Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-03
FOR NAVAL INCREASE
Bids for Building Torpedo-Boat
Destroyers Opened.
SENT TO EXPERT BOARD
Cannot Designate Yet the Lowest
Proposal.
MANY QUALIFYING CONDITIONS
Limit Of Cost Fixed at $500, 900 Each.
Speed of Twenty-Eight Knots
Stipulated.
SENT TO EXPERT BOARD
MANY QUALIFYING CONDITIONS


torpedo-boat destroyers under the terms of
the naval appropriation acts of 1906 and
1907. Provision was made in the first act
for three of these boats. but because of the
insufficient appropriation their construction
was delayed until Congress, at the follow
Ing session, had opportunity to correct
the deficiency and also to add two more
to the number of boats to be constructed
The limit Of cost in this last act was fixed
at SSOO00 for each boat, and no bidder
was authorized to receive contracts for
more than two of them.
On the face of the bids received today 1t
appeared that If the Navy Department in
tended to adhere strictly to the terms of
the advertisement and require the con-
tractors who wished to provide their own
designs of machinery to use the depart
ment's hull plans, then the lowest bids
We're those of William Cramp & Sons Ship
building Company of PHILADELPHIA for two
boats at s57o,COO each; the Bath Iron Works
OF Maine, two boats at $5S43OO each, and
the Fore River Shipbuilding Company,
quincy, Mass, one boat at s64s,GO0
Many Qualifying Conditions.
There were so many qualifying conditions
In the bids, however, that not until the
BOARD OF experts charged with the examina-
ton of the details of the bids has reported
will the Navy Department really be in a
position to know which of the proposals
would be actually the lowest. Under the
terms of the advertisement the bidders were
required to submit proposals, first for a
boat, the hull and machinery and all parts
OF winch were planned by the department:
second, they might provide their own
machinery, but must use the hull designed
Dy the naval constructors. AS a matter of
fact all of the bidders did not strictly ad-
here to this last requirement, and it will
require the opinion Of experts to determine
whether the variations they propose are &C
ceptable to the department.
F On the face the bids were as follows:
Bath Iron Works, Bath Me.-One boat,
departments plans, $685., 900; two of same,
$3.50, 100 each. Company's plans of hull and
s6o4,7OO or two of same s5S4,3OO each.
These boats were to be of only $40 tons
displacement
Newport. News shipbuildng Company,
ViTginia,one boat, departments plans for
hull and machinery, $4,000. Company's
machinery parsons turbines) and denart-
ment's hull, $685. 600.
New York Shipbuilding Company, Cam
den, n. J.-One boat, departments hull and
machinery, $74O,OOO, or two of same S71O.-
OV0 each. The same company also sub
mitted three different plans for the boat.
but each using Parsons turbines the price
nelng S6io,OOo for one boat or $4,000 for
two of the same.
The Fore River Shfpbuilding Company.
Quincy, Mass.-One boat, departments hull
but with Curtis turbines, $64s,OOO.
william Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Com
pany Philadelphia-One boat, department 8
hull and bidders machinery parsons tur-
bines), soS5,OO0 or two at $4,000 each
Another type, one boat, $4,000, or two at
10000 each. Still another type, one boat,
$4,000, or two at $685., 600 EACH
Lewis Nixon's Offer.
Lewis Nixon, New York, submitted a bid
in peculiar form. He recited the fact that
he had not been able to secure the blanks
issued by the department to bidders in ex-
PLANTATION of that fact He proposed to
construct thirtyknot boat Ctwo knots in
excess Of the speed required in the adver-
tsemenD for the sum of s65OOOO. This
boat was to be propelled by gas engines.
the superiority of which over steam engines
or turbines was set out in the bid, together
with the statement that a crew Of only nine
men would be required in the engine room
to care for all the machinery, which they
could do without any strain whatever.
The bids have been referred to the board
on construction and it probably will be sew
eral days before a decision can be an
nounced.
The new boats do not embody in their
designs any startling departures in naval
construction. Indeed, in one sense the de-
signs appear to be reactionary, for the
maximum speed required is placed at
twenty-eight knots per hour whereas
some of the boats constructed several years
ago We're obliged to show trial speed of
over thirty knots. But in fact, these TWEEN
ty-eight-knot boats are expected to be much
more serviceable craft than the early types.
They represent several years experience
in the hardest kind of torpedo boat drills
and cruises. for our own little fiotillas have
made worlds records in long-distance voy-
ages and their commanders invariably re-
ported in favor of structural strength, sta
bility and coal endurance as against high
speed. So the effort of the naval designers
in this case has been to plan a type of boat
that will have great sea-going power a
limited displacement of 100 tons, and to
that end they were quite willing to sacri-
flee the extra two knots, which experience
had shown could rarely be realized in serv-
ice condition, anywhere else than on a
trial course.