Show A x N I 1 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON N JUNE 14 thousands of americans will as a part of th the e annual celebration of flag day repeat this sentence 1 I pledge allegiance legi le ance to the flag of the united states and to the republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all it has been said aid that the pledge to the flag has been repeated more than any other quotation from modern literature era ture that reason the man who wrote it and the circumstances under which it was written deserve to be remembered it Is singularly appropriate that this pledge which has been repeated so EO many times by so many thousands of school children should have been written by a member of the editorial staff of 0 the publication which for so many years was young americas favorite magazine the youths companion francis it bellamy was his name and at the time of his death on august 28 1931 1031 the memory of his greatest claim to distinction was revived by his widow who gave an interesting account of the origin of the pledge A little group of men who in 1891 1801 believed bel leed the flame of patriotism was dying out because of momentous developments in industrial find and political circles sought to tan fan the spark bpark into new life she explained this effort resulted in president benjamin harrison proclaiming october 12 as the first national holiday in honor of the discovery of america delegated to write a proclamation as part of the orl original ceremony bellamy produced a 27 word pledge that stood the test of time chief among the leaders of the movement said sirs mrs bellamy were president harrison james B upham publisher william T harris federal commissioner of education and sir mr bellamy a member of the editorial staff of the youths companion mr upham conc conceited cled the idea of a revival of patriotism at a time when material things occupied the attention of most people ills his first plan was to place an american flag over every schoolhouse As a result lags flags waved on as many school buildings then the suggestion was adopted for a national holiday committees were formed public men were interviewed this handful of men virtually consecrated their lives to the task of obtaining governmental ern mental recognition of columbus day mr bellamy saw congressmen senators and others in the public eye lie ile interviewed president harrison and grover cleveland among others afterwards he be aroused interest among congressmen by inducing them to ghe interviews endorsing WOODROW WILSON alt SON the project to newspapers it long before senate and house passed a joint resolution resol ution giving the president auth authority orli ty to proclaim the holiday with standard exercises in public schools at last everything was completed except tho the opening proclamation the secretary of tate state 8 asked sir mr bellamy to do that mr bellamy nominated sir upham but the latter refused after many long weary hours over the draft my hus bus band produced the pledge that has remained unchanged since then and all she concluded all except that mr Bell amys health was imperiled in his work to rediscover america years after columbus landed pa fa a pa V V united states is 1 ono one il although though the of the youngest members in the terwood of nations ot of the world ald h her flag fl Is one ot of the oldest in the world alde aside from the swallow tailed d savoy colors of denmark adopted adopted in 1219 and the nag flag of 0 switzerland which dates from the seventeenth century history records cords no national flag with a longer continuous life than ours when the second Conti continental I 1 congress on june 14 1777 adopted a resolution which read resolved that the hag flag of the united stat states e be thirteen stripes alternate red and white that the union be thirteen stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation the french tricolor tri trl color had not yet come into existence the present british flag dates only from 1801 germany changed its flag after the fall fail of the empire in 1018 but even the flag used during the world war was less than 50 years old to M a wa pa isa M IB na ita the american flag has three symbolic names the stars and stripes the star spangled banner and old glory the name stars and stripes dates of course from its very beginning and is based upon the description of the banner in the flag resolution of june 14 1777 the star spangled banner dates from the war of 1812 orators Orator may have called our flag by that name before that time but it remained for francis scott key a young maryland lawyer who was detained on a british warship during the bombardment of fort mcinenry Mcl McI lenry on the night might of september 12 1814 and who saw by the dawns early light of september 13 that our flag was still there to express his joy in a poem which was later set to music and which took the country by storm the name old glory dates from 1831 on august 10 of that year a crowd had gathered at the wharves of salem caleca mass to witness the departure of the brig charles daggett which was about to set out on a round the world cruise master of the charles daggett was capt william driver noted for his sturdy americanism and his deep love for his count rys flag so his neighbors had brought him A a fine american flag to be hoisted to the masthead of 0 the brig when the new banner had been run up in its place and rippled in the breeze in all its beauty of 0 red and white and blue captain driver looking aloft had a sudden inspiration ill call cal her old glory boys old Clo glory and thus was another symbolical name for or our fla flag barn ITS pa pa ma KA K pa pa P a flag day has been the inspiration tor for a number of memorable tributes to our national banner in a flag day address during the world war president wilson said this flag ia which we honor and under which we serve Is the emblem of our unity our power our thou thought lit arid and purpose as a nation it Is fitting that we celebrate the day of its birth and from its birth until now it has witnessed a great history has floated on high the symbol of great events of a great plan of life worked out by a great people is on flag day in 1914 1014 franklin K lane secretary of the interior in president Preside ut wilsons Wll Wil sons cabinet speaking before employees of his department delivered a eulogy dulog Y which has become something of 0 a classic in the literature of the flag it Is the following THE MAKERS OF THE FLAG this morning as I 1 passed into the land office the flag dropped roe me a most cordial salutation and from its rippling folds I 1 it say bay good morning mr 3 ir flag maker 1 pardon old glory 1 I I beg your arent mistaken I 1 am I 1 said you not ot the president of the united states nor a member of congro congress Ss nor even a general in the array army I 1 am only a government clerk mr flag 1 again I greet you 1 maker replied the gay voice I well you are