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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1906)
r to . Jtr St?am "facbting Whose Cost Runs VI7iA1? Bilk Into the Millions Every Year. rVtAxSSr STEAM yachting can never have a very extended clientele. It is a sport only for men of millions. None but the very wealthiest can hope to own the floating palaces bcBlde whose immonxe cost the finest of automobiles is in com parison as cheap as a bicycle. Half a million dollars is a. conservative estimate of what it costs to build the kind' of yacht fancied by the multimillionaire of the United States, and -when to this original cost is added running expenses of JfiOOO a month, it will be readily appre ciated that there is no danger of steam yachting becoming vulgar. Yet. despite its great cost, the sport is steadily growing in popularity. Twenty years ago there were not more than two score steam yachts in the United States. Now the number has increased till there are 600 of American registry. All the big shipbuilding companies have commissions to build yachts, and in nearly every In stance the expense limit has been taken off and the order given to construct re gardless of expense. Fifty million dollars is invested in steam yachts in tho United States, and it costs $10,000,000 more per year to maintain the sumptuous craft. This total is further augmented by another $S.OOO,000 In club house and club property. So that, all in all, American yachting costs annually close to $70,000,000. Tho edict of society has done much to give the sport its vogue. The steam yacht tour has come to be regarded as pretty near the last word in luxurious enjoy ment. Those who have owned steam yachts have profited by their ability to conduct the sort of functions for which invitations have been at a premium. Nat urally the man who did not want to lag "I'VE BEEN THINKING" BY CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS Breakfast Food Literature. PROFESSOR Erasmus Svelthett. of St. Jacob's University, has written a very learned brochure in which he sets forth an interesting theory; namely, that the reason that children of today are so much more duiet at tho breakfast tablo than boys and girls used to be is because they have plenty to read, while the children of bygone generations, with nothing to do saye eat. had perforce to join In tho conversation or become ennuyes. There is certainly much to be said In favor of this theory. Children of the present time never obtain the balance of conversation, nor do they ever have to be reprimanded Tor interrupting or for saying untoward things at the wrens: mo behind has been forced to take to the pleasures of the ocean and Invest in a yacht. As a result of this tho Erie Basin in New Tork is so crowded with steam yachts now being fitted out for the sea son of 1105 that sufficient drydock space can hardly be found. Millions In Steam Craft. The ordinary man has no conception of the huge sums that have been expended In putting these wonderful yachts Into commission. Howard Gould's Niagara III drew on his purse for a matter of $700,000 before It turned a wheel. Lawson liked the sport enough to pay $150,000 for his Dreamer. Henry Walters' Narada ran Into $75.0M more than tho yacht of tho frenzied finance man, Alexander Van Rennssclaer of Philadelphia, one of the pioneers of the sport, went down $230,000 or the graceful May. H. H. Rogers, the Standard Oil magnate, jrccently under the fire of attorney-General Hadlcy, of Missouri, spent the same sum for his Kanawha. John Jacob Aster's Nourmahal and F. W. Vanderbllt's Conqueror were each $900,000 propositions. J. Pierpont Morgan spent JEOJ.OOO for the Corsair, a name that many persons deem appropriate In view of tho practices of the famous stock operator; the Margerita cost A. J. Drexcl the sum of $475,060. and O. H. Payne's Aphrodite meant an outlay of $360,000. Astonishing as are these figures, anyone ment although It is a question whether the right moment for untoward things ever comes. But even if this fascinating breakfast literature did not keep the children quiet there would be no question of Its stimula tive action upon their minds. We who look back over the lapse of years to our own childhood recall that there were no Multum-ln-parvo breakfast foods with copious directions for use, and chatty paragraphs printed in various sized typo on the yellow box. To be sure, those of us who lived too far away from great centers to be able to buy our condensed milk fresh-every, .day from the itinerant white wagon were accustomed to the circular cess with their Gall-burdened literature in various languages, but la those days Gail H&ssiltoa reigned su 1W1 who Rets briefly on one of these yachts can readily understand wherein comes the enormous outlay. It Is not enough that the machinery be the best obtainable. The appointments