Photograph by Brown Brothers 

 INSURING ACCURACY IN A FACTORY WHERE GOVERNMENT FLAGS ARE. MADE 



The United States Government uses thousands of flags annually, not only the Stars and 

 Stripes and the various flags and pennants of its own army and navy officers and civilian 

 officials, but the flags of other countries as well. Every warship of our navy carries 43 

 foreign flags, for ceremonial purposes. The flag-maker in a government ensign factory must 

 test all buntings. Sample lots are soaked and washed with soap in fresh water one day and 

 the next in salt water. They are then exposed to weather for ten days, 30 hours of which 

 must be sunlight. The colors must not fade or "run." The material is also tested for its 

 strength. The flag shown above is the Portugal ensign (791). 



colors flying, bands playing, and bayonets 

 fixed. It retains possession of the field 

 artillery, horses, arms, and baggage. The 

 French, Russian, and other governments 

 require that in every case the commander 

 of the place must not surrender until he 

 has destroyed all flags ; but this must be 

 done before signing the capitulation. 

 General Stoessel destroyed all Russian 

 flags at Port Arthur. 



The Hague rules of land -warfare for- 

 bid the improper use of the flag of truce, 

 of a national flag, or of the military in- 

 signia and uniform of the enemy, as well 

 as the distinctive badges of the Geneva 

 Convention. In practice it has been au- 

 thorized to make use of the enemy's flag 

 and uniform as a ruse, but not during a 

 combat. Before opening fire these must 

 be discarded. Whether the enemy's flag 

 can be displayed and his uniform worn 



to effect an advance or to withdraw is 

 not settled. 



NAVY CEREMONIES OE RAISING AND 

 LOWERING THE COLORS 



Shore stations under the jurisdiction 

 of the Navy Department display the na- 

 tional ensign from eight o'clock in the 

 morning to sunset. The same is true of 

 ships at anchor. Ships coming to anchor 

 or getting under way before or after the 

 regular hours hoist their colors if there 

 be sufficient light for them to be seen. 

 Unless there are good reasons to the con- 

 trary, ships display their colors when fall- 

 ing in with other men-of-war or when 

 near land, particularly when passing or 

 approaching forts, lighthouses, or towns. 



The ceremonies aboard a ship in com- 

 mission when the ensign is raised and 

 lowered are most impressive. At morn- 



406 



