Page Four
BADIN BULLETIN
OF GENERAL INTEREST
Makers of the Flag
This morning, as I passed into the
Land Office, The Flag dropped me a
^ost cordial salutation, and from its
^•ppling folds I heard it say: “Good
niorning, Mr. Flag Maker.”
I beg your pardon, Old Glory,” I
®^*d, aren’t you mistaken? I am not
we President of the United States, nor
a member of Congress, nor even a gen-
in the army. I am only a Govern-
*”ent clcrk.”
I greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker,”
^pHed the gay voice, “I know you well.
are the man who worked in the
swelter of yesterday straightening out
Iof that farmer’s homestead in
. f perhaps you found the mis-
^ ® in that Indian contract in Okla-
clear that patent for
e hopeful inventor in New York, or
*Jshed the opening of that new ditch in
o orado, or made that mine in Illinois
go?Tf or brought relief to the old
g >er in Wyoming. No matter; which-
Vo^*^ of these beneficent individuals
ou may happen to be, I give you greet-
Mr. Flag Maker.”
Was about to pass on, when The Flag
wpped me with these words:
®sterday the President spoke a
te ^ made happier the future of
loo peons in Mexico; but that act
larger on The Flag than the
which the boy in Georgia is
win the Corn Club prize this
summer.
,^®^®rday the Congress spoke a word
a door of Alaska; but
Use” • ^^ichigan worked from sun-
bov night, to give her
Tho ®^'^‘=ation. She, too, is making
r lag.
"'® made a new law to pre^
b panics, and yesterday,
his ^ ^‘^hool teacher in Ohio taught
(Igy letters to a boy who will one
the ^ song that will give cheer to
millions of our race. We are all
pie ’ ■* said impatiently, “these peo-
'Tjj ®*e only working!”
‘^ame a great shout from The
"Th
of Til Work that we do is the making
^he Flag.
“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
(Continued on page 8)
«I
but '^he Flag; not at all. I am
'•s shadow.
Badinites in Charlotte
Among those who attended the Grand
Victory Ceremonial of Suez Temple,
D. 0. K. K., in Charlotte, were the fol
lowing from Badin:
M. V. Ford, J. R. Cotton, D. E. Dun
can J. S. Johnson, E. G. Bradford, E.
G Haye's, R. B. Fuller, R. E. Bizzell, W.
T Sprott, Ed. Culp, Ed. Israel, W. E.
pike F. M. Reinhardt, C. M. Reinhardt,
Howell Reinhardt, J. M. Harris, Peter
Enders; E. F. Smith, C. L. Ellison, J. W.
Frazier, Jno. F. Bowling, S. F. Gordon,
R B Lee, Col. John A. McRae, Dr. B..
t’ Atkins, Dr. Fred H. Coleman, Dr. D.
b! Moore, Paul J. Reiner, T. C. Ragin,
J E. Jenkins, J. S. Sapp, R. P. Rees,
Thos C. Sheppard, Tom Cutchins, Joe
Cutchins, W. C. Morton, W. C. Davis,
J. E. Dawkins, Mrs. J. H. Dickson, Mrs.
C. W. Coffman, Mrs. E. F. Smith.
This Ceremonial was one of the most
brilliant gatherings held by any of the
fraternal orders for some time. All who
were so fortunate as to be present
enjoyed themselves very much, and felt
greatly profited by the occasion.
Mr. Luke Saunders is a new arrival
at the Store Room.
Our Soldiers in England
This passage from a letter written by
a British officer to an American friend
gives us another reason to be proud of
“our boys.” It shows us the first im
pression they have made on the civilian
population of England:
“I wish you, in fact, all American
civilians, could realize the very favorable
impression your soldier boys stationed
in England have made upon our civil
population. I naturally expected it, but
even I am surprised at the depth and
extent of it. This country, for instance,
has had in training in it troops from
practically every part of the far-flung
British Empire, acclaimed in the early
stages, endured for the sake of the
cause in the latter, and when it was
known that American troops were to
come here it may be admitted now that
the civilians in these parts were any
thing but plea.sed. But that is all
changed; no troops, not even those
belonging to the County Regiment, are
more popular, and it is certain that
many women have learned, thanks to
your boys, that the rank and file of the
American Army consists almost entirely
of the most courteous, polite, and gen
tlemanly fellows they have ever seen in
khaki. It is not by any means due to
a superior general education, it is just
instinctive and glaringly natural, and
must contribute enormously to the fuller
mutual understanding between the great
masses of the two nations.
“No nation has a monopoly in bra
very; what your heroic representatives
on the battlefields in France are doing
can easily be matched by the valor of
the French, British, and even enemy
troops; but soldiers are not always
engaged in battle actions, and then—!
I have had fairly long experience of war,
in and between battles, and know that
splendid conduct in battle gives no indi
cation of conduct out of it. I think
that in their relations with civilians the
conduct of your troops is incomparable.
I could give many illustrations—and
comparisons, alas!—from personal
observation, and recounted to me by
observant officers and civilians. It is
worthy of your reflection that you
Americans at home, as well as our civil
ians, have possibly as much reason to
be proud of your troops in England as