Show 7 T w ink X 4 A A tk 1 c q ka 1 ir T pa N T by ELMO SCOTT WATSON of the american flag as nil all of us do on june 14 which 1 Is flag day and we naturally think mali of tte the national emblem with its thirteen var 1 1 alternate red and white stripes and its 43 white stars on oil a field of blue bine but this flag which Is variously and affectionately known as old glory the stars and stripes and the star spangled banner Ls anner Is not the only banner which calls for the respect and loyalty of all americans for there are some other american flags which have their place in our national tradition even though they are not so well known as the red white and blue first of all there Is the presidents ilag flag the personal banner of tile the chief executive of the nation some day if you yon see flying from a short stall staff attached to the radiator cap of no an automobile a blue flag edged with white and yellow silk fringe bearing the united states coat of arms in the center with four white stars tn in each corner of the flag you won wont t need the cheering of the crowds to tell you that the president of the united states Is riding in that car or it if you too see a flag of the same design with perhaps a slight difference as to the fringe floating over a house or snapping Enapp log in the breeze irom from the bow of a ship it will bring the same mes aage blat the president Is in that house or Is riding on that ship but the president Is not the only high official clat who has his own personal flag if the secretary of war Is making an official visit there Is displayed a red 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 tile secretary of 0 the treasury you will see another blue flag but the design on it Is even more complicated two crossed anchors are surrounded eur rounded by a rin ring 7 of thirteen whimp stars in front oi of tile intersection of the anchors Is a shield bearing in the top halt half a pair of scales of the balance type and in the lower half a key the symbolism of these Is of course clear the secretary of the treasury holds holda the key to the ila nations strongbox and from the eari earliest lest days the balance scales were used in weighing precious metals the secretary of commerce also has a blue fla flag etith the four white stars but in the center Is a white shield at the top of which sails a three masted vessel and below a lighthouse casts its beams abroad the presidential flag has had an interesting history insofar as is the question of a proper design for it has resulted in a series of heated controversies trover sies over several points of heraldry involved its history has been one long record of changes and restorations until finally in 1910 under president woodrow wilson there evolved the presidents fla flag as it Is today before that time each president had bad the right to select the design for his own flag and most of them did but tile the presidential flag used hy by president wilson has been used by our cur chief executives since that time A distinctive flag for the president Pies ries ident had bad its origin in the navy orl on april 18 1805 gideon wells secretary of the navy davy issued a set of naval regulations prescribing that on the occasion casion of tile the visit of the president on board a man of war the american ensign should be displayed at the inala this was the first official order to designate a fla flag denoting the pre of the president aboard a na ship A change was made the next year when tile the rectangular union jack of dark blue bearing horizontal rows rowa of white stars one for each maate was adopted as tile the presidents flag when on board a national essel although tills this was the first distinctive gag flag for the president it was waa an unfortunate choice in the flavy navy tile the union jack at the foremast Is a signal for or pilot thus in the case of a ship with only one mast the display of the union onion jack might mean either the f 0 the pilot in the case of esaa t SS a the of that aa uld be conat POW PATRIOTIC NEGLIGEES NEGLIGEE SI the photograph shows left to right elizabeth vivial with the secretary of wars flag helen Appel lowith the coolidge Coo lidga flag mary devenny with old glory helen barqui with the taft flag and anna corcoran with tile the roosevelt flag these presidential and army flags are all manufactured at the q quartermasters asters depot in philadelphia I 1 its use rise for the president was hardly one complimentary to the alie highest officer in tile the land in however the national ensign was again designated as the presidents flag and it remained thus until 1882 when william E chandler secretary of the navy issued an order which was approved by president chester alan arthur that the flag of tile 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 16 years later however that the army followed the lead of the navy by adopting a distinctive flag for its commander in chief and when it did its fiction action marked tile the beginning of a series of controversies which were to last for nearly two decades under a general order issued march OR 28 I 1 from the adjutant generals office by direction of the secretary of war tile the presidents lag flag for the army was designated as a flag of scarlet bunting with white stars in III each of the four corners and in the middle of the field it a large blue star outlined in white and bearing in the center the united states coat of arms around tills this contral central star were other oilier white stars representing the states of the union during the spanish american war the array army presidential flag was hung upon the wall of the cabinet room in tile alie white house symbolizing tile the position of president as commander in chief of this the army and was the first war flag of its kind that had thus ever been used but tor for some unknown reason the navy presidential flag which would symbolize ills his position as commander in chief of the navy was not thus displayed the array army presidential flag was first exhibited publicly at the peace jubilee celebration in chicago in and again at a similar ollar celebration in philadelphia later both the