Part 11

O Greeks of Marathon, room for us! Through Chateau Thierry and the wood of Argonne we have come up to stand by your side, and dare to call you Brothers.

You Five Hundred of Balaklava, meet these boys from Kansas and New York, who also rode blithely into the valley of death. They are your kind.

You men of Bunker Hill, of Gettysburg and of San Juan, place! place for these, our neighbors' sons, our friends and playmates!

For them also the laurel, and the royal requiem! For them the Cross of Honor, and the Divine Halo!

They are ours! Ours! Dear God, we will be worthy of them. Thus cries the poet of America:

"Allons! After the great Companions, and to belong to them!

"Allons! through struggles and wars!

"Have the past struggles succeeded?

"What has succeeded? yourself? your nation? Nature?

"Now understand me well--it is provided in the essence of things that from any fruition of success, no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary.

"Allons! the road is before us!"

_Dr. Frank Crane_

THE SERVICE FLAG

The service flag is not an official flag of the United States Government. The idea was, so far as we are advised, an entirely novel one, the credit for the conception of which appears to be due to R. L. Queisser, of Cleveland, Ohio, who designed and patented the present flag. It has, however, taken such firm root in popular sentiment and has been of such beneficial influence that it is officially recognized, and everyone who is entitled to fly it is encouraged and urged to do so.

Mr. Queisser was formerly captain of the machine gun company, 5th Ohio Infantry (now 145th United States Infantry), from which he was retired because of an accident. He thus states the origin of the flag:

"Shortly after April 6, 1917, when war with Germany was declared, the thought came to me that both of my sons, who were still officers in the guard, would again be called out, and I wondered if I could not evolve some sign or symbol by which it might be known that they were away in their country's service, and one which would be to their mother a visible sign of the sacrifice her sons were making. The inspiration of the service flag came to me in that manner."

_Official U. S. Bulletin_

THE SERVICE FLAG

A field of gleaming white, A border ruby red, And a blazing star That is seen afar As it flutters overhead.

From the window of a cot, From the mansion on the hill, Sends that banner fair, Beyond compare, Its loyal message still.

"A man beloved and dear, O land, I've given to you. He has gone to fight On the side of right; To Old Glory he'll be true!"

It floats from learning's halls, And within the busy mart, Where its crowded stars Form growing bars To rejoice the drooping heart.

Each star stands for a life, To the nation gladly given, For an answered prayer To those "over there," Though a mother's heart be riven.

We pass with kindling eye Beneath your colors true; A nation's love, A nation's hope Are bound in the heart of you!

_Josephine M. Fabricant_

I HAVE A SON[G]

[G] Reprinted from the Saturday Evening Post, Philadelphia. Copyrighted 1917 by the Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia.

I have a son who goes to France Tomorrow. I have clasped his hand-- Most men will understand-- And wished him, smiling, lucky chance in France. My son! At last the house is still-- Just the dog and I in the garden--dark-- Stars and my pipe's red spark-- The house his young heart used to fill Is still.

He said one day, "I've got to go To France--Dad, you know how I feel!" I knew. Like sun and steel And morning. "Yes," I said, "I know You'll go."

I'd waited just to hear him speak Like that. God, what if I had had Another sort of lad, Something too soft and meek and weak To speak!

And yet! He could not guess the blow He'd struck. Why, he's my only son! And we had just begun To be dear friends. But I dared not show The blow.

But now--tonight-- No, no; it's right; I never had a righter thing To bear. And men must fling Themselves away in the grieving sight Of right.

A handsome boy--but I, who knew His spirit--well, they cannot mar The cleanness of a star That'll shine to me, always and true, Who knew.

I've given him. Yes; and had I more, I'd give them too--for there's a love That asking, asks above The human measure of our store-- And more.

Yes; it hurts! Here in the dark, alone-- No one to see my wet old eyes-- I'll watch the morning rise-- And only God shall hear my groan Alone.

I have a son who goes to France Tomorrow. I have clasped his hand-- Most men will understand-- And wished him, smiling, lucky chance In France.

_Emory Pottle_

IN FLANDERS FIELDS[H]

[H] From "In Flanders Fields," by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, courtesy of G. P. Putnam's Sons, publishers.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved; and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe! To you from failing hands we throw The torch. Be yours to hold it high! If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

_John McCrae_

AMERICA'S ANSWER

Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead. The fight that ye so bravely led We've taken up. And we will keep True faith with you who lie asleep, With each a cross to mark his bed, And poppies blowing overhead, Where once his own life blood ran red. So let your rest be sweet and deep In Flanders fields.

