The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-11

In the presence Of the Acting Secretary
o. the Navy, the Chief OF Ordnance. the
Chief Constructor. other naval officials, and
| representatives of armor-making concerns
bids were opened at the Navy Department
yesterday fol furnishing arnor for the bat
tleships and armored cruisers authorized
by the Naval Appropriation acts for the
| current and last fiscal years.
The bid opening was OF unusual inter-
| est, because it was to test the effect on the
armor makers of the practical dltImatum
delivered to them by Congress in the last
| naval act that if the Secretary of the
| Navy believed the price he was asked to
| pay for armor was excessive he should, IN
| his discretion. make arrangements for the
| erection of an arnior plant. The act au-
| thoriZed the Secretary Of the Navy to buy
| the best armor at $445 a ton but he may
pay S545 a ton, unless he considers this
price excessive. in which event he is to
arrange for the manufacture Of armor by
| the Government.
There were three bidders on the armor
and other bidders on the bolts ana nuts
required to affix it to the ships. The bid
ders on armor were the Carnegie Steel
Company. the Bethlehem Steel Company
and the Midvale Steel Company. all Penn
sylvania concerns. The Midvale Company,
which has never made armor for the Gov
eminent. submitted the lowest bids Those
of the Carnegie and Bethlehem Companies
were identical
The bids were divided into three classes
and each Of these was sub-divided. Glass
included aFmor for Dattleships and
armored cruisers. improved and face hard
e1ed, of five inches or more in thickness,
in lots ranging from 81 900 tons, the total
amount required, to $500 tons, with the
requisite quantity of bolts and nuts. Under
this class the bids were as follows:
Thirty-one thousand tons Midvale Com
psny. s43S ton. aggregating $13,51S, GOO;
% 600 tons. Midvale Company, $40 ton,
aggregating 81 ,00O, coo; 10000 tons, Mid
vale Company, SAP ton. aggregating
IS, SAC. Goo; GOO tons. Carnegie and Beth
lehem Companies S445 ton aggregating
s5675. 900; Midvale Company, S454 ton,
aggregating s6,s1o. 600: 10, 900 tons, Mid
vale Company, 1856 ton, aggre
eating s4,660.0 goo: 5000 tens. Midvale
Company. $500 a ton, aggregating $780,
0CO; $500 tons, Midvale Company, $500
ton. aggregating $500, coo; $500 tons. Mid
vale Company. s535 a ion, aggregating
81. 235, eco.
Under this class the Carnegie and Beth
lehem companies agreed TO bind deliveries
in six months and to continue at the rate
of 800 tons month thereafter To their
bid must be added si5 a ton for royalty on
the Krupp process of face hardening armor,
bringing the bid OF these two companies
on i, 900 tons, the only lot proposed to
be furnished by them. to 1890 ton on
armor hardened by the Krupp process.
The Midyale Company, however, agreed
not 10 make any charge for royalty. 1t
fixed the time for beginning deliveries al
twenty-six months from the date Of con-
tract, and offered to deliver armor at the
rate of 500 tons a month thereafter.
Glass B included armor for battleships
and armored cruisers. face hardened, OF
less than > inches in thickness, aggregating
$500 tons. The bids follow:
Carnegie and Bethlehem. 500 a ton, ag-
gregete 81. $40, GOO: charge for royalty.s11. 20
a ton or si11-20 for each ton of armor fur
nished with the royalty included.
The Midvale Company did not bid on this
class, but did bid on the so tons of bolts
ard nuts included at 1927 a ton.
Glass included armor for battleships,
armored cruisers and protected cruisers
not face hardened. Only /, $50 tons of this
ordinary armor were asked for.
The Carnegie and Bethlehem Company
each bid Che Midvale Company not com
peting) $500 a ton. aggregate $3.50 900. de-
rate of 800 tons month. The Midvale
Company bid on the bolts and nuts re-
quired with this class.
Bids for furnishing bolts and nuts were
received also from the Carpenter Steel
Company, of Pittsburg. and 7. B. H nfa,l,
of Washington, d. C. The three firms that
submitted bids on armor each enclosed
letter with its bid containing alternative
propositions. The Carnegie and Beth.eh IN
alternative proposals, practically identical,
were that If they were awarded an aggre-
gate of 1880 tons of armor, bolts, ard
nuts under classes and b, they would
furnish the required amounts OF each ar
ticle a the price fixed for each without re-
gard to division. IN other words, they
would furnish any part of the armor and
any part of the bolts and nuts without
change Of price provided the rggre gate
of all three articles was rs, $50 tons TIE
Midyale Company agreed 10 make the price
of bolts and nuts $3.50 IN class and s5z1
ton in class c. provided 1t was awarded an
aggregate of $4,000 of armor. bolts, and
nuts. The Aidvale Company also offered
to make the armor included in class B p-o-
vided il was awarded all the class a armor
at the price proposed by it.
All the bids on the Krupp armor were
within the maximum price fixed By Con
gress, and it now remains for the Secretary
OF tue Navy 10 determine Whetner the bids I
are excessive at the prices proposed. and !
if so whether ne shall begin preparations
for building Government armor factory =
In their identical letters the Carnegie |
and Re lhlehem companies said that the |
conditions laid down by the Navy De- |
partment were not applicable TO the pro-
iuction of KTupp armor and such reason
able notifications of the Departments |
conditions as would be necessary were ex-
Dected. This refers apparently to the |
condition of the Department tina; the /
armor should be inspected in stages of I
by naval officers. As the pro- /
cess is secret it is supposed that the armor /
makers want the inspection system sus-
pended Cor certain parts Of the nerind |