Show ep n 4 17 f 41 M V 4 ali 1 IV 7 1 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON i bink of of the alie american lag flag W as all of us its do on june 14 pj which Is flag lay day and we jg naturally think of the nation i ill at emblem with its thirteen alternate ait bernate red and white stripes and Us its 48 white stars on oil a field of blue but this flag which Is variously arid and affectionately known ns as old glory the stars arid and stripes and the star spangled banner la is dot the only banner which calls for the respect arid loyalty of all americans for there tire are some other american american flags which have their place in our national tradition even though they are not so well known as the red lied white and blue first of all there Is the presidents flag the personal banner of the chief executive of the nation some day if you see flying from a short staff attached to the radiator cap of in an automobile ut a blue ling flag edged with white and yellow silk fringe hearing bearing the united states coat of arms aims in the center with four white stars in each corner of the flag you y on wont need the cheering of the crowds to tell you that the president of the united states Is riding in that car or it you sou see a alag lug of the same design with perhaps per aps a slight difference as 11 is to the fringe floating over a house or snapping in the breeze from the bow of a ship it will bring the same message that the president la Is in that house or Is riding on that ship but the president is not the only high official who has ills own personal son ting flag if the secretory secretary of war Is making a tin an official visit there Is displayed a red nag flag bearing the united states coat of arms with some minor differences from that shown on the presidents flag and four white stars in the corners if its the secretary of the navy its a blue flag with a white anchor in the center and the four stars it if its the secretary of the treasury you will see another blue flag butalla butt lie design on it Is even more complicated two crossed anchors are surrounded by it a ring of thirteen white stars in front of the intel section of the anchors Is a shield bearing in the top half a pair of scales of the balance type find and in the lower half a d key the symbolism of these Is IB of course coarse clear the secretary of the treasury holds the key to the nations strongbox and from the earliest earl earI jest days the balance scales were used in weighing precious metals the secretary of commerce also has a blue flag with the four white stars but in the center Is 19 a R white shield at the top of which sails a three masted vessel and below a lighthouse casts its beams abroad tile the presidential flag has lind had hn an interesting history insofar as the question of a proper design for it tins has resulted in a series of heated controversies trover sies over several points of heraldry involved its history lil story has been one long record of clinn elinn and restorations until andl finally in 1010 1016 under president woodrow wilson there evolved the presidents lag flag as it Is today before that time each president had the right to select the design for ills own ing flag and most of them did hut but the presidential lag flag used by president wilson has been used by our chief executives since that time A distinctive flag for thie president had its origin in the navy on april 18 1805 gideon wells secretary of the navy issued a set of naval regulations prescribing that on the occasion of the visit of the president on board a man of war the american ensign should ile he displayed at the main tills this was the first official iclal off order to designate a flag denoting the presence of the president aboard a national ship A change was made the boxt year when the union jack of dark blue bearing rows rowa of white stars one for each state was adopted as the presidents nag flag when on board it a national vessel although tills this was the first distinctive flag for the president it was an unfortunate choice in the navy the union jack nt at the foremast Is a signal for pilot thus in the case of a with only one mast the display of the union jack might mean either the president or the pilot in fit the case of a two master the signal bagnal would be confusing and since at that time a jack at the was a signal of distress PATRIOTIC NEGLIGEE Sl SI the photograph sh shows ow a left to right elizabeth vivial with the secretary tec of wars flag helen appello with the coolidge flag mary devenny with old glory helen basque with the taft flag and anna corcoran with the roosevelt velt flag these presidential and army flags are all manufactured at the quartermasters depot in philadelphia its use for the president was hardly one complimentary to the highest in the land in ill 1860 however the national jen en was again designated us as the presidents flag and it remained thus until 1882 when william E chandler secretary of the navy issued an order which ans its approved by president chester alan arthur that the flag of the president of the united states shall consist of a blue ground with the arms of the united states in the center it was not until 10 years litter later however ho weer that the army followed the lead of the navy by adopting a distinctive flag for its commander in chief and when it did its action marked the beginning of a series ot of controversies which were to last tor for nearly two decades under a general order issued alarca 28 1808 from the adjutant generals office by direction of the secretary of war the presidents flag for the army was designated ns its a flag of scarlet bunting with white stars in each of the four corners aul aud in the middle ot of the field ft a large blue star outlined in hate and bearing in the center the united states coat of arms around this central star were other white stars representing the states of the union during the spanish american war the army presidential flag ayas was hung upon the wall wail of the cabinet room in the white house symbolizing the position of president mckinley as commander in chief of the army and was the first war flag of its kin kind id that had thus ever been used but for some unknown reason the navy presidential flag holcli would symbolize ills his position as coni commander mander in chief of the nay navy was not thus displayed the army presidential flag was first ex 1111 cited publicly at the peace jubilee celebration