must equal the most elegant Quarters that man can have on land. The ocean liners of the more modern class, whose furnishings seem to go pret ty far In the direction of gorgeousnet. preme even In the nursery, and her epi grammatic writings spoiled us for the. more labored effusions of the other GalL Then, too, the cans beinjr circular, moth er had to keep turning them around if little Willy wanted to read and this was almost as bad as being interrupted. BuLjjow all is changed. If papa Vt tad Turn; if mamma has a headache and dses not care to; talk, little' Wllliass, who has long-ttece learned hew to read, sits at the matutinal repast and quietly Imbibes use ful information of many .kinds. All si lently the knowledge is berr.e In on him that "Energyscose is the fel-feod ef life. Better pewter plate and smergysceee than a golden platter adBtght hut a stalled ex thereon. If he tire of reading about the virtues ef Bergyseoe he assy tm his ch ts present no such wonder displays of art furnishing as these ocean homes of the men who make and unmake American financial life. The greatest artists are hired to do the fresco work or such painting as may be necessary to give the right touch of the aesthetic to the saloon. In most cases the drawing-room reaches across the stern of the vessel, and Is a combination of bard wood and marble. The libraries are furnished in the Empire style, and' Ailed with costliest statuary. Dining-rooms furnished entire in price less Chippendale, and the most wonderful services of gold and silver, make the sort of eating ptece that the most magnificent the co rn-Lanel -colored box on the right and learn that "Gripe-knots are unlike sny other food preparation. Being en tirely digested, they naturally wean a strong man from coffee, and can be eaten without practice by teething babies. They contain nothing that will give the stom ach the slightest trouble, and persons who have used our food for years do not need their -stomachs at all. They are made of devitalized chestnut sawdust, snd It Is possible to eat them without the use of sugar or cream" or anaes thetics. "Properly compressed they can be used by the children as baUdlng-blocks. and can then be reduced to a powder and taken once every two hours, when they give one all the effect of having eaten without Its foolish pleasures." 'Alien WDllant has read, aad ose sWe is thoroughly digested for the literature is not preslgested. Hke. the contents of the box, mamma will trcm It around, and he may read Inspiriting letters from Invalids who have lost their sense of taste years ago and whe have eajeyed Gripe-knots ever" state; or else en the third side he may leant hew te make sissete. hwtecti ms desserts, ef bras. JteUly- Jit scary 1 famWe seldom ceateat hotel in the world would try In vain to duplicate. Really Fine Steamships. The word "yacht" gives no Idea of the size of some of these craft. The average length is about SCO feet, and some of them are even larger. As one strolls around the deck it Is to get tho Impression of be ing on a liner. ' This Impression Is farther heightened by the army of employes, high-salaried men. whom It takes tQ handle the ship. There must be on experienced and able captain, usually a graduate from an ocean liner, who can protect the lives of the millionaire guests in any crisis of weather, and moreover, he must be a man of appearance, distinc tion and reasonable amount of culture, for the delicate sensibilities of the wealthy ladies who are guests must not be offended by the sight of the themselves with one lettered box of pat ent food, and some cultivated Bostonlans have as many as five or six brands, of various shades of yellow and brown, merely that Aldbtades Beacon, tired of reading about Corncna and Its stimulative properties, may turn to the box of Wheat oats or Puttyjlm's Oatuck. or the box of Noegud with its entertaining anecdote to the effect that "a lady In Seattle, who had not been able to take a step for II years, ate a single box of Noegud and immediately took steps to keep It con stantly in the larder" and away from the breakfast table. Or his little mlnc unable to cope with his father's argu ments to prove Aguinaldo a blgrer man than Washington, turns with, relief to the statement that "Mrs. Bent ley. of Shog tl cocoa. Minnesota, was unable to take anything solid without facial paralysis. She ate one box of Noegud. and now says thst she would rather eat solid rock than be without II." Mark the subtle sarcasm of her remark. It Is dollars to doughnuts that Aldbtades. Sostonian the ugh he be. dees not see that If she woutd net , be without Jt site would act have It wRM her. gees nay cars at the colors ef the rough old sea dog of tradition. Five thousand dollars a year is no uncom mon salary for the kind of commanders who do this work. Directly connected with the captain cbme his two