What Do You Know
' About “The Great Seal?”
(Story of the Disc on a
Soldier's Cap)
On ‘he wall of the oldest church
edifice in New York City, St.
Paul’s Chapel, and above the
very pew where Washington wor
shipped for almost two years,
hangs the picture of an emblem
famliiar to every soldier. It de
picts the Great Seal of the Unit
ed States which forms the medal
• lion worn above the visor of the
soldier’s service cap.
As an accouterment to his uni
form, this device represents a sur
vival of the days when armor
clad knights wore characteristic
markings so that friend and foe
could be differentiated. But the
• fact that today’s soldier wears
this particular emblem goes back
to a hot summer's day in Phila
delphia, when the Continental
Congress, having declared the in
dependence of the United States
of America, entertained a rseolu
tion “that Dr. Franklin, Thom
as Jefferson and Mr. John Adams
be a committee to prepare a de
vice for a seal of the United States
of America.”
The resolution was carried, and
the three named went to work,
enlisting the aid of a French
artist of West Indian birth, du
Simitiere, an ardent friend of
American liberty. The committee
functioned harmoniously^ and
when they met to discuss the de
signs they had prepared indepen
dently, there were no forbeodings
of the difficulties which lay ahead
of them. Du Simitiere’s proposal
* included a shield, divided, on
which should appear a rose, a
thistle, a harp, a fleur-de-lis, an
imperial eagle, and the Belgic
crowned lion, representing Eng
land, Scotland, Ireland, France,
Germany and Holland respective
iy. and symbolic of the multiple
origins of the United States.
Although working quite inde
pendently, Franklin and Jeffer
son had hit on the identical theme
for he reverse of the seal: Moses
leading the Israelites out of bond
age into the promised land, sug
gest ve, of course, of the aspira
tions of our own brave new land.
John Adams had some idea of
representing the infant Nation as
Hercules, but *his conception met
wtih no great favor.
It was agreed by the commit
tee that Jefferson then prepare
best features of all ‘he proposals,
a final design embodying the
and six weeks after the creation
of the committee their work was
laid before Congress. The multi
ple shield of du Simitiere was in
cluded, also the figures of the
Goddesses of Liberty and Justice,
and the motto "E Pluribus
Unum.” The Franklin-Jefferson
delivery of the Israelites was on
the reverse side, with the mot'o
“Rebellion to Tyrants is Obed
ience to God.”
Contrary to expectation, con
siderable discussion ensued. Tom
Paine, who liked i4 on the whole,
had some reservations about in
cluding a purely biblical subject.
Another delegate suggested that
a more fitting time for consider
ation of such a mat'er would be
when the Nation’s independence
had been “established other than
on paper.” A wrangle about the
“elabora4e yet unsatisfactory de
vice” followed, and the matter
was finally shelved and the com
mittee dissolved, rather to its
own surprise and chagrin.
Subsequent committees fared no
bet'er. Finally, apparently as a
last resort, the whole matter was
entrusted to the genial and uni
versally 1 ked Charles Thomson,
secretary ol the Congress. Thom
.-on made a sewn non from some
designs of Wiii am Bar on, a
young lawyer*, known otherwise
in history chiefly as the father
of a nineteen:! rvrnury stormy
petrel of Navy me wine and sur
gerv, William P. C. Barton. The
Th jmson-Barton design was ap
proved by Congress on Line 20,
1782.
The accompanying report ex
plains the now fam.liar device.
“The escu'cheon is composed of
the Chief and pale, the two most
honorable ordinaries. The pieces,!
all joined in one solid compact
paly, represent the several States
entire, supporting a Chief which
unites the whole and represent
Congress . . . The Olive Branch
and arrows denote the power of
peace and war which is exclusive
ly vested in Congress. The Con
stellation denotes a new State
taking its place and rank among
other sovereign powers. The es-j
cu'eheon is borne on the breast
of an American Eagle without any
other supporters, to denote that
the United States of America
oueht *o rely on their own vir
tue.”
The first official use of the
new seal was on a commission
dated September 16. i7R2. giving
full power and authority to Gen
eral George Washington to con
clude arrangements with ‘he Brit
ish for the exchange of prisoners
of war. From that day to this,:
the eagle has been the familiar
representation of our country,
clutching ‘he arrows of war n
his left talon, for use if necessary,
but in the preferred right the I
olive branch of peace.— (Army
Life).
