WE TALK OF THE FLAG "Tell me about the flag," he said, As I was putting him to bed, "And why men wave their hats and cheer Whenever it is drawing near?" And so we stopped undressing then To talk sabout the time when men Were facing cannon shot and shell To serve the flag we love so well. I told him of the men who died In frozen wood and countryside Long years ago in battles grim To keep a flag like that for him, I told him all about the stars, The spotless white and crimson bars, And what they dreamed of and they sought As bitterly they bled and fought. "Let no one tell you as you grow That nothing to the flag you owe. Let no one whisper that it means But pleasant days and peaceful' scenes, And merely calls to mind a land Where wealth abounds on every hand. Because no more that flag will fly When men for it refuse to die. "And it may be," said I, "that you Must some day serve that banner too. And then if such a day should come That sounds again the stirring drum And blows once more the martial fife, Be not a slave to peaceful life. As they were' men, you be a man And give that flag the best you can." -Detroit Free Press.