Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1911-12-06
WANTS TOBUY WARSH|PS
Navy Gets Offer OF Eight Millions
For Five Battleships-VesseIs
Soon To Be Sent To
Scrap Heap.
INDIVIDUAL WANTS SHIPS.
Permission Of Congress Necessary To
Sale OF Indiana, Iowa. Massachu-
setts, And Cruisers Columbia
And Minneapolis.

Anu HliHnedpOuS.
The following special despatch to
the New York World from Washing
ton is of local interest:
The Navy Department has received
an offer of SS,000,000 cash for the
battleships Indiana, Iowa and Massa-
chusetts, and the protected cruisers
Columbia and Minneapolis. The bat
tleships participated in the battle of
Santiago, aiding in the destruction
of Admiral Cervera's Spanish feet.
All of these vessels are in first
class fighting condition. The Indi-
ana, Iowa and Massachusetts were in
New York as a part of the great
fleet at the beginning of this month.
They occupy what is known in naval
circles as the "second line" of de-
fense. But owing to the new type
of vessels now in the first line Of
the fleets of the navy-the Dread
naught type-these vessels will in
from two to six years become obso-
lete even for the second line and
will. under ordinary circumstances,
be relegated to the "scrap heap" and
sold at public auction. From past ex-
perience the price thus obtained
would be one-twentieth or less of what
they cost the United States Govern
ment to build and keep the in repair.
The offer is nearly one-fourth of the
cost of construction and repairs to
date.
Under a United States statute no
vessels of the navy can be sold at pri-
vate sale. All vessels must be offered
to the public through the sealed pro-
posal system. This status of affairs
has caused the Navy Department to
tell several members of Congress of
the offer of SS,000,000 made by an
individual. They have been asked
what chances there are of joint res
olution providing for the acceptance
of the offer of $4,000, 900 getting
through Congress, and thus making
such private sale legal.
The first idea among the few that
know of the plan was that the offer
was made to the Navy Department
by the agent of a syndicate which ex-
pected to sell the vessels to Turkey
or to China either the new Chinese
republic or the dynasty that is dying
hard. But it was learned that the
offer came from an individual and not
a syndicate. Who this Individual is
has not yet been made public, but
when NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. joint resolu.
tion is offered to Congress it is ex-
pected that the name of the prospec-
tive purchaser will be given by the
Representative or Senator introducing
the resolution.
Several months ago the Turkish
Ambassador made some inquiries con-
cerning old vessels of the United
States Navy. 1t was thought then
that he did so with an idea of getting
information concerning the construc-
tion of armored battleships of the
type of the Indiana. 1t was believed
then that the Young Turks were
planning to improve their navy.
But the present project is purely
commercial and has in it nothing of
the diplomatic. The idea of the
Navy Department is to sell the
warships as warships and not as old
iron; to sell them in a market
WHERE luey Will pIiuS the price Ol
fighting ships and not of junk.
Under existing treaties the United
States cannot sell warship to any
nation engaged in war. But it would
be simple matter to sell the ships
to third party. 1t will be remem-
bered that during the war with Spain
the United States bought the protect
ed cruiser Albany from Brazil through
third party. Several other vessels
of the United States were purchased
the same way.
The old Hornet was sold by this
nation to an individual. The latter
then sold it to ex-President BonilIa,
of Honduras. The storm of protest
which was raised afterward by the
friends of President Davilla forced the
United States to seize the ship on
the ground of neutrality violations.
The battleships Indiana and Massa-
chusetts are about the same age. The
former was commissioned in 1895 and
the latter in 1896. The Iowa was
commissioned in 1897. The Columbia
was commissioned in 1893 and the
Minneapolis in 1894. The Indiana
will be discard in four years, the
Massachusetts in FIVE and the Iowa in
six years. The Columbia will 90 to
the scrap heap" in two years and the
Minneapolis in three under ordin airy