Evening Star Newspaper, June 28, 1925, Page 66

THE SU AR, WASHINGTON D , JUN THE PUSHER-IN-THE-FACE BY F. SCOTT FITZGERALD. HE last prisoner was a man— | his masculinity was not much in evidence, it is true: he would perhaps better be de- scribed as a “person,” but he doubtedly came under that general heading and was so cla: in the court record. He was a s ome- what shriveled, somewhat for probabl His body looked as if it had been left by accident in his suit the la time it went to the tailor’s and press- ed out with hot, hi ns to its present sharpne; face was merely a face. kind of face that makes up crowds, gray in color, with ears that rank back against the head as if fearing the clamor of the city, and with the tired, tired eyes of one whose forebears have been underdogs for 5.000 yaar Brought into the dock between two towering Celts in executive blue he seemed like the representative of a long extinct race, a very fagged Dut and shriveled elf, who had been caught poaching on a buttercup in Central Park. s vour name?" Stuart what “Charles David Stuart The clerk recorded it without com- ment in the book of little crimes and great mistakes “Age?” “Thirty “Occupation? “Night cashier.” The clerk paused and looked at judge. The judge yawned. | the | selt. | two He Asserted Himself After He Had Almost Forgotten How. incident defined itself as one of un- provoked and inexcusable brutalit The one element which did not fit in with this interpretation was the physiognomy of the prisoner him- Of any one of a number of minor offenses he might have ap- peared guilty—pickpockets were no- torfously mild-mannered, for ex- ample—but of this particular as- sault in a crowded theater he seemed physically incapable. He did not have the kind of voice or the kind of clothes or the kind of mustache that went with such an attack. “Charles David Stuart,” Judge, “you've heard the evidence inst you? Ye Have you anything to say before vou 2" The head hopele: trembling. Not one word extenuation unwarranted assaul The prisoner appeared to hes “Go on.” said the judge. up—it’s ast chance “Well,” said Stuart with an_ effart, he began talking about the plumb- s stomach.” There was a stir in the courtroom. The judge leaned forward. “What do you mean?” “Why, at first she was only talking about her own stomach to—to those ladles there"—he indicated the cousin and Miss Ingles—“and that wasn't so bad. But when she began talking about the plumber’s stomach prisoner shook his His small hands of tate. Speak el “Wha's charge?”” he asked. “The charge fis"—the clerk looked down at the notation in his hand— “the charge is that he pushed a lady in the face.” ‘Pleads . guilty? Yes. The preliminaries were not disposed | of. Charles David Stuart, looking | very harmless and uneasy.. was on| trial for assault and battery. | The evidence disclosed,. rather to | the judge's surprise, that the lady whose face had been pushed was not | the defendant’s wife. | On the contrary, the victim was an absolute stranger; the prisoner had | never seen her before in his life. | His reasons for the assault had been | two—first, that she talked during a| theatrical performance, and, second, | that she kept joggling the back of | his chair with her knees. When this | had gone on for some time he had| turned around and without any warn- ing pushed her severely in the face. ‘‘Call the plaintiff,”” id the judge, sitting up a little in his chair “Let's hear what she has to say i | | 'HE courtroom, | and unusually sparsely crowded languid in the hot afternoon. had become suddenly alert. | Several men in the back of the room | moved into benches near the desk and | a voung reporter leaned over the cler's shoulder and copied the de. fendant’s name on the back of an envelope. The plaintiff arose e was a woman just this side of 50, with a determined, rather overbearing face under yellowish-white hair. Her dress was a dignified black and she gave the impression of wearing glasses; indeed, the young reporter, who lieved in observation, had so de- seribed her in his mind before he realized that no such adornment sat upon her thin, beaked nose It developed that she was Mrs George D. Robinson of Riverside Drive. She had always been fond of the theater and sometimes she went 1o the matinee. There had been two ladies with her vesterday—her cousin who lived with her, and a Miss Ingles. Both ladies were in court. This is what had occurred As the curtain went up for the first act a woman sitting behind had ed her to remove her hat. Mrs. obinson had been about to do so anyhow, and so she was a little an- noved at the request and had re. marked as much to M and her cousin. At this had first noticed the defendant, who was sitting directly in front, for he turned around