Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-23

DELAY ON WARSH|PS
The Government Has Often
Been Responsible.
JEALOUS CONTRACTORS
EFFECT OF 4 100 SHORT TIME
LIMIT.
Letter of Secretary Moody and the Re-
port Of Chief Constructor
.--ss Bowles. ss4. 49,

OF vessels OF the navy now under construc-
ton has been the subject Of an interest
ing correspondence between the President
and the Secretary of the Navy. Much COM
ment has been caused by the fact that SO
many vessels have run over contract time,
and by many months. Under date Of Feb
ruary IA the President called tho matter
to the attention Of the Secretary Of the
Navy. The Secretary's reply, with an &C
companying statement by Admiral Bowles,
chief constructor, covers the subject ex-
haustively. and shows that while through
q number of causes the building Of war
vessels has been delayed and the dates of
their completion have been and will be con-
siderably beyond the dates originally set,
naval construction In the United States is
ton Of England and Germany in the mat
ter of time. In his reply to the President,
Secretary Moody says in part:
"On the 9Th Of February / directed the
bureau OF construction and repair to report
to me upon the same subject, and believe
that the report made In accordance with
that direction on February ID covers to a
very considerable extent the information
which you desire. respectfully invite your
attention especially to paragraph II Of the
report, in which 1t is shown that the COM
parisons ordinarily made as to the speed OF
the completion Of our own ships and those
misleading, on account Of the fact that in
England the ships are reckoned as complet-
ed at the time Of their delivery under the
contract. while in point of fact much re-
mains to be done after that time to prepare
the vessels for sea.
I'm further compliance with your direction,
/ inclose copy of a table showing the de-
lays in each case beyond the contract time
Of the ships under construction.
Penalties for Delay.
with reference to your inquiry as to
whether or not there Is any way In which
contractors can be penalized for the delay
occurring on government vessels, I beg to
say that the contracts for all naval vessels
contain clauses specifying the time in which
the vessel shall be completed, and stipulat-
Ing that In case this time Is exceeded GER
tain deductions shah be made from the
contract price. For instance, in the case Of
the battle ship Missouri, for which the con-
tract period Is thirty-two months, the de-
1uction or penalty specified Is $500 day
during the six months next succeeding the
expiration Of the contract period, and for
each and every day exceeding six months
5000 day. In the case of the battle ship
Louisiana, the contract period Is forty-tWo
months, and the penalty Is the same as
noted above. The penalties for smaller YES
sells are generally proportional to the con-
tract price. pa
1.-THE contractSnc0ntafn In all cases pro-
visos that such peIaItfes shall not be en-
forced when they are caused by the act of
the government, Or bylfire, or water, or any
strike, or by circumstances beyond the con-
troll Of the contractor. For several years
past every application Of contra ctors for ex-
tension of time on contracts has been ac-
companied by statements, substantiated by
government officers, showing that the de-
lays incurred have been due to these ex-
cepted causes; and, In consequence, the de-
partment has, by granting the extensions,
RENTED the penalties or deductions.
II beg leave to say, further, that some
two months ago directed that no further
extensions Of time should be permitted ex-
cept upon my own personal responsibility,
to be exercised after careful examination
of the application for extension Of time,
with all the reasons alleged for such ex-
tension"
Causes Of Delays.
The report Of the bureau of construction,
signed by Rear Admiral Bowles. chief con-
structor says that the delays in the con-
struction Of United States vessels may, in
general, be attributed to one or more of the
following causes: Inadequate plans, changes
In the disposition of armor or armament, or
In the details Of the designs after the award
Of the contract; delays in delivery Of armor
and ordnance, delays due to government in
spection, delays due to slowness Of delivery
Of steel and other structural materials by
subcontractors, delays due to Inadequate
facilities or insufficient ability in the con-
tractors technical staff, delays due to an
Inadequate supply of skilled workmen.
A fob