Fear not that ye have died for naught. The torch ye threw to us we caught. Ten million hands will hold it high, And freedom's light shall never die! We've learned the lesson that ye taught In Flanders fields.

_R. W. Lillard_

AMERICAN SENTIMENTS

It is a fearful thing to lead this great, peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts--for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.

To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other.

_Woodrow Wilson_

We came into this war for ourselves. It is a war to save America, to preserve self-respect, to justify our right to live as we have lived, not as some one else wishes us to live. It is more precious that this America shall live than that we Americans should live.

_Franklin K. Lane_

No nation has a right to its freedom if it is unwilling to fight for the freedom of others, and for its own.

The cost of war is not to be measured in money. It is in the slow paid price of the human heart--in the blood drops, one by one.

_Charles C. Gordon_

BIBLIOGRAPHY

See Bibliography at end of monograph.

FLAG DAY

June 14

THE STARS AND STRIPES

It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the Government. It is the free people that stand in the Government, on the Constitution.

_Henry Ward Beecher_

FLAG DAY

HANNAH H. CHEW, PRINCIPAL CULVER SCHOOL, MILLVILLE

The great war has brought more forcibly to us a realization of the necessity for training the youth of our land to a greater respect for, and a fuller knowledge of our national emblem.

Wherever the flag floats, children must be taught to love it and to respect its significance.

New Jersey long ago required that the flag be displayed on school buildings, and the flag salute be given daily, but no statute can make certain that the spirit of the law is emphasized.

The teachers of the children of the state bear the responsibility of training for patriotism, and the future of democracy depends upon the patriotic ideals nurtured in the public schools. We shall have more patriotic observances than formerly and one of those which we shall celebrate with more interest will be Flag Day.

The date authorized to be observed as Flag Day comes so near the close of the school year that it may well be used as a special occasion on which pupil and parent join in paying tribute to our national emblem.

Flag Day can be made the occasion of raising a new flag, or of taking a collection to provide silk flags or a patriotic picture for the classrooms, thus giving parents an opportunity to contribute to the patriotism of the school. If a new flag is to be presented to the school, Flag Day will be a most appropriate time to receive it, and exercises can be conducted partly or altogether out-of-doors. On the playground all pupils can take part in marches and drills suitable to their grades. In order to have the best effects, some uniformity of costume is best. Any movements uniformly done in mass are pleasing, and teachers can adapt marching figures to their own playground with good effect. The purpose of the teacher of the primary grades should be to awaken love and reverence for the flag and to instill loyalty into the minds and hearts of the children.

In the higher grades children should not only be trained to show love and respect for the flag, but should understand their duty toward their country. They should study the flag, its history, its significance, its various forms and uses, the correct ways of displaying it, and the proper manner of raising and lowering it.

The flag of our state should also be taught, together with its history.

It is a part of our school law that the flag salute shall be a part of the daily program. It is the duty of the teacher to interpret the meaning and the spirit of the salute to the pupils, not neglecting the correct pronunciation of the words. The salute should never be carelessly repeated, but should be given in a serious manner, and only after children have been called to standing position.

In the making of a program, attention should be given to current events. The best of the popular songs may be sung. (Be sure they are the best.) Current literature will furnish some prose and poetry suitable for the occasion. A real, present-day note should always be sounded. The same program should not be used year after year, but the material should be selected anew each time, though some repetition in the use of standard recitations and national songs is to be expected.

A scrap-book kept for suitable material will be a valuable aid to the teacher. Such a scrap-book can be made by using large envelops, fastening them at the bottom within a cardboard cover, and labelling each envelop according to its contents. As additions are made to the songs, poems, programs, etc., a catalog of the contents can be kept on the outside of the envelop. It will be best to mount recitations on heavy paper in order to preserve them longer.

