Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-10-01
FOR HARBOR DEFENSE
Bids Opened for New Vessels for the
Navy.
SIMILAR TO THE CIVIL WAR MONITORS
Proposals Come Well Within the
Departments Limit.
MANY YARDS REPRESENTED

| Bids were opened at the Navy Depart
| ment today for the construction of four
harbor defense vessels of the monitor type.
authorized by Congress at the last session.
| For this purpose Congress authorized the
| expenditure of 81 300 900 for each monitor.
There were some limitations in the act
| such for instance as that not more than
| two OF the vessels should be built in one
| snipyard, while an allowance of 4 per cent
| is made in favor of the Pacific coast ship
builders in they bid. The act also
provides that the Secretary of the Navy
shall award the contract to the Lowest
best responsible bidder which is unusual
and seems to admit of the disregard of
| bids from any but the most responsible
| firms The act also directed the Secretary
| to have in view the best results and most
expeditions delivery Consequently the
| department, in laying down its require
! ments, makes twenty-seven months the
maximum time for the completion of the
! vessels, providing a penalty ranging from
| $500 to $3.50 a day for any delay in their
| completion.
| The monitors are to be built strictly in
accordance with the department. designs,
no provision being made as is usually the
| case, for the submission of contractors
| plans. In type, they have no duplicates in
modern ship construction, and more than
which distinguished themselves in the civil
war.
The board Of bureau chiefs would have
| liked very much to have provided more
powerful class of vessel but the small
limit CT ccst fixed in the appropriate act
prevented this, and they were obliged TO
content themselves with single-t -turrctted
| monitors of ZOO tons displacement New
ertne1ess, the designers have contrived
within these narrow limits to plan a most
serviceable type of vessel though their
| usefulness will be strictly limited to har-
Dor defense, and, on account of their small
proportions, they will not be able to under
take any long voyages.
While resembling roughly the war monf-
| tors. these new vessels will be vastly su-
| perior to them in actual power. Their
| speed, for instance. will be twelve knots
! about double that of the old vessels Their
| batteries will consist of two twelve-inch
| breech-loadng rifles, capable of piercing
| the side of nine-tenths of the naval vessels
| of the world; four four-inch rapid-fire guns
| and seven smaller caIibered rapid-fire guns.
| like those that did such service in the de-
struction of Cervera's squadron. The build
ers are not required to furnish either guns
| armor or turrets The latter by the way
are to be electrically controlled like those
on the Brooklyn. These turrets will be of
the balanced type, ten inches thick behind
| eieven-inch barbettes, and belt of armor
| eleven inches thick and five feet broad will
| be placed on the sides of the vessel The
monitors viii be Do feet long, 30 feet broad
%
water enabling them to move freely in any
| Oh the shallow Atlantic coast harbors.
Large Gathering of bidders.
The gathering Of bidders in the office of
/ Secretary Long at noon, the hour set for
| opening the proposals, was larger than has
| been seen for meny months, much larger
| tran has been the case when bids W ere re-
ceived for building the tive-foii more ex-
pensive battle ships. This was accounted
a tha ORG
formed the subject of the bids were from
! their relatively smaller proportions well
within the constructive abilities of the
smaller shipyards of the country while
I even the larger bull lers might find room
| in their yards for the little fellows
The bids were opened and announced by
| Jucge Advocate General Lemly, examined
| by Chief Constructor Hichbora and Ergi-
neer-in- Chief Melville, and reported by
Constructor Zahn anl Passed Assistant
Mcfarland.
Among shipbuilding people present were:
President Orcutt and Solicitor Payson of
| the Newport News Shipbuildlag Company
| Henry Scott of the Union iron works San
Francisco; Mayor Malster of the Column
| bian iron works, Baltimore; Mr. Wolff of
! Wolff & Zwicker, Portland, ore: Mr.. Nix
| on of the Crescent shipbuilding works.
! Elizabeth. n. j.. and representatives of the
MARYLAND Steel Company of Baltimore,
| John Dialogue, Camden. and the w B.
| Fletcher Company of Hoboken, N. j.
Bids Submitted.
| All of these concerns submitted bids as
! follows:
Lewis Nixon, sS25,G00, to be completed in
| four months; Newport News, $s6o,o00, in %
| months; Bath iron works, $S62,o0o, in %
! months; Union iron works. $4,000, %
| months; Maryland Steel Co., $4,000 in %
| months; Wolff & Zwicker, $937,500, in -
| months; the w. B. Fletcher Company, S921,-
! 613 in 2l months; Columbian iron works,
| $10l5,Wo, in 81 months and John Dialogue,
| S1,171G0o, in 2G months
From the face of the bids it would appear
| that the lowest bidders for the four vessels
We're Nixon, Newport News, Bath andUnion
| iron works. The latter would seem to be
entitled to receive a monitor, even without
the allowance Of 4 per cent which the law
provides in the case of the bidders on the
Pacific coast. This is made possible by the
| fact that all Of the bidders, including the
| three who were lower than the Union iron
| works, limited their bids to one monitor
| each. The bureau chiefs of the Navy De-
partment are congratulating themselves
| that the bids are well within the limit fixed
by Congress, and as there IS little oppor-
| tuntty for irregularity in the bids, owing to
! the fact that but one set of plans was open
! 1t is probable that there will be no difficulty
| in awarding the contracts.