382 



Popular Science Monthly 



The Star Spangled Banner in Brick 

 — A Feat of Chicago Masons 



SOMETHING out of the ordinary in the 

 way of flags was constructed by a 

 Chicago 

 company 

 recently. 

 It is a flag 

 of burnt- 

 clay brick 

 that neith- 

 er time nor 

 elements 

 can destroy 

 or mar. So 

 far as we 

 know, it is 

 the only 

 flag of its 

 kind in the 

 world. It 

 is fully 

 thirty-two 

 inches high 

 by forty- 

 eight inches 

 wide. The red stripes consist of red, 

 vitrified brick, the white stripes of matt- 

 glazed brick, and the blue stripes of dark 

 blue-enameled brick. The stars are of 

 brick, too. Forty-eight of them were cut 

 from white enameled brick with chisels and 

 were laid in the blue background with 

 blue cement mortar. 



The masons who are responsible for the 

 flag first thought of pasting stars cut out 

 from oilcloth on the brick to represent the 

 forty-eight States. Finally they decided 

 not to fake the flag, and hit upon the idea 

 of cutting the stars out of individual 

 bricks. Needless to say, this was a b 

 task, but the result was well worth the 

 labor and means expended. 



"Old Glory" reproduced in burnt-clay brick. Even the stars are 

 of brick. They were chiseled out and finished in white enamel 



bers of an Italian scouting party about to 

 partake of their midday meal. Their faces 

 and hands are besmeared with black 

 grease to protect them against the burning 

 rays of the sun, which are doubly strong 

 when re- 

 flected from 

 the snow. 

 They pre- 

 fer to use 

 vaseline, 

 but that is 

 too expen- 

 sive. The 

 snow not 

 only burns 

 the faces 

 of troops 

 but it in- 

 jures their 

 eyes so that 

 sun glasses 

 have to be 

 worn. 

 Needless to 

 say, the 

 black 

 grease and the sun glasses make the Ital- 

 ians excellent targets against a background 

 of white snow. 



However, the Alpine Italian troops do 

 not always use grease and sun glasses. 

 When there is hot fighting to be done in 

 the Alps, they don snow-white suits and 

 even paint their rifles white. In such a 

 uniform they are practically invisible. 



Italian Soldiers Paint Their Faces 

 — But Not for Beauty 



THE Italians holding down trenches 

 in the Alps have two enemies to 

 deal with, the Austrians and the snow. 

 Of the two the Italians prefer to en- 

 counter the Austrians. As it is, they 

 have to face both and get along as best 

 they can. In order to do this they 

 supply themselves with gunpowder and 

 rifles for the Austrians and black 

 grease and glasses for the sun. 



The photograph shows four mem- 



Black grease and sun glasses prevent the sun 

 from burning the faces and injuring the 

 eyes of the Italian troops fighting in the Alps 



