Show aim MINIM Z J to za 1 A gyss J A 1111 ix IV DAY rw oMO by ELMO SCOTT WATSON LAG day which is observed on june 14 throughout the 9 united states lias has a significance this year because it Is the centennial of the adoption of our national emblem for it was on june 14 1777 just years ago that the second continental congress in philadelphia delp lila adopted the resolution proposed by john adams which said eald resolved Reg olvea that the flag fine of the thir teen leen united states bo be thirteen strives al ternate red andews to that the union t b thirteen arteon stars white in a blue field beld alre antini a now new constellation thus did the flag come into being its inception Is one of our favorite traditions in which the names of 4 george eorge washington and betsy noss hoss ore are inseparably linked according to this tradition the first flag combining the stars and stripes was made by sirs mrs elizabeth ross koss at her home ZI arch street philadelphia under onder the per ional of george washington some time between may 23 and june 7 1777 the flag bag as designed by washington ton had six pointed stars and nd it was at sirs 1 kosa suggestion that five pointed stars were substituted iler her design was presented to congress by a committee compo composed sed of tier her husband col geci george ge ross pile one of the al signers ners of the declaration of independence pen dence deuce front from pennsylvania robert morris find and washington who in presenting it said we take the star leaven heaven the red from our mother country separating it by white stripes stripe ii and the stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty such Is the tradition which Is commonly accepted even though there Is no co documentary proof to back up its authenticity later betsy ross rosa Is said to hae received from the government a contract for making flags and slie site i end and her daughter r carried on this bustness business until 1857 today there are descendants ants of datsy ross such as tho the young woman oman pictured above miss jane ross of new york who carry on the family tradition of flag makers according to another story this first flag cag was designed by francis hopkin son fon of new jersey also a signer of tile the declaration of independence and the itemized statement which lie he presented to the government in 1780 for his big services in designing this flag as well as the seal of the department of admiralty and of other governmental departments Is on file in the congressional library but whether betsy ross or francis hopkinson was the designer as well as a number duvalier of other details connected with the origin of the ing flag over which there Is 13 dispute Is ever settled conclusively clu the tact fact remains that june 14 1777 was the date upon which the american flag officially came into existence Ib tence and that Is the reason for the observance of flag day it lies ha special this year too because the united states flag asiscla tion ion of which president coolidge Is honorary president ha hai launched a campaign for a millicia members through the formation torin atlon of tennial living flags throughout the nation nathin the united states flag association came into being through the efforts of col james jamea A moss U S A re ared red who served through three wars under the stars and stripes and who Is 1 director general of the association the founders of it are thirteen in number typifying the thirteen stripes in the hie flag and include prominent lien ond and women representing all races I 1 7 F S U X n 4 j a creeds and political affiliation in the united states 1 the national council consists of the governara go vernora vernom of the 43 states in the union typifying the 48 stars in the flag the association founded for the promotion of reverence for the flag and the ideals deals and institutions for which it stands hopes to bring about in this sesquicentennial year a patriotic revival through b the formation of sesquicentennial living flags on flag day during the years of its history the american flag has attracted to it various arlous symbolical names old glory stars aud and stripes red white and blue the national standard the starry flag the F flag lag of the free the of hope the colors the ensign and the star spangled banner the last la Is perhaps the favorite one since it Is also the name of our national anthem that nanie name for it was first used in 1814 und and associated with it are the names of fort Mel leary md and r francis scott key that too la Is one of the daml familiar liar traditions of american history but there la Is no dispute about the facts connected with naming the flag the star stai spangled banner as there Is in tile hie case of the origin of the banner during the war of 1811 1812 a british expedition tion set out to cut the nation la in two by moving up the chesapeake bay capturing washington and baltimore and from this strategic position operating north and south washington wua was captured and the capitol burned but when the british fleet moved against baltimore it found a stout defender of that city in the form of fort mchenry during the bombardment of the fort francis scott key a young mar laud litwiler lit wier was detained on board one of the british ships to which he had bad gone go D e seeking the release of a friend who had been taken prisoner by bi the british all during the night key watched the bombardment at dawn lie he peered through the mist and smoke to see it if the fort still held out or if its guus had been silenced and it had been forced to surrender to his delight he saw that our flag was still there so he sat down and wrote the words of the immortal song cong on the tha back of an old envelope the original star spangled banner the flag which flew over fort ue me aenry that memorable night to la still preserved la in the national museum la in washington it was made by mrs mary pickersgill of baltimore whose grandmother rebecca young Is said to have made the first flag of the revolution under general direction although her descendants ants who have preserved the story do not specify which flag fing this first one was in its ita present state of preservation the star spangled spa maled bantie banno be Is 32 by 29 feet it has 16 15 stripes an and d an equal number of stars sars it was one of the fatuous famous 15 stars and stripes flags authorized by congress in 1794 since there were then only 16 15 states in the union it was one of these 15 stars and stripes flags which flew from the mast of the U S S constitution old Iro ironsides nAdes and under which oliver hazard perry fought in his famous naval battle on lake erle erie nor has the memory of key been forgotten he died in baltimore lo in 1843 and he lies burled buried in frederick sid md the town made famous by the tradition of barbara frietchie Frietch le londier de defiance flance of shoot it if you must this old gray bead but spare your coun arys flag in 1914 congress made an appropriation tor for a monument at fort mchenry to stand as a memorial to key and the american soldiers and sailors who beat off the british attack this monument was dedicated on flag day in 1922 with president harding delivering the principal address the sixty eighth congress in 1025 1925 i appropriated the sum of for the restoration of fort mchenry under the direction of the tha secretary of war and lie its permanent preservation as a national park and perpetual national memorial shrine as the birthplace of the immortal star spangled banner this work Is now going on with the fort itself being restored and th the a around it being torn down to make place tor for a beautiful park in the picture hove above showing F fort ort McI mcinenry lenry its as it Is today the flagstaff Is said to be the same ane one which the flag that inspired francis scott key flew and from it a star spangled banner still waves |