New-York tribune., 1903-06-04
BIDS FOR BATTLESHIPS.
TRUST Has NO CHANCE.
Three Neao FeSseLs To Be Most
Powerful of the NaUy-

Washington. June Bids opened at the Navy
Department to-day for battleships made the in
+e-esting disclosure that the so-called trust
stood no chance 10 obtain a contract This was
contrary TO the expectation that the shipblild-
ing combination would be able to do govern
rnent work much lower than the firms which
were not in the big corporation Another sig
nihcan1 res~lt was that none OF the bidders
offered &C complete the work II less than the
tine named in the departments specifications
Il has been the practice Of some builders
notably the Cramps, Of Philadelphia, 10 offer 10
complete the vessels in less than the time limit
L was only six months ago that the Phila-
delphta firm mad such proposition. This new
phase is taken as an indication OF fear OF lapor
troubles and absence Of foreign complications
For the first tine in many years the Cramps. Of
Philadelphia and the SCOTS. of San Francisco,
do not appear as the successful bidders on the
largest battleships. On every opening for these
big vessels in the last fifteen years these two
concerns have been represented, but to-day the
builders OF the Oregon did not appear. and the
Cramps bid as If they did not want the work
One vessel VIII be built by the Nev-Y Ship
building Company. another at Newport News
and the third by tie Fore River Company, Of
Quincy. Mass. An interesting circumstance of
the bidding was that the difference between the
highest and the lowest bid was only 100000, or
less than per cent of the amount involved in
+he transaction The competition was so close
that in the opinion OF naval officials there will
he little net profit TO the contractors
The vessels for which bids were opened are
;he Minnesota the Vermont and the Kansas, the
three I6.G00-ton battleshtps authorized by the
last Congress- each TO cost not exceeding 81 212.-
600 The Newport News Shipbuiiding Company
was the lowest bidder for one vessel, and the
William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Build
ing Company was the only bidder for more than
one ship Following are the bids:
Newport News shipbuilding Company-.one Vessel.
g--rs sli< rom sTe Of eorfra-t S3Ti60o0
William C-amp q Sons snip and Engine BulIdlng
~7rr-leted ir forty-Jwo months. sl.1901o9, two
vessels, departments plans in same time, S4.lAl0O
F0re River Ship and Engine Building ComP9any,
fo-ty.-tHo months S4-17seGo
Eastern shipbuiId3rc Company. New-London.
C,o-r-C vessel f0rr7-rvu months. s. I9201a
New-York Shipogildlng compan{-osne vessel de-
These battleships will be the most powerful
vessels Of the American Navy. They VIII have
required speed Of eighteen knots, displace-
raenr Of 10000 tons. a main battery of four u
inch. eight S-Irch and twelve finch breech
loading rifles and a secondary battery of twenty
:.-inch. 14-pounder. rapid fire guns; twelve D
FOUNDER seui-autonatic guns six l-poundeT
automatic guns. two 1-pounder serni-autouatic
guns TWO Ss-inch field pieces, two machine guns
and SIX automatic guns. The Pinch guns Will
be mounted in pairs. IN TWO electrically con
t-oIled balanced elliptical turrets. the centre
line. one forward and one aft, each with an arc
O fire Of about two hundred and seventy de-
g-ees: the S-iI.ch guns in four electrically con-
troIled balanced elliptical turrets two on each
beam at each end Of the superstructure; the 4
inch guns in broadside. on pedestal mounts on
the gun deck behind finch armor, each isolated
by splinter bulkheads Of nickel steel forward
and after guns arranged TO fire right ahead ana
-ichr asrern- respectively: the other t-inch guns
- have the usual broaCside trains
Guns Of the secondary battery VIII oe mounted
IN commanding positions having a large arc OF
,1robsrrlcred f1re. They viii have lZ-inch ana
S-irch -1Irreus. 4 complete belt OF arTnor Ieet
inches wide VIII protect the hull at the water
lire and the necessary casemate arInor and pro-
-errfan for ammunition tubes Will be provided
Tre protected deck viii ~xtend%from stem 10
stern built I'D Of 20-pound plating with nickel
steel Of forty pounds on the nat ann one nun
d-ed pounds on the slope.
Vertical twin screw four cylinder triple ex-
parsfOr engines viii propei them ana each YES
81 will have twelve water tube boilers, Ine
total ammunition Of each vessel will be 094.S
tons.
Following are the general dimensions ard feat feat
11~es Of the ship. Length on load waterline 4''O
feet extreme breadth at load waterlire, 40 feet
80 inches trial displacement, 5000 tons; mean
5~aught D feet 6 inches: gross draught- tuil
.a6 bout y feet 8 inches; total coal capacity
100 tons