The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1910-11-18


United states ship Mayfower she be.
comes the Presidents yacht" At
other times she is cruiser on the
regular list of tho navy. The "other
times' are few, especially in the sum.
mer, since the President of the United
States, being a normal human being,
cannot help having liking for the
beautiful ship and a desire to spend
much of his time on board Of her. The
navy list says that the MayHower is
detailed for special service" which
means that she Is assigned to the per-
sonal use Of the commander-in-chief
of the navy and his family.
The proximity of President Taft's
summer home at Beverly, Mass, TO
the beautiful north shore of Massa-
chusetts brings naturally thoughts of
cruising, and he has made consider
able use of the Mayfower during his
vacation. He Is q good sailor, thanks
to his numerous voyages on blue wa
ter, and he is believed to be quito as
fond Of the Mayflower as was Mr..
Roosevelt The latter frequently ex-
pressed his delight on boarding the
yacht, and he selected her as the flag
ship when he bade adieu to the battle
ship feet before It's departure on the
memorable around-the-world voyage.
When the big ships returned tri-
umphantly to Hampton Roads 1t was
from the bridge of the Mayfower that
President Roosevelt welcomed them
home to Yankeeland.
In size and In furnishings the May
flower compares favorably with the
royal yachts Of Europe. Her birth
place was Scotland, where she was
built In 1896 for the late Ogden Goelet.
the New York millionaire, who did not
live long to enjoy possession Of the
beautiful craft. The original cost Of
the Mayfower was 100000. After
Mr.. Goelet's death the yacht was of.
fered for sale by his widow. 1t was
reported at one time that the late
King OF the Belgians had acquired her,
but the report was unfounded, The
vessel was bought for $450.000 by the
United States government shortly be-
fore the Spanish-American war and
was converted into gunboat, or small
cruiser. The price paid by the gov
ernment was considered a low one,
The Mayfower is $40 feet long and
Is of 1890 tons burden, Her engines
produce 4.700 horsepower. and she is
propelled by twin screws. She car
ries complement of about ITO off,
GERS and men. The Mayfower carries
a few light guns, principally for use
In firing salutes. Otherwise there Is
nothing In her external or internal ap-
pearance to distinguish her from pri-
vate yachts of her size. Like all the
other vessels of the navy, she Is kept
in exquisitely neat condition. her
smartness being accentuated by her
coat OF dazzling white paint. The fine
lines of the Mayfower, which was
built for cruising at medium speed as
we'll as for comfort. have attracted the
notice Of many marine OBJ
servers. The interior Of the May
flower does not resemble that Of
warship, thus belyine In a way her
place on the active list of the navy's
ships She is decorated beautifully,
principally in white. gold. silver.
and every provision is made for the
comfort of the President and his
guests. Thousands of dollars are
spent annually in the upkeep of the
vessel.
The Mayflower has been assigned to |
the use OF the President since 1909.
Between the close of the Spanish
war and her assumption of |
her new duties she served as q gun
boat The question of her disposition |
arose when II was considered by the |
that she had outlived her
period OF naval usefulness The deci- |
sion to reconvert her into q yacht and |
detail her to do duty as Presidential
vessel In place OF the old Dolphin
brought forth almost universally favor
able comment. as II was felt that the
President should have yacht worthy |
Of comparison with those Of the heads
OF other great nations