The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-02-16

quently aboard the Mayaower in =.
afternoons last summer. A. "a tae
times the yacht is a festive .9 s11a
promptly at the hour 81. P, "
Z Harding comes aboard with a u. ~ :.
! of representatives of me : 80 ssaoal
family. Mrs. Coolidge is tbsr S-', ga
haps several cabinet Id, PEI
sprlnklIng of senator's wives "a 4
Miss Harlan, secretary to N s.'
; Harding. ais
: AFTER informal greetings In -.
guests of the afternoon. Mrs u. ~
ing may pose for the Gamer LAW, IN.
Then she gives orders and -- ~
yacht sails out of the nav ,.t ..5
for an hour or two down the r3. si4
The Mayflower orchestra NAV =
a corner of the deck. and the 80. u
dance with the ships Officers 49, ~ y
about IN groups. If they have ma ~
er been aboard, officers shou ~,
the interesting parts of The 80, -
Mrs. Harding moves about ar9 ~. 7
her guests, talking with the diFara
ent groups. 81
Later. she leads the wav IN "a.
dining room for tea. FiIipino bor-
mess attendants Of the Mav7oy~s..'
move about swiftly serving -.
sandwiches and cake to the gpsst-
who sit or stand around the roc
There are about II of these mae ,,
attendants. $50
The Mayfiower. being ? naval -.
sci, requires a much larger cr5r
than would a privately owned vae5r
The owner of a pleasure boat me-
discharge most of the crew wbs,
the ship IS not in use and hire ma
again when they are needed IT,
MayfOwer has a crew Of 100 viii
is kept at all times and is governs
in every detail by naval regus.
lions.
Serving in the presidents yacbt
is an honor priced by some nav
men. Others find it monotonops +,
be stationed in Washington Drsf.
tically all the time They prefer
battleship in foreign waters to h.
domesticated Mayfower.
In 1904, it is true, the Mavaows,
went with squadron of the Allan.
tic feet to- Europe. But for tbs
most part it rarely goes farther
from its base than the West Indie,
Tradition and business make mos
chief executives stay at home.
Has Interesting History.
Before it was detailed to ser7.
the president, the Mayfower had
an adventurous history. It was
built in Glasgow, in 1896, for Ogder
GOelet, New York millionaire. M
Goelet spent $1,250,000 on his yacb
and it was pronounced master
piece Of luxury and elegance. Il
was reported, as a suggestion Of The
detail Of the fittings, thai
oriental rugs were used for Tie
floors. and that Mrs. GOelets SUITE
Of rooms had five different kind
Of bath tubs.
The MayfOwer sailed proudly OIL
IN her maiden voyage. but it came
back sadly, for the owner was
stricken and died while cruising il
he Mediterranean.
Then. when the war with Spain
broke out, the government boug1
he MaYflOweT at a bargain, paying
1ut 100000 for it. and turned {
nto an armed scout ship. The MAY
lower followed an adventurous !
,areer in the Spanish war and the1
ay idle. But the need for a pres
lential yacht was being agitatai
While the president could always
nave a naval vessel in which 10
ravel. still it was argued that there
should be a ship Of sufficient size i
md elegance ready for the eIeca-
ives use.
So the Nayfower was renovated
tgaiu. stripped of her gray war
paint, and Tefinished inside. u +
wo years OF war duty the mahog-
my fittings and the wall surfaces
lad been badly damaged. In the }
ummer of 1902 the yacht steamed /
nto Oyster Bay. where PresideH. [
Roosevelt was staying, and entered
pom its present work Of serving
he presidents.
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