Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1913-08-31
government May
BUILD ARMOR PLANT
Manufacturers Must Re-
duce Price of Armor
Plate Considerably.
BILL IS INTRODUCED
Authorizing Appropriation Of $780,.
600 by Congress for Erection Of
Plant by Senator AsIurst.
BILL IS INTRODUCED
BY SIDNEY ESPEY

washington, Aug. 3O.-UnleSS the
armour plate manufacturers in this
country take notice of 'the handwrit-
ing on the wall" and considerably re-
duce the prices which they are charg
ing Uncle Sam for armour plate for
his navy, there will be a government
owned and operated armour plate
factory which will take a large part
Of their present business away from
them. 1t is quite possible that no
matter what the manufacturers do in
the way OF reducing prices, the gov
eminent will erect such plant.
Threats to do SO have been made be-
force, and during Roosevelt's second
administration Congress even appro-
priated money for the erection of
such a plant, but the administration,
for some unaccountable reason,
seemed loath to construct the plant,
and no steps were taken toward be-
ginning actual operations.
But Secretary of the Navy Daniels
has made definite recommendation to
Congress that thorough investiga-
ton be made by it into the advisable
ity OF the erection of such plant,
and it is beyond doubt that such an
| investigation will be made as soon as
Congress gets the tariff and. currency
off it's hands. Already Senator Ash
urst, of Arizona, has introduced a bill
authorizing the appropriation OF
81 500 900 for beginning the erection
of the plant
In the past the government has en-
couraged as far as possible the de-
velopment of private armor plate rae
tories There are only three now
operating which produce the neavy
These are the Bethlehem, Midvale and
Carnegie plants. To these three COM
panies the government has paid for
armor plate, since it's introduction in
the construction of war vessels,
ST. JOB, 1890. The armor plate man
ufacturers have jumped their prices
enormously, without any regard to
the actual cost of production of armor
plate, according to the belief of Secre-
tary Daniels They have taken the
highest prices they could get and ask
ed for still higher. The cost Of ar
NOR plate in 1906 was $34S tom in
1907 the price was jumped to $420,
Last year the price was still further
advanced to $454 ton, the excuse
given being that eight-hour labor law
Oh government work made it neces-
sary
Secretary Daniels has obtained fig
ures from the Bureau of Ordnance of
the Navy Department as to the cost
of plate capable of turning out 49,
900 tons Of armor plate a year, about
one half of the amount required if the
two battleship program is continued.
'Th ecost of plant of this capacity
will be $S,4SS,0O0. The armor plate
made at this government plant will
cost 1884 Il ton. and the government
will save $140 ton on the armor it
uses for its navy. In other words, the
government will save $1.400,000 a
year. At this rate the plant would
soon pay for itself, and then continue
TO save the government enormous
sums each year. If manufacturers
still refused to lower their prices, the
government could at any time extend
it's plant so that it would have a cap
acity OF 10000 tons year, and refuse
to purchase from the private con-
Germs.
In his report to Congress, Secretary
Daniels declares that he considers it
Il possibility to erect and operate a
government armor plate factory, that
it is a good policy to do so, and that
it will be economical.
The government in the past has
given the three armor plate concerns
an equal share of the contracts for
pldtC. IuC ~ lGC UCSh AiNCu de lhS
lowest bid offered by any one of the
three companies. But with the under
standing that each was to get a
share of the contracts, it was easy
for the companies to arrange that
their bids should not be low in any
sense of the word. Their action has
brought about the present determine
ton ON the part OF members of Con-
gress aud the Secretary of the Navy
TO erect gosernment. plant, 80.
The. United States is mot the sonly
country which has suffered from the
grasping manufacturers of armor
plate. Armor plate is peculiarly sus-
ceptible to monopoly, because 70 the
very expensive machinery required II