SUGGESTIVE PROGRAMS

PRIMARY GRADES

Opening remarks by teacher in charge

Singing by school, "America"

Recitation, "Our Flag" (by May Howlister), First grade pupil

Recitation, "Your Flag and my Flag" (by Wilbur D. Nesbit), Fourth grade pupil

Song, "Our Country's Flag" (by Florence L. Dresser)

Flag Drill, All pupils

Presentation of new flag, Member of Parent-Teacher Association

Flag Salute, Entire audience: "I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which it stands; one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all"

Song, "The Star Spangled Banner"

GRAMMAR GRADES

Remarks by teacher or pupil in charge

Song, "The Star Spangled Banner," School, led by school orchestra

Oration, "Flag Day Address" (by President Wilson), Eighth grade boy

Recitation, "The Name of Old Glory" (by James Whitcomb Riley)

Song, "The Unfurling of the Flag" (by Clara Endicott Sears)

"Why we should love the Flag" (Best original speech by grade pupil)

Recitation, "Old Flag" (by Hubbard Parker)

Song, "We'll Keep Old Glory Flying" (by Carleton S. Montanye)

Flag drill and grand march, All pupils of grades 5, 6, 7, 8

Presentation of new flag by father of pupil

Flag Raising

Flag Salute: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands; one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all"

Song, "America"

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

On the 2d of July, 1776, the American Congress resolved "that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; and that all political connection between us and the states of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." On the 4th of July a Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Congress, and sent out under its authority, to announce to all other nations that the United States of America claimed a place among them. On this 4th of July the nation was born. Its flag, the visible symbol of its power, was not adopted till 1777.

On the 14th of June, 1777, Congress resolved "that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

The national flag--_our_ national flag--grew in the most direct way out of the banners that had waved over the colonists. The flag of the United Colonies had thirteen stripes, one for each colony, and the stripes were alternate red and white. This part of the old flag remained unchanged in the new one. Each colony retained its stripe.

The flag of the colonies, in its union, had displayed the king's colors. There was now no longer a king in America, but a new Union had arisen--a Union of Thirteen States--no longer a Union of kingdoms. The union of the old flag had been the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew conjoined on a blue field. The new union was a circle of silver stars in a blue sky--"a new constellation."

The flag of the United States was derived from the flag of the United Colonies in the simplest and most natural manner. The old flag had expressed the hopes and aspirations of thirteen colonies which had united in order to secure justice from their king and fellow-countrymen in England. The new flag expressed the determined resolve of the same thirteen colonies--now become sovereign states--to form a permanent Union, and to take their place among the nations of the world. They were no longer Englishmen; they were Americans.

Many suggestions have been made to account for the appearance of stars or of stripes in the new flag. It seems unnecessary to seek for any explanation other than the one that has just been given. The old flag of the United Colonies expressed the feelings and aspirations of the revolted English colonists. They were willing to remain as subjects of the English king, but they had united to secure justice. The new flag expressed their firm resolve to throw off the yoke of England and to become a new nation. The symbols of each flag exactly expressed the feeling of the men who bore it.

There is a resemblance between the colors and symbols of the new flag and the symbols borne on the coat of arms of General Washington that is worthy of remark. General Washington was a descendant of an English family, and his ancestors bore a coat of arms that he himself used as a seal, and for a book-plate.

It has been supposed that the stars of the American flag were suggested by the three stars of this coat of arms, and this is not impossible. General Washington was in Philadelphia in June, 1777, and he is said to have engaged Mrs. John Ross, at that time, to make the first flag, though this is not absolutely certain.

However this may be, it is known that the American flag of thirteen stars and of thirteen stripes was displayed at the siege of Fort Stanwix in August, 1777; at the battle of Brandywine on September 11; at Germantown on the 4th of October; at the surrender of the British under General Burgoyne on October 17. The flag had been adopted in June of the same year. The vessels of the American navy flew this flag on the high seas, and their victories made it respected everywhere....

The treaty of peace between England and the United States was signed (at Paris, France) on September 3, 1783. This was the acknowledgment of Great Britain of the independence of her former colonies; and the other nations of Europe stood by consenting. Our flag was admitted, at that time, on equal terms with the standards of ancient kingdoms and states, to the company of the banners of the world....

In April, 1818, the Congress passed "An Act to Establish the Flag of the United States":

"Section I. _Be it enacted, etc._, That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union have twenty stars, white in a blue field.

"Section II. _And be it further enacted_, That on the admission of every new state into the union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth of July next succeeding such admission. _Approved_, April 4, 1818."

