Patriotic BROADSIDE Flyer/YOUR FLAG and OUR FLAG/1914--Thomas L. Reilly CONGRESS

Description

Small broadside or flyer (just under 6” by 9”) for a speech entitled Your Flag and My Flag, given by Congressman Thomas L. Reilly of Connecticut in the House of Representatives in 1914, printed by the Government Printing Office, together with a pre printed envelope made for it. Congressman Reilly, a Democrat, gave this speech and read this poem during a heated debate between the Democrats and Republicans relating to President Woodrow Wilson’s meddling in affairs in Mexico. It was met with enthusiastic applause. The speech seems to imply that if the Republicans didn’t support the President in this matter they were not patriotic and did not truly love the U.S. flag. Sound familiar? The poem was written by Wilbur Dick Nesbit several years before this and would become a popular piece during World War I. Brown University has a couple of copies of this piece in the Harris Broadsides Collection, but I can’t find any reference to this mailing envelope. The envelope is in only fair condition (cheap pulp paper) with the flap missing and roughness and loss along the top edge. The broadside or flyer is in good condition with light wear and soiling. There are three fold marks, as well as some discoloration on the back. A nice political and patriotic item!