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Show t I Nation's Flags Now viac.e by 1 yiacmnery Factory Is in Philadelphia, Where th.2 Country's First Emblem Was Sewed. It Is a far cry from the haa..l-H'.:o'.e flag of iH-tsy l:. ;s to the pr.au:. ai..n of Hags by laiehiiiery, and yet tho cradie of the ".Stars and Stripes" has remained i:i rhila'h-:; iiia .since the symbol of our n::iion was born there 115 years ago. The traditional scene of this woman patriot patiently tin-er-ing tin; colors of a new tuition, lias shifted to the operation of scores of machines, increasing production a thousandfold. Yet, Uncle Sam's Hag factory is maintained in the Quaker city, as a branch of the War department, charged with the responsibility of making all the Hags used by the army. This obligation ob-ligation involves the manufacture of ' ,i ' ' f'l ' f zA nisv - - i.l. taJIKn . , ''Old Glory" in Days of Betsy Ross. a variety of, forms of the Stars and Stripes, and storm flags. There, are also made automobile, distinguishing, and transport flags, and ensigns, liar-bor-boat "jacks," and pennants, together to-gether with guidons in vast assortments. assort-ments. The making of "Old Glory" in great quantities and In response to the dictates dic-tates of economy is of comparatively recent origin. Progress in this direction direc-tion has marked time with the development devel-opment of the needle-machine industry. indus-try. Not unlike Betsy Poss, wdio fashioned fash-ioned the national emblem with her fingers, not long ago an entire flag was constructed by a single operator. Today, the task is allotted to thirteen units of operation. Each worker in Uncle Sam's flag factory is assigned the task of contributing a definite bit of workmanship, these progressive units milking for a finished product. Punting a thin woolen stuff used primarily for making flags is painstakingly pains-takingly inspected before being Issued 1 I r. ' '.. . .. . . . .; Si 1";:::,'::.'! ', " U'X :il j- . ii Ml Where First Flag Ws Made. to the machines. It is placed one ply upon another and divided into specified speci-fied lengths until a section 100-piy high is available. Then the material is marked and subjected to an electrically-driven cutting machine, which parcels the hunting into strips of two sizes, these entering into the manufacture manufac-ture of the stars and stripes. The procedure followed with the blue bunting for the field is not dissimilar to that of cutting the long and short red and white stripes. The elasticity of the material involves the exercise of utmost care in the laying out and separating of it, lest precision be sac-rifieed, sac-rifieed, as accuracy is necessary in joining the stripes on sewing machines. Stars are made by cutting them out with a steel die on a stamping machine. ma-chine. This insures maximum production produc-tion and uniformity in size and shape. The canvas heading on the Hag is fashioned in a similar manner. Popular Pop-ular Mechanics Magazine. |