bits Of wood have become a
sacred sign and whoever destroys that
cross. or dciilcs II, or throws II down
Is indeed II dog. The bunting and the
silk of our flag are nothing; not un
I'll they are assembled In the Stars and
Stripes OF our flag and thrown to the
breeze as the symbol OF loyalty and
patriotism do they demand our rever'
,ence.
Why We Honor the Flag.
We honor the flag because of what
Il stands for. Those who dishonOi
our flag dishonor all It stands for. In
days like these, when our nation Is at
war, there might be placed under the
dome Of the capitol at Washington a
great book Of thousand pages. On
the first page might be inscribed the
Americans Greed, proclaiming be
lief In national honor, national justice
and national honesty and belief In
free government for this free Amcri'
can people. To Washington then
might be called all the people Of the
nation, to sign. one after another
their names In the great book so that
all America and all the world might
know how each man and woman and
child stood, until all our millions were
enrolled. There Is no need of this
The Americans Greed Is wriUen In
the Stars and Stripes OF our flag. Oui
flag stands for all that could be writ
ten In the great book at Washington
Ii stands for honor justice, national
honesty and free government. and
when the time of stress comes as nj
present, the flag Is at hand, ready &c
be raised In twenty million homes, q
proclamation of loyalty as valid ms q
signed and sealed book. our flag Is
not gaily colored decoration e
brighten our towns and villages; 1t Is
Il creed-an ~ bclieve"--to tell our
neighbors. our nation, and the whole
world how we stand.
It Is remarkable to what an extent
days. even the simplest, tell the ma
tIonnl stories. chanced upon the flaf
of the little grand duchy of Luxem
burg few days ago for the first time
had long been familiar with thu
Luxcmburg coat-of-arms, which Is ;
standing lion on n barred shield. sur
mounted by the ducal coronet, and
had imagined the flag of Luxemburl
would be something like that. II II
three straight bars, or stripes, of red
white and blue. These are the color'
Of France, hut they are arranged or
the flag Of Luxembourg rs are the red
white and black Of Germany, and moi
perpendlcularly as In the French fag
The flag tells Its own story. The peo
pie Of Luxembourg speak German
their sympathies are entirely French
In something Of the same wuy thu
flag OF Great Britain tells Its story
with the st. Georges cross OF Eng
land. ST. Andrews cross OF Scotland
and st. Patrick's cross of Ireland com
bined. The true story Of Prusslaaisn
and It's brutal aggressions Is told b,
the German flags. The German EN-
pire. so much boastej. Is shown b.
Its flag TO be but footstool on which
the king of Prussia wipes his feet. FOL
In It's center Is the black eagle o
Prussia, crowned. and the black eros
Of Prussia IL smeared all over 1t. Th'
German emperor Is Prussia and moth
Ing but Prussia-a military autocrac!
holding Bavaria, Wurttem6urg, Sax