The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-09-13
James o'Donneli Bennett In Chicago
Tribune Pays the Ranger Compli-
ment Of Calling II Floating
Auto.
ON WAY TO GULF PORT
keokuk Man and His Party are Visit
inc Here for Few Days and Boat
10 Anchored at
Beach.

A floating auto, is the way tna'
Howard Hughes boat, The Ranger
Is described in the Chicago Tribune
The story of the trip from Chicago
to New Orleans is given by EYE
Witness" who everyone who knows
supposes must be James ODonnell
Bennett, as he Is with Mr.. Hughes
on the trip. Mr.. Bennett was over.
seas as a correspondent with the
German ard allied armies before
America entered the war.
The following is the Tribune's
story about the floating auto:
On board yacht Ranger, bound for
Houston from Chicago via the Mis-
sissippi: Hughes Of Houston, having
a passion for the water and right
smart chance of loose change lying
about, said to William c. Morehead,
president of the Great Lakes Boat
Building corporation Of Milwaukee,
Build me the fastest, fastest, latest
thing in motor yachts. and I'll take
her home myself" Hughes of Hous
ton being a mar Of as few words as
will politely convey his meaning.
In sixty days. plus the usual I'VE
-to-state-that-owing to unfore
seen" etc.-leeway of two or three
weeks, the result was the yacht
Ranger, in whose cockpit, and enyel'
oped by the softest and most saluDri
GUS bucolic scenery, l am now lolling
and trying to concentrate on the
production of something instructive
concerning the latest development IN
motor yachts.
Having paid Morehead's bill, which
was pretty thing detailing matters
aggregating $4,000. Hughes of Hous
ton was at liberty to swing away from
Milwaukee, thing which, what with
fretful recollections of the three
weeks delay. he did with an enthu
siasm that amounted almost to aban'
don.
Brother Of Playwright.
Down Galveston and Houston way
and throughout the Texas oil region
generally, everybody knows Howard
r. Hughes, for he is president OF the
Hughes Tool company, which makes
a rotary bit that does wonders in the
work of drilling for oil-whfch is as
far as I dare go in analysis of ma
chinery or the parts thereof. Up IN
our part Of the country Hughes OF
Houston would be more readily iden-
titled as elder brother of the high
power. not to say passionate publ
cist and playwright, Rupert Hughes
Of New York.
Such biographical detail sufficing
for the present, we will dip briefly
into matters of. boat building and
navigation.
Something About the Boat.
This Ranger. with which Hughes OF
Houston purposes toying with some
1900 miles of artificial and natural
waterway, and salt water, connecting
Chicago with Houston, is the latest
pattern in new type Of motorooat,
and on all counts a significant propo'
sition INTELLECTUALLY, commercially
and socially. Not that it Is CONNER
cial. but certain OF the principles in
herent in it will have a big CONNER
cial application when the problems
of cheap transportation by water that
confront Chicago are finally worked
out
AS a social proposition. Ranger Is
i'm portant, or will be when rich men
in Chicago awake to the fact that at
their doors lies the gateway TO the
finest river cruising in the world
the finest scenically, historically, edu-
cationally and periodically.