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South America
Arms For Peace
By JACK STINNETT
WASHINGTON — In the midst
of a lot more sensational home
front and war-front problems, it's
difficult to explain just how vital
the situation in Central and South
America is being considered here.
Our “Good Neighbor policy,”
built up through years of effort
and expenditures running into
the near-billions, is threatened
with collapse. The Bolivian rev
olution was the first defection but
it may not be the last.
As a matter of fact, a high Brit
ish official, who asked that his,
name not be used, explained it
this way in a private conversa
tion the other day:
“The Bolivian revolution is just
the beginning and in a way it’s
no more than a preview of what’s
brewing in the United States and
(fiber allied nations.
* * *
“In South America, peace has
come. Let me make myself
clear. A year or more ago, they
considered themselves threatened
by the Nazis on the east and the
Japs on the West. Those nations
south of the Rio Grande that
were financially and physically i
able made preparations to resist
invasion. They were alarmed and
Solidarity with neighboring na
tions and unity within seemed
their best protection.
“In the last year, and particu-i
larly since we have mopped up
North Africa, Sicily and southern t
Italy on one hand; and eastern
New Guinea, the Solomons and
the Gilbert Islands en the other,
the war has receded from these
shores. In Latin America, peace i
is already just around the cor-|
ner and the minority groups or
.nose out of power see no further
necessi y for delaying action.
“To some extent, this same
thing is manifest in your own na
tion. Every major victory in the
war brings forth new defections
among minority groups. And I'm
sad to say the same 'hing may oc
cur in England just as soon as we
have made successful advances
toward establishing a western
front in Europe.”
To some extent, this view
throws a new light on the Latin
American situation,' but a none
the-less alarming one so far as
western hemisphere solidarity is
concerned.
* * *
In our own nation, winning the,
war is still uppermost in most
minds, but once the certainty of
that victory is just over the next
little hill, how are we going to
feel politically about our leaders
and sacrificial participations in
world reconstructions?
The answer to that question
will clarify to some extent what
has happened and may spread in
Latin America. Washington ob
servers who admit our failure to
keep Argentina and Bolivia close
ly welded, are now worried about
Chile, Peru and Paraguay.
If the British official is right
and the Bolivian revolution is!
merely a prelude to what may
happen when peace comes, it’s
time for drastic action now. The,
State Department already has in-;
dicated that it feels that way
about it, but the Allied Nations
can’t really move without a solid
front composed of those Western'
hemisphere nations who still are,
united in the idea of world peace,
forever, '
BUT SHOP LIFTERS
HAD LAST LAUGH
DURHAM, N. C. —<AP>— Ir
ritated by shoplifting, a local de
partmnet s'ore loaded empty
parcels with the admonition
“Crime Doesn't Pay.'' and placed
them at convenient places on the
counters.
The sales clerks were greatly
amused at the gradual disappear
ance of these dummy parcels.
But a check-up at the end of the
day revealed that shoplifters also
had made off with their usual
quota of merchandise.
PIG PREJUDICE
IS DEEPLY ROOTED
WITH SECOND ARMY I NT
TENNESSEE — <AP>— War is bad
enough, and Tennessee pigs don’t
add any'hing to its festivities.
Pigs broke into a Red command
post by night and upset three
days’ supply of ground coffee,
rooting it into the mud. While
the men growled about breakfast
without coffee, the company clerk
sent for the mail. Alas, the pigs
had gone calling at the A. P. O.
too. The day’s ration of mail
had gon to join the ration of
coffee—in the mud.
IT S A SMALL WORLD
BUT A BIG NAVY
SPARTANBURG, S. C. — <AP>
—Sailors Harold Lowe and Wil
liam E. Jett hailed each other as
old civilian friends when they
met while home on leave. Com
paring notes on navy experiences,
they found they had been serv
ing on the same ship for months.
RUBBING IT IN
WITH SECOND ARMY IN
TENNESSEE — <AP>— Tired men
trooped in from maneuvers,
soaked from the rain and coated
wtih mud. Some of them settled
down in a mobile U. S. O. fie’d
unit to relax and Bee a movie.
Name of the movie: “Stormy
Weather.” Name of the project
ionist: Mr. Waterman.
/