The morning call., 1894-03-27

Company TO xplain how plate, supp psed
to be wholly finished and nomlnally TUNED
over to the Government for the baIistie
test' could be taken back for treatment
without the knowledge of the ehisf officials
of the company.
When the certainty of fraud had been
established by the Secretsry's inyestIga-
llon the Carnegie officials had nc defense.
The Secretary ordered the Ordnance
bureau to determine the difference be-
tween the plates as theyreally were and
as they ought TO have been. This result
was reached by finding the physical quail
Ties OF the plate at Indian Head which had
oeen pierced by shell in the ballistic tests
and comparing them with the records of the
other plates kept by the Government in
spector at Pittsbur
The inferior armor that was accepted
went largely into the Monterey and New
York. The Herald has heretofore fully
described some of the disastrous changes
that were made in the last-named ship,
partly owing to the Carnegie Company's
inability 10 make the shape of armor orig
inally designed for her. Now the same
company again appears as her evil genius
by supplying her with defective plates.
So great ship surely deserved better
fate. No one will be better satisfied to
let her rest under such a cloud. 1t would
be desirable TO give a firing trial to her
present armor, and, if it be found inferior
to require the contractors TO replace it
with the best that is made.
Concerning the groups of eight armor
plates recently completed by Carnegie, one
of which failed in the ballistc test, | am
told that the group has been accepted by
the Navy Department. with one exception.
When the second plate withstood the
ballistic test the Carnegie officials were de-
sirous of avoiding submitting a third plate
to the test, a right accorded to the Govern
ment by the contract. Accordingly they
Inspected the remaining six plates, and
withdrew one of them. Five were there
upon accepted, and the contractors get
pay also for the one which withstood the
firing test.
On top of these peculiar reyelatio n S
about armor comes an equally malodorous
story about steel casting for gun carriages.
AS in the Pittsburg case the contractors
lay the blame on a shop foreman, whom
they have discharged.
Some castings were received at the
Washington Navy-yard recently from a
firm whose name is withheld for the
present. Previous invoices from the same
firm had been rejected on the ballistic
tests. although the rejected castings had
passed triumphantly through the tests
for tensile strength and elongation. When
the carriages were fired at by rapid-fre
guns it was found that they splintered to
an extraordinary degree. quite inconsistent
I Vryith
recorded by the inspector at the con-
tractors works. Test pieces then taken
from the castings showed only per cent
tensile strength.
While wondering over this discovery the
Ordnance Bureau made another astonish-
ing discovery. Treating one of the cast
ings to an acid bath at the navy-yard GER
tain marks were revealed on the surface
Examination showed them to be the in-
prin. OF the stamp of former navy in
spector at the contractors works. 1t was
soon apparent that these brittle plates
were fraudulent, not only in lacking the
qualities required for them. but, even
worse, they were old castings that had
been previously rejected for cause. The
first inspectors MARKS had beeh filled in
and painted over, and the impress of the
new ins pectOr's stamp had been obtained
by bsolute fraud
Detectives were sent to the contractors
works to learn who was responsible for
the trick. but the story had already
reached the works and no further evidence
could be obtained. Nothing has been done
in this case. 1 am told, except to reject
The castings and demand an explanation
| from the contractor,