Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1883-01-25
lSti;

| cost of the corvt tie.
Mr.. Holman Qnd )offered an amend.
ment to the original text, 81 as to pro.
vide that new cruisers shall be built BY
contract with the lowest and best re.
sponsible bidder, mace after 60 days
advertisement in five leading papers Of
the United States, inviting proposals
for constructing said vessels, subject
to such rules, regulations and pro
visions as to bonds aud security for
due competition Of the work a, the
ecretary of the navy may prescribe,
and no such vessel shall be accep' ed
unless completed iu strict conformity
with the contrac'. Adopted.
The Harris and Whithorne PROPOSE.
tions were lost.
Many motions were made and re-
jected, and finally tho Monitor clause
was sgreed to in the following form:
Tho money to be applied by the sec.
retary of he navy under the sp oropri-
alton bureaus, and for completing, in
accordance with the recommendations
OF the naval advisory board, the on
gines aud machinery of the double
may advise shall b. ti-st comploted in
the government navy y'ris, III dor the
direction of the navy d,Carjmert, by
officers and employees Of the govern
ment, and not by contrao ora, pro.
vided he can d. work of the same
quality In the navy yards rs cl osply
and thoroughly and with as much ad-
vantage to tho government; and pro.
vded, that Il he shal not
the navy yards of the United S a'es,
he shall then invite proposals
from all American ship builders whose
ship yards are fully equipped for re-
pairing or building iron or steel ships
and for construction of elgines, bill
ere, machinery, and shall build the
same by new contract, or otherwise,
as the secretary may think best for
the interest of the governm ent, but
tho execution Of the new contract shall
not b. entered on for competition of
either of these vessels until the terms
thereof shall he approved by the ad.
visory board, who shalt approve only
such contracts 8 may be to the best
advantage of the government and fair
and reasonable, according to the low
eat market price for similar
work from responsible and competent
bidders, aud that the total cost shall
not exceed The amounts estimated by
the advisory board, In it's full report,
as required by the act of August 9th,
1882. And the secretary of the navy
shall take posusution Ct tho double
turreitod iron olads, and II he thinks
beat, remove the same to the govern.
ment navy yards, and no shall ascer.
tain tho amounts which ought ~ be
, paid the contractors severally { r the
use and occupation of their yards with
said chips, and for the care t',ereof,
and report the Same to congress, with
! all facts In connection therewi.a.
Q Mr.. Harris (MAss under direction
/, of the naval committee, If ,red an
y amendment in the nature os d substl.
tute, appropriatlng 81, 800 0o0 or one
|, steel cruiser of not less than 8 900 nor
d more than 6, 600 tons displacement:
v 81 80 ',C00 for one of not les, than
d 4 900 tons displsc sment; 50 bS7 ,0Q0
:. for three of not less than $500 tons
/; displacement; $430,00 for dispatch
boat, having an average speed OF not
" less thanfifteen knots per hour; $3.50.
o COO for torpedo boat not less than
Il 100 foet long, and 81, l6l 900 for the
manufacture of guns for the erma-
o ment of these boats. Harris, sdvo.
}. eating the amendment, said that OH the
subjcc f building the navy his com.
# mittee was not divided by party lines,
r and gentlemen representing both
parties had pledged themselves to the
IS consideration of the stern demands OF
the country.
y Mr.. Berry offesed an amendment To
5 the naval appr opriation bill appropri
r ating 81, 500, ,0C0 so as to conn lete al
the monitors. In support of his amerd d
t ment he made q strong speech. Hs
d first called attention to the fact thai
these MOI isors had been laid up in the
e ship yards for the past ten years, ant
y il they were of no account they should
Is be broken up and sold for old iron
20 If they were of account they shoulC
| be completed. The naval board has
1 said they were of value and he pro
,s posed to see if congress would not or
der their completion. In regard to thu
charge that the engines for the moni-
D. tors could not be made as cheap q
n Mare Island as at the the eastern
ID navy yard, he said "The facts shouls
ID be the reverse and that the navy de
1. partment admitted that monitors coult
ID be completed as cheap and better a
Mare Island as anywhere else. Atkin
T. said 1t would take two millions to com
o. plote the monitors.
n Mr.. Hickock IN. Y } said the sam
a. amount of money could be used bette
IN by building new vessels entirely. III
also claimed that monitors were still Al
I'd experiment, In reply to these state
10 ments Mr.. Berry made another speech
~ He spoke of the danger the port c
as San Francisco now stood in, that an
T. # the small republics of South Americ
a could send an iron clad there and dc
stroy tho city il Its demands were nc
v paid The amendment, however, wa
d voted down.
to The clause appropriating $50 90
III for testing the prac liability of d, fl &c
OF tive armor having been reached, 1t wa
amended, on motion Of Mr.. Harris, 6
~ as to apply only to deHe,tive point
DO designed by Assistant Engineer N, E
b. Clark.
to Mr. Thomas (nl) as additions
s. section, offered anamendment provid
ing that any person ia the pay corp
I'd of tho navy who shall receive an
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