and looked at quickly in a most insolent way. she had forgotten his existence until ust before the end of the act, when She made some remark to Mi Ingles, when suddenly he had stood up, turned around and pushed her in the face. -9 s it judge at this point. “A hard blow!” said Mrs. Robinson indignantly. “I should say it was. 1 had hot and cold applications on my nosegull night “On her nose | | | | be- | | | | | | a hard blow?” asked the all night.” This echo came from the witness bench, where two faded ladies were leaning forward eagerly and nodding their heads in corroboration.” “Were the judse. No. but every one around had seen the incident and some people had taken hold of the man right then and there. This_concluded lights on?" asked the the case for the plaintiff. Her two companions gave similar evidence, and in the minds of every one in the courtroom the | | | | v | have died right there it got different.” “How do you mean—different?” Charles Stuart looked around helplessly. “I can’t explain.” he said. his mus- tache wavering a little, “but when she began talking about the plumb- er's stomach you—yau had to listen.” SNICKER ran about the court- room. Mrs. Robinson and her at- tendant ladies on the hench were visi- bly horrified. The guard took a step nearer as if at a nod from the judge he would whisk off this criminal to the dingiest dungeon in Manhattan. But much to his surprise the judge settled himself comfortably in his chair. “Tell us about it, Stuart,”” he said, not unkindly. “Tell us the whole story from the beginning.” This request was a shock to the prisoner and for a moment he looked as though he would have preferred the order of condemnation. Then, after one nervous look around the room, he put his hands on the edge of the desk, like the paws of a fox terrier just being trained to sit up, nd began to speak in a quivering ce. Well, I'm a night cashier, vour homor, in T. Cuchmael’s restaurant on Third avenue. I'm not married” he smiled a little, as if he knew they had all guessed that—"and so on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons 1 usually go to the matinee. It helps to pass the time till dinner. There's a drug store, maybe you know, where ou can get tickets for a dollag sixty-five to some of the shows, and I usually go there and pick out some- thing. They got awful prices at the box office now."” silent whistle and looked feelingly at the judge. “Four or five dollars for one seat——' The judge nodded his head. “Well.” “contiuued Charles “when I pay even a dollar I expect to see my About two weeks ago I went to one of these here mystery plays where they have one fella that did the crime and nobody knows who it was. Well, the fun at a thing like that is to guess who did it. And there was a lady be hind me that'd been there before and she gave it all away to the fella: with her. " Gee"—his face fell and hie shook his head from side to side—"1 like to When I got me to my room I was so mad that they had to come and ask me to stop walking up and down. Dollar sixty- five of iy money gone for nothing. “Well, Wednesday came around again, and this show was one show I wanted to see. I'd been wanting to see it for months, and every time I went into the drug store I asked them if they had any tickets. But they never did.” He hesitated. ‘“So Tuesday I took a chance and went over to the | box office and got a_seat. Two seve: five it cost me sively. “Two throwing money to see that show Mrs. Robinson in suddenly arose to her seventy-five. But I wanted the front row feet. “I don’t see what all this story has | to do with it,” she broke out a little shrilly. “I'm sure I don't care—" The judge brought his gavel sharply down on the desk. “8it down. please,” he said. “This is a court of law, not a matinee.” Mrs. Robinson sat down, drawing herself up into a thin line and sniff- ing a little as if to say she'd see about this after a while. The judge pulled out his watch. “Go on,” he said to Stuart. all the time you want.” “I got there first,” continued Stuart “Take said the | He gave out a long. | money’s worth. | in a flustered volce. “There wasn't anybody in there but me and the fella that was cleaning up. Adter awhile the audience came in, and it got dark. and the play started, but Jjust as I was all settled in my seat and ready to have a good time I heard an awful row directly behind me. Somebody had asked this lady”—he pointed to Mr Robinson, “to remove iher hat like she should of done any- how and she was sore about it. She Kept telling the two ladies that wax with her how she'd been at the | theater before and knew enough to take off her hat. She kept that up for a long time, five minutes maybe. |and then every once in a while she'd think of something new and say it in