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Show , Washington-Mra. Alfrad J. Bros-' seau, former president gsnsral of the Daughtera of the American Revolution Revolu-tion la shown receiving an American silk flag from Miss Betsy Ross, direct di-rect descendant of the designer of the 8 tar and 8trlpse. Miss Rosa repre-1 repre-1 sented the boys and girls of the United ' 8tate In the American Flag Assoeia-: Assoeia-: tlon'a contest. The flag I the first one mad entirely from American silk cocoons. co-coons. ' ; By ELMO SCOTT WATSON AS FLAG DAT, 1029, approaches f It Is Interesting to note A that tills year marks the 1' X tT fortieth anniversary of ?! j. the series of events which iZiJZJ led to the establishment New York. The photograph shows (left to right) Catherine H. Dodge, grandnlece of Francla Scott Key, and Mrs. Laura Brisk, mother of Flag day, on the mall In Central park where the One Hundred and Fourteenth birthday birth-day of Old Glory was celebrated with patriotic musio and Impressive ceremonies cere-monies laat year. $ belong! to New fork City and to the New York Preea. The year 188 wa many years prior to the agitation of Flu Day and Ions before Samuel Ada me published hl delightful volume entitled "The Dra-matlo Dra-matlo Story of Old Glory." This movement to display the flag on every federal building bad tbe Indorsement In-dorsement of President Iienjnmln Harrison Har-rison who later bad a leading part In . another patriotic gesture connected with the flag. By a Joint resolution approved June 29, 1892, congresa resolved, re-solved, "That the President of the United States be authorized and directed di-rected to issue a proclamation recommending rec-ommending to the people the observance observ-ance In ail their localities of the four bundreth anniversary of the discovery of America, on October 21, 1892, by public demonstrations and by suitable exercise In their schools and other places of assembly." Accordingly, President Harrison Is- I sued a proclamation dated July 1, 1892. dealgnatlng October 21 (not Oc- 111 I of June 14 a a day for a 4i- national observance In 1 honor of the Stars and Stripes. The story of bow a New lork newspaper bad a part In bringing bring-ing this about Is told by George 11. Brennan In a letter to Editor and Pub-Usher Pub-Usher a follow: ' . The observance of Flag Da'y this ' year has revived the mooted queatlon of the origin of the publio diBulay of the national colors on public building and on publto scboola of the United Statu. Who waa responaible for this glorious gesturing? What Impetus generated gen-erated this universal waving of the Stara and BtrlpesT I feel emboldened to attempt an answer an-swer In your column aa to who start-ad start-ad the patrlotlo ball a-rolllng and the patrlotlo flags a-flying. It la Just thirty eight years ago tbia summer since the old New York Press aroused this country coun-try WHO. Us flag propaganda. 1 bave recently, to fortify my memory, examined ex-amined the bound flies of tbe New York Press for 188 now In the New Torn Public Library. Frankly, I was astonished aston-ished at the conditions of publio neglect neg-lect therln set forth and the unanimity of distinguished publio opinion developed de-veloped in the Has; propaganda of tbe Press. The New Tork Press was then owned by a group ot which James Phillips, Jr, of Fltchburg, Mass.; James H. Doudge of New York, and Oeorg West of Ballston, N. Y, were leading' figures. Ur. Phillips bad Induced Clement M. Hammond, aasistant managing editor of the Boston Globe, to become managing man-aging dtrector of the New York Press, and Mr. Hammond bad brought with Dim Thomas C. Qulnn, also of the Boa-ton Boa-ton Globe, aa managing editor of the Press. Fred F. Burgia waa city editor of the Press, and Louis J. Lang, later the biographer of Thomas C. Piatt, and now a valued member of Mr. Hearst's forces, was acting Washing-Ion Washing-Ion correspondent. As I was aware at the time, the flag display Idea was Mr. Qulnn's and the work of convincing the Washington Washing-ton authorities for official aanctlon a to public buildings waa Mr. Lang's. The propaganda encompassed the entire en-tire country with eapreaalona of exultant exult-ant co-operation from governors, congressmen, con-gressmen, clergymen, school teachers, and other Influential characters of the day. In July, 188. William Wlndom, secretary ot the treaaury, and John Wanamaker, then postmaster general, were convinced, and from that day to this the Stars and Stripes have been displayed on every publio building In the United States every day during ' office hours. In the rules of the Navy Department there had been from early times a rule for the display of the flag on publio buildinga of that department de-partment but this rule had fallen Into more or leas disobservance following the Civil war. Such dissimilar characters as Rev. Dr McArthur and Father McGlynn were aroused to leadership for the display dis-play of the flag on public schoolhouses that glorious practice that le now a dally Inspiration. The Prese was not wholly satlsfled evidently wltb the way that the then board of education of the city at first carried out Its flsg Idea, tor on Tuesday, September 10, 188. the day after the opening of the schools that year, tta newa story carried