By ELMO SCOTT WATSON UNE 14 is Flag day and it recalls the fact that on that date In 1777 the Continental congress “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, repre- senting & new constellation.” Thus it was that the new emblem of the nation came into official existence: thus it was that the Stars and Stripes were born. 3ut, contrary to the belief of many Ameri- cans, this does not mean that our national ban- ner sprang full-grown into being from the brain of one man or one group of men on that June day 136 years ago. The truth is that our flag, like so many other American institutions and symbols, developed by a gradual evolution dnd derived its inspiration from sources as varied as the strains of blood which have been fused into making “the typical American.” The real origin of our national flag goes back to the banner which was flown by the expedition that discovered the North American continent. This was the simple banner of St. George's cross, in red on a white field. the old flag of England. It was carried by the expedition of Glovanni Cabot, or as he is more familiarly known, John Cabot, the Italian navigator, exploring for Eng. land, who discovered the North American contl- nent in 1497. Sailing along the east coast for 1000 miles, he laid the foundation of English claims to North America. The flag was borne later by Capt. John Smith's ships to the set. tiement at Jamestown, Va. in 1607 and again by the Mayflower to the Plymouth (Mass) settle. ment in 1620, Next in the line of descent comes the King's Colors or the Union Jack, designed In 1606; sym- bolizing the union of England and Scotland after King James took the throne of the united king- doms In 1603. This union was represented In the English flag by imposing the English red cross of St. George on the Scottish white diag- onal cross of St. Andrew, on a field of blue, There are records of the use of this flag on forts in this country in 187% and 1608, and this en- gign was required in all British dominions by a parliamentary act of 1707. The term “Union Jack™ was probably derived from King James signing documents in the French “Jacques” the pronunciation of which is not unlike “Juck.” The “union” came to be applied to that part of our national flag carry- ing the stars, In fact, when this part of the flag is flown alone on bows of ships, it Is called the “onion jack” or simply “jack.” Three flags that had an early influence on the design of the Stars and Stripes were the striped flags of the Dutch republic. The Dutch, It will be remembered, first colonized New Netherlands, before It became New York. This territory In- cluded New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, Settlements in these states were made by Dutch colonists under their flags: that of the Dutch West India Co., with three stripes of or. ange, white and blue; the United States of Neth- erlands, with six stripes of red, white and blue, and the Rotterdam flag of green and white stripes. The English East India company finally crowd. ed the Dutch out of sea trade and this company brought a new flag to America, a nine or ten. striped banner of alternating red and white stripes, with a small St. George's cross of red in the upper corner next to the staff, One of the variations in this flag was a pine tree or globe, representing the New world, In the upper Jeft quarter of the union, formed by the arms of the St. George cross. In some flags of this period, the pine tree replaced the St. George cross entirely, With the Revolution, the struggling colonists wanted something different from a British flag, and the pine tree and rattlesnake emblems ap- peared; also the legend “Liberty and Union” on a plain fly of red. Then came the Stars and Stripes. When Washington left Philadelphia In 1775, to take command of the army at Cam- bridge, he was escorted out of the city hy the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse as far as Newark, N. J. The guldon of this troop was of yellow silk and carried in its upper corner, next to the staff, a small union of 13 stripes of silver and light blue. Stars first figured in the union of a flag car- ried In 1775 on the schooner Lee by Captain Man- ley, a Massachusetts skipper, whose ship operat. ed as one of Commodore Hopking' squadron and captured the Nancy with supplies for the Brit. ish army November 19, 1775. Thirteen stars on a blue canton f the union of Its flag. They were arranged in five horizontal, parallel rows and were five-pointed. In the blue fly of the flag was a white anchor with the word “Hope” above It. This design was carried by Rhode Js. land troops at Brandywine, Trenton and York. town, but the stars were of gilt on a light blue canton, Following the early use of the English ensign whieh carried the 8t. George's cross in the canton there into use in the colonies in the Bight ins of RE HALL, PA. 1—*The' Stars and Stripes Forever!"—Repro- duction of the famous picture painted by Henry Mosler. The British, evacuating New York after the Yorktown surrender in 1781, nailed the Brit. ish flag to the flagstaff at the Battery and then greased the pole. A barefoot sailer boy volun. teered to climb up, take down the enemy flag and nail the American flag to the pole. From “The Winning of Freedom” in “The Pageant of Amer. ica,” courtesy Yale University Press. 2-The pine tree flag of early Revolutionary war days. 3—The rattiesnake flag of the early American navy. é 4-—The 13.star flag, one of the earliest forms after the flag resolution of June 14, 1777. 5-The 15.star, 15.stripe flag, the form used after Vermont and Kentucky were admitted to the Union, 6-Flag of the Sixth Regiment of the United States Marines, Note: No. 2 to 8, inclusive, are flags in the exhibit of the United States Marine Corps in the Federal building at A Century of Progress, Chicago. Photographs Ly Hack Miller, w @ ® eenth century the red British ensign carrying the union jack In the canton. The British flag was altered after the Revolution had begun by placing 13 stripes In the fiy of the flag under the British union jack. It was called the “grand union flag,” and was hoisted by Lieut. John Paul Jones on December 3, 1775, in the newly formed American fleet off Philadelphia. On January 1 or 2, 1776, it was raised over the newly organized American army at Washington's headquarters in Cambridge, In the correspondence of that day it was referred to as the “American colors” It Is Interesting to note that although these American colors were used six months before the Declaration of Independence, they still carried the British union Jack in the corner. The thirteen united colonies were depicted by the thirteen stripes of the field. No flag was authorized by act of congress un- til nearly a year after the Declaration of Inde- pendence. That the “grand union” flag was lit- tle used in the army is seen from the many flags of other designs carried by the Revolutionary troops. In the navy, on account of the necessity of telling a friend from a foe by his colors, the same flag was generally used by all congress ships, In 1775, it