Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-12
THREE NEW WAk VESSELS.
Bids for Their Construction Opened at the
Navy Department.

Navy Department.
WASHINGTON, June 19.-Bids for over
81, 900, 900 worth of new naval vessels
have been opened at the naval depart
ment. The vessels bid for were of three
distinct types, and there was consider
able excitement about the contest be-
tween the rival ship builders engaged in
the war of competition.
The largest OF the three vessels-in
fact the largest vessel ever designed for
the United States navy, is known as the
armoured cruiser No. ., the Maine being
No. l, and popularity as the 8,100-ton
vessel. She belongs to the class of swift
cruisers, and is very close to the battle
ship, in that she is provided with mod
erately heavy armor belt, besides a pro-
tective deck. The armor will be about
four inches thick, and the curved pro-
tective deck six inches thick. She will
be armed with six eight-inch and twelve
four-inch breach loading rifles; is to de-
velop 10000 indicated horse power, and
speed of twenty knots Her dimen-
sions are: Length, $50 feet; extreme
breadth, GA feet 2 1-2 inches; depth in
hold, Al feet 8 inches.
The other vessel is designated cruiser
No. 8, and is to have a displacement of
$500 tons. She has no armor, but is pro-
vided with q protective deck four and
three-quarter inches thick, Her main
batteries consist of two elght-inch and
ten four-inch breech-loading rifles. She
Is to make twenty knots an hour with
13,500 horse power. This vessel is to be
of about the same type as the Baltimore.
Philadelphia, New York and San Fran
cisco, except that her tonnage is over a
thousand greater than any of them. Her
dimensions are: Length, $50 feet; ex-
treme breadth, So feet; depth, 80 feet.
The third vessel is the practice cruiser
the training of cadets at the Naval
academy. It is generally expected that
the builder who is awarded the contract
for this vessel will lose money, as there
is just rs much material to go in her as
in some of the larger cruisers,
The appropriation limits for the three
vessels are as follows: Armored cruiser,
$3,500, 900; protected cruiser, 81 300, 600;
practice ship, $3.50, ,000s The bids for
the armored cruiser No. 2 were first
considered, They were as follows:
For the vessel, according to the plans
and specifications prepared by the navy
department, the Union iron works, of
San Francisco, $3,10D, 900; William
Cramp & Son, Of Philadelphia, $3, ,15O,-
900; the Risdon iron and locomotive
works, of San Francisco, $3,450, 900.
The Union iron works and Cramp
& Son also submitted bids for
this vessel according 10 their own
plans and specifications. The for
mer's bid was $1,000, 900 and the lat
ter's $9,985,000 The bids for the pro-
tective cruiser, No. 6, were next re-
ceived There were but two bids, each
from the Union iron work, of San Fran
cisco. They proposed to construct the
vessel according to the departments
plans and specifications for 81 $780, 900,
and according to their own plans and
specifications for $1,760,00O Two bids
only were received for the practice YES
sci, as follows; F. w. Wheeler, of West
Bay City, Mich, at $245. 200; Samuel 7.
Moore & Company, of Elizabethport, N.
j., at $3.50, 900, These were both in ac-
cordance with the departments plans,
There will be no awards for several
weeks yet.