The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-02

A circular calling for bids from ship
builders for the construction of the armor-
ed cruiser Maryland and five other war
ships of similar style which were author
lied by the acts of March 3. 1899 and June
2, 1900, has been issued by the Secretary of
the Navy
Those of the ships authorized by the act
OF 1899 were limited in cost to $4,000. 600
each. while those provided for by the act
of June I, 1900 are to cost not more than
s4,25O Co.,
Those authorized by the act of March
3 1883, are to be sheathed and coppered
but by the terms of the circular issued yes
terday two classes of bids are called for
regarding them-one for sheathing and
eoppering and the other without il, the
department reserying the right to adopt
either form of construction. The speci
fieations for the latter three vessels call
for unsheathed vessels.
The bids are TO be opened December {.
The plans will be ready for distribution TO
the bidders November S.
No bids will be considered which pro-
pose 10 furnish vessels of less than 13, 400
tons trial displacement for unsheatned yes
sells and of less than 10, 500 tons trial dis
placement for sheathef, or of less than %
knots speed and a bunker capacity of 1900
TONS
The maximum time allowed for compile
ton is IS months for each vessel. with
penalties of $500 per day for each day in
excess of that time for the first month aud
$500 for each subsequent day.
For deficiency OF speed, not below 20
knots, the vessel will be accepted at a re-
duced compensation of $5O0O0 for each
quarter knot to q IL knots and S100, 600
per quarter knot down to 20 knots.
The new ships OF the Maryland type"
said Secretary Long, ARE intended 10 De
the finest lighting ships IN the American
Navy. They will have almost as much
strength as the greatest battieshIps and
will be Infinitely superior in speed. They
combine the battleship and the cruiser and
cost S650,000 more than the battleships
Their displacement will be thousands of
tons greater than any ships of the present
Navy: their speed and coalinS capacity
viii be greater, and in every way they
are to be superior vessels"
Admiral Hichborn expressed the case
pithily when he said: AN armored cruiser
is fast batueship. So well did Congress
think of these ships that it allowed $780,
geo each for their construction, while
battleship costs only So, 600 000 the cost of
armor and armament being additional il
each case. OF course the heavier guns and
heavier armor of the battleships Will bring
their cost up to about the same OF per-
baps tTife more than the armored cTuis-
er, but the Bureau of Construction says
there is not nearly the amount of work on
battleship that there will be on the new
armored cruisers. AT present We have no
armoTed cruisers of the Maryland type, as
they were never authorized until the pas
oF
their construction was held up pending the
ability of the department TO get armor for
them"
The Maryland is to have a tonnage of
13400 tons, against 9212 for the Brooklyn
and S,200 for the New York, or over 4, GOO
tons more than those cruisers, which -
says Admiral Hichborn, gave d fairly good
account of themselves during the late
war" The coal capacity of the Brooklyn
is 1,461 tons, and Of the New York / $50
tons, while the Maryland will carry 1000
tons and have a greater steaming radius
than any ship in the Navy except those of
her own type. She will be able to steam
5000 miles or more at 10 knots an hour
without TecOalfng. The horsepower of the
Brooklyn is Is. 1863 and OF tie New York
IT ,401, while that of the Maryland will be
2S,OO0- The Maryland VIII steam at least
Y knots an hour, and probably 23 while
the New York makes q and the Brooklyn
Ni-Si MINUS Inc great DatJlSShlD Oregon.
which is pretty well thought of has
horsepower of but Il, III and 10000 tons
displacement, with a speed of 1879 knots |
None but the new battleships-the Maine |
the Missouri, the Ohio the Virginia and |
the Rhode Island-wfll have the coal ca
pacity of the Maryland and their speed is !
limited to Is knots
The length of the Maryland will be 500 !
feet, as compared with 34S TO 3SS feet for |
the sea-going coast-Iine battIeshfps and
400 feet inches for the Brooklyn and $50 /
feet 6 1-2 inches for the New York The |
Maryland viii have an extreme breadth of /
20 feet where the New York has CT feet 10 |
inches and the Brooklyn 81 feet Ia |
inches. Her maximum draft will be % /
feet
She Will carry a complement of officers
and men amounting to zoo, while the Ken
lucky, which carries the largest number
for a battleship, viii have but SOD officers
and men.
The vessels Will have twin screws and
will be fitted throughout with the most
modern machinery. The main batteries
will consist of four 8-inch breeeh-Ioadfrg
rifles of 40 caIibres length and fourte
6-inch breech-loading rapid-fire rifles of so
calibres length.
The secondary batteries will consist of
eighteen 3-inch breech-loading rifles
twelve S-ponder guns, four 1-pounder auto
matte guns, four 1-pounder singie-shot
guns. two Pinch field guns two machine
guns, six automatic guns and two sub
merged torpedo tubes.
The S-inch guns will be mounted in re-
volving turrets on the main deck two in
each turret. and one turret at each end of
the vessel. Four of the 6-inch guns will
be mounted the main deck one at each
corner. so that from either end there can
be fired two S-inch and Two 6-inch guns.
The four 6-inch guns can also BE- fired
broadside- On the gun-deck the remaining
ten 6-inch guns viii be mounted. five on a
side, SO that each five may be fired broad
side and each of the two at the ends may
be fired forward or aft. The 14-pounders
will be mounted eight on the main deck
amidships and four forward and four aft
on the gun-declz. The others will be p aeed
fently about the ship.
In aTmor the Maryland viii be well pro-
Yided, as she will have six inches at the
water line and five inches above the css--
mate, and, as she can easily outrun any
battle ship and Outright anything else, she
will be quite credit to the State
Thirty boilers of the water-tttbe type will
develop $4,000 horsepower to move her |
powerful twin screws, the steam pressure
icing $50 pounds, the stroke of the cylin-
Ger feet, the ratio of the cylinder l to |
7.90, and the diameter sufficient for the
required horsepower al about f20 revolu-
lions per minu{e.
The boilers Will present heating sur
face of g. 00 square feet and the furnaces
will procur their draft from four tunnels
loo feet high from the base line. The eyap-