army and the navy flags were twice lung in the main hallay of the white house during army and navy receptions but the army flag was never hoisted until march 4 1001 when it lew flew over the presidential reviewing stand at the second inauguration of mckinley the first controversy over the presidential ident ial flag came up in 1899 the war department order of 1808 lial hal definitely directed that the off official lelal coat of arms on the central star should be 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 the custody of the department of state the shield thereon had always displayed 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 1899 when the equipment officers at new york and mare island where flags for the navy are made were furril furnished shed their ila flag books for the bear they called attention to tile the fact that on the presidents flag erroneously displayed seven white and six red stripes instead of the reverse it was discovered that tile design besl n ila biad been copied from a publication of the state department entitled the seal of the united states slates the matter was taken up unofficial ly with the state department and at ended with an admission from officials official a of that department that there was no DO logical reason for the reversal of the colors which was presumed presume to be the result of an arbitrary heraldic license rn in 1902 the acting secretary of the navy issued a memorandum that the state department certifies 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 ix white stripes on the shield in w no rit 2 it was S decided that ftfe something should bo be done to reconcile tile differences in the design 01 it the shield A committee front from the war department and the nivy navy department called on oil president Roos roosvelt celt and suggested that since other oilier nations had but one las flag tor for its chief it wits was not consistent for our president to have so it was dc decided c id c I 1 to a adopt d op a new flag closely patterned after tile tha I 1 older navy flag but with several modifications A short time later orders were issued by tile secretaries of the two departments department that the colors on tile the shield as certified by tile the state department seven white and six red bars bar S be followed and on november 21 0 1 1002 1902 it vi ulis as officially announced that the controversy between the two departments over the design of the presidents flag was at an end tha only other change was to make tile the eagle white heavily stitched lu ILI black despite the agreement however the flags used by the two branches of the serice sen ice were not yet the same true both used the same device as to tho eagle and tile but the navy clung to its blue field and the it army r MY to its red field it was not dot until the next administration that decided steps towards uniformity were taken on june 24 1012 1912 and again on october 29 1012 president taft issued executive tive orders that the color of the geld field of 0 tile the presidents flag shall be blue but the army lid did not immediately conform and a difficult situation arose at the inaugural ceremonies of president wilson in asarch tile the reviewing box in froot front of the white house was decorated with two presidents flags provided by the war department and the navy department the navy departments was blue but the war departments was redl red I 1 this revived the old controversy and when again agnin in 1915 1015 there was a double display of colors the matter a serious aspect it was wag pointed out to president wilson allson that an agreement should be made and a standard flag adopted for both branches of the aenice sen ice the president called in fir lieutenant commander dyron mccandless aide to the secretary of the navy davy and requested him to prepare a design for tile the presidential standard the new flag was na 3 to consist of a blue dot field with r ith four white stars in tile corners since the flags of an admiral and of a general bear four stars as a SI silan a of command arid and the president Is the highest ranking admiral and general instead of an exact reproduction of the great seal president wilson expressed a desire to have liis its personal seal a modification of the great seal used on the presidents stationery in the white rouse house on the flag this seal differs from the great seat seal in that the eagles head Is turned to the sinister alt its left arid tile the stars above the eagle are differently arranged the new design was wag prepared by the bureau of construction and cezair under the direction of commander mccandless and was approved by bv the president in an executive order dated hay 29 1910 so at last tile the controversy tro versy was ended and a presidents flag uniform for both bolli branches of the serl service ce came into being rut but though the array army navy controversy over oner the priest presidents dents lag flag was wag thus ended there are those who tire are not lot yet satisfied with tile presidents fla flag they flioy point out the fact that the seven white and six red burs bars on tile the shield even though it does docs have tile lie of the state department is not in III conformity etli walli the arrangement of these colors its as prescribed in the file let act of congress of june 20 adopting tile great seal of the united states stales nor as proscribed prescribed by the act of congreso cons ress of april 4 ISIS 1818 prescribing alternating red and white stripes in establishing the hie american ila lag but more serious that tills this according in to heraldry experts Is the fact that on the presidents flag g tile the eagles head bend la Is turned towards towards the sinister that Is away from the lie lag flag pole it is one of the ancient rules of heraldry they say that no do bird or ever look away from the stair staff for if such a flag Is carried into battle the lead head thus turned would make it look ila as though the ord bird retreating from the enemy on till all other lugs flags on which the eagle appears its head at al ways faces the staff regardless ol of which side bide of the flag one looks ut at y |