celebi atlon in chicago in ISO 1891 and again at a similar celebration in philadelphia delp hla later both the army and the navy lass flags were twice hung in the main hallway of the alie white house during army and navy receptions but the army ing flag was never holsted li until march 4 1801 1901 when it flew over the presidential reviewing stand at the see second ond inauguration of mckenley tile the first controversy over the presidential ident ial flag came up in 1809 the war department order of 1803 had find definitely directed that the official cont coat 0 of arms on the central star should be ns as determined by the state department and the arms referred to are those shown on the great seal of the united states which Is in file custody c of the department of state the shield thereon had tin always displayed seven red and six white bars alternately red and white which was strictly in accordance with the act of congress of june 20 1782 establishing the great seal in 1800 1809 when the equipment off leers at new york and mare island where lags flags for the navy are made were furnished their flag books for the year they called atten bionto the fact that the shield on the presidents flag erroneously displayed seven white and six red stripes in stend stead of the reverse it was discovered that the design had find been copied from a publication of the state department entitled tile the sent seal of the united states 0 the matter was taken up unofficially with the state department arid and ended with an admission from officials of that department that there was no logical reason for the reversal rever sill of the colors which was wai presumed to be the result of an arbitrary heraldic license in 1002 the acting secretary of the navy issued a memorandum that the state department that the shield has seven white and six red bars alternating white and red and it Is ordered that such shall be the seal on the presidents flag meanwhile the army continued to make its flag with the seven red and six white stripes on the shield in november 1002 it was decided that something should be done to reconcile the differences in the dest design irn on the shield A committee from froin the war department and the navy department called on president roosevelt and suggested that since other nations had but one flag for its chief it was not consistent tor for our president to have two so it was decided to adopt a new flag closely patterned after the older navy flag but with several modifications A short time later orders were issued by the secretaries of the two departments that the colors colora on the shield as certified by the state department seven white and six red bars be followed and on november 21 1002 1902 it was officially announced that the controversy between the two departments over the design of the presidents flag was nt at an end the only ohly other change avas was to make the eagle white heavily stitched lu in black despite the agreement however the flags used by the two brandies branches of the service were not yet the same true both used the same device as to tho the eagle and the shield but the navy clung to its blue field and the army to its red held field it was not until the next nest administration that decided steps towards uniformity were taken on june 24 1012 and again on october 20 29 1012 president taft issued executive orders that the color of the field fie id d of the presidents flag shall be blue but the army did not immediately conform and a difficult situation arose at the inaugural ceremonies of president wilson in march 1013 1913 the reviewing box in front of the white house was decorated with two presidents denta flags provided provide by the war department and the navy department the navy departments was blue but the war departments was red I 1 this revived the old controversy and when again in 1015 there was a double display of colors the matter assumed assum frd a serious aspect it was pointed out to president wilson that an agreement should be made and a standard flog fing adopted tor for both brandies branches of the service the president called in lieutenant commander byron mccandless aide to the secretary of the navy and requested reou osted him film to prepare a design for the presidential standard the new flag was to consist of a blue field with four white stars in the corners since the flags of an admiral arid of a general benr bear four stars as it a sign of command and the president I 1 Is s the highest ranking admiral and general instead of an exact reproduction of the great seat seal president wilson expressed a desire to have his personal sea seal a modification of the great seal used on the presidents stationery in the white house on the lag flag this seal differs from the great seal in that the eagles head Is turned to the sinister its left and the stars above the eagle are differently arranged tile the new design was prepared by the bureau of construction and repair under the direction of commander mccandless and was aa approved by the president in an executive order dated may 20 1010 so at last the controversy tro versy was ended and a presidents flag uniform for both branches of the her service vice carte came into being nut but though the army arm navy controversy over the presidents flag was thus ended there are arc those who are not yet satisfied with the presidents president flag they point out the fact that th alie seven white and six red bars on the shield even een though it does have hae the indorsement endorsement Indor of the state department Is not in conformity with the arrangement of these colors as prescribed in the act of 0 congress of june 20 1782 adopting the grent great seal of the united states nor as prescribed by the act of congress af 6 april 4 1818 prescribing alternating red and white stripes in establishing the american lag flag hut but more serious mat tills this according to heraldry experts Is the fact that on the presidents flag the cag eagles les head Is turned towards the sinister that Is away from the lag flag pole it Is one of the ancient rules of heraldry they say that no bird or per ever look away from the staff for if such a flag Is carried into battle the head fiend thus turned would make it look as though the bird wore were retrying betre 1 abing from the enemy on nil all other flags aings on which the eagle appears its iti head fiend always faces the staff sanf of which side of the lug flag one looks lit at |