No changes (other than the addition of new stars) have been made in the national flag since 1818. The stars have been added, one by one, until in 1898 there are forty-five in all. Every state has its star; each of the original thirteen states has its stripe.

So long as the United States exists the flag will remain in its present form, except that new stars will be displayed as the new states come in. It will forever exhibit the origin of the nation from the thirteen colonies, and its growth into a Union of sovereign states.

_Edward S. Holden_

MAKERS OF THE FLAG

This morning, as I passed into the Land Office, The Flag dropped me a most cordial salutation, and from its rippling folds I heard it say: "Good-morning, Mr. Flag-Maker."

"I beg your pardon, Old Glory," I said, "aren't you mistaken? I am not the President of the United States, nor a member of Congress, nor even a general in the army. I am only a Government clerk."

"I greet you again, Mr. Flag-Maker," replied the gay voice. "I know you well. You are the man who worked in the swelter of yesterday straightening out the tangle of that farmer's homestead in Idaho, or perhaps you found the mistake in that Indian contract in Oklahoma, or helped to clear that patent for the hopeful inventor in New York, or pushed the opening of that new ditch in Colorado, or made that mine in Illinois more safe, or brought relief to the old soldier in Wyoming. No matter; whichever one of these beneficent individuals you may happen to be, I give you greeting, Mr. Flag-Maker."

I was about to pass on, when the Flag stopped me with these words:

"Yesterday the President spoke a word that made happier the future of ten million peons in Mexico; but that act looms no larger on the flag than the struggle which the boy in Georgia is making to win the Corn Club prize this summer.

"Yesterday the Congress spoke a word which will open the door of Alaska; but a mother in Michigan worked from sunrise until far into the night, to give her boy an education. She, too, is making the flag.

"Yesterday we made a new law to prevent financial panics, and yesterday, maybe, a school teacher in Ohio taught his first letters to a boy who will one day write a song that will give cheer to the millions of our race. We are all making the flag."

"But," I said impatiently, "these people were only working!"

Then came a great shout from The Flag:

"The work that we do is the making of the flag.

"I am not the flag; not at all. I am but its shadow.

"I am whatever you make me, nothing more.

"I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a people may become.

"I live a changing life, a life of moods and passions, of heartbreaks and tired muscles.

"Sometimes I am strong with pride, when men do an honest work, fitting the rails together truly.

"Sometimes I droop, for then purpose has gone from me, and cynically I play the coward.

"Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full of that ego that blasts judgment.

"But always I am all that you hope to be, and have the courage to try for.

"I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope.

"I am the day's work of the weakest man, and the largest dream of the most daring.

"I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and the statute makers, soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and street sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk.

"I am the battle of yesterday, and the mistake of tomorrow.

"I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why.

"I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of resolution.

"I am no more than what you believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be.

"I am what you make me, nothing more.

"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. For you are the makers of the flag and it is well that you glory in the making."

_Franklin K. Lane_

THE NAME OF OLD GLORY[I]

[I] From the Biographical Edition of the Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley, copyright 1913. Used by special permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

Old Glory! say, who, By the ships and the crew, And the long, blended ranks of the gray and the blue-- Who gave you, Old Glory, the name that you bear With such pride everywhere As you cast yourself free to the rapturous air And leap out full-length, as we're wanting you to?-- Who gave you that name, with the ring of the same, And the honor and fame so becoming to you?-- Your stripes stroked in ripples of white and of red, With your stars at their glittering best overhead-- By day or by night Their delightfulest light Laughing down from their little square heaven of blue!-- Who gave you the name of Old Glory?--say, who-- Who gave you the name of Old Glory?

The old banner lifted, and faltering then In vague lisps and whispers fell silent again.

Old Glory--speak out!--we are asking about How you happened to "favor" a name, so to say, That sounds so familiar and careless and gay As we cheer it and shout in our wild breezy way-- We--the crowd, every man of us, calling you that-- We--Tom, Dick and Harry--each swinging his hat And hurrahing "Old Glory!" like you were our kin, When--Lord!--we all know we're as common as sin! And yet it just seems like you humor us all And waft us your thanks, as we hail you and fall Into line, with you over us, waving us on Where our glorified, sanctified betters have gone-- And this is the reason we're wanting to know-- (And we're wanting it so-- Where our own fathers went we are willing to go)-- Who gave you the name of Old Glory--O-ho!-- Who gave you the name of Old Glory?