The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-14
The Armor Plate oues,,or.

The navy department is just now en-
gagged in struggling with the intricate
question of armor plates in general, and
armor plates for battieships Nos. 7. s and
3 in particular. The contracts for these
ships have been let, but the armor for
them has not been secured, and bids fair
not to be until congressional clubbing
over the matter is stopped and a definite
policy adopted. The whole trouble ap-
pears to be in the policy which congress
has adopted for limiting the cost of ar
NOR plate for these line-of- battle ships to
$3.50, a figure which the Carnegie and
bethlehem companies, the only ones pre-
pared to make the plates. will not con-
slider The Illinois Steel Company's offer
to make the plates at $3.50 per ton is no
longer an element in the consideration of
the question, because it would take that
company two years to construct a plant
for making the plates, and then it wanted
contract for twenty years. Therefore
the efforts to bluff" down the Carnegie
and Bethlehem trust has led to the seri-
GUS discussion Of the construction of a
government plant for the manufacture or
armor plate.
The impracticability Of a government
plant is discussed in an interview by a
naval officer. who says that "armor plate
has limited market. 1t is special art-
Gle of manufacture. The demand is lin
tied, and the extent of that demand can
be calculated within a very few tons Our
naval policy contemplates possibly TWEEN
ty-five line-of-battle ships as its greatest
requirement for national defense. AS
these are the only ships in which heavy
armor plate is used it can readily be fig
ured how many tons of armor these
plants can ever expect to produce It
should never be assumed that we are to
manufacture for foreign countries, as the
same protection, especially in articles per-
tanning TO warfare, that exist here is jeal-
ously observed abroad. Therefore, any one
laying out the enormous amount of money
necessary to establish plant capable of
producing naval armor requires not only
a fair, but a large profit. The limit OF
usefulness of an expensive plant can be
| almost exactly computed, and when the
supply is furnished the plant is no longer
of any use"
He characterizes the bid of the Illinois
Steel Company as a bluff intended to for
tfy the attitude of members
OF congress who have placed
the government in an awkward po-
sition, and shows how the government
would further lose by the delay in the
! construction of a plant on account OF
claims the builders would make for loss OF
time. He says in the present state of the
art 500 a ton for srmor pistes. the figures
recommended by Secretary Long. is not
! excessive and he shows that the construc-
ton of the plates can be surrounded with
/ such precautions as will compel the fur
nishing of plates Of the desired strength
and durability.
Secretary Long, after an investigation,
disagrees with Secretary Herbert as 10
the cost of the construction OF a govern
ment plant estimating that at least 50 900,
0Oo would be required to equip such an
establishment. which is double the figure
named by Secretary Herbert, and he lur-
Their recommends that the limit OF cost at
500 be adhered to. This is considered a
victory for the Bethlehem and Carnegie
companies ana II Is probable, If the work
is to be done promptly and without delay.
that one of these companies will do it.
So FAR as can be seen. there does not APP
pear to be any other remedy for the situ-
alton. The government is In the hands
oil the armor plate trust, which seems to
have strongly fortified itself. and Ia is evil
dent that It must make the best Of IT,