The Holbrook news., 1910-11-04

1 united States ship Mayfower she be
 comes the Presidents yacht" Al other times she is a cruiser on the
 regular list of the navy. The "othel | times" are few, especially in the sum
 mer, since the President of the United
 States, being 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 Mayfower 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 Mayhower during his
 vacation. He Is good sailor. thanks to his numerous voyages on blue wa
 ter and he is believed to be quite 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 fleet before it's departure on the memorable around-the-world voyage. When the big ships returned tri- umphantly to Hampton Roads it was from the bridge of the Mayflower 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 $S00,000. After MT Goelet's death the yacht was of fered for sale by his widow. It 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 $45O,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 low one.
 The Mayfiower Is 270 feet long and Is of 2,690 tons burden. Her. engines produce 4,700 horsepower, and she is propelled by twin screws. She car ries a complement of about ITO off, cers 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 Mayf1ower, which was built for cruising at medium speed as notice of many marine ob- servers. The interior of the May flower does not resemble that of thus belying in a way her place on the active list of the navy's | ships. She is decorated beautifully, l 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 1902 | Between the close of the Spanish American war and her assumption of her new duties she served as a gun- boat. The question of her disposition arose when it was considered by the authorities that she had outlived her period of naval usefulness. The decl- sion to reconvert her into yacht and 1etail her to do duty as a Presidential vessel in place of the old Dolphin brought forth almost universally favor ible comment, as it was felt that the President should have yacht worthy ,f comparison with those of the heads ,f other great nations