The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times., 1918-09-12

color That was chosen by the pirates
and cutthroats.
Every one knows the story of our
own flag, with the thirteen stripes thnt
signify the thirteen original states
OF our Union, and the stars, one for
each state In the Union today. Whcth.
or Betsy Ross or another first sewed
together the stripes and stitched tho
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 decrced that this should be
union Of sovereign states and that
no kingly crown or imperial eagle
should appear on our banners. The
long deliberations ard deep wisdom
uf the founders of the nation made
possible n flag of thirteen stripes when
they dcCrccd that each state should
continue its individual existence un,
der the national government, and in
effect dccrced the many-starred blue
field when they said that new states.
as they became worthy, might enter
the Union.
Even then cur flag was not flag.
II had to win place for Itself and
a right to existence. II was as II the
stripes were not yet welded together
or the stars rivctcd In their places.
! Through the long years of the RevOlu-
| tiunury war the American fighting
men gave their lives and shed their
! red blood that the flag might become
n pcrlnancncy. 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 Nir-
! ginia, to tear one of the thirteen
! stripes from the flag or To rip one of
| til" thirteen stars from the blue field.
! Year after year, cold, hungry, half
clothed, beaten about aud bufctcd,
rctrcatlng ana advancing, the Rcvolu-
| tionary heroes who had at first fought
under dozen different flags, fought
| under the Stars and Stripes, making
| 1t flag. When the struggle ended
! ut Yorktown the flag was already sa-
cred, made so by the blood oC those
who died for the freedom of their
| fellow countrymrn. our flag was not
made by those who worked with
needle and thread but by those who
died for high ideals. The blackcat
! traitor that ever betrayed our country
might sew silk or bunting together;
our ilag 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
wsmen OF the pnst made our flag Il
real flag. They made the ilug for us {;
today we are making it for those who
will come after US.
Must Be Made Again.
say we are making II. because you
and !, ! hope, are doing all we can 10
help our army and our navy win the
fight against the blood-recking 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 a real
flag must be made agalr and again
with the passing years. It Is true our
flag has been made and perpetruted.
In times of Dcace II has been fing
of peace and truer symbol of peace
than the white flag of submission. 1t
has also been a war banner as glorl-
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
on and friuged with gold, to come
back torn and tnttcred but more
splendid ensign OF liberty than 1t had
ever been before. II has left our ports
floating from proud ships and has
sunk beneath the waves when the bat
tered ships went down and was Il
greater flag then than it had been.
Like the phoenix It has arisen from
every fire of trial In renewed glory.
And on each Flag day, 1t will float
from the staifs OF million American
homes, perhaps from ten million or
twenty pillion, hut its greatest glory
the greatest glory of its 40 years-ls
that It will ilont In the brccZcS of
France and Flanders beside the flags
O. 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 a group of colonies, Old Glory has
become the banner of world-power,
the emblem Of the mightiest free peo.
pie that ever existed.
Old Glory'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 skip, In trench and
In battle line the men and women and
the children Of our vast free empire
are united In one great cause, and the
free flag Of free feoele floats over
them. unstaincd ard unsp cited.
From generation to generation. since
Old Glory was born, flags have died,
hut Old Glory has had new birth. The
white flag Of royal France and the
Standard of Napoleon have given way
to the tricolor, but Ola Glory still
| q l,.s