a loud voice. So finally T turnad around and looked at her because I wanted to see what a lady looked like that could be so inconsiderate as thil Soon as I turned back she began on me. She said I was insoient and then she said “Tehk! Tchk! Tchk! a lot with her tongue and the two ladic that was with her said “Pchk! Tehk! Tchk!" until yvou could hardiy hear yourself think. much less listen to the ay. You'd have thought I'd dane something terrible. “By and by, after they calmed dewn and T hegan to catch | was doing on the stage, I felt my seat sort of creak forward aud then creak back again and I knew the lady jhad her feet ¢ and T was in for |a good rock. he wiped hix pale, narrow brow on which the sweat had gathered thinly, “it wa awful. I hope to teil yvou 1 wished I'd never come at all. Once I got e cited at a show and rocked a man's chalr without knowing it and I was glad when he asked me to stop. But T knew this lady wouldn’t be glad it I asked her. She'd of just rocked harder than ever.’ * [ SOME time before the population of the courtroom had begun stealing glances at the middle-aged lady with vellowish-white hair. She was of a deep, life-like lobster color with rage. “It got to be near the end of the act,”” went on the little pale man, “and 1 was enjoying it as well as I could, seeing that sometimes she'd push me toward the stage and some. times she'd let go, and the seat and me would fall back into place. Then all of a sudden she began to talk She said she had an operation or something—1I remember she said she told the doctor that she guessed she knew more about her own stomach than he did. The play was getting good just then —the people next to me had their handkerchiefs out and was weeping—and I was feeling sort of that way myself. nd all of a sud den this lady began to tell her friends what she told the plumber about his indigestion. Gosh! Again he shook his head from side to side; his pale s involuntarily on Mrs. Robinson then looked quic away. “You couldn’t help but hear some and I begun missing things and then miss. began laughing and I didn't know what they were laughing at and, as soon as they'd leave would begin again. Then there was a great big laugh that lasted for a long time and everybody bent over double and kept laughing and laughing, and I hadn't heard a word. First thing I knew the curtain came down and then I don't know what happened. [ must of been a‘little crazy or some- thing because T got up and closed my seat, and reached back and pushed the lady in the face. As he concluded there was a long sigh in the courtroom as though every one had been holding in his breath waiting for the climax. Even the judge gasped a little and the three ladies on the witness bench burst into a shrill chatter and grew louder and louder and shriller and shriller until the judge's gavel rang out again upon his desk “Charles Stuart,” said {in a slightly raised voice. only extenuation you can | raising your hand against of the plaintifi’s age Charles Stuart's head sank a little between his shoulders, seeminz to withdraw as far as it was able into the poor shelter of his body. “Yes, sir,” he sald faintly. Mrs. Robinson sprang to her feet “Yes, judge,” she cried shrilly, “and there’s more than that. He's 4 liar, too, a dirty little liar. He's just proclaimed himself a dirty little—"" “Silence!” cried the judge in a ter- rible voice. “I'm running this court, and I'm capable of making my own decisions!” He paused. “I will now pronounce sentence upon Charles Stuart,” he referred to the registe: “upon Charles David Stuart of 212 West Twenty-second street.” The courtroom was silent. The re- porter drew nearer—he hoped the sentence would be light—just a few days on the Island in lieu of a fine. The judge leaned back in his chair and hid his thumbs somewhere under his black robe. “Assault justified,” he said. “Case dismissed.” the judge is this the make for woman ok ok ok {THE little man, Charles Stuart, came blinking out into the sun- shine, pausing for a moment at the door of the court and looking fur- tively behind him as if he half ex- pected that it was a judicial error. Then, sniffing once or twice. not be- |cause he had a cold, but for those | diva psychological reasons that make people sniff, he moved slowly south with an eve out for a subw sta- tion. He stopped at a a morning paper: subway was eenth street, 4 new and to buy then entering the borne south te Eight- where he disembarked and walked east to Third avenue. Here he w employed in an all- night restaurant bullt of glass and plaster white tile. Here he sat at a desk from curfew umtil dawn, taking in money uand balancing the books of T. Cushmael, the proprietor. And here, through the interminable nights his eyves, by turning a