Evening star., 1916-03-22
AGAIN OFFERS CUT
ON ARM0R PRICES
Bethlehem Steel Company
Lays Proposal Before House
Which Senate Ignored.
STATEMENT ON SUBJECT
TO NAVAL COMMITTEE
President Grace Says Private Works
Will Be Made Useless if U. S.
Builds-$395 Ton Quoted.

W hen the House naval COM
mittee today received the Tillman
bill for a government armor-plate
plant, which passed the Senate
yesterday, it also received pro-
posal from the Bethlehem Steel
Company to cut the price OF
armor from the present price of
9425 a ton to S3o5. This offer
previously was made to the Sen
ate committee and ignored.
In the face of threats, after the SEN
ate committees refusal to entertain the
proposal, that the armor makers would
raise the price if the bill passed, the
company's renewed offer caused much
surprise. The proposal was submitted
| by President Grace of the Bethlehem
company. who repeated his statement
that if the government erected a
plant private works worth more than
| s2o,o00.000 would be made useless
President Grace's proposal continued:
The Bethlehem Steel Company, al
together aside from its financial inter
7
| citizen, and in order that it's position
may be clearly understood. now desires
formally to submit the following
proposition to the federal government:
Proposal of Steel Company.
I'VE will manufacture one-third, or
such additional quantity as may be
awarded to us, of the armor plate re-
quired for the contemplated fve-year
naval program, estimated at approxi-
mately 10000 tons. at a price of 1895
! per ton for side armor, s compared
with the price of s425 now obtaining
The proposed price is lower than has
/ been paid by the government for more
| than ten years
! "If the foregoing price is not salts
factory will agree to permit any
well known firm of chartered account
| ants. or the federal trade com iSsion,
! TO inventory our plant and make care
| full estimates of the cost of manufac-
| ture with that data in hand We will
| meet the Secretary of the Navy and
! agree to manufacture armor at price
| which will be entirely satisfactory to
/ him as being quite as low as the lowest
| price at which the government could
| possibly manufacture armor on it's own
account. after taking into account all
| proper charges
| We make the foregoing proposition
| rather than have our plant put out of
existence. We have invested, as actual
| ly inventoried today. over 100000 in
that plant. This figure does not take
| into account the large expenditures
| certainly s2000000, for the plants and
equipment which have been abandoned
on account of becoming obsolete.
| Cheaper Than to Other Countries.
I I'VE are today selling armor to the
United States government at a lower
| price than England. Germany. France,
Austria and Japan are paying. even
where the government itself (Japan)
has embarked in the business Not
| only is that true, but the specifications
| of the United States are much more
rigid, and the wages paid are very
much higher than those prevailing in
any foreign country.
| Steel prices re continually going
up, and they are today much higher
| than has been the case for many years.
| In spite of that we offer to make
armor at a lower price than the United
States has paid for twenty nine years.
and we agree to. accept this price for
| the next five years. We also call at
| tention to the fact that. though. since
| the war began. we have been able in
| europe to get almost any price we
| chose to ask for ordnance, we have
| during the period made no addition
| whatever to the selling price to the
| United States government for anv of
| the ordnance products which we manu-
| IA