this significant paragraph. ' "At every schoolhouse In the city . the day waa honored by the display of the American flag, either on the flagstaff or draped above the principal's desk The one notable exception was at the board of education In Grand 'street where there is a flanKiBIT on the top of the building supplied with all the rope necessary. In aplte of this, the flag did not float there yesterday yes-terday - This hint was effective. Soon after- trlotle dutle of American citizenship." citizen-ship." The state superintendents of education educa-tion held their meeting that year In Brooklyn, N. X. They appointed a committee com-mittee of five to prepare a program for universal use on October 21. Four members of this committee were state superintendents; the fifth waa Francla Bellamy, member of the editorial ataff of the Youth'a Companion. Upon the request of James P. Dp-ham, Dp-ham, one of the proprietors of the Youth's Companion, Bellamy wrote the words which are now variously known as the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag," the "Flag Pledge," and the "Salute "Sa-lute to the Flag." The pledge as written writ-ten by Bellamy is: "I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which It stands: one nation Indivisible, wltb liberty and Justice for all." According to Bellamy's own story, he wrote the pledge at the office of the Voutb'a Companion one evening In August, 1892, while Jamea P. Cp-ham Cp-ham waited outside the door for him to do It This Incident probably gave rise to the story that TJpham himself wrote the pledge. After appearing In the program prepared by the state superintendents su-perintendents for use on Columbus day, 1S02, the pledge wa approved by many patriotic organizations and wa finally adopted in schools throughout through-out the United Statea until It Is now regarded aa almost an official part of our public school procedure. Many educators later objected to "my dug" In tbe pledge. With the large number of foreign-born puptls In our schools that phrase, says the United Statea Bureau of Education, is clearly ambiguous. Consequently the pledge has been Informally revised. The version ver-sion now most widely used Is: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and tq the Iteptiblic for which It stands: one nation Indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all." The next step In the story of' the development de-velopment of Flog dtty Is the story of Mrs. Laura B. Prink, known as the "Mother of Flag Day." In 1910 Mrs. Prlsk, who was editor of the Patriotic Patri-otic Instructor In New York, suggested setting aside June 14, the anniversary of the adoption of the Stars iind Stripes by the Continental congresa as the flag of the United States, as Flag day. Her suggestion was forwarded for-warded by the Daughters of the American Amer-ican Revolution In New York, to President Pres-ident Woodrow Wilson. In response to the request President Wilson Issued i! Our StainlesM Flag j I O'er battlMwnts and ramparts la the K I'. days ai beat aad strife. jt( 1' Wfcaa Fnedon. wrapped la swaddlia T ;i clothes, looked smilmsly at Ufa, (J 3' Old Clery waived, all radiaat with tri- .(J 1 1 uaapli and success, t) . j No blemish iuriud with la her (olds to jtj (. mar kur lovellaesa. It ' Aad hearts afleme with passlsa lot jj ' - lr dum'e half rehja 'h 1 1 Did homes to Old Glory tho flag IK X without a stalal jjj ' The' tyrants still Imparl! soverifa peo- .jj U plae as at yere, K The lose of law and order would oaleaab '.fl the doss el war, J i The emblrai of our b oo doss boldly rlppUe M !' bb the ereese X U Aad hurls daftaaee at the autocrats l acne, the mas. 4 j Aad hearts aflame with aaaeka) for vi fraoilian'e holy ralfn J)J . Do hamate te Old Clary the Bag . U without a stalal l i J, Oh. may the (ka-iaua Stare aad S tripos j I ' forever and a day ,T H worthy deeds ef rishteouaness aad K v honor load the way, jk j( And may our childrea'e children tears te ft reveraace aad prise lK The pradous flft our sob la aires had It m purchased from the eklee. K X Tbea ksarta aflame with pualoa lor -ft i freedom's bohr rolsw K 4j Shall auf nify Old dorr the flag without e tain I .k Jjl Frsderkh Theodora BaiteL K tober 12) as a general holiday. "On that day," said the President "let the people, ao far as possible, cease from toll and devote themselves to sucb exercises ex-ercises aa may best express honor to the Discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life. Columbus stood In bis age as the pioneer pio-neer of progress and enlightenment. The system of universal education Is in our age the most prominent and salutary feature of the spirit of enlightenment, en-lightenment, and It Is peculiarly appropriate appro-priate that tbe schools he made by the people the center of the day's wards publio school boards throughout through-out the nation followed suit, usually one newspaper In each vicinity claim-Ins claim-Ins the honor ot causina- the action, but the credit in tbe flret Instance demonstration. I.et the National Flag float over every schoolhouse In the country, and the exercises be such as shall Impress upon our youth the pa- a proclamation on May 13, 1010, designating desig-nating June 14 of each year as Flag day, and since that time It has so been observed. |