little to right or left, could rest upon the arched {linen uniform of Miss Edna Schae fer. Miss Edna Schaeffer was with a sweet mild face and hair that was a living example of how henna should not be applied. She was unaware of this latter fact, because all the girls | ! \ so perhaps the odd vermillion tint of her coiffure did not matter. Charles Stuart had forgotten abéut the color of her hair long ago—if he had ever noticed its strangeness at all. He was much more interested in her eyes, and in her white hands, which, as they moved deftly among plles of plates and cups, always look- ed as if they should be playing the i piano. He had almost asked her to 20 to a2 matinee with him once, but when she had faced him her lips i f-parted in a weary, cheerful !sfnile. she had seemed so beautiful that he had lost courage and mum- Ibled something else instead. It was not to see Edna Schaeffer, however, that he had come to the restaurant so early in the afternoon. It was to consult with T. Cushmael, his employer, and discover if he had lost his job during his night in jail. T. Cushmael was standing in the front of the restaurant, looking gloomily out e plateglass window, and Charleg b with what | ing more things and then evervbody | off her voice, she knew used henna just this way, | | Stuart approached him with ominous forebodings. “Where've you bee Cuskmael. “Nowhere,” Stuart discreetl “Well, you're fired.” Stuart winced. “Right now?" Cuchmael waved his hands apathe- Iy “Stay two or three day: you | want to, till T find somebody. Then " he made a gesture of expulsion outside for you.” Charles Stuart weary little nod everything. At 9 o'clock, after a de- pres interval during which he | brooded upon the penalty of spending a night among the police, he reported | for work “liello, demanded T. answered Charles t if assented with a| He assented 10 Mr. Stuart,” said Schaeffer, sauntering curiously tow him as he took his place behind the | | desk, *“what becme of you last night? | | Get pinched? | She laughed, charmingly Ana cheerfully, huskily, he thought, at her jok “Yes.” he answered on a sudden impulse. “I was in the Thirty-fifth street jail.” “Yes, you were, “That’s the truth, was arrested.” Her face grew serious at once. “Go on. What did you do He hesitated. “T pushed somebody Suddenly she began first with amusement she scoffed he inststed. I in to and the face.’ laugh, at then im numbled Stuart, *I almost to prison on account of it. Setting her hand firmly mouth Edna turned away from nd retired to the refuge of the | kitchen. A little later, when he was pretending to be busy at the accounts, he saw her retailing the story to the two other giris. got sent over her him | * o ox 'HE night wore on. in the grayish suit with the gray ish face attracted no mora attention from the customers than the whirring electric fan over his head. They gave him their money and his hand slid their change into a little hollow in the marble counter. But to Charles Stuart the hours of this night, this lust night, began to assume a quality of romance. The slow routine of a hundred other nights unrolled with a new enchuntment before his eyes Midnight was always a sort of a dividing point—after that the intimate part of the evening began. Fewer ple me in, and the ones that did eemed depressed and tired: a casual ragged man for coffee, the beggar from the street corner who ate heavy meal of cakes and a beefsteak a few nightbound street-women and @ watchman with a red face who ex- changed warning phrases with him abour his health. Midnight seemed to come early to- night and business was brisk until after one. When Edna began to foid napkins at a nearby table he was tempted to ask her if she too had not found the night unusually short. Vainly he wished that he might im press himself on her in some way make some remark to her, some sign of his devotion that she would re- member forever. She finished of napkins, and bore it A few The little man folding the vast pile loaded it onto the stand away, humming to her minutes later the door and two customers came in O™ d them immediately, and as he did so a flu f jealousy went over him. One of them, a young man |in a handsome brown suit, cut awa kishly from his-abdomen, had been a frequent visitor for the last 10 days. 1 always at about this hour t one of Lidna’s tables, and | O cups of coffee with linger- | ing ease. On last two visits he{ had been accompanied by his present companion, a swarthy Greek with sour eves who ordered in a loud voice and gave vent to noisy sm when any thing was not to 7 It was chiefly though, who & his the ng man th moyed Charles Stuart. The roung man's eyes followed Edna wherever she went, and on his last wo Visits he had made unnecessary i requests in