The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-05-07
THEY ARE PLEASED.
The CalitOrnianS on Account Of
the Defense Vessel.
sLHEY WANT TO BE FIRST IN WAR.
Big Gun Works on the COast-To Establish
a New Executive Departmental
Subsldize Ships.

Especial to THE acknowledgements Dispatch !
WAsHINGToN, May 5.-The secretary of
the navy yesterday morning decided to
award the contract for the construction of
the coast defense vessel to the Union iron
works OF San Francisco
telegraphed you on the 25th of April
that there was no doubt but what the con
tract would go to the Pacific coast, and the
board of officers. consisting of CommodOres
Sicard and Schley, Engineer-in-chiefM Mel
vile and Chief Naval Constructor Wilson,
after very careful and exhaustive exam
ination of all the facts connected with the
bids for this vessel decided that the bid of
the Union iron works was regular, and that
it should go to them. Secretary Tracy ap-
proved the report yesterday morning, de-
cision which viii meet with the approba-
ton of the entire country. The bonds for
the construction of this vessel for which
there is an appropriation of 81, zoe, 900, were
made to the navy department some six
weeks ago The ship building firm OF
Cramp Bros, of Philadelphia, were the
lowest bidders, but, upon examination, it
appeared that their bid was not in com
pliance with the provisions OF the specltica-
lions, and the award was consequently
made TO the next lower bidders,
THE UNION IRON WORKS,
of San Francisco which complied without
any alterations whatever. The qualitica-
ton OF the bid as offered by tn Cramps
was such that no official of the navy de
partment could entertain it for a moment
Secretary Tracy said yesterday morning
that while the bid of the Cramps was the
lowest offered, they had so qualified it that
it was simply out of the question to enter
tain il. When il became known ut the de
partment yesterday afternoon that the
award had been made and the ship had
gone to San Francisco, there was lamenta-
ton deep in the camp of the Philadelphia
ship builders They Immediately filed a
protest with the navy department, urging
that the facilities of the Union works were
not of such a nature as to successfully con
struct such huge engine of war. Secre-
tary Tracy overruled the protest, and late
yesterday afternoon returned to the
Cramps the certified check which they had
deposited, accompanied by letter inform
ing them that the Union iron works had
been awarded the contract.
THE CONTACT PRICE
for the ship is 81 ,62S, $50, and this is for the
hull and machinery The ordnance, arma-
ment and belt arInor are to be furnished by
the government, and the provisions of the
contract specify that the payments will be
ten in number, according to the progress of
the work
The navy department officials are well
pleased that the contract for the ship has
gOESatO the Pacific coast There are many
geld reasons why the construction of this
coast defense and harbor ship should be
built on the Pacific coast. The present I'M
certain political complication in the
Pacific ocean Islands, which are liable to
h1p1k at time IntD GpTsiOnS trOnbln
behoOves the government to have its
offensive and defensive implements of war
well in hand. The moral effect of building
this vessel on the Pacific coast will be in
valuable from many standpoints. The
South American republics, Chill and Peru,
Mexico, China and Japan, who are more or
less interested in these Samoan islands, are
not capable Of building such ship, for the
reason that they DO not possess
THE NECESSARY FACILITIES.
The construction of this huge engine of
war at California Will be the most effectual
means of notifying the maritime world,
Germany included, that the interests of
Uncle Sam in the Pacific will not stand any
triiing with, and that the policy of the pres
ent administration, as adopted, is far reach
ing in it's scope in being prepared to defend
IL remote and less protected neighbors,
whose commercial relations with this coun-
try are of such infinite value.
The building of this vessel will have
most direct bearing on the meeting of the
commissioners at Berlin on the state of the
Samoan question. The time to begin the
preparations for war is when we are at
pe2te with the entire world. Every year
0IN1eace should be used to hasten the com
pletiOn of the most powerful weapons of
defense, so that should the country be in
volyed in foreign war, our sea coast har-
bors would be amply protected against the
fleets of an invading power. All events at
the present time gravitate toward the set
Element Of the Samoan question, and it
would be the carrying out of a good policy
to have as many ships on the Pacific side
of our country as is possible. Should any
emergency arise, or the political question
be so complicated as to justify the building
of additional engines of war on the Atlantic
coast, it can be done more rapidly than on
the Pacific, for the reason that there are
9eater number of similar establishments
there that could be utilized.
THE ACTION OF SECRETARY TRACY
in having the coast defense vessel built on
the Pacific coast is regarded in navy circles
as a most sensible one, outside of being the
only bidder who complied strictly with the
department specification and plan, for the
moral effect of the construction of it there
will far reaching, and certain to produce
a most excellent effect upon foreign
powers.
Mr.. Irving Scott was busy all day yester
day receiving kilograms of congratulations
from all parts of the country. He has
steadfastly adhered to the belief that when
the true state of the case was known there
was but one solution of the problem, and
Secretary Tracy yesterday decided, as the
Examiner has always contended he would.
The enemies of the coast made the most of
the absurd stories telegraphed from San
Francisco regarding the alleged failure of
thasjCharleston, and on this point the secre-
tSky was urged to reject the bid; his an
swer was that as the Charleston had not
yet been officially tested, he could not very
well see how the ship was a failure. This
answer was a clincher and like Sir Joseph
Porter's utterances in Pinafore, was sim
Div unanswerable. 1t is big victory for
The coast, and the Californians yet in town
are correspondingly happy.
A Princess InOognitO.
Especial TO THE HERALD--Examiner Dispatch