Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-06-26
Tavenners Great Fight For Government
Manufacture of War Munitions

} +, partment within the last year, which
\ estimates that the government car
manufacture armor in a plant of 10000
!. tons capacity at a cost of 1919 pei
5 ton.
1 THE average of nine estimates made
: by various investigating committees
of the senate and navy department
} and of individual officers and experts
, of the navy is that armor can be man
ufactured in a government plant at a
cost of s24717 per ton.
yet we are now paying the armor
ring $454 per ton. In all, we have
purchased 192,995 tons of armor from
the armor ring at an average price of
S441.42. / believe that it is a very
conservative statement to say that of
the SIS, 1913, 24S that we have paid the
armor ring for this armor, at least
$50, 900, 900 could have been saved to
the taxpayers had this armor been
manufactured by the government it
self.
II submit, therefore, IL is time for
congress to stop lodging and to give
the house an opportunity to vote on
the proposition Of an armor plant upon
it's merits.
"If we can vote the conference re-
port down, 1 intend to offer this
amendment:
Offers Amendment.
Provided, That II the secretary of
the navy is unable to procure by con-
| tract armor of the best quality for any
or all vessels heretofore or herein pro-
vided for at price which, in his judg-
ment, is reasonable and equitable, he
is hereby authorized and directed to
procure site for, and to erect thereon
factory for the manufacture of arm
or and gun forging; Ind the sum of
S4,O0O,000 is hereby appropriated to-
ward the erection of said factory and
the purchase of a site therefore,
This amendment is practically a
duplicate of a provision contained in |
the naval appropriation bill OF 1900; |
and the mere fact that that bill car
ried this provision resulted in the gov
eminent saving millions of dollars in
the cost of armor plate. The secre-
tary of the navy was able to say to /
the three firms having a monopoly of
the manufacture of armor in this coun-
try that If they were not willing to sell
armor to the government at a fair and
reasonable price he was authorized by
law to go ahead and manufacture his
own armor. Let us ZEE whether the in
sertion of the amendment I have Just
offered proved of value in the naval
bill of 1900.
Back in 1893 the government was
paying an average of 1858 ton for
armor. Some time later Senator Till
man, of South Carolina, started in to
fight the high price and to oppose the
arr1or ring, and he forced the armor
trust gradually to reduce its price
until, in 1900, he got the price down
to Sab ton.
Then the naval appropriate ton bill
Of 1900 was amended to carry the
provision 1 have just alluded to, which
provided that if the secretary of the {
navy was unable to obtain a square i
deal from the armor trust, he was {
and directed to build
armor plant &
What was the result? The three {
concerns manufacturing armor, rather t
than have Uncle Sam build a plant,
gradually reduced their prices from 4
s413 in 1900. to s345 in 1906, which r
meant a saving of millions of dollars :
20 the government. Such was the re- I
suit of the insertion in the naval bill Z
If 1900 of the provision that 1 pre-
'ented. Without spending a dollar for
plant or doing anything further q
han simply providing that the sec
etary OF the navy was authorized to {"
'uild plant if he could not obtain ii
air treatment from the trust, the N
government saved millions Al
But when congress failed to con- Il
fnue Ia. provision Ia the naval bill W
gradually lost its moral effect upon pl
he armor ring, and the price of ar R
nor plate to the government was D;
teadily advanced from S345 a ton in I'll
906 to $454 ton at the present time. al
Saving Million a Year. G.
'If this congress will replace this is
mendment in the naval bill, predict 81
will save every penny of $1,000 900 :
year, even If the government never o.,
lrther considers the advisability of a II
overnment plant.
If the government builds an armor u
ant and a paddock is placed on its
oors as soon as it is completed. and
is never used, it will, in the opinion
Secretary of the Navy Josephus
aniels, pay for itself simply by en-
bling the secretary to obtain a square
eal from the armor manufacturers. %
This bill carries an appropriation
s14,S77,500 for armor and armament
one. If the government had its own
NOR and gun-forging plant I believe
am well within the bounds of con- J.
rvatism when l say that 80 per cent =. -.
this sum, or, in round numbers, m,
100000 could be saved to the tax M
yers. Is 100000 year on armor tn
d armament alone worth the saving? fir,
for one. believe it is. pa
Mr.. Speaker, / believe that the sec ge
tary of the navy, Josephus Daniels. TN
10 is the first secretary of the navy. Il(
my opinion, who has ever shown AZ
mplete independence of the armor :.