order to bring her more often to his table L . “Good evening, girlie,” Stuart heard | lllln0>a\' tonight low’s tricks?" “0. K." answered Edna forma “Wat'll it be? T “What hav young man. verything, what'd you recommend?” _BEdna did not answer. Her eyes! ivere staring straight over his head into some invisible distance. He ordered fnally his companion. Edna withdrew and | Stuart saw the young man turn and | hisper to his friend. indicating Edna with is head. | you”" smiled eh? the | Well, | at the urging of * % RT shifted uncomfortably seat. e hated man and wished passiona would go away. last night here, * in that voung tely that he l“‘ se]emed as if his iis last chance tc watch Edna, and perhaps even ;"‘ Tfill\l\n blessed moment to talk to her a e, was mar: v every this man stavea U O'erY moment Half a dozen drifted into three workm 1 more people had the restaurant—two or en, the newsdealer from | nd Edna was too busy es to be bothered with SuddenlyCharles Stuart ware that the sour-eyec Greek had raised his hand and s heckoning him. Somewhat puzzled, he left his desk and approached the table _“Say. fella,” said the Greek, “what time does the boss come in Why—2 o'clock. Just a few min- utes now.'” “All right. That's all. T just want- ed to speak to him about something." | Stuart realized that Edna was stand- ing beside the, table; both men turned toward her. Say, girlie,” said the young man talk to you. Sit down.” a few minut ttentions can. turned can The boss don't menacingly to sit down. can't “She ! ! i tuart did not answer. L say she can sit down, can't she?” said the young man more intently, and | added. “Speak up. vou litte dummy.” Still Sthart did not answer. Strange { Dlood currents were flowing all over | his body. He was frightened. any- | thing sald determinedly had a way of frightening him. ~But he could not move. “Sh!” said the Greek to his com- panion. But the young man was angered. “Say,” he broke out, *“some time somebody’'s golng to take a paste at you when you don’t answer what they say. Go on back to your desk. Still Stuart did not move. “Go on away!” repeated the young man in a dangerous volce. ‘Hurry up! Run!" B Then Stuart ran. He ran as hard {as he was able. But instead of run- | ning away from the young man, he [ran toward him, stretching out his | hands as he came near in a sort of | straight arm that brought his two palms, with all the force of his hun- dred and thirty pounds, against his victim's face. With a crash of china, the young man went over backward in his chair and, his head striking the edge of the next table, lay motionless on_the floor. The restaurant was in a small up- roar. There was a lerrified scream S | | st | dangerons | the from Edna, an indignant protest from the Greek, and the customers arose with exclamations from their tables. Just at this moment the door opened and Mr. Cushmael came in Vhy, you little fool!” cried Edna wrathfuily. “What are you trying to do! Lose me my job?” “What's this?” demanded Mr. Cush meal, hurrying over. “What's the idea?" “Mr. Stewart pushed a customer in the face” cried a waitress, taking Edna's cue. “For no reason at all?" The population of the restaurant had now gathered around the prostrate vistim. He was doused thoroughly with water and a folded tablecloth was placed under his head. ‘Oh. he did, did he?” shouted Mr. Cushmael in a terrible voice, seizing Stuart by the lapels of his coat. “He's raving crazy!" sobbed Edna. “He was in jail last night for pushing a lady the face. He told me so himselt. A large laborer reached over and grasped Stuart’s small trembling arm Stuart gaz wround dumbly. His mouth was quivering : ““Look what you done!” shouted Mr. Cushmael. “You like to kill a man.” stuart shivered violently. His mouth opened and he fought the air for a moment. Then he uttered a half- articulate sentence: “Only meant to face.” “Push him in the face>” ejaculated Cushmael In a frenzy. “So you got t: be a pusher-in-the-face, eh? Well, we'll push your face right into fail " “I—T couldn’t help it,” gasped Stu art. “Sometimes I can't help it.” His volce rose unevenly. “I guess I'm a man and you better take me and lock me up:” fle turned wildly to Cushmael, “I'd push you in the fac push him in the |if he'd let go my arm. Yes, I would! I'd push you—right-in-the-face!” For a moment an astonished silence | fell, broken by the voice of one of the waitresses who had been groping un- der the table. Some stuff dropped out of this fella’s back pocket when he tipped over,” she explained, getting to her feet. “It's—why, it's a revolver and—" She had been about to say handker chief, but as she looked at what she was holding, her mouth fell open and she dropped the thing quickly on the table. It was a small black mask about the