"What is this thing anyway? Nothing but a piece of cotton with a little paint on it, and some other marks in the corner there. I will not kiss that thing. It might be covered with microbes."
— Flag desecration

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
PoliticsCrimes
Original Language: English

Sources

Earnest V. Starr, remarks in response to mob demands to kiss the United States Flag (24 March 1918), as quoted in his profile page at the Montana Sedition Project, and "American Flag Timeline: Flag Desecration, Flag Burning, Pledge of Allegiance" at About.com. On 27 September 1918, he was tried for sedition, and convicted in a jury trial on the grounds that the above statement constituted "contemptuous and slurring language about the flag and language calculated to bring the flag into contempt a