The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-29
THE PRESIDENTS YACHT.
Trim Little sylDh Recently Purchas-
ed Detailed for His Use.
From the Philadelphia Times.

From the Philadelphia Times.
For years the government officials at
Washington have been embarrassed by
the talk of a suitable government ship
for the use of the President when he
foreign guests of the nation, to take
them for a pleasure trip of any kind
To be sure, some vessel of the navy was
always at his command, but no one ship
could be continually kept at hand for
that purpose. This difficulty is to be
remedied and specially designed yacht
Is TO be built for the sole purpose of
executive use in social functions
When Mount Vernon has been visited
by representatives of a foreign nation
here in their official capacity it has been
necessary as a rule TO transport them to
the tomb on some river steamer or else
by the electric cars. Hereafter the Sylph
one of the finest yachts recently purchas-
ed for the navy, will be stationed at
Washington for the use of officials and the
President. She Is of light draught, fast
and well adapted for outings on the river
With this ship and the Dolphin the Pres
ident will be well provided with official
yachts
But two rulers of great powers have finer
official yachts at their disposal than the
President of the United States Not even
the Queen of England Is carried around on
the water in a ship more sumptuous or
powerful than the dispatch boat which
Presidents Harrison, Cleveland and Nc
Kinley have occasionally used. The Dol
phin Is not only fitted for just such
cruises. but couples with her yacht-like
arrangements a strong battery of rapid
fire guns.
England, for the past fifty years or
more, has supported royal yachts for the
Queen, and the first of the number built
is yet serving her majesty. The Queen has
insisted up to the present on all her royal
private vessels being side-wheelers of the
old paddle-wheel pattern. For twenty-five
years the Queen has had four imperial
yachts for her own private use, and now
she is to have new one, larger more
costly and more Sumptuous than any OF
the former. The fifth vessel will have twin
screws, great length and be capable of
fast time. Not one of the old ships on a
stretch could make more than fifteen
knots.
In designing the new ship, the British
admiralty has endeavored to meet the
wishes and views of the Queen on the
general plan of the vessel as far as pos
sible. AS the yacht will probably some
day be the royal ship of the Prince of
Wales, or some other member of the pres
ent imperial family, there will not be that
ideas Of naval architecture in order to give
a numbering type of vessel such as has
represented the Queens ideal yacht. When
completed the ship will probably cost 81
600 COO.
Emperor Williams yacht is more OF a
warship than a pleasure craft, and at the
Kiel celebration was the most admired
of all vessels except the New York and
Columbia of the American fleet The
Hohenzollern is of comparatively recent
date. having been laid down in 1897 and
completed two years later. Her length
is the same as that of the cruiser New
York, she being $50 feet over all. with a
beam of 46 feet draught of l6 feet and
displacement of 4,1S tons. Her engines
have developed 1900 horsepower, or equal
to those of the New York, and her speed
is placed at % knots. She carries three
four-inch guns and u four FOUNDERS Her
complement of men Is 3W.
Russia has more imperial yachts than
any government In the world. Her naval
list shows that the Car has at least five
and a number of small launches desig-
mated also as royal dispatch boats.
Many of them are old and of little
further use. but her latest, the Standard,
Is by far the finest vessel Of her class
ahoat She is even more powerful than
the Hohenzollern and carries more arm
ament than any other royal yacht in SER
vice
The STANDARD represents both the high
est idea of war vessel and yacht yet de-
signed. She can fight and at the same
time take the whole Russian royal family
on cruise around the world In most
comfortable fashion. No official govern
ment yacht is so powerfully armed as