size of her hand. Simultaneously the Greek, who had been shifting uneasily upon his feet ever since the accident, seemed to remember an important engagement that had slipped his mind. ' He dashed suddenly around the table and made or the front door, but it opened just at that moment to admit several c tomers who, at the cry of “stop him obligingly spread out their arms Barred in that direction, he jumped an overturned chair, vaulted over the delicatessen counter, and set out for the Kitchen, collapsing precipitately in the firm grasp of the chef in the doorway “Hold htm! Mr. Cushmeal, the situation. drawer!” Willing hands assisted the Greek over the counter, where he stood panting and gasping under two dozen excited eyes. “After my money, hey?” shouted the proprietor, shaking his fist under the captive’s nose. The stout man nodded, panting “We'd of got it. too he gasped. “if it hadn’t been for that little pusher-in the face Hold him!" screamed realizing the turn of “They're after my cash | | came ‘in contact w Two dozen eyes looked around eagerly. The little pusher-in-the-face | had disappeared. * ok ok K ‘HE beggar on the corner had just decided to shut up the shop for the night when he suddenly felt a his shoulder. “Help a poor man get a place to sleep—" he was beginning automat- ically when he recognized the little cashier from the restaurant. ‘“Hello brother,” he added, leering up at him and changing his ton: “You know what?” cried the little cashier in a strangely ominous tone “I'm going to push You in the face!” beggar. “Why, v He got no farther. The little man seemed to run at him suddenly, hold ing out his hands, and there was a sharp, smacking sound as the beggar ith the sidewalk “You're a fakir!” shouted Charles Stuart wildly. “I gave you a dollar when 1 first came here, before found out you had ten times as much as I had. And you never gave it back!” A stout, faintly Intoxicated gentle- man who was strutting_expansively along the other sidewalk had seen the incident and came running benevo- lently across the street. “What does this mean!” he ex- claimed in a hearty, shocked voice. “Why, poor fellow——" He turned indignant eves on Charles Stuart and kneit unsteadily to raise the beggar. The beggar stopped cursing and as- sumed & piteous whine. “I'm a poor man, Cap'n- small, somewhat excited hand fall on | “What do you mean?"’ snarled the | I “YES,” HE ANSWERED ON SUDDEN IMPULSE, “I WAS IN JAIL™ ‘This is—this i horrible " cried the Samaritan, with tears in his eves “It's a disgrace! Police! Pol—!" He got no farther. Tis hands, | which he was raising for a mega | phone, never reached his face—other hands reached his face, however, | hands held stifily out from a 130. | pound body! He sank down suddenly 1pon the beggar's abdomen, forcing {out a sharp curse which faded into | groan “This beggar’ll take you home in his car!” shouted the little man who stood over him. “He's got it parked around the corner.” Turning his face toward the hot strip of sky which lowered cver the city the little man began to laugh, { with amusement at first. then loudl {and triumphantly until high | laughter rang out in the quiet street | with a welrd, elfish sound, echoing up | the sides of the tall buildings, growing | shriller and shriller uni away heard its eerie cadence |air and stopped to listen Still laughing the little man divest ed himself of his coat and then of his | vest and hurriedly freed his neck of {tle and coliar. Then he spat upon his | hands and with a wild shrill, exultant on {cry began to run down the dark street. | He was going to clean up New York, {and his first objective w the disa greeable policeman on the corner! They caught him at 2 o'clock the crowd which had joined in chase were flabbergasted when | found that the ruffian was oni | weeping little man in his shirt sleeve: | Some one at the station house was e enough to give him an opiate in- | stead of a padded cell, and in ths morning he felt much better. | Mr. Cushmael, accompanied by ar anxious young lady with crtmson hai |called at the jail before noon. “I'k-get you out,” cried Mr, Cush mael, shaking hands excitedly through the bars. “One policeman, he'll ex | plain it all to the other.” “And there's a surprise for you too added Edna softly, taking his othe hand. r. Cushmael's got a bix heart and he’s going to make you. his day man nc . “All right,” agreed Charles Stua |calmly. “But I can't start till mor y “Why not?” “Because this afternoon I got to = » a matinee—with a friend He relinquished his employer’s han kept Edna’s white fingers tw! rmly in his. One more time.” he went on in strong, confident voice that was new i« him, “if you want to get off don't hav+ the case come up in the Thirty-fif Street Court.” Why