The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-03-15

more quickly than the average carriage,
and with emergency orders Il is felt
that the Iron works can turn out from
four 70 six or eight OF these carriages
per month. The ordnance officers have
discovered to their great qualification
that II Is possible 10 use the carriages
of the old ifteen.inch Rodman guns TO
mount the eight and ten Inch guns OF,
modern manufacture, This Is because
the Tsodman carriages were OF partlcu-
larry heavy construction for the guns
they wero designed TO carry, SO that
with even the vastly increased power
OF modern ordnance the iifteen.inch
Rodman carriage Is still able to carry
safely an eight or ten inch breech load
Ing rifle or course the expedlent Is on
ly a temporarylone. us the carriages are
very slow In operation according 10
modern standards, but they would
serve very well In an emergency.
From unofficial Information received
here there has been a satisfactory i'm
provement In the health OF both Ad-
mlral Sicard. who Ia command
ing the North Atlantic squad
ron, and OF Captain slgsbee.
who commanded the Maine before the
explosion which wrecked her. AS q re-
suit OF his stay In the Gulf OF Mexico,
especially In the vicinity OF Dry Tortu-,
gas. Admiral Sicard contracted n case
OF malaria, which, however. dlsappear-
ed after few dayu stay at Key West.
Mrs. Slcard Is now at the latter place In
constant communication with the ad-
mlral, and the latest reports from her
indicate that her husband has entirely
recovered his usual good health. a
Captain Slgsbee's illness was OF
hardly more than days duration and
yielded promptly to treatment, and the
latest advices received here by his fam
lly by the secretary ot the navy show
that,he has entirely recovered.
The bureau of ordnance OF the war
department opened bids to-day for q
large supply OF urmor piercing projec-
tiles and for 100000 rife ball cart
ridges. The bidding brought together. q
number of the representatives OF the
large steel and ammunition companies.
some OF whom took occasion to give as.
surances that In the present emergency
the government work would be given
The bidders for steel projectiles. vary
ing in size from the eight-inch steel
capped shot to the ! 900 pound shot,
were the Midvale steel company, the B.
Atha 1llingsworth company, the Car
penter steel company and the Fu:th
Sterling Company. The bids varied
heavy shot, running from S116 each for
tta al tfr1, tpn oh OH 20 ~, SSy
1000 Founders. The B. Atha Illings-
worth company confined their bid to
the eight-inch shot and shell, while the
others submitted their bids for the en-.
tire order contemplated By the war de-,
partment. viz: $50 eight-inch shot, cap
ped. 149 eight-Inch shell. 4S2 ten-inch
shot, capped. 4S1 ten-inch she'll. 1.241
twelve-inch deck piercing shell. weigh
ing 500 pounds each. 935 twelve-inch
shells, Weighing 1000 pounds each.
The bids OF all the companies for the
500 and 1000 pound shells were the same
namely, slS7 and s235 each. \
Although the department intends to
accept only one bid. or to divide the or
der between the bidders, It afforded sat
isfactIon to the authorities TO know that
such large supplies could be obtained
from so many sources on short notice.
The Midvale company offered to begin
deliveries III twenty-five days; the
Furth Sterling Company at the rate Of
l01 per week after twenty-five days; the
Carpenter company twenty-five per day
after April and the Atha Illingsworth
company In ninety days. j
The bids for rifle cartridges were In
two parts: 100000 being standard
metallic ball cartridges with brown
powder, and 100000 metallic cartridges
with smokeless powder. There were
three bidders, viz: The Union Metallic
Cartridge Company: the United States
Cartridge Company and the Winchester
Repeating Arms Company. The bids
were the same in each case. SIS so for
the brown powder cartridge, and s2i
for the smokeless powder cartridge One
company offered to deliver $4,000 at
once and all the offers contemplated a
delivery of 100000 a day after u few
days.
The bids for shot. SHE'LL and cart
ridges Will be briefed and the awards
made within the next few days, as the
wnr lpDa rtmant Uishna tbn ynrk to he