Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-14

afternoons last summer. At such
times the yacht is a festive place.
Promptly at the hour set Mrs.
Harding comes aboard with a group
of representatives of the official
family. Mrs. Coolidge is there, per
haps several cabinet ladies, a
s~prinkling of senator's wives, and
Miss Harlan, secretary to Mrs.
Harding.
After informal greetings to tho
guests Of the afternoon, Mrs. Hard
ing may pose for the camera men.
Then she gives orders and the racht
hour or two down the river.
The Mayflower orchestra plays in
a corner of the deck and the guests
dance with the ships officers, or sit
about in groups, If they have never
been aboard, officers show them the
interesting parts of the shio. Mrs.
Harding moves about among her
guests, talking with the different
groups.
Later. she leads the way TO the
dining room for tea. Filipino boys,
mess attendants of the Mayflower,
move about swiftly serving tea.
sandwiches and cake to the guests
who sit or stand around the rooI1.
L1STe are dDouI L. VI thCSc uItSS
attendants.
The Mayflower, being a naval
vessel, requires a much larger crew
than would a privately owned yacht.
The owner of a pleasure boat may
the ship is o in use and hire men
again when they are needed. The
Maylfower has a crew of 100 which
is kept at all times and is gov
erned in every detail by naval reguia-
tons.
Serving in the presidents yacht is
an honor priced by some navy men.
Others find it monotonous to be sta
toned in Washington practically all
the time. They prefer a battlestip in
foreign waters to the domesticated
Mayflower.
In 1904, it is true. the May
flower went with a squadron of the
Atlantic fleet to Europe. Eat for
the most part it rarely goes farther
from its base than the West in
dies. Tradition and business make
most chief executives stay ut hone.
Has Interesting History
Before it was detailed to serve the
president, the Mayflower had an ad-
Glasgow in 1896 for Ogden Goclet.
New York millionaire. Mr.. Goclet
spent S1.250.00 on his yacht. and it
was pronounced a masterpiece of
luxury and elegance. 1t was re-
ported. as a suggestion of the clah-
crate detail of the fittings. that orr
entail rugs were used for the floors,
and that Mrs. Goelet's suite of
rooms had five different kinds of
bath tubs.
The Mayflower sailed proudly off
on her maiden voyage, but it came
back sadly. for the owner was
stricken and died while cruising in
the Mediterranean.
Then. when the war with Spain
broke out, the government bought the
Mayflower at a bargain, payine but
100000 for it, and turned it into sn
followed an adventurous career in the
Spanish wal and they lay idle. Hut
the need for a presidential yacht was
being agitated. While the president
could always have a naval vessel in
which to travel, still it was argued
that there should be a ship of suf-
ficient size and elegance ready for the
executives use.
So the Mayflower was renovated
again, stripped of her gray war
paint, and refinished inside. In two
years of war duty the mahogany
fittings and the wall surfaces had
been badly damaged. In the summer
of 1902 the yacht steamed into
Oyster Bay, where President Roose-
welt was staying, and entered upon
its present work of serving the
presidents.