not? ‘Because,” | touch of & the judge I | 1ast time “Charles.” whispered Edna sudder | 1v, “what would you do if I refuse: | to go with you this afternoon.” i ed. Color came into h d he rose defiantly from hi | answered with gRer in his volce, “‘that = had when I was arreste Ta—Td— mind,’ “You'd she said, flushine do nothing of th “Never | slightly 1925.) Copsright he Mayflower, ‘“‘Floating White House,”” Has Served 5 Presidents oo s siid BY M. H. McINTYRE. HEN President Coolidge headed for Swampscott last week on his vacation he left considerable of official Washington behind him. An important_exception is the yacht Mayflower. She did not carry him from Washingotn to setts coast, but during the vacation period she will be anchored in Marble- head Harbor ready to answer the presidential call. The trim flagship bow and the long lines that carry ear- marks of fast cruising speed, should prove a source of great enjoyment to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy during this, his time of rest and re- laxation. She is in the pink of condi tion. Glistening white and spotless, she carries her 30 vears of service so lightly that it is hard to realize her Scottish builders turned her out in 1896. Memories of other days cluster about the Mayflower. Retired rear admiral associate her with the stirring times of the Spanish-American War and diplomatic happenings of importance during the earlier days when as young officers they commanded her. But to tho general public she is always vi ioned as the presidential vacht. As fuch she has figured in news stories during the lifetimes of our last five Presidents, sometimes in the routine with the cutter { news and occasionally in more sensa. tional wavs. * ok ox % ROBABLY the most outstanding of these incidents occurred during the closing days of the Wilson regime. After the physical breakdown of the | then Chief Executive following strenu- ous war times and the no less trying, to him at least. period of the Ver- sailles copference and his campaign at home for the League of Nations, it was decided to install an elevator in the Mayflower in order that he could continue to make cruises aboard. Po- litical opponents seized upon the inci- dent ‘and a hostile press hailed it as an_example of wild extravagance, a able “tempest in a teapot” re- sulting. The elevator was never used, and soon after President Harding came into office it was removed. An_interesting commentary on the vagaries of public opinion and the ramifications of politics is presented by this incident and one that followed two or three vears later. At this time Navy Department decided. with some trepidation as to how the pub- lic would view it, to convert the vacht from a coal burner to an oil burner, lay a new teak deck and in fact give her a general overhauling and refur- bishing. The actual cost of this work was between $100,000 and $150,000—an amount far in excess of the expendi- tures made on the ship for Mr. Wil- son’'s comfort. As a result of this last fitting out and the care that has always been taken of her, the Mayflower is as trim and commodious a craft as any ocean- going vacht of our numerous multi- millionaires. As becomes her rank as presidential flagship, aboard leave nothing When the presidential party goes aboard it does.not leave behind any of the comforts of the White House. The dining room on the Mayflower is a room of particular attractiveness. The predominant color is blue. Seat- ing arrangements are ample for 24 guests, and the cuisine is looked after by a cook whose sole duties are the preparation of meals for the President | of importance. and his party. The “Harding blue eolor scheme has been carried out injuant Senals the Massachu- | Spends Most of Her Her Early History, W T An Intimate Glimpse of the Yacht Which Time in the Potomac. hat She Cost and How She Was Obtained for Use of the President. Now in Marblehead Harbor. who has placed a number of blue vases and candlesticks in the room. * Ok Kk % HE United States Navy Band, pow- erful radio equipment, a piano and a music machine, all contribute to the pleasures of a trip in the May- flower as made by the President and his party. In order that he may be |able to receive important dispatches and coples of newspapers when on a week end cruise it has been the prac- tice during the past few years to de- liver to the Mayflower each Sunday morning when the President is on board such dispatches and Sunday newspapers by seaplane from the naval air station at Anacostia. Motion pictures are shown on a screen erect- ed on the “fantall” or stern of the- all the fttings | vessel and are viewed by the presiden- to be desired. | tial party from the main deck. Of recent years the Mayflower has become the stage for many an impor- tant conference on affairs of state or of political discussions of far-reaching effect. On numerous occasions the President has taken a few of his closest advisers for a cruise, and be- fore their return has reached a mo- ‘mentous decision on a pending matter In a few instances these_parties have included a recalei- whe ueeded careful even greater detail by Mrs. Coo]ldge.