the man know you who worked in the swelter of ye yesterday g straighten straightening ing out the tangle of that farmers farmer s homestead in idaho or perhaps you found the mistake in that indian contract in oklahoma or he helped billed to clear that patent tor for the hopeful inventor in new york or pus pushed bcd the opening in colorado 0 or r of that new ditch made that mine in illinois more safe or brought relief to the old no wait matter er soldier in wyoming whichever one of these beneficent to te be individuals individual you in may ay happen s G I 1 give you greeting mr flag maker I 1 was about to pass on when the flag fing stopped me with these words yesterday the president spoke a word that made happier the future of peons geons in mexico mailco but that act looms no larger on the lag flag than the struggle which the boy in georgia Is making to win the corn club prize this summer yesterday we made a new law to prevent financial panics and yesterday maybe a school teacher in ohio taught his first letters to a FRANCIS SCOTT KEY boy who will one day write a song that will give cheer to the millions of our race we are all making the flags flag but I 1 said impatiently these people were only wor working kingl then came a great shout from the hag flag the work that we do Is the making of the flag 1 I am not the flag not at all I 1 am but its shadow 1 I am whatever you make me nothing more 1 I am your belief in yourself your dream of what a people may become sometimes I 1 am strong with pride when men do an honest work fitting the rails together truly sometimes I 1 droop for then pur pose has gone from me and cynically I 1 play the coward sometimes I 1 am loud garish and full of that ego that blasts judgment but always I 1 am all that you hope to be and have the courage to try for 1 I am the constitution and the courts statutes and the statute makers soldier and dreadnought dread naught drayman and street sweep cook counselor and clerk 1 I am the battle of yesterday and the mistake of tomorrow 1 I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why 1 I am the clutch of an idea and the reasoned purpose of resolution 1 I am no more than what you believe me to be and I 1 am all that you believe that I 1 can be 1 I am what you make me nothing more 1 I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color a symbol of yourself the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this nation my stars and my stripes are your dream and your labors they are bright with cheer brilliant with courage firm with faith because you have made them so out of your hearts tor for you are the makers of the flag and it Is well that you glory in the making ta 04 ft ea its ea JIM id lm 1 pa FA we owe our off iclal celebration of flag day to president woodrow wilson on may 13 1010 1016 he issued a proclamation designating june 14 of each year as flag day and it has hag been so observed since that time As for the honor of being the or originator ignator of flag day it would be difficult to award that title to any one person since several americans contributed to the idea one of them la is a woman mrs laura B frisk widely known ns as the Il mother lother of flag day during president wilsons Wil sons administration she was editor of the patriotic instructor tor in new york and in that publication suggested setting aside june 14 as flag day her suggestion was forwarded by the daughters of the american revolution devolution in new york to the president and his proclamation of may 13 1910 followed soon afterwards another who seems to have a just claim to the title ot of riglos 0 tor toe Is benjamin Al thelmer of new york under the title of 0 flag day man the new yorker magazine in its issue of june 14 1930 told his hl story as follows it if the lady on your left tires ot of your more ponderous dinner topics you might tell her about benjamin Al thelmer benjamin Al thelmer you might say Is responsible for flag day did you know that to prove that you are not just trying to be funny you can give her the facts about mr altheimer and how he thought up flag day hero here they are ile he Is a real person alive and well and lives right in old new york although eighty he be can still get about spryly no one in the world gets a greater thrill out of walking up fifth avenue on june 14 than he does after all he put those flags out there yours and mine and lord taylors and everybody elsea mr Alt Al thelmer belmer thought of setting aside a special day for the spangled banner back in 1910 ile he was on a visit to san antonio and he watched with sparkling eyes the flag retreat ceremony at fort sam houston one afternoon it impressed him mightily ile he was about sixty then and a great patriot in a quiet way a lover of the hag flag of the betsy ross tradition of the united states of america generally oddly enough bebas he was born in germany ile he came to america as a young ma man n plunged into banking is and brokerage out in st louis and in no time made millions of dollars his gratitude tor for the quick success that he a foreign born bom jew had in a strange country took the form of philanthropy and patriotism he gave to hospitals founded libraries aided government projects financed charit charities les led off campaigns for the relief of victims of fire flood war and unemployment always in his mind however there lurked a desire to do something for america in a big way the incident at san antonio was his inspiration A great reader of our history he knew or it if he be looked it up that june 14 was the day on which congress accepted betsy ross flag then with the same spirit and gusto that had put over charitable campaigns he started his drive to interest the nation in its flag ile he began on st louis ile he promised to give a fine alq flig to any institution which would formally observe fla flag g day on the fourteenth the second presbyterian church of st louis was the first to respond in 1911 1011 other churches synagogues and schools fell in Z FRANCIS M BELLAMY line mr Alt belmer soon had to go into the flag purchasing and presenting business on a big scale with secretaries and others helping him to meet the demand since he was waa retired from banking he could gly give e all of hla his time to it in 1912 1012 st louis as a municipality celebrated flag day flags were everywhere all traine stopped tor for a full minute at a given time mr altheimer Al thelmer was happy tte ile was happler happier yet when in 1917 he got to president wilson in person and flag day was made a national occasion in 1927 1027 the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the flag the united states flag association invited mr Al thelmer along with lindbergh to attend its celebration in washington ile he go because of illness but the association sent him a cross of honor and a citation signed by coolidge for having planted the true appreciation of the flag in the hearts of the american people 0 by western union |