The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-22
STEEL GO. READY ' TO CHOP PRICES ON ARMOR PLATE Fear of Government Plant Causes Company to Offer
 a Reduction. PROFFER A CUT
 OF $50 ON A TON President Grace Says Fed eral Factory Would Close
 Steel Plant.

Washington, March 22-When the House naval committee today receiv- ed the Ti11man bill for a government arnlor plate plant, which passed the Senate yesterday it also received a proposal from the Bethlehem Steel Go. to cut the price of armor from the present price of $425 a ton to $395.
 This offer previously was made to the Senate committee and ignored. In the face of threats after the Senate committees refusal to entertain the proposal that the armor makers would raise the price if the bill pass ed, the company's renewed offeE caus- ed much surprise.
 The proposal was submitted by President Grace, of the Bethlehem Co. who repeated his statement that If the government erected a plant private works worth more than $2O.OOOsOOO would be made useless. President G1ace's proposal continued:
 t'The Bethlehem Steel Co.,, altogeth- CT aside from it's financial interests, recognized it's obligation as citizen and, in order that it's position may be clearly understood, now desires for ma1ly to submit tie following proposi- ton to the federal government:
 we will manufacture one-third or such additional quantity as may be awarded to us, of the armor plate required for the contemplated i've year naval program, estimated at ap- proximateIy 12O,OOO tonss at g, price of $395 per ton as com pared with the price of $425 now obtaining.
 ''The proposed price is lower than has been paid by the government for m ore than ten years.
 If the foregoing price is not satis- factory we will agree to permit any
 <1I,<. TnlRr ants or the felera1 trade commission, to inventory our plant and make care full estimates of the cost of manufac-5 ture, with that data in hand we will meet the secretary of the navy and guarantee to manufacture armor at a price which will be entirely satisfac- torA to him as being quite as low as the lowest price at which the govern ment could possibly manufsNture ar nor 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 ac- tualIy inventoried today over $7,00o o0e in that plant. This figure does not take into account the large expendf- lures, certainly g, 0o0 A"o. for the plants and equipment which have been aban- doned on account of becoming obso- 1ete.
 We are today selling armor to. the United States government at a lower price than England, Germany, France, Austria and Japan are paying, even where thezgovernment itself (Japan) has embarked in the business. Not only is that, true, but the specifications of the United States are much mora rigid and the wages paid are very much higher than those prevailing in any foreign country.
 Steel prices are contipua1ly 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 29 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 to Europe to get almost any price we chose to ask for ordnance, he have during the period made no addition whatever to the selling price to the United States government for any of the ordnance products which we man ufacture."