Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
Secretary Daniels Tells Con-
qress He Is Unable to
Let Contracts.
BUILDERS CANNOT MEET
PRICE AND SPEED DEMANDS
Only Concern Within Limit Refuses
to Guarantee Twenty Knots
an Hour.

Secretary Daniels has notified Rep
resentative Padgett, chairman of the
House committee on naval affairs. tina t
he cannot place a contract for the two
seagoing submarines having a surface
speed of not less than twenty knots
and costing exclusive of armor and
armamenD not more than s1,500.000
: each. authorized by the act of March
3. 1915. without" he says. violating
the obvious intent and purpose of the
provisions of the law with reference
to speed
He explained that the law contem-
plated "a submarine of unprecedented
characteristics regards speed" but
that the department undertook to carry
out the requirements to the letter.
Bids for the vessel were received
from the Lake Torpedo Company and
from the Electric Boat Company, but
the bid of the first named company
being In excess of the limit Of cost
could not be considered. The Electric
Boat Company bid for two vessels at
s1,491.000 upon design 63-B, Aor $780,
900 upon their design sac, the bid OF
s1,494,000 being regarded as preferable
in view of the superior battery. The
bid offered to guarantee a speed OF
twenty knots-the minimum mentioned
in the appropriation act-but required
acceptance of the vessels with a PEN
atty at the rate of $4,000 per knott
4. provided a speed of nineteen knots was
reached upon the usual four hour full
speed trial The times of construction
named were thirty-one and thirty-three
months. The vessels bid for were sub
stantally duplicates of the Schley. al
ready under contract with the bidder
Provides for Lower Speed.
AS result of correspondence with
the Electric Boat Company and a gen.
eral study of the subject Secretary
Daniels. says in his letter to Chairman
Padgett:
1T will be seen, then. that the only
bidder for the construction of these
submarines is prepared to reduce the
time for construction from thirty-one
and thirty-three months to twenty-four
and twenty-six months. but refuses to
guarantee a speed of twenty knots
with a proviso for rejection in case of
failure to attain that speed. his bid
providing for acceptance at speed as
low as nineteen knots
1t has been the practice of the de-
partment for many years to require
the contract speed" in every vessel to
be demonstrated by run of -four
hours at full speed, the speed thus OBJ
tanned being the official maximum
speed. Moreover, whenever the au-
thorizing act as regards naval YES
sci has required that the speed shall be
mot less than" certain amount, the
contract has provided that if the ves-
sci does not show this speed of the act
on trial 1t shall be rejected.
. Insistent on Required Speed.
I'm the act of March 3, 1915, author
izing the submarines in question, there
was authorization for six torpedo boat
destroyers, to have a speed of not less
than thirty knots per hour" The con-
tracts which have been made for these
vessels provide If the vessel fails to
develop and maintain a speed of at
least thirty knots an hour on the four
hour high speed trial, she shall be re-
jected.'
The department, in view of all the
circumstances. feels that it can not
place a contract for these vessels at
the only bid received within the limit
of cost as modified above without vio-
lating the obvious intent and purpose
Of the provisions of the law with ref
erence to speed. The only alternative
is to construct the vessels in navy
yards, upon the steam driven designs.
The department. however, as at pres
ent advised, does not favor steam
driven submarines. and feels that 1t
was not realized at the time of the pas
sage of the act that the provision for
speed would necessitate construction
containing this undesirable feature
This being the case. it Is considered
necessary to explain the whole situa-
-=tion as above to the Congress, in order
that it may indicate its wishes in the