The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-27
ORDNANCE CHIEF
ISSUES REPORT
Satisfactory Condition of All De-
partmentS Except Armor.
A GOVERNMENT FACTORY
o'Neil Says Such an Institution Should
Have no Bearing Upon Supply
for the Maine, Ohio
and Missouri
A GOVERNMENT FACTORY

Washington, October 26-The navy de-
partment has made public the report OF
Rear Admiral Charles O'Neil, chief of ord
nance. 1t shows satisfactory condition
of affairs in the ordnance branch of the
service in all departments save that OF
armor. Admiral O'Neil goes at some
length into the history of the present diff
ficulty in obtaining armor suitable for the
new battles;hips and cruisers Congress
last year limited the price of armor ito $500
per ton. At this price no acceptable bids
were received, but proposals were recently
invited for armor for the three new battle
ships of the Nadine class, the four harbor
defense monitors of the Arkansas class,
and the three battleships Nos 10, IA and 10,
and three armored cruisers. The total
amount of armor necessary for the seven
vessels authorized by act of congress, APP
proved May 4, 1898, was $4,000 tons. Only
one firm put In a bid, and that at $3.50 per
ton 1t was ascertained on inquiry that
these bidders had no manufacturing plant
whatever, and the bid was not considered.
The difficulty in quality and price of armor
arose in the desire of the department ITO
secure plates of what is generally known
as the Krupp process, which is deemed
much mere satisfactory than the face
hardened armor heretofore in use in Amer
lean warships The contractors claimed
that 1t was impossible to supply these ar
mors for $500 per ton and THE department,
in order to avoid delay in the completion
of certain vessels already contracted for,
was Obliged to contract in August and Sep
TENDER of this year for a comparatively
small amount of armor aggregating 2,26S
tons. In order not to delay the completion
of the vessels of the Maine class beyond
contract date, Admiral ONeil says that 1t
will be necessary to make contracts for
the remaining armor by January, 1900. He
deplores the suggestion that the ordinary
face-hardened armor should be used in the
new vessels, and urges that the matter
should be laid before congress soon as
it assemblies, and that 1T he urgently re-
quested ito make such provision in THE ear
ly days of the session by joint resolution or
otherwise as will enable the navy depart
ment to make contracts not later than jan
uary, 1900, for the best quality of armor
that can be obtained.
The question of a. government armory
factory, he says, should have no bearing
upon the supply of armor for the Maine,
Ohio and Missouri, as it would be imprac-
tlcable TO obtain armor from such a source
IN conclusion, that 1t is quite evident that
the building of armored ships of war must
soon be discontinued by this government
unless the vexed question of the supply
and cost of armor can be disposed of. Ad-
miral ONeil notes that a new type of gun
has been completed for the navy this year
and Will be ready to test soon. 1T is a
fouri compound 5-fnch rapid-fire rifle, in
tended as a part of the armament of the
rev "destroyers," and probably will form
an important part of the secondary battery
Of future battleships and large cruisers.
1t lis a particularly powerful gun of hts
kind and 1T is calculated to have a penetrat-
ing power of over an inch and half of
Harveyized steel ait 5000 yards.
There Dis interesting paragraph de-
voted Ito automatic and machine guns. A
new type fully automatic, three-pounder
gun has been tried with promising results.
1t has a possible fire of seventy shclts per
minute, compared With forty shots per mir-
ute for the semi automatic guns of the
same type. The report says the new smoke
less powder now in use in the navy is equal
to The smokeless powder now i'm use by
any other country.