The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-03-07

WASHINGTON March cit In true
the gallant c0ngfenainrn who boldly
tackled the stool octopus Ia Committee
OF tho whole and appropriated 100000
to star, foundry nj the Washington
navy yard. turned tail and He'd when
tho matter came up In the House. The
octupuh. having been struck vita The
atecl tipped shaft. let out Il roar thnt
sent the frightened congressman skuf-
ryins to cover. and they promptly
made overturcs Of peace by reversing
their action OF tho proccdt x day. The
wounded beast is still ianhing his sides
however. and tho trembling Congress"
men ARE wondering " ho viii carry
them of to his lair and davour them nj
his leisure, one thing. they have had
their lesson, and II viii be some tine
before they again muster UP courage
10 tnekio the steel combination. The
manufacture Of arms. ordnance and
ammunition for the government IN u
complex proposition. having many iit-
fsrent phases, In some cases II iHI
highly desirable for the government
TO have It's arnenals supplemented BY
factories privately owned and oper-
tod. nut tho neccanity IL confined al"
mos, exclusively to such articles ~
would be- used In large quantities and
which would have TO be supplied
quickly, or these powder and nm.
munitlon easily come first. including
shells for the navy. fcA and coast mr.
tillery projcc,llcs. and cartridges for
ANAL arms. |, iH also necessary tnat
there should bc private plants to turn
on, rifles and rrvolvorr, swords and
bayoncta etc. for an immense auan-
tity might be needed nj any time and
It would be impraclicabl" for many
reasons for the government 10 keep
AN adequate supply on hand. But
there Is no reason from nm emergency
Should war break out today II would
cannon. or It's rapid Are guns. rom the
raw pig iron TO the finished product
Should var break out today II would
be over before any private manufnc-
turer could turn out a twelve inch
gun,
Al big guns are turned out In known
quantities. are kept on hand until OBJ
seIctc or detcriornted by practice fr-
ing, They are then retired or replaced
by new ones. All big guns are made
from ingots steel purchased from
the Bethlehem or Mllvalc Steel Com
pnny, and bored, hoopcd and finished
at the Washington navy yard or the
Waterviiet arsenal, Most Of the small
er guns the three inch. one-poundcrs.
etc. are bought from private manufac-
turcrs, OF which there about half "A /
dozen. They are nearly always behind
their contracts
No combination exists between thcI
pethlcncm and Mdvale companies,
Oflcinls of both companies are posi-
tive on that point. The fact that their
bid on forgings are always the same
In therefore regarded merely as one Of
those strange condolences Of compe-
tItIon In these modern times. Another
strange coincidence Is that the bid on
armor plates are always Identical. The
outcome Of this issue is plain By
establishing foundry at the Wash
ington navy yard. or elsewhere, CON
tross would take the ilrst step toward ,
government manufacture Of Its big
guns from beginning to end. This
would be followed by the manufacture
OF the smaller guns and gun carriages
and finally OF projectiles. Even an
armor plate mill would be possibill-
ty. 1t Is significant Of the tendencies
of HE great steel magnatcs that while
the price of gin-forgings has steadily
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