The times., 1899-04-03
Fight BREWING over
THE ARMOR CONTRACTS
Greedy Eyes Focused on the
Navy's $4,000 Job.
Movements Of Thorsien Nordenlelt
Viewed With Suspicion.
Hints at a Scheme to Play into Car
neG;c's Hnnds-RuEiors of II New
Combine Forming.

The manager of the Newport News
Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, w.
A. Post, New Yorker. who has the con-
fidence of Millionaire Coils p. Hunting
ton, the principal financial hacker of the
concern, recently announced in private
conversation that armor plate and guns
were to be part of the company's future
production. lie said that by reclaiming
ground to the north of the present works,
which is being done for the purpose OF
building the largest drydock in the world.
it will be found that there is plenty of
room for a steel plant and a gun factory.
There are $500 men employed in the
shops at Newport News and 5000 men in
the yards, making the improvements The
old drydock of the company was just deep
enough to admit the Kentucky and the
Kearsarge before their armor was put on.
The new dock will be one of the largest
in the world and will not only easily ac-
commodate any vessel now aiioat, no mat
ter what its draft, but also any vessel
likely to be built in the next decade. The
new drydock from its outer sill to its for
ward end is S2T feet long. Its top is l62
feet across Its bottom is so feet. An enor
nous machine shop is one OF its I'M
provements just completed. Before
this was commenced the capital
of the company, originally Ss,o0O.-
GEO. was greatly increased. The
company not only builds ships but it builds
engines and boilers for them. 1t has erect
ed additional shipways much longer than
any in this country and has put up four
travelling electric cranes which distribute
materials along the ways on which ships
are building One of these cranes is
capable of attending to the wants of two
ships under construction. Eight vessels
may be built at one time in the newly
equipped Newport News yards.
The Government began patroniz.ng the
Yards in 1898. Its first order was three
gunboats. the Nashville, the Wilmington
and the Helmus. The Kentucky and the
Kearsarge are now being completed there
The Illinois is under construction.
Tharsten Nordenfelt, the gunmaker, who
is now in Washington, having arrived here
Saturday from New York, is believed by
ordnance men to be in consultation with
Mr. Huntington, and his appearance mas
created considerable discussion in ordnance
circles Thomas F. Lane. manager for WICK
ers' Sons and Maxim Uimited), London.
England and for the Maxim d Nordenfelt
Gun and Ammunition Company u4imited),
both of which are one. was talking yester-
day of how his company would bring in
land. and for the Maxim & Nordenfelt
unQer a contract NHiCi thttitN hhNO
with the Maxim -Nordenfelt Company
when he retired from it and drew out
81, ,OO0, ,0OO Although an injunction of this
sort was set aside in England, Mr.. Lane
holds that the laws of the United States
differ from those of England.
Captain O'Neil, Chief of the Naval Ord
nance Bureau, says that TO put up works
for the production of armor plate, no mat
ter how large the available capital, would
require at least two years for the building
of special machinery, such as is now in
the hands of only a few persons, who have
plenty to do and need time for the execu-
ton OF fresh orders. The provisions in the
advertisement for bids on the $S,O0Oo0O
contract for armor plate for the new bat
tleships, cruisers, and monitors which We're
authorized by the last Congress, gives only
a year in which to prepare for the produc-
tion of the first plates. In fact, this pro-
vision would, on its face. throw the con-
tract into the hands of the Carnegie and
Bethlehem companies. 1t is thought. how
ever, that should Nordenfelt make a COM
bination of steel companies outside of the
Carnegie company, he would be able 10
gather in large part OF the So COO. 900 con-
tract for the Newport News Company. He
is familiar with the Krupp and other pro-
cesses, and might be able to get the Illi-
nois Steel Companies in shape for armor
platemaking within the time which the
contract advertisement specifies.