The Ordway new era., 1918-08-23

color that was chosen by the pirates
and cutthroats.
Every one knows the story of our
own flag. with the thirteen stripes that
signify the thirteen original states
of our Union, and the stars, one for
each state in the Union today. Wheth-
er Betsy Ross or another first sewed
together the stripes and stitched the
original thirteen stars in place on
their blue field matters little, for flags
are not made in that way. Our flag
was made when the wise fathers Of
our nation decreed that this should be
u union of sovereign states and that
no kingly crown or imperial eagle
should appear on our banners. The
long deliberations and deep wisdom
of the founders of the nation made
possible a flag of thirteen stripes when
they decreed that each state should
continue its Individual existence un-
der the national government, and in
effect decreed the many-starred blue
field when they said that new states,
as they became worthy, might enter
the Union.
Even then our flag was not a flag.
1t had to win a place for itself and
a right to existence. 1t was as If the
stripes were not yet welded together
or the stars riveted in their places.
Through the long years of the Revolu-
tionary war the American fighting
men gave their lives and shed their
red blood that the flag might become
permanency. Each dying soldier by
his death gave life to the flag. 1t was
born of their blood.
There was no separate peace" made
by Massachusetts or New York or vlr-
stripes from the flag or to rip one Of
the thirteen stars from the blue field.
Year after year, cold, hungry. half
clothed. beaten about and .buffeted,
retreating and advancing. the Revolu-
tionary heroes who had at first fought
under a dozen different flags, fought
under the Stars and Stripes, making
1t flag. When the struggle ended
at yorktown the flag was already sa-
cred, made so by the blood of those
who died for the freedom Of their
fellow countrymen. Our flag was not
made by those who worked with
needle and thread but by those who
died for high ideals. The blackest
traitor that ever betrayed our country
might sew silk or bunting together;
our flag was made by Washington and
his men. Jackson and his men. Lin
coin and his men. The great minds
and great hearts and brave men and
women of the past made our flag a
real flag. They made the flag for us;
today we are making 1t for those who
will come after us.
Must Be Made Again.
I say we are making it. because you
and /, hope, are doing all we can to
help our army and our navy win the
fight against the blood-reeking autoc-
racy that wishes to unmake half the
flags of the world and put the modern
flag of piracy In their places. For
this is true: Each flag that is real
flag must be made again and again
with the passing years. 1t is true our
flag has been made and perpetrated.
In times of peace it has been flag
of peace and truer symbol of peace
than the white flag of submission. It
has also been a war banner as glori-
Gus as any that ever floated above the
heads of armed men. Again and again,
when brave men fought for what they
believed to be right and justice. our
flag has been torn by shot and shell
and drenched with blood. 1t has
gone forth at the head of armies. silk
en- and fringed with gold, to come
back torn and tattered but a more
splendid ensign of liberty than 1t had
ever been before. 1t has left our ports
floating from proud ships and has
sunk beneath the waves when the bat
tered ships went down and was a
greater flag then than 1t had been.
Like the phoenix 1t has arisen from
every fire of trial in renewed glory.
And on each Flag day, 1t will float
from the STATS of million American
homes. perhaps from ten million or
twenty million. but its greatest glory
the greatest glory of its 40 years-is
that 1t will float in the breezes OF
France and Flanders beside the flags
of Belgium, France and Great Britain,
and on the seven seas of the world. In
the worlds greatest combat against au-
tocratic brutality. No longer the flag
of group of colonies, Old Glory has
become the banner of wOrld-power,
the emblem of the mightiest free peo-
pie that ever existed.
Old 0lory's New Birth.
Never were the stripes of our flag
brighter or the stars more brilliant on
their field of blue than they are today.
In field. in mine, In factory. In home. in
garden. In camp, on ship. in trench and
in battle line the men and women and
the children of our vast free empire