Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-01
Bids Opened for the Construction Of
Three Protected Cruisers.
THEIR DIMENSIONS AND DESCRIPTION
Notable Absence of Former Com
petitors Among the Bidders.
FOUR OFFERS RECEIVED

Bids will be opened al the Navy Depart
ment today for the construction of three
protected cruisers of an enlarged Olympia
type. They are to be the most formidable
vessels in the world of their class. Closely
reSem bling the type of second-class ar
mored cruisers, they might easily be mis-
taken for such. The act of Congress au-
thorizng this class of cruisers required
that the vessels should carry 1.-The most
powerful ordnance for vessels of their type
and have the highest speed compatible with
good cruising qualities and great radius of
action Admiral Hchborn, chief con-
structor of the navy, who has been fore
most In the preparation of plans for the
building of the new navy" says that in
an engagement the new cruisers would
fully be able to cope with. and, indeed,
prove themselves more than a match for
some of the armored cruisers Of foreign
navies.
The new vessels are to be named the st.
Louis. Milwaukee and Charleston. the lat
ter to continue the name of the snip
wrecked November =, 1859. off Kamiguin
Island in the Philippines. Their displace-
ment will be about 300 tons each. They
will be equipped with 21,OOO horse power.
twin screw engines and will have speed
of twenty-five knots per hour. The vessels
will be 424 feet in length and 66 feet in eX-
treme breadth. Their bunkers will have
capacity of ], $50 tons.
ArmOr and Armament.
The main side armor will be four inches
in thickness all around, will also the
upper and lower casemate armor Two and
a half inches of steel plate will incase their
protective decks. The main decks Of the
cruisers will be supplemented amidships
with covered superstructures, within each
of which will be located four 6-inch rapid
fire guns and six 14-pounders of the same
two more 6-tnch guns located on the center
line, one forward and one aft. On the gun
decks the greater portion of the batteries
will be located, consisting of eight 6-incn,
twelve 14-pounder and four 1-pounder
"a pid-fire guns. Sixteen rapid-f1re guns
are to be placed on the superstructure deck
and bridges, and the remainder of the bat
teries will be located in the lighting tops
of the military masts. --
Twelve Tons a Minute.
Electric ammunition hoists will supply the
guns with the greatest rapidity, making it
possible to hurl against an enemy broad
side of about twelve tons of solid metal
minute. The vessels will each have four
lofty smokestacks seventy-six feet above
the load water line, providing draft for
the sixteen straight water-tube boilers Sit
uated in four water-tight compartments
and, together with the engines. protected
by the side armor, sloping deck armor and
a 12-foot coal bunker. The inner bottom OF
the vessels VIII extend to the under sides of
the protective decks, above which a cellu-
lose cofferdam thirty inches wide ex-
tends through the length of the vessels.
All the latest and best improvements IN
construction and equipment are to be pro
vided for the accommodation and comfort
of the officers and crew. The vessels are
fitted to accommodate a flag officer and
staff in conjunction with the regular com
plement. In commission the number OF
officers Will be thirty-nine and the crew
fny yx,l,i oh
rided sixteen boats, ranging from 36-foot
steam cutter to a 16-foot dinghy, besides
two punts and two life RATS.
Notable Absences.
The attendance of bidders was not as
large nor as representative as In the case
of the last opening. Moreover, the absent
concerns were notable, and it Is doubtful
if Cramp or the Union Iron Works have be-
fore been unrepresented in any bidding
since the birth Of the new navy How
ever, at least one of the older concerns,
the Newport News Shipbuiiding Company,
was we'll represented by President circuit
and Judge Payson, and they carried on
contract in all probability.
The Bath Iron Works. Neafie & Levy
of Philadelphia and the William r. Trigg
Shipbuilding Company of Richmond. We're
represented. One of the Moran Bros. or
Seattle was the solitary representative OF
the Pacific coast interests. but did not bid,
Secretary Long, who presided at the
opening read a statement to the bidders.
calling their attention to certain important
amendments which the department had
made in the specifications for the cruisers
since the advertisements were issued. These
were nearly all in the direction of the ex-
clusion of items with a view to making 1t
possible for the shipbuilders to bid within
the limit of cost fixed by Congress.
An Important change was the reservation
by the department of $4,000 instead of
100000, originally ordered, from the
total sum of 81, 500, 600 fixed by Congress
as the limit of cost of the ships this reser-
walton to cover the cost of putting in place
the arlnor for the cruisers The Secre-
tary asked II any bidder was unacquainted
with these changes before submitting his
bid. and, receiving no contrary answer
ordered the reading of the bids to proceed.
Bids Made With PrOvisos.
The first bid opened was that of the New
port News Shipbuilding Company. They
offered to build 9,7O0-ton cruiser with a
speed of twenty-five knots in thirty-six
months for the sum Of $2,741, 600. The
cruiser Is to be built on their own plans
The differences between these plans and
the departments plans are TO be found
principally In the omission OF number
of items of construction and equipment
slightly exceeding the cuts made In the
big battle ships just let.
The Bath Iron Company's bid was the
next. ~lney OHeEeQ TO Duliu q cruiser Ol tflc
same proportions and speed and in the sane
time for s2.75O,O00, which is exactly the
figure available, after making the reduc-
ton account of armor from the limit
fixed by Congress. The bid of this conn
pany was also based on its own designs,
and the difference between them and the
department designs also consisted In the
omission Of certain items.
The William r. Trigg Company of Rich
mond presented the next bid, promising 1t
by a statement that they could not con-
sent to the reservation made on accoun. OF
placing the armor. believing that the cruis-
ers could not be built at profit in that
case. However. leaving out the armor
question and making for their part certain
cuts in the specifications they were pre-
pared TO build one cruiser for 81, 10000,
being the limit of cost fixed by Congress-,
or two cruisers for S., $50 600 being at the
rate of s2140.000 each.
The Last Was Lowest.
The last bid was the lowest, and was SUBJ
mitted by the Neafie & Levy Shipbuilding
Company of Philadelphia. They Offered to
ia &1-o