was usually the pine tree flag: In 1776, and until June 14, 1777, the grand union, and after June 14, 1777, the Stars and Stripes. Privateers carried striped and rattlesnake flags of various designs but it soon became necessary to carry a uniform design, and this forced the adoption of a national flag. This Is why the resolution for the adoption of the stars and stripes appeared in the minutes of the marine committee meeting of June 14, 1777. Because green was such a prominent color In early Revolutionary war flags, It would not have been at all surprising if that color had found its way into the national emblem. One of the most striking flags of the Revolution was a flag with green fly and a union of 13 links In an endless chain, Outside the circle of links was a circle of 13 hands or mailed fists emerging from clouds and grasping the links. In the center of the chain was a pine tree of green on a blue fleld, This was the flag of the Newburyport (Mass.) company, Green was also the color of the pine tree and liberty tree flags of Revolutionary days fn April, 1776, the Massachusetts council pre. scribed green and white as the uniform of offi. cers in their sea service, and in the same year the marine committee of the Continental com gress in Philadelphia resolved that the uniform of marine officers be a green coat, white walst. Green was I green avi the Roman Riri wiry dropped and vari that had been familiar to Americ more than 100 years exercised tl fluence In the design for the Stars and Stripes, The resolution adopting the flag appears in the Journal of Congress among vhole page of reso lutions presented by the marine committees on the subject of the navy, On the same page with the flag and other marine cot {tee resolutions is one appointing John Paul Jones to the o mand of the ship Ranger a flag by some women of Philadelphia and soon Jones was presented afterward he had the Stars and Stripes flying al sea, Contemporary Hustrations of Jones" ships and the description of the new flag when It appeared in Europe. show that the early navy flags were arranged with the stars In horizontal parallel eir number, the stars were stag gered, that is, the stars in one row were placed opposite the spaces between the stars In the next, so that they looked like a constellation In the heavens, as the resolution had described them. On one ship they were in five rows. on another, In three, Ingenuity began to be displayed in"the arrange ment of stars in unofficial flags. In some they were arranged in a square; In others, in a circle, Rome had them In the shape of a single star, a diamond or forming the letters “UU, 8." At first, the Stars and Stripes were looked upon merely 28 a navy flag, but in 1818 under the third flag law, the present general design of the flag was established. This held the number of stripes to 13 and added a star for each state The second flag law, passed by congress.in May, 1705, provided 15 stripes for 15 states as well as 15 stars; but as the number of states was in. creasing by 18IR It was found necessary to cur. tall the amount of stripes, Capt. Samuel Chester Reld, of the navy, hero of a two-day engagement between his small brig | and a British squadron of three large ships, was called by the congressional committee to design a flag, and It was his idea to hold the number | of red and white stripes to 13 for the original 13 | states and to add a star to the union for each | new state admitted, On May 1R, 1818 the navy commissioners is sued an order, placing the stars In accordance with the navy custom, in parallel horizontal rows and with the stars on the second and fourth | rows moved to the right, one-half of a star's space, The order was signed by Commodore John Rogers, president of the navy commissioners, Six months later, he issued a change in the ar rangement of the stars, approved by the Presi. dent, This order required that the stars be ar. ranged in vertieal and horizontal parallel rows, The act of 1818 gave the fixed rule of adding a new star on the Fourth of July next succeed. ing the admission of the state, but made no state. ment as to the exact arrangement of the stars and this has been a matter with which the Navy department has been chiefly concerned, This is because the navy flies the Union alone without the stripes in the bow of ships, The navy has attended to details as to proportions and ‘design of the flag and still Issues to all de partments, blueprints of changes, after approval by the President. In recent years army and navy have agreed on changes. In 1834, the army pre. scribed the Stars and Stripes to replace Its gar rison fiag then in use, Until 1912 there was some confusion as to the proper distribution of the 48 stars In the blue field, On October 26, 1012, this matter was definitely settled by the executive order of Pres ident Taft that the stars were to be arranged in six rows of eight each, symbolizing the 48 states In the order of their ratification. (Thus if you wish to know which star represents your state in the flag, remember what was its num- ber in the order of admission to the Union, then begin counting from the upper corner next to the staff and the star which comes on the num. ber corresponding to the number in the order of admission to the Union will be the star of your state.) (© by Western Newspaper Union.) & Mental Nourishment Point That Must Never Be Overlooked. There never was a time when the importance of proper food for the body was more stressed. For years there has been sclentific research in to what foods ure composed of in re spect to the nutritive elements they supply. These elements ure divided into differing classifications from time to time, but always the nour ishing values are given significance The health of the body in its mate rial form is fostered, Since the mind Is nu vital element of the substantive existence, it. too, It can fall into a decline which is no less regrettable than when the physique | harmful | | or helpful influence of the mind over | requires proper nourishment weakens, The reactionary the body Is reputed, after research, | to be far greater than the reverse ef fects of health or Hliness of body on the mind From this it Ig easy to} see that providing proper food for | the mind is no less important than | providing proper edibles for the | physical body In speaking of the mind, Lhe word | is used in its brond sense and in | y cludes the spirit, since it i ig the con bination which forms the immaterial ! elements, which though not tangible are no less potent Electric ity Is not tangible vet no one denies its won f of ve enyituadde it mag Irous power, o 8 nwe-inspiring Neither does one deny the existence its influence for good in order to Ivy ce for Proper be par | ». without which n re disturbed Read fine n the sense of excellence those which stim te the thoughts and nourish the hetter side of your nature, or which create a hunger and i { JUST WEST of WAY NEW YORK 1000 ROOMS EACH WITH BATH AND SHOWER Circulating lcs Water , . . 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers