Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-08-17
FLAG RAISING AT
EASTPORT YARDS
OF CHANCE CO.
Employees Of Marine Construc.
ton Company Present Them
With United States Flag
MAYOR STRANGE
PULLS HALYARDS
DIR. c. Alphonso Smith Makes Pa
triotic Speech - Mr.. Ridgely
Melvin Delivers Address

Shortly before noon today a number
Of prominent citizens. including MAYOR
Strange, assembled at the Chance Mar
inc Construction Company Eastport,
to witness and to engage in a patriotic
ceremony of general interest.
The working force at the Construc-
tion Company, which has recently
built a score or two sub-mar-
inc chasers, presented the company
with a large and handsome United
States Flag, to be flown to the breeze
from a flag pole on the premises.
The flag was unfurled at noon today
with appropriate exercises, in which
Mayor Strange. DR.. c. Alphonso Smith,
Head of the Department of Languages
at the Naval Academy and Mr.. Ridge
ly p. Melvin, participated
The flag which was purchased by
the employees now floats from pole
in the centre of the yards, is five by
place after the speech making. was
done by Mayor James F. Strange. who
pulled the halyards.
Mayor Strange made few brief but
happily expressed remarks in which
he emphasized what the flag of our
country stands for. He also gave en-
phasis to the question of the splendid
service the men who work in ship
yards are giving their country, and
that they are serving Just the same as
enlisted men
Mr. Ridgely p Melvin, made a stir
ringiy patriotic speech in which he ex-
planned what the flag stands for, and
what it means in the present day,
more than it ever meant before.
DR.. C. Alphonso Smith, Head of the
Department of Languages at the Ma
val Academy, was the last speaker. AS
an orator DR.. Smith is too we'll known
to need comment. In his usual splen-
did style, eloquent, though unassum-
ing, DIR. Smith spoke of the signifi-
canoe of this flag raising, and how
much more these ceremonies seemed
to mean now than they did some
years ago, when they were more per
functory and attended with less real
spirit and sentiment. The flag then
was the mere symbol of the country,
while today it stands for the Democ-
racy of the World.
DR.. Smith gave praise to the men
who are working in the yard of the
Chances Marine Construction Rail-
way, all of whom were present at the
ceremonies of the flag raising. He
said these men are fighting battle
for freedom as are the men on the
Eastern Front and in the trenches, and
that they are equally patriotic. They
can hand down to their children and
to their children's children, that they,
too, helped in the fight to make the
world free for Democracy.
Parents should instill in their chill
dren along with the love and respect
for the flag. the fear for the flag as
well. most people overlook the fear OF
the flag. which today to all the world
means more and stands for more than
at any other period in the worlds his
tory.
After Dr. Smiths address the men
in the yard gave three cheers for the
Flag: three cheers for each one of the
speakers. individually and three cheers
for Mr.. Charles Chance, the owner OF
the shipyards of the Chance Marine
Construction Company. The flag rails
ing ceremony was a surprise to Mr.
Chance, who had no intimation of II
until this mornings The entire eere
mony was most informal but truly
natriotic and altogether inspiring.