The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-15
BIDS FoR PRoJEcr1LEs.
Four Companies Offer to Make Big
Shot-Rine Ammunition.

/ GAOA-A@hAC
| WASHINGTON. March 1.-THE Bureau
of Ordnance of the War Department opened
bids to-day for u large supply of armor-
piercing projectiles, and for l2.60O000 rifle
ball cartridges The bidding brought to-
gether a number of the representatives of
the large steel and ammunition companies.
some of whom took occasion to give assur-
ances that in the present emergency gov
eminent work would be given the prefer
ence over commercial orders. The bidders
for steel projectiIes, varying in size from
the S-inch steel-capped shot to 1,000-pound
shot were the Midvale Steel Company, the
B. Atha nlingsworth Company, the Car
penter Steel Company and the Furth-Ster-
ling Company. The bids varied only slightly
on the various classes of heavy shot, rum
ming from SIG each for the S-inch shot to
$685. each for the 1,000-pounders The b.
Atha Iliipgsworth Company confined its bid
to the Sfinch shot and she'll while the
others submitted bids for the entire order
contemplated by the War Department.
namely, $50 S-inch shot, capped; 149 S-inch
shells; ASP 10-inch shot, capped; 4S1 1O-inch
shell; 1,2n Pinch deck-piercing Shells
weighing 500 pounds EACH 935 12-inch shells,
weighing LEGO pounds each. The bids of all
the companies for the 500 and 1O00-pound
shells were the same, namely, $1S7 and $685.
each. Although the department intends to
accept only one bid. or to divide the order
between the bidders, 1t afforded satisfaction
to the authorities to know that such large
supplies could be obtained from so many
sources on short notice The Midvale Conn
pany offers to begin deliveries in twenty
t1Ve days; the Furth-Sterling Company at
the rate of one hundred per week after
twenty-five days; the Carpenter Company,
twenty-five per day after April 3, and the
3. Atha Illingsworth Company in ninety
days.
The bids for rifle cartridges were in two
parts, 1OOOO,000 being standard metallic ball
cartridges with brown powder, and 100000
metallic cartridges with smokeiess powder.
There were three bidders namely, the
United States Cartridge Company and the
Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The
bids We're the same in each case-$lS.5O for
the brown powder cartridge, and $27 for the
smokeless powder cartridge. One company
offered to deliver $4,000 at once, and all Of
fers contemplated delivery Of 100000 day
after few days The bids for shot, smell
and cartridges will be briefed and the
awards made within the next few days, as
the War Department wishes the work to
The Ordnance Department of the army
has sent an invitation to all the firms which
have in the past proposed to build disap-
department advertisement, to come forward
at this time and submit on their own be-
They are invited. to state how many car
riageS they can undertake at one time ana
are enjoined especially to state the exact
time to be consumed in making them 1t
is believed by the officials that the deliveries
of such carriages could begin in from three
to four months after the placing, of orders.
the difference in time depending upon
whether or not the manufacturers have
their plans already in hand, and also upon
whether ten or twelve inch. The plans OF
the Notifications board which are being fol-
lowed IN the emplacsment OF these guns by pg
department contemplate the mounting or
all the big rifles on disappearing carriages:
difficult of manufacture than the ordinary
carriage it is said at the department that,
owing to the fact that the makers are now
turning out this style Of carriage, they prob
ably can supply them in the immediate fu-
ture more quickly than the ordinary car
riage, and with emergency orders 1t is felt
that the average iron works can turn out
from four to six or eight of these carriages
per month. The ordnance officers nave dis
covered to their great qualification that 1t
is possible to use the carriages of the old
ffteen-inch Rodman guns to mount the
eight and ten-inch guns of modern manu-
facture. This is because the Rodman car
riages were of particularly heavy construc-
carry so that with even the vastly in
creased power of modern ordnance the fif-
teen-inch. Rodman carriage is still able to
carry safely an eight or ten-inch breech
loading rife. OF course the eXpedient is
only temporary one as the carriages are
very slow in operation according to mod
ern standards, but they would serve very
we'll in an emergency.
Because of a protest from some of the
Western people, the secretary of war has
modified his order of last week changing the
names and bounds of the military depart
ments so as to retain the name of the De-
ever it was necessary to abandon the name
Of the Department of the Platte" and the
territory included within the present limits
of that department would be known as the
Department of the Missouri The old De-
partment of the Missouri retains its new
name of the Department of the Lakes.
Two estimates of appropriations to meet
the cost of the recently authorized addition
of two regiments of artillery TO the army
were sent to Congress to-day by Secretary
Alger. One was for a supplemental estimate
Of $491, 1853 for the appropriation for the pay
of the army for the next fiscal year, and
the other was for deficiency of 1854 Ito in
the current year appropriations to defray
added expenditures for the remainder OF