Vol. XXXII, No. 4 WASHINGTON 



October, 1917 



TI 



JMATDOMAL 

 OG1AIF 

 AGAZH 



OUR flag number 



FLAGS symbolize the noble aspira- 

 tions and glorious achievements of 

 the human race ; they epitomize the 

 romance of history ; they incarnate the 

 chivalry of the ages. 



Their origin is divinity itself ; for when, 

 at the beginning of recorded time, Jeho- 

 vah made a covenant with man, prom- 

 ising that never again would He send the 

 waters to cover the face of the earth and 

 destroy all flesh, He unfurled the first 

 flag-— the multihued banner of the rain- 

 bow — which he set in the clouds as a 

 symbol of security and an assurance to 

 all future generations of His watchful 

 care. 



And since that day man has, in his 

 finite way, employed his earthly banners 

 as emblems of faith, of hope, and of high 

 resolve. 



Around the bits of varicolored bunt- 

 ing which the people of each land nom- 

 inate as a national flag, there cluster 

 thoughts of loyalty, of patriotism, and of 

 personal sacrifice which have enabled the 

 world to move forward, from the days 

 when each individual struggled for him- 

 self alone, like other wild animals of plain 

 and mountain side, until, through com- 

 munity of interests and unity of effort, 

 mankind has been enabled to rear the 

 splendid structure of twentieth century 

 civilization. 



When the savage began to emerge from 

 his isolation and took the first steps to- 

 ward becoming a social creature, profit- 

 ing by association and cooperation with 

 fellow human beings, one of his first 

 needs was a sign or a symbol whereby he 



could distinguish, during primitive battles, 

 between creatures of his own tribe or 

 family and those of enemy tribes. A 

 peculiar type of club, a splotch of colored 

 clay on the body of the warrior, and later 

 some rude device on his clumsy shield 

 served for a time the purpose of insignia. 

 Eventually these bits of wood, bodily 

 ornamentation, and shield signs were re- 

 placed by the skins of animals attached 

 to poles so that they might be held high 

 in the air and recognized at a distance. 

 From such crude beginnings it is easy to 

 trace the evolution of the flags of civil- 

 ized man. 



Today, while it is true that we are 

 thinking of the flags of our own and of 

 other nation's in relation to sanguinary 

 strife, these emblems of armies and na- 

 vies have a deep and noble significance 

 far removed from their use in leading 

 men to battle. In reality flags are the bul- 

 warks of idealism. 



AN INSPIRATION TO PERSONAL SACRIFICE 



The flag epitomizes for an army the 

 high principles for which it strives in 

 battle. Were it not for the ideals which 

 it keeps ever before the soldier he would 

 be bestialized by slaughter. It keeps 

 men's motives lofty even in mortal com- 

 bat, making them forgetful of personal 

 gain and of personal revenge, but eager 

 for personal sacrifice in the cause of the 

 country they serve. 



With full realization of what the stories 

 of the flags of the world mean, each to 

 its own people, and with the belief that 

 Americans will be inspired by under- 



