New-York tribune., 1903-02-23
EXCUSES FOR DELAY.
T4RDY N4V4L WORK.
Causes and Comparisons Set Forth
bg Secretary Moody.
TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUNE.l ]

extraordinary clemency enjoyed by delinquent
contractors through remission of penalties, led
TO Immediate action by President Roosevelt,
whose attention hao -ot hitherto been called to
the abuses. and result the Secretary Of
the Navy. by the Presidents direction has is
sued an authoritative statement for publication
which opens follows:
The matter of the delay in the completion Of
vessels Of the navy now under construction mas
tssn the subject OF an interesting correspon-
,5snce between the President and the Secretary
~ The Navy Much comment has been caused
tv the fact that many vessels have run over
contract time, and by many months onuer
date of February il the President called the
matter to the attention of the Secretary OF the
NV The Secretary's reply with the accom-
rsnvilg statement by Admiral Bowles, chlef
constructor. covers the supJec' ,ha .,
and shows that while through NUMBER ol
ca,ees the building Of war vessels has been de-
!, ed and the dates of their complexion nave Deeh
an will be considerably beyond the oates oils
en,,,, sat naval construction in the United
c,a-es is not materially behind the naNal con-
+~ncfion Of England and Germany IN the mat
Ter of time. In his rel'iy 10 the
retary Moody says:
Navy Department. Washington. February H. ls'''
Ihf heNe the honor TO acknowledge the receipt
Of the letter from Secretary Corteyou nndeb n
o. ION upon the subject of the delays in build
ing veSseis oI tis directed the Bureau of Con-
strnr+ion ard Repair 10 report to me upon tle i
same subject and believe that me farv I3 1.-THE
Tba TriFune's dispatch giving the important
isages }snt % t the Information which you desire
accordinrlv have the honor TO submit COPY ,I IL
the report with this communication; y
f-7-ife vour attention especially 10 paTagIapn -
Of the report in which it Is snoTn @ '1e ened Of the
5ornnIeTiorl Of our ships and those OF lorelsn
fccsint Of the fact that in England the ships - are
reckoned completed az the time o. me te men re-
mains 10 be done after that time TO prepare 'ie
FfsseS figer + coronIiance with your direction. in
close cory a table showing the oelaES IN Ir
case beyond the contract time OF the shlps uioer
Win reference your inquiry as towhether her OR OR
not there is any way in which contractors can can + D
penalized for the delay occurring on goVerflIneni
vessels beg TO say that the contracts for all naxSl
vessels contain clauses speclfylne me I'M ~ ~ +bat
the vessel shall be completed. and stipuatlns
shan be made from the contract price Fer in in
stance. in the case Of the oattiesnlp . rnnt1s
tbe % e7nction or penalty specified is $500 day dur
Ing @ e c6rpcf ST nerod and for each and day
exceeding six months $500 a day In the sS csss GL
the batfleship Louisiana the contract Perloo P rs -
fTo months and the Pepalg eP ar Is the Tesse ars
generally proportional TO the contract price. .,,+
The contracts contain in all cases proNisos lnat
are caused by the acT ofsthe government, or by
IRE or water or any strike str OF py For several
wears past every application of contractors LOT
ranied by statements. suhstantiated by government
officers. showing that the delays lncgIfeo ca "a
cue these excepted causes and IN coIlsequirs i
TIE department has, by granting the eA'eIlsioiS'
rernifted the pena lties oeoncuonS-
beg leave to say further that some two naonIns
ago directed that no further extensions OF tune
T1e Sla1 1eiI1ty nj to be exercised after careful
animation Of the application for for ex[ens%h o sio oi g
II seems to me that it would be wise to allow
bsTe IN s great deal Of public interest this
subject now. and the report is instructive 1nss &
Terort to be made public will seasonably have 1t
WILLIAM H. MOODY. Secretary.
Admiral Bowles in his report which is long
and comprehensive and intended to be exhaus-
tive Of the subject. says the delays in construc-
tion may, in general, be attributed to one or
more Of seven causes which. IN brief, are as
follows:
haste in preparing plans in order to get the
ships under contract as soon as possible after
Congress authorizes them. This is now over
come. by the demand of Congress that plans
SHAH be completed before it authorizes ships
SeCond-Changes in the disposition Of armor
OF armament, or in the details Of the designs
after the award Of the contract; simply a corol-
Iary Of %.
Third-Delays in delivery Of arnor and ord
nance; due 10 the development of improved but
tedious processes, long controversies over prices
and the limited capacity Of armor plants.
Fourth-Delays due to government inspection,
i being claimed that the inspection given TO
United States war vessels and their material is
more complete than that given by any other
alton.
Fifth-Delays due to sIowness of delivery of
Steel and other structural materials by subcon-
tractors, which is attributed to the phenomenal
demand since 1898 throughout the world for
ordinary commercial grades of structural mate
rial which taxes the capacity Of manufacturers.
VIII" are therefore reluctant to furnish the very
high grade products demanded for naval work.
the higher quality being not only difficult to
make but less profitable
Sixth-Delays due TO Inadequate facilities or
insufficient ability in the contractors technical
staf. the blame in this case being laid
construction of the law compelling award to
the lowest responsible bidder. and TO the policy
of awarding contracts as to encourage small
plants 10 enlarge their facilities also in part
70 the unsatiefied demand throughout the coun-
try for skilled technical assistants.
Seventh-Delays due TO inadequate supply
Of skilled workmen; resulting from the with
drawal from the merchant service for the auXi-
iary navy and for army transports in 1898 of
large part Of the registered American tonnage,
rh= replacing OF which created shlpbullding
boom only now falling off owing to the prob
able failure OF the Subsidy bill
Paragraph 70 of the report to which Secre-
tary Moody in his letter above invites the Presi
dents attention. directly follows this enumera-
ton Of causes, and is reproduced here complete;
In the abo,.4 tbs, bureau has considered the
causes Of delay and has also mentioned in part
the steps which ii has taken, IN so Tar as WORE @
Under its cognizanc~ is concerned 10 el.hliiI.ii @
such DELAYS Notwithstanding all ihe dirl-
culties which have been mentioned ahd the
state Of the art in this country the bureau ~ 10 -
OF the opinion that the perlod actualiS "o'Nt
from the time orders are given 10 build Nt-Ssel
until The line that ship Is ready Tor comhls-
sion ia actual service compares not unfaVorably
with the best results obtained in foreign couh-
tries. namely, England and Germany Ihe
greater apparent speed Of ship construction IN
England is due TO the FACT that time is usually
reckoned from the time the keel Is l9ld uhtll
delivery Of a contract built ship Such vessels
are delivered in 2 very incomplete condlnol,
and are afterward subjected to tfeir trials ana
supplied with their guns and mountings and d
large amount II their equipage at the govern
ment dock yards. The actual time from the date
Of contract 80 the date of first commissioning