Foreigii'Built Yachts. 
For some time there have been persistent 
rumors that Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt 
is to have a new steam yacht, and that the new 
vessel will be built in some British yard. An¬ 
other rumor from across the Atlantic is that A. 
S. Chesebrough, the designer, is in England for 
the purpose of placing an order for a large 
steam yacht for Paul, the brother of Commo¬ 
dore Roy A. Rainey, who last year had the 
steamer Cassandra built. Two vessels for these 
yachtsmen would cost at least $1,000,000, and 
American builders and designers are not at all 
pleased with the idea of these orders going out 
of the country. 
Last year four large steam yachts were built 
abroad for American yachtsmen. These were 
Vanadis. for C. K. G. Billings; Liberty, for 
Joseph Pulitzer; lolanda, for Morton F. Plant, 
and Cassandra, for Roy A. Rainey, and as 
these vessels are among the largest and most 
handsomely fitted of the pleasure fleet, it has 
been estimated that their owners spent alto¬ 
gether about $3,000,000 for them. One, Vanadis, 
was designed by an American, Clinton H. 
Crane. The others are of foreign design. 
Wealthy American yachtsmen have for many 
years been going abroad for their yachts. A 
glance over the yacht list shows that the ma¬ 
jority of the large vessels are of foreign build, 
and what is particularly exasperating to the 
American designer and builder, is that these 
foreign yachts have American register, they 
have all the privileges of vessels built in this 
country and they fly the American yacht ensign. 
Among these foreign-built vessels are Valiant, 
W. K. Vanderbilt; Nahma, Mrs. Robert Goelet; 
Varuna, Eugene Higgins; Lysistrata, James 
Gordon Bennett; Alalanta, George J. Gould; 
Margarita, Anthony J. Drexel; North Star, 
Cornelius Vanderbilt; Safa-el-Bahr, Erancis L. 
Leland; Warrior, Erederick W. Vanderbilt; 
Yacoma, Henry Clay Pierce, and many others. 
It is cheaper to have large vessels built on the 
other side of the Atlantic, because labor costs 
more in an American shipyard and materials 
cost more, so that the saving on a vessel that 
will cost half a million dollars is quite an item. 
The owners of these yachts also say that they 
can get a better vessel built on the other side 
than they can in this country, but that is largely 
a matter of opinion, and if these yachtsmen had 
let American designers get the experience that 
they have allowed the British designer to get, 
there would be no question at all about Amer¬ 
ican naval architects and builders being able to 
do as well, if not better, than can be done 
abroad. 
There are American-designed and built yachts, 
however, that are just as good as those that 
have been built abroad. J. Pierpont Morgan’s 
Corsair is one of the best afloat. She is not 
quite as large as some of the foreign-built 
vessels, such as lolanda. Valiant, Nahma, 
Margarita and others, but she is a handsome 
ship, well built, perfectly appointed and hand¬ 
somely decorated. Aztec, Niagara, Aphrodite, 
Pantooset, Flauoli, and many more are just as 
attractive and just as seaworthy as the foreign 
craft. 
This importation of yachts has been causing 
trouble ever since Frederick W. Vanderbilt 
brought Conqueror over, and after a long fight 
in the Federal courts, Mr. Vanderbilt won his 
suit and register for his yacht. Then the law 
was changed and register for foreign-built craft 
owned by Americans was refused, and for some 
time Americans owned foreign yachts and used 
to fly the flag of some British or Canadian yacht 
club, keeping register in some other country. 
Foreign yachts have always enjoyed privileges 
of yachts built and owned in this country be¬ 
cause of an interchange of courtesies, and, with 
the exception of having to pass the quarantine 
omciais, nave liaU litue to notlier tliem when 
coming into a port 01 tins country, and Amer¬ 
ican cralt have had similar courtesies extenued 
them in toreign ports. 
A few years ago another law relating to 
foreign-built yachts was placed on the statute 
Doors, ihose yachts owiied Dy Americans were 
to clear on entering or leaving any port, ana 
were to be charged with harbor anu light dues, 
ihese charges are very trivial, and it was not 
expected that this extra expense would put a 
stop to the importation of yachts, but it was 
thought that the trouble caused by having to 
make formal entry at the Custom House every 
time the yacht lelt the harbor would be so an¬ 
noying to the owner that he would preier to 
own an American yacht. The trouble with this 
law, however, was that, while it stated clearly 
what a foreign-built yacht owned by an Amer¬ 
ican was to dO, It did not say what the penalty 
was in case the owner failed to comply with 
the law, and so it has become a dead letter. 
Now, the Ways and Means Committee in 
Washington have been looking into tiie tarift 
laws with the idea ot a new tariff being intro¬ 
duced in the next Congress, and among other 
matter brought to this committee s attention 
was imported yachts. The members have been 
asked to put a substantial duty on loreign-built 
cralt, and it is very probable that something will 
be done to make American millionaires spend 
their money in this country for their yachts. 
