The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1944-06-15

crushed under the heels Of d~ictsters,
there has been no black-out in orr land
Of the freedoms so dear TO the heart Of
press-no blackout of religious liberty
NOR Of free speech-nor the right of
assembly-nor Of trial by jury. So, let
the White in your flag stand for liberty
as well as purity.
The BLUE in you flag 10 the blue
heaven-the blue of the midnight sky
the true blue and it signifies loyalty.
It reminds us Of the devotion that those
early Americans, through days of sacri-
flee, hardship and achievement, put in
to this flag. May we, today, heal the
words of Abraham Lincoln as he spoke
to us from Gettysburg: at is for us,
the living, rather to be dedicated here
to the unfinished work which they so
nobly advanced. May we here highly re-
| solve that these dead shall not have
died in vain, that this nation under God
shall have a new birth Of freedom, and
that Government Of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth" When you look upon
the BLUE in your flag may you let it
mean this personal loyalty to your
country.
And now let us think about the sym
bols. There are 10 separate stripes lying
side by side. These remind us of the
six years of the Revolutionary War
when the 10 separate and individual
colonies united to fight side by side to
conquer a common enemy. This expert
| enee proved to the little nation, yet to
be formed, that in union there is
strength. This lesson is as much need
ed today as it was in the days when
the colonies learned it.
And the stars!-they, too, we're taken
from heaven. Our early flag makers
realized their dependence upon God.
Each star in our flag represents a great
event in our history for each signifies
the entrance of one of our as States in
to the United States. Each one tells the
story of the struggle to win a State
from the wilderness and present it to
the Union. One Of these stars is for
Kansas. 1t tells of the men, women and
children who built the mud huts, fought
Indians, battled against the dust storms
and g~rasshoppers, to put that star into
the flag. From 1889 to 1912, the stars
we're added one by one.
The message of these colors and sym
bols is that we nave inherited a great
nation. The blessings we enjoy today
arc ours BECAUSE of the patriotic strug-
giles of those who made this country a
great place in which to live-a place
where we can enjoy liberty, right and
justice. The flag of the past is what
these doughty pioneers made it. We, the
people of the United States of today,
will make the flag of the future. This
flag has never been conquered-it has
never been dragged in the dust. 1t is
cowardice to bring this glorious emblem
to shame, disgrace and defeat. The
ancients ran a race which they called
the Torch Relay" in which the first
runner carried a lighted torch and
flung it to the second. This second rum
49, AN' w ~ Neai ~
and keep it burning until he could
throw it safely into the hands Of the
third.
John McCrea using this thought in
his poem an Flanders Field" wrote
T you from failing hands we throw
these lines:
The torch-be it your to hold it high;
If We break faith with those who die,
We shall not sleep"
The torch has beer flung to us. The
flag will be THAT we will make it. May
we, the flag makers of today, accept
the challenge and sincerely and Loyalty
give the response as in r. w. Lilliard's
poem, Americas Answer:
Fear not that you have died for naught
The torch you threw to US, we've
caught;
Ten million hands will hold it high
And freedoms light shall never die
We've learned the lesson that you
taught"
What an inspiring ideal is ours when
we realize that we, the people, are max.
'hS ~ iioS. II TTcStuenI OF the UNI
ted States as he signs an important bill
thus creating it a law of the land. is
making the flag-the ambitious. indus.
trious lads working their way through
college, improving their minds that they
may better serve their country, are max.
ing the flag-the sacrificing parents
struggling to give their children higher
education that they may become bette,
citizens, are making the flag-both the
general who wins an important victory
on the battlefield and the teacher n
the class room who inspires boys and
girls to love their country, are making
the flag.
Thu story is told of some Union sol.
diers from Connecticut who were de-
feated in one of the battles of the Civil
War. As the Confederates climbed the
breast works, the Union Commander
gave the order to save the flag. II was
pulled down and cut into MANY p;eces.
A piece was given to each Union soldier
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