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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1903)
The Democracy of the Ocean O SIT at table and listen to talk from Andrew Carnegie; to play shuffle-board with Thomas Bailey Aldrich; to walk the dock with members of the family of Secre tary Root; to take afternoon tea with Sir JTiomas Upton; to discuss American affairs With the earl of Denbigh on his way to Doston in company with the Honorable Artillery company of Iondon certainly acquaintances of this kind, continuance of Which after the voyage la by no means obligatory, are nowhere to be made with Such ease and naturalness as on the sea. Probably there Is no placo In the world where more democratic conditions prevail than on board on ocean Ilnor, despite the fact that the luxury of the appointments of ea travel has increased tremendously within the post decade and that nowaday! It is possible for a voyager to obtain ou Shipboard any degree of magnificence for which he Is will ng to pay. As any wes:ern traveler will bear witness, there la has class distinction, less of tho.se Invidious contracts that differences of wealth are too apt to create, aboard the great steam ers than In almost any placo ashore that one can mention. To be sure there is a great range In tl:o amounts Individual voyagers pay as pas sago money and In extent of space occu pied by the passenger In what may be called his private apartments. In the giant flyer Oceanic, for couple perhaps the most perfect In appointments and general equipment of any vessel In the Atlantio. service today this range varies all the way from the man who pays $100 for a berth in a stateroom which he shares with two others to the self-indulgent person who writes a click for Jl.SW) in exchange fir tho privilege of occupying a princely suite of five or six rooms on the promenade deck. 13ut the one man enjoys no more extensive privileges in the sn.oking room, in the li brury or on deck than the other; each gets exactly the same fare ut table and the wealthier man may happen to occupy a seat in the saloon that is in some respects less desirable. In fact In what may b9 termed tho public parts of the big steam ship no such thing exists as privilege or distinction, and the least well-to-do among the first cabin passengers may place his chair in the most attractive nook on deck If he applies for the location In lime. Now the desire to know details of tho lives of those who are In the public eye ap pears to be very normal, or at least a very widespread, craving. Anybody who has crossed the Atlantic In the same chip with a remarkable, or titled, or mttltl-mll-lioned man is quite certain to be piled with questions as to how tho famous one drcs-icd, what his manner was toward his fellow passengers and, ' In general, how he com ported himself. Of course, the story should, seemingly, be soon told, for the reason that the difference between those who are reck oned famous and those who Rre less con spicuous Is by no mans eo great In any walk of life as it Is commonly reckoned to be and is rather less on shipboard than elsewhere, but it Is a story that bears fre quent repetition. People like to hear of treat men who mingle freely with their fellows. For Instance, to take an Illustration, the man whose name is perhaps more fre quently and prominently before tho Amer ican public than that of any other except the president, J. Plerpont Morgan, recently returned from Kurope on Oceanic. He occupied a stateroom that was commodious, although It was by no means the most ex pensive one, and he was perhaps the most unobtrusive passenger on board. When the ship came up the harbor he stood leaning over the rail side by side with men whose Dames probably rarely figure in the newa- One of this group playing ? l Tt Y "'' V - ... '" ' ' '" " . V--"'-.'-'- . -' " " '. '.. ". . ., t, v-1. '' " t '. . - ' . . v . . . . -' '. ' ' "" "-'. M , '--'.-" t .J. . . ' v J " " ' , -- ; . : ' . ". - - t ---- ,)t(.. "n '.' . - . ,...'..., ' ' .- ' - - - -., " . :.-.--. . -. '--., - t.. . . , i .V - - "' . ;- v ; ., ',. : ; -.7. ,- , v--, ... . ' i. . ' . - .,- . .. . ..i-rt: -.J ti-'-k: --; :s.rv- .,:-'- ": ,...'. . St' k I.- on every ship, litre meets. papers except when they are published as part of the passenger lists. After the gangplank was put out and Mr. Morgan had descended to the pier, he submitted to the rigid customs examination with as Rood grace ns any of his fellows. 8lr Thomas I.lpton, c-ruiWlnK at the same time, himself the most genl-il of men and one who made the acuualiitai:'c of ns many as possible of his fellow passctiKcrs, made the statement that Mr. Morgan wa3 tho most popular passenger on the ship for his geniality and good friendship. On land the, great financier's time is so valuable thut he has perforce to be abrupt, almost brusque, toward Uioj:; with, whom he bus. business relations, and resolutely . to deny all access to those who have no proper claim upon his time. In his frequent ocean crossings, however, Mr: Morgan relaxes his exclusiveness. He occupies a single stateroom and does not take even a secretary with him a surpris ing fact when one consider what a busy man he la and how Incessantly his mind works upon the details of his plans. An other surprising fact is that he selects, usually, and by preference, not the swift est Atlantic llyers, but tho more roomy and steady boats like the gigantic Cedrlc and Celtic, In which nothing of comfort Is sacrificed to speed. In fact, the trend of the time among distinguished and ex perienced travelers seems to bo toward the big, comfortable vessels, even though they take a day or two longer for the voyage than the record smashers. A very popular traveler, and one of simple tastes, who visited the United Slates last year, was Prince Henry of Prussia. Ills retinue occupied some eight or ten rooms on the steamer, but the state room occupied by Prince Henry himself A DEMOCRATIC! PA9TIMR. shuffieboard on the deck of the SL Louis Is a 1 n...