Executive Order 1637

by President of the United States

EXECUTIVE ORDER, 1637, OCTOBER 29, 1912

The Executive Order of June 24, 1912, is hereby revoked, and for it is substituted the following:

Whereas, "An Act to Establish the Flag of the United States," approved on the 4th of April, 1818, reading as follows:

"Section 1. Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal strips, alternate red and white; that the union have twenty stars, white in a blue field.
"Section 2. Be it further enacted, That on the admission of every new State to the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth of July next succeeding such admission,"

fails to establish proportions; and

Whereas investigation shows some sixty-six different sizes of National flags, and of varying proportions, in use in the Executive Departments;

It is hereby ordered that National Flags and Union Jacks for all Departments of the Government, with the exceptions noted under (a), shall conform to the follow proportions:

Fly (length) of Flag...........................		1.9
Hoist (width) of Flag.........................		1
Hoist (width) of Union.......................		7⁄13
Fly (length) of Union.........................		.76
Width of each stripe.........................		1⁄13

(a.) Exception: The colors carried by troops, and camp colors, shall be the sizes prescribed for the military service (Army and Navy).

Limitation of the number of sizes: With exception of colors under note (a), the sizes of flags manufactured or purchased for Government Departments will be limited to those with the following hoists:

(1)....................		20.00 feet.		(7)...................		5.14 feet.
(2).....(standard)		19.00 feet.		(8)...................		5.00 feet.
(3)....................		14.35 feet.		(9)...................		3.52 feet.
(4)....................		12.19 feet.		(10)...................		2.90 feet.
(5)....................		10.00 feet.		(11)...................		2.37 feet.
(6)....................		8.94 feet.		(12)...................		1.31 feet.

Union Jacks: The size of the Jack shall be the size of the Union of the National Flag with which it is flown.

Position and size of stars: The position and size of each star for the union of the flag shall be as indicated on a plan which will be furnished to the Departments by the Navy Department. From this plan can be determined the location and size of stars for flags of any dimensions. Extra blueprints of this plan will be furnished upon application to the Navy Department.

Order effective: All National Flags and Union Jacks now on hand or for which contracts have been awarded shall be continued in use until unserviceable, but all those manufactured or purchased for government use after the date of this order shall conform strictly to the dimensions and proportions herein prescribed.

Boat Flags: In order that that identity of the stars in flags when carried by small boats belonging to the Government may be preserved, the custom holding in the Navy for many years, of thirteen (13) stars for boat flags, is hereby approved.

President's Flag: The color of the field of the President's flag shall be blue.

WM. H. TAFT.

Following is (presumably) the plan furnished by the Navy Department.

ENSIGN	A	B	G	D	E	F	C	H	I	J	K
№ 2	19.00	36.100	1.805	8.769	10.230	14.440	.9025	.8501	1.7050	1.1703	1.4615
" 3	14.35	27.274	1.2382	6.618	7.721	10.906	.6191	.6416	1.2809	.8832	1.103
" 4	12.19	23.161	1.158	5.625	6.5639	9.264	.5790	.5454	1.0889	.7509	.9377
" 6	8.94	16.986	.848	4.125	4.813	6.794	.424	.3999	.7984	.5506	.687
" 7	5.14	9.766	.488	2.372	2.767	3.906	.2441	.2299	.4590	.3165	.395

JACK	A	B	C	H	I	J	G
№ 2	10.230	14.440	.802	.8501	1.7050	1.1703	1.805
" 3	7.721	10.906	.6191	.6416	1.2809	.8832	1.2382
" 4	6.563	9.264	.5790	.5454	1.0889	.7509	1.158
" 6	4.812	6.794	.424	.3999	.7984	.5506	.848
" 7	2.767	3.906	.2441	.2299	.4590	.3165	.488

BOAT FLAG

U.S. ENSIGN	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	J
№ 9	3.52	6.688	.2708	1.6242	1.896	2.676	.4463	.3160	.4691
" 10	2.90	5.510	.2230	1.3380	1.561	2.204	.3676	.2602	.3860
" 11	2.37	4.503	.1828	1.0958	1.2761	1.801	.3004	.2127	.3155
" 12	1.31	2.489	.1007	.6042	.705	.995	.1649	.1175	.1848

COMMISSION PENNANT 13 STARS

NAME	A	B	C	F	G	L	K
PENNANT № 1	.52	70.0	.065	17.50	1.25	TO A POINT	5.0
"        " 2	.42	40.0	.052	10.0	.743		5.0
"        " 3	.35	25.0	.04	6.25	.446		3.125
"        " 4	.30	20.0	.0375	5.0	.357		2.5

COMMISSION PENNANT 7 STARS

NAME	A	B	C	F	G	L	K
PENNANT № 5	.25	9.0	.03	2.25	.28	TO A POINT	1.125
"        " 6	.21	6.0	.026	1.50	.1875		.75
"        " 8	.15	4.0	.02	1.0	.125		.50