‘ A BIRD’SEYE VIEW OF THE MAYFLOWER. handling to be shown the necessity for certain pet measures of the admin- istration. In appearance and fittings the Ma: better still, from the standpoint safety and comfort, is a seaworthy craft that for her size is remarkably comfortable even in rough weather. Of 2,690 tons displacement, 273 feet long and with a beam of 36 feet, she carries a crew of 166 men. Her total valuation, including the rich appoint- ments on board, is approximately $1,600,000. At present she is com- manded by Capt. Adolphus Andrews, U. 8. N., who is also the senior naval aide to the President. ‘While we may be accustomed to think of the Mayflower merely as a necessary convenience for the Presi- dent, that does not tell the entire stor: of this vessel by any means. She has a Waried background of naval service, war-time, humanitarian and diplo- matic. The Mayflower was acquired largely through the initiative of the then As sistant Secretary of the Navy, Theo- dore Roosevelt, in March, 1898. She was purchased from the estate of Og- den Goelet, who had obtained her from a firm in Scotland in 1896. She was designed by George L. Watson; famous British yacht designer, wl flower makes a gallant showing mmé-l of | lout the Thistd as a competitor for the America’s Cup in 1887. The Thistle was defeated by the Amgerican yach Volunteer. The trim linee of the Ma: | flower give her an appearance of grace and speed rarely found in vessels o her size. Her commodiousness does not result in excessive bulk, and se at a distance the Mayflower might well be mistaken for a trim racer. ok oo HE Navy paid $430,000 for her. the purchase consummated a< soon as possible because the King of Belgium was also negotiating for he: When she was obtained in 1898 it was for conversion into a torpedo boat de stroyer, a type of naval vessel at tha time still largely in the experimenta stage. During the war with Spain, the vear of her purchase, she was assigned to duty as a dispatch boat in the blockade off Havana, Cuba. She re mained on duty in the Caribbean unti! 1802, during which time she took par in the capture of Cienfuegos, Cuba, ir January, 1893. When the flag wa< raised over the City Hall of that cir the guns of the Mayflower fired the national salute of 21 guns. In 1900 the Mayflower was on dut: in relleving typhoon victims at Sa Juan, Porto Rico. In 1902 she was placed in command of Lieut. Comdr (now Rear Admiral) Albert Gleaves and received her first assignment to duty as the Presidential vacht. Upor completion of this duty the sama year the Mayflower joined the North At lantic fleet and for a time served a< the flagship of Admiral of the Nav: George Dewey In November, 1903, a revolution Panama necessitated her return to the Caribbean, and a naval force was sen to that country on board her unde the command of Rear Admiral Cogh lan. In 1904 the Mayflower made a cruise in European waters, returning in time to perform one of the most interestinz services of her long career. In Jul 1905, when President Roosevelt wa taking steps to bring an end to the Russo-Japanese War, the Mayflowe under the command of Comdr McRae Winslow, conveyed the specia envoys of Russin and Japan to Ports mouth, N. H.. where the peace term- were arranged through the mediatior of the President It was on board thi vacht that President Roosevelt for mally introduced the envoys of th two warring powers, * being 1906 trouble in Santo Domingu again sent the Mayflower to the Caribbean. where she was on duty as a dispatch boat and for the protection of American interests. In 1908, when the “Great White Fleet” ended its memorable cruise around the world, President Roosevelt reviewed it from the Mayflower, this review being a tangible expression of the keen interest of President Roose velt in the Navy and of the practical view that he took of his position a Commander- in-Chief. _The Mayflower has continued Serve as the President’s yacht sinc 1907, and bears on the walis of the of {ficers” wardroom autographed por {traits of ihe five dents who have had heg at their disposition—Theodore Roosevelt . William H. Taft, Woodrow | Wilson, Warren G. Harding and Cal | vin Coolidge. The only interruption to her duties as the presidential yacht occurred in 1914, when the Mayflower was as- signed to special service in Hampton Rloads to safeguard the neutrality ef brought this country,