mates, and a number of sailors, the force varying to the size of the yacht. Most steam yachts also carry sails, and in goad winds go under this kind of power. Hence a good com plement of seamen la necessary. Almost equal In importance with the captain Is the chief engineer, who has charge of the motor power of the craft. His. staff conslbts of three assistants, his firemen, oilers and cleaners. Then tho head cook. He must be a famous oulinary artist, able to get on the water as good a result as If he were on land with all the facilities of fresh meat and vegetables. Such a man commands, often, as big a salary as the captain or engineer. He. too, has a big packages: some may even wish that the food could be put In china receptacles and the literature set beride each plate in "Individual" pamphlets, but no one can say that there are not many aids to con versation among the elders, and much of an Improving nature to children In the unobtrusive and absolutely veracious writings of the food-companies. Husbands as Errand Boys. TV RE you in the habit of sending your r husband to dry goods stores to match things? . If you Ure In the country or suburbs and your husband's office Is In the city there Is some excuse for it. but if you live in the city and make the poor man do such work as that you ought to have married some one else. His brain Is not your brain. To him shades and textures and shapes are as BOthiAg. Sat her he will be conscientious aad get the girl at the eeanter te try aad make the exaet match, and taMteg fn that will come home without' the spools' Jt?ou which force of stewards, cooks and -waiters. Most yachts also carry a doctor. Summing' all up the crew, including: the officers. Is seldom less than 73. The outlay for fuel Is heavy. Even when there Is no strike to boost prices, the kind of coal used costs about $4 per ton. A yacht like the Corsair burns about 45 tons per day. Power Is required not only for running; the vessel, but also to operate the ice plant and electric light plant. Tae Ice-manufacturing plant has an output of 1-00 pounds a day. and no matter what "port of the tropics he may be in. and how far from la"nd. the millionaire on his pacht Is ever sure of a liberal allowance of the Summer com fort. In all the yachts now being: fitted out at the Erie Basin special attention s given to the larder. There Is a grow ing: demand for more room in which to iilore the wines and rich foods that are essential as a part of the cruises. The New York Tacht Club, which, takes an equal Interest In steam and sail yachting, owns real estate -worth, more than $1,000,000. and there Is scarcely a coast or lake city in the country that does not nave a club de voted to yachting. Sailing yachts do not come as high as the steam variety, though it is a. fact that a considerable fortune can be put Into them by those owners -who prefer the primitive method of locomo tion through the water to the devices of later development. A fast schooner of the first class, finely fitted out is worth about $40,000, and a fair aver- age rate for maintenance would be $1003 a month. Of course they come higher. The May, which won the great ocean race from Sandy Hook to the Lizard, Eng land, is valued at $115,000. The combined racing and sailing craft is manned usually by a crew of 25. Sails and spars for a boat of this class cost $7000. A great deal of expensive racing goes on about which the public knows nothing. There are many private con tests for cups offered by wealthy members of the various big clubs. The rivalry among these men of millions causes them to fit their boats, with a much care as If they were defending the America's cup against Upton. Nineteen hundred and six will see more of these events than ever, and all the big yachts and little are being overhauled In preparation. you are depending for yqur morning's" work, or else being careless he will get something that coula not by any possi bility be made to do. In either case you will judge him from a woman's view point and he will make but a sorry showing. The best way Is to write down plainly Just what you want him to get and re duce him to mere ignorant errand boy status. . Then he. a man who perhaps dominates political assemblies or sits high in church coundls or delivers ' valuable legal opin ions, shuffles Into the store, meek-eyed and diffident, and going up to the spool counter (after wandering all over the store looking for It) says, "Give me some of that." and pointing: ,at the. paper shoves It at the young saleswoman. And she looks at him with pitying eyes as a poor fool and. reading the directions, bands out the goods. ' t He goes home with them and ten to " one they are wrong, but he Is safe. But the best way to do is to go yourself and thus save your .husband vfrom, en counters that cannot fall to reduce his ex alted optelea ef himself. 1 " 4