Passenger Ships Owned by the United States Government
Published by the United States Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet Corporation, Washington D. C.  Pages 1 - 14 used for this presentation.(1275)

Ships of the "535" type are oil-burning vessels, 535 feet long and 21,000 tons displacement.  The United States Lines operate the President Harding and the President Roosevelt.  The Admiral-Oriental Line operates five - President Jefferson, President Madison, President McKinley, President Jackson, and President Grant.  The Pacific Mail S. S. Company also operates five of these famous ships - President Pierce, President Cleveland, President Wilson, President Taft and President Lincoln.

In the luxury of its appointments and the exquisite good taste of its decorations, this typical dining saloon of a 535 vessel brings to mind the atmosphere of an exclusive metropolitan restaurant.   Courteous, efficient stewards attend the slightest wants of the guests.   Prepared by expert chefs, the cuisine is worthy of the surroundings in which it is served.

This social hall, which gives some idea of the elegance of the interior arrangements of the 535 vessels, recalls the stately drawing room of some old Virginia manor house.  decorated in the classic Colonial style - the only true American style, and therefore the most suitable for an American ship - this room is naturally the center of the social life of the ship.

Special suites de luxe are provided on all vessels of the 535 type for those who desire extra conveniences and comfort.  These consist of the proverbial parlor, bedroom and bath so sumptuously sitted out that they rival the owner's suite on a millionaire's private yacht.  These apartments represent the acme of sea-going luxury.

On the wide boat decks of the 535 ships may always be found groups of young people trying their hand at new sports and games.   quoits and shuffleboard, the old established favorites are now being elbowed aside by new deck golf and deck tennis.  These United States Government ships were designed so that there is an abundance of deck space for the passengers.

Most people find an ocean voyage an admirable time to make up their arrears of correspondence.  There are steamer letters to answer and business to transact.  To those so minded, the writing room on board all the liners of the 535 type offers a quiet retreat where they can tell their friends on shore all the pleasures and adventures of the trip.

Tea for Three - or two, if you prefer.   Americans are taking more and more kindly to the shipboard custom of breaking up the long afternoon hours with five o'clock tea.  After a day of deck sports and recreation in the bracing sea air, there is no more pleasant way to end the afternoon than tea in the garden-like tea room, which is always found on these splendid 535 ships.

A delightful place to lounge away an hour or so of a day at sea is the deck tea room.  This semi-enclosed space of deck is a feature of all the 535 ships.  Facing aft, it affords a view down the deck to the ever-widening track of foam stretching from the stern of the vessel towards the distant curve of the horizon.

The grand stairway of a 535 vessel makes a fit setting for the American type of feminine loveliness.  In keeping with the general style of the decoration of the ship, the stairway is Colonial, effective because of the very simplicity of its design.  In every aspect the interior arrangements of these vessels can be duplicated in very few ships that sail under other flags.

The ship bands of the 535 vessels are the great propagators of American dance music all over the world.  When these ships are in ports three thousand miles from home, the bands are greatly in demand to provide music for dances at the great foreign hotels.  On shipboard they give daily concerts and dances.

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