The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1915-08-19
GOVERNMENT ARMoR PLANT
(By Cong. C. H. Tavenner)

by Cong. C. H. Tavenner)
When Mr.. Daniels, for many
years editor and publisher of the
Raleigh IN. c. News and Obser..
ser, was sworn i'll as Secretary of
the Navy and had time to look
about him, he found that the peo-
pies money was being wasted by
the payment of excessive prices
for armor and practically all ar
ticles required for the Navy.
Throughout his two years in the
Cabinet he has been earnestly en-
deavoring to rescue the Public
Treasury from the patriots for
war, who year in and year out
have been helping themselves,
seemingly at will, from the pub
lie crib. Secretary Daniels has
saved teh Government some 3d.
100000, which is but a drop in
the bucket to the amount he
could obtain Government manu.
facture of everything.
In his first annual report for
the year 1913 Secretary Daniels
asked for an appropriation for an
armor-plate factory. l quote from
that report:
Il desire to recommend the
passage at the earliest moment of
a sufficient appropriation to be-
gin the construction of Gov
eminent armor plant to relieve a
situation which, in my estima-
ton, is intolerable and at total
variance with the principle of
economy n spending Government
money. Only three firms in this
country can manufacture armOr
plate, and these firms have put in
bids for armor plate seldom vary
ing over a few dollars, and in
many instances being identical to
a cent. Asked for reasons as to
the uniformity Of these bids, two
of the firms replied frankly that
as the contract would be divided
amongst them anyway, the only
effect of competitive bids would
be to reduce the profits made by
all of the three firms.
by manufacturing armor plate
in it's own plant the Government
will be able to keep for it's own
use any improvements in the
manufacture or composition of
its armor that may be developed.
The last word has not been said
in armor, and past history shows
that great improvements in the
manufacture of armor plate have
been made. The greater part of
these improvements were sug-
gested by actual experience gain
ed by naval officers. Under our
present system of obtaining our
armor plate from private COM
panies such improvements be-
come the property of all the world
and can be obtained by anybody
who care sto buy them. Even
now the Improvements in armor
and the designs worked out by the
Navy have been embodied in the
warship of another nation re-
Gently finished by the Bethlehem
Steel Co., and put into commits
sion. This is not an argument
lightly to be disregarded in favor
of Government armor plant, nor
has it been overlooked, for in
stance, by Japan, which has erect
ed its own concentrating plant
and surrounded it with such Sc
crecy that none of the other ma
tions are able to tell whether or
not at this minute the Japanese
armor may not be superior to any
other in existence. In addition TO
Japan, the French Government,
after experimenting with a fac
tory capable of producing only
the lighter weights Of armor, is
charging its Government plant,
so as to permit Of the production
Of thick plates, and Russia has
had its own armor-plate factory
for some time.
II do not see how it is possible
for Congress to justify to the
people refusal to erect Gov
eminent plant, nor how it can an
swer the charge that will invar-
iably be brought ,up-that the
same mysterious Providence
which saved this profitable bust
ness to the steel companies act
ually been appropriated, is not
still at work exercising it's bene-
flcent protection over these lusty
specimens of infant industries,
who are even now under Govern
ment investigation as violators OF
the antitrust law