| Show urges a citizenship recognition day As the opening ceremony in the 1940 celebration of national flag weel week DISPLAY IT RESPECT IT apostrophe TO OUR NATIONAL FLAP flao vi br WILLIAM T KERR philadelphia PHI LADELPHA founder and national president american nag flag day association pride of all america proudly aloft thou davest welcoming admired by all the world freedom loving seekers out bur c crying ng ir floating oer every school house back to every foe of am americas greatness on every hilltop hill top our free institutions handl handi woric in every valley and plain bof of our illustrious forefathers Li bertys school master must not be destroyed Tyranny tyr 3 scourge at all times HANDS OFFIN in every clime and nation beautiful starry banner there is laughing to scorn the teachings none fairer or grander anywhere OR of Monarc hys divine right we rejoice with thee on setting at naught the claims this thy natal day of princes and potentates teal long may thy stripes and stars S standard of freedom fly athe to the breeze bidding civil and religious defiance to thy foes emblem amiem of a united people proclaiming liberty the greatest and grandest nation long may thou vigil keep sun eer a I 1 or shone oer aers oer millions patriots homes knowing no master fearing no king stamping indelibly deep kneeling to none but tut almighty god into the minds of 0 all marking the pathway tor for THAT FREE AMICA AMERICA other nations to tread than which there is the beacon berchil light of civilization none greater now OLD GLORY we salute dinall the earth there is no stain on any stripe WILL YU VET GREATER bk BE in all thy years ot eifel when every son and the lustre of thy stars daughter of thy soil shines out more brightly and every other in our or midst as time rolls ont on shall know naught save 74 born june 14 1777 ONE godl GODI midst cannons roar ONE PEOPLE MOPLE and blace of musketry ONE LANGUAGES LANGUAGE standard of washington AND of lincoln ONE FLAG OLD GLORY I 1 I 1 and all the long line of yours and mine to americas patriots who gave their lives in war and spent their strength in III peace TF TEACH ACH ITS HISTORY for righteousness PROCLAIM IT TO ALL foreign foes throughout great wars in picture song and story fell neath nath they withering glances LET NONE forget FORGET ITS COST while mistaken ml taken brethren who in blood for a time forgot thee and tears now love thee all the more moral I 1 and untold sacrifice OLD GLORY SPEAKS americans WHAT you are I 1 AM dont let the red flap flag of communism or anarchy supplant me 2 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON released by western newspaper union PURRED on by what william T kerr founder and S SPURRED since 1898 national president of the american flag da day Y association calls the brazen effrontery affron tery of all the forces of un americanism those groups who support atheism communism bolshevism nazism fascism and other foreign isms iams the association is urging every community in the united states to celebrate flag week this year with patriotic programs and is suggesting a new flag week feature the observance of a citizenship recognition day lor for ance is as follows on the saturday preceding flag day that is on june 8 each community will hold a patriotic parade with the american legion veterans of foreign wars boy scouts and all patriotic tri otic fraternal civic and service organizations participating after the parade there will be a meeting at which will be assembled all the young men and women who have become or will become of voting age this year and all adults who in 1940 prior to or on june 8 have lean ican citizens through naturalization iza tion during the program or at its conclusion every one present will repeat the pledge taken by the new citizens or the pledge to the flag used in the public schools 1 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states and to the republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all 1 in this L public recognition no distinction is to be made between the youth born on american soil and those who will become citizens by naturalization of themselves or their parents the spirit of the occasion will be we are all americans the recognition of naturalized naw new citizens is not a new thing since federal judges in various communities notably in the east have done it with small groups in their courts at the time the former aliens became american citizens but a general community assembly of newly made foreign born citizens and the youth of voting age particularly associating it with flag day is an innovation in presenting this plan for a citizenship recognition day the president of the american flag day association points out that no other time seems so appropriate prop as during the celebration of flag week with its climax of the nationwide nation wide observance of flag day native americans who become of voting age are accustomed to taking their voting privilege as a simple ff matter iatter of course a kind of inheritance 11 says mr kerr they do not seem to realize that they have perhaps through no particular merit of their own received the highest american privilege making them the political equal of the most favored person in the land holding a citizenship recognition tion day offers an opportunity for emphasizing their responsibilities as citizens which so many of us overlook A greater significance in view of the present situation in europe the extinguishment of human liberties and the oppression s of smaller nations by the armed might of totalitarian governments ern ments citizenship in a nation with liberty and justice for all should mean more than ever before for this reason the celebration of flag week this year has an even greater significance than in years past and 1940 seems an appropriate time for inaugurating an observance of citizenship recognition day as an integral part of it if as has been suggested it is observed on saturday june 8 it will be the opening event in the celebration of flag week along with the patriotic religious services in synagogues on that day to 0 be followed by similar services in churches on sunday june 9 chief among the latter is the annual service held at one of the principal I 1 revolutionary war shrines the chapel at valley forge in pennsylvania many sunday schools will also h alty ally flag week pr lection with the observe of childrens day on june 1 the american flag day ass association 0 cia tion the proponent of a nation natio n wide citizenship recognition da day Y is the pioneer organization formed to popularize the observance of the birthday anniversary of our flag it was founded in pittsburgh in the midst of the spanish american war and mr kerr was elected its president an office he has held ever since an employee of the freight traffic department part ment of the pennsylvania railroad he has devoted all of his spare timeto time to promoting the observance of flag day and to having it designated as a national holiday when mr kerr was a young boy e a railroad engineer to told d him the story of betsy ross and the early history of our flag inspired by this and aided by his mother and his father a veteran of the union narmy army in the civil war he began making plans for a movement to recognize officially the birthday of the nag flag on a nationwide w de scale the eventual result was the organization in 1898 of the american ame r ican flag day assoria asso cis i tion a nonpartisan non partisan non sec nonracial non racial nonprofit non profit association c cia tion devoted solely to the p patriotic a work of honoring the stars star s and stripes on its birthday A legal holiday since that time it has worked persistently to popularize the custom of displaying the flag on june 14 and to have flag day made a legal holiday some resistance hap has been encountered according to mr kerr because some business men think that we have too many holidays in this country they point out that june 14 lies between memorial day on may 30 and independence day on july 4 so that two legal holidays within a little more than a month should be sufficient clent however mr kerr and his associates socia tes believe that the observance of the birthday of our flag is justified by its historic significance the formal adoption of the stars and stripes as the emblem of the new nation on june 14 1777 we are learn learning ang a new understanding dundei standing and new appreciation pre clation of the flag says mr kerr we are not looking upon it as a waving banner that leads us into in to battle nor an emblem of war but more as a symbol of achievement progress helpfulness and friendship in the light of event in recent years the waving of our flag has come to signify the glories of peace and the joys of friendship rather than the accomplishment of war As the result of the efforts of this association in 1938 flag day was made a legal holiday in pennsylvania the state which because of the action of the continental tin congress years ago can be regarded as the birthplace of old glory Massa massachusetts chit and connecticut have statutes requiring their governors to issue flag day proclamations but these two and pennsylvania are the only commonwealths which officially recognize flag da day Y the national observance of the day though not as ii a legal holiday is due to president woodrow wilson who on may 13 1916 issued a proclamation designating june 14 of each year as flag day it has been so observed since that time although various persons have from time to time been designated as the originator of flag day it is doubtful if that title can justly be awarded to any individual since several americans have contributed to the idea undoubtedly the work of mr kerr since the founding of the american flag day association in 1898 greatly stimulated popular interest in the celebration and he therefore has a claim to some share in the title |