Pienry J. Gielow, who has designed some of 
the best known yachts hying the American hag, 
has paid some attention to the present situa¬ 
tion. He says; ‘T have given much attention 
to the subject recently, it is a matter that 
presents many difficult legal complications, but 
in view of the apparent injustice inhicted on 
the American builders, it is time that a clear 
explanation of the existing differences should 
be made. During the past twelve months, for 
instance, there have arrived in these waters 
seven new yachts built for American citizens in 
foreign shipyards, which at a low valuation 
aggregate not less than $2,500,000, and which, 
under the usual custom regulations for other 
imported articles, would have to pay a duty of 
about 40 per cent, ad valorem, or $1,000,000. 
“The merchant marine is protected, and 
foreign-built vessels cannot be brought to this 
country, even by paying duty, whereas a foreign- 
built yacht, with all its equipment, can be pur¬ 
chased abroad and entered in this country with¬ 
out paying one cent of duty. On the face of it 
this appears like undue discrimination. All the 
American owner has to do is to bring such a 
vessel to any American port, where he goes 
through the formality of entering at the Custom 
House, and from there he is at liberty to go 
about his business or pleasure at his own free 
will, without let or hindrance, floating the 
.American flag, but subject to no pilot laws or 
regulations and exempt from other duties im¬ 
posed upon American-built yachts. The 
foreign-built yacht is permitted to sail without 
a licensed captain or licensed engineer; in fact, 
without licensed officers of any kind whatever. 
“To my mind this is a remarkable situation, 
that any foreign yacht materials or equipment, 
if brought into this country separately, should 
be subject to duty, whereas, if they are as¬ 
sembled as a foreign-built yacht, such yacht, as 
well as the materials, are admitted free. This 
seems to be entirely contrary to the general 
spirit of our custom regulations, where, if any 
concessions are made, they are to the raw ma¬ 
terials or parts; but so far as I know, there is 
no instance where a finished or assembled 
article is admitted free. It seems most unjust 
and unfair that an American-built yacht, _ if 
thought desirable to use foreign-made equip¬ 
ment of any kind, should have to pay the 
regular duties for the use of such articles, 
wiiereas the foreign-built yacht can supply itselt 
with these articles duty free.” 
Referring to this matter, the Marine Journal 
recently said; 
“When the new tariff now being prepared in 
Washington is enacted, it is likely that there 
will be an end of the thrifty practice in which 
some of our multi-millionaires have been in¬ 
dulging of importing luxurious yachts and their 
belongings duty-free from Europe. The needs 
of the revenue, were there no other considera¬ 
tion, demand the closing up of this loophole 
in our customs laws. 
“For some time this procedure has been 
under discussion in Washington. Both Republi¬ 
can and Democratic members of the Ways and 
Means Committee were astonished when tlie 
fact was brought to their attention that though 
American registry to foreign-built merchant 
vessels is proiiibited except to prizes captured 
at sea, and high duties are laid on most of the 
articles entering into the equipment of palatial 
yachts,^ yet the completed yacht herself—the 
magnificent pleasure vessel with all her cabinet 
work, furniture, rugs, cushions, curtains, china, 
cut glass and silverware—is admitted abso-^ 
lutely free. The American law thus deliberately 
discriminates against American yacht-building, 
and, so far as large, ocean-going steamers are 
concerned, has well-nigh extinguished this once 
prosperous industry m the ports of the United 
States. 
“An American yachtsman, ordering; a yacht in 
this country, has to pay a high price for the 
hull and machinery, because of the high wages 
of American labor employed in shipyard 
work. Such an owner if he desires to import 
elaborate furnishings from abroad, has to pay 
duties on them, ranging from 40 to 100 per cent. 
Perhaps it is not strange that the patriotism of 
some of our multi-millionaries has not been 
proof against the temptation to take advantage 
of the opportunity legalized by the Supreme 
Court decision in the case of Conqueror, and 
procure the entire outfit, yacht and all, on 
the other side of the Atlantic. 
“This is too gross an anomaly to remain long 
uncorrected, and when Judge Lewis E. Payson, 
representing the Newport News Shipbuilding 
and Dry Dock Company, and speaking for all 
American shipjmrds, asked the Ways and Means 
Committee the other day to include in the new 
tariff a substantial duty upon foreign-built 
yachts imported into this country by American 
citizens, the idea was received with manifest 
favor by both Republican and Democratic mem¬ 
bers of the committee. It is recognized in 
Washington that these large and costly steam 
yachts, which have been brought here in such 
numbers, are the consummate luxury of luxuries, 
and therefore a most just and fruitful source of 
federal revenue. 
“Besides the advantages already enumerated, 
these foreign-built yachts, as the law now 
stands, are not subject to our pilotage laws and 
regulations and cannot be required to carry 
licensed officers. It is estimated that this free- 
ship privilege, now to be withdrawn, has been 
costing the United States the employment of 
five or ten thousand skilled men every year, in 
all the various trades that go to make up the 
completed vessel.” 
Shipping Illustrated had this to say; 
“Yachtsmen who have been patrons of 
foreign yards for their pleasure craft will do 
well to look after their.interests if they do not 
wish to find discrimination against them in the 
new tariff bill. A Washington despatch this 
week states that the Ways and Means Commit¬ 
tee of Congress has been awakened to the fact 
that furnishings and equipments of foreign-built 
yachts came in free of duty with the vessel, and 
they propose, if possible, to prohibit it. As, 