--""- iv . - TITO SMOKK TIOOM ON TIIK KINLANT). what might lie cilled the (lub-A favorite was not especially pretentious. It was, in fact, one that had been reserved by an American traveler who gave It up as an act of courtesy to the distinguished I it. r. During tho voyage Prince Henry ntwnt much of his lini" on the s cainshlp's b i lgo In the company of the captiin. As an a I mlral of the lleiMiini navy in J n q a llie.l navigator, he ha.l a il.-ht to b' th iv. Pesides, he had a natural professional ln terest In the navigation of the Khlp. Oul tlde of the hours spent in thU manner he was a familiar ilguiv In the smoking room and atttactel everyone with whom he came In contact by his gen'ality and readiness to make acqralnlnnies. This mingling with cue's fellow voyag.TS lit, to u certain extent, an Inheritance from the olden days of ocean travel. Th'jn it was a matter of ne'essily rather than ch 'Ice, for tlie bet of the staterooms wns merely a cubbyhole to seep in tin i th ship's quartets were so ciamped thai sepa-. ration became impossible. Aboard th-; huge liners of the prevent t'ay, however, one who has 'he me; ns and the desire may have private sitting reotn", tilling room and bath roi mu. This prlvlirg" cenulnly makes It all the more notewo.thy that those who, In their land Journeys travel in piivata cars If not in private train-?, make tho voyage when they go to sea In utter s'rapliclty. As an Instance of what may be done In the way of luxury and seclusion, the recent voyage of Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Vander bllt on their honeymoon trip, whi.-h took them across the Atlantic and back again, will serve ai an illustration. The fact that they had just been married probably caused them to wish to be left to themselves on this occasion more than they would deem necessary under other circumstances. Mr. well known American millionaire, U J ai"ai -TWr- tTjT- JT HT-Tsrf '"jnst Tsr I f f J$?rl ,,,tr- r'jru-,rMi . , , fT?-i 1 resort of Prince Henry. and .Mrs. Vanderbllt went to Kurope on tha Dominion line steamer New Knglnnd, sail ing from 1'ostou, and returned on May flower of the tuime line. On the eastward voyage they occupied a suite of four state rooms, a dining room and a hath room. Tlnse rooms wero especially decorated and furnished for the travelers, tho dining room being fitted ui) as a fitting room and the four staterooms furnishing quarters for thf Irldul pair, tho valet and tho maid. Notwithstanding the arrangements that had been made to lit up rooms especially to suit them, Mr. und Mrs. Vanderbllt changed during the voyage to one of the large staterooms on the saloon deck of tho Ktenmer, which la fitted UUo n luxurious bed room In a luxurious hotel. On their return they occupied a suite tnado up of four staterooms, two of which were thrown together to form a sleeping chumber, whlih was furnished with a costly brass bed stead bought on Mr. Vanderbllt's order and with other appointments to match. Two other rooms, similarly made Into one, were fitted up as a Bitting room by tho In troduction of tables, lounging chairs and convenient electric lights. In addition to these rooms they had a special dining room on tho upper promenade deck In the house where the captain of the vessel lias hl quarters. It was on this trip that Mr. Van derbllt's luggage, consisting of forty-three trunks and bags, enriched the customs by $8,Xi0, the largest sum ever paid In per sonal duties In tho port of Boston. This Instance perhaps serves to Indicate tho height of luxury In. which one may cross the Atlantic It It Is desired, but It Is seldom that even the wealthiest or most distinguished voyagers travel upon a scale so extensive and expensive as Mr. and Mrs. Vandorbllt on this particular trip. Many travelers have little personal peculiarities which they indulge on ship board either as a matter of necessity or of dehlre. Kor example, Mr. Joseph Pullt ser, founder of the new school of journal Ism at Columbia university, Is a very nerv ous man, and it Is necessary on the oc casions of his numerous trips to Kurope to put down mats on the deck outside the stateroom lo minimize as far ns possible the oidlnary deck noises. Another well known man who Icis been prominent In rational affairs for many years has con tracted the hot wr.ter habit as a result of some stomach trouble. l'"or this reason. When he goes on board ship he tips his Steward liberally and gives instruction that the latter is to hunt him up at certain hours wherever ho may be or whatever be may be doing and glvo him his pre scribed glass of hot water. Another man who is very prominent In the Industrial world has a passion for flowers, which ho li.ilulges freely on shipboard. He fore he B ill a supply of cut flowers is sent to the ll'Mi's cooling boxes and every day the Voyager hai a fresh bouquet In his state room and on his table. Then there are nin.y travelers wl o take alouaf with them arli les in the line of eating, drinking and smoking to which they are especially de voted. This, however. Is an Idiosyncrasy which Is by no menus confined to persons, of prominence, although it may be more common among them for the reuson they (Continued on Page Sixteen.)