The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-21
BEST OF SHELLS
 NEEDED OF NAVY
 IS TOLD MAKERS
Companies That Got Con tracts Must at Least Equal
 Foreign Product.

Department wants American manu- lecturers to produce piercing projectiles for the big guns of the navy equal or superior to any pro- duced in the world.
 This fact was strongly impressed upon the projectile manufacturers to whom were awarded contracts aggre- gating 14,20O shells of 14-inch calibre at a cost of $500 each. The total cost of projectiles under the contracts let to the Midvale Steel Co.,, the Crucible Steel Go. and the Washington Steel & Ordance Go. will be $7,10O,000.
 While this figure represents a sav- ing of $477,500 to the government under the bids opened few weeks ago, it is $1.9S4,0O0 more than the same number of 14-inch shells would have cost if awarded at the price of fered by Hadfields. Ltd, of Sheffield, England.
 Early Delivery Pledged.
 The Bethlehem Steel company did not put in bid on the 14-inch shells. The bid of the Crucible Steel com pany was $543 and that of the Mid vale company was $550. The Wash ington company, whose plant is locat- ed almost within sight of the Navy Department, offered. to manufacture 1000 shells at $500 each.
 At the final conference with MT. Daniels the manufacturers were in formed that the department would not go one dollar above $500 a shell. This was and is regarded as entirely too high, and it was agreed upon only, in consideration of the fact that all three concerns pledged themselves to deliver the projectiles in a little more than one year.
 In submitting their bids originally, the three companies asked from 20 to AZ months for delivery of 14-inch shells. The element of time, there fore, became a very material consid- eration.
 Schwabs Plan Behind.
 The Bethlehem plant, Iof whic.' Charles M. Schwab is chairman of the board of directors, also has year. old contracts for 4,20O shells of IA inch calibre on which it has made no deliveries. This fact is not in dis pute, the Bethlehem company having published it broadcast to the country and the world. Consequently, MT. Schwab's concern now has running against it penalties for non-delivery aggregating more than $1,000,0Q0.
 When last in Washington for con sultation with officials of the Navy Department, MT. Schwar made the appeal, which also has appeared in the paid advertisements of the Beth lehem company, that the standard set by the department is too high unnecessarily high He was told by the Navy Department that the stand- ard could not possibly be too high, that the United States was entitled to the best in the way of armor piercing projectiIes that the world can pro- duce.
 MT. Schwab declared his company was ready to do anything that the government wished. He was told to get busy and make the modern high class projectiles, called for in the Navy Departments specifications. In view of the critical international sit uation,I he and other manufacturers were urged to put practical patriot ism above everything else and make the best projectiles ever tuned out.
 Here is the result of a recent test of 14-inch armor piercing projectiles. Out of thirty-four test shells sub mitted by the Bethlehem Steel Com pany only three passed. The Cruel ble Steel Company managed to get BIT per cent of it's shells passed, while the Midvale Company passed 73 per cent. of it's projectiles. Only a few Hadfield shells were submitted for this test, three sample shells and six additional test shells, but not single one failed to meet the require ments, thus scoring eo0 per cent.
 The Complaint; the Facts
 The relatively high score of the Midva1e company is all the answer the Navy department officials feel called upon to make to this state ment, which appeared in an adver- tisement of the Bethlehem company i'll the morning newspapers of Jan. 15:-
 rThe result, however. has been ab- solutely inability on our part, or Of any other manufacturers, to pro- duce in any quantity shells which will meet these novel tests. In fact, we know of no process in projectile making through which it is possible to produce in quantities shells which will conform to the Navy Depart ment's requirements"
 This statement was preceded by a statement that the Bethlehem conn pany has contracts for shells aggre- gating $1,500,000 which it has been unable to fill. If the Midvale Com pany can make projectiles that pass up to 75 per cent, officials see little excuse for the Bethlehem company or any other wide awake concern ad- vancing the plea that it is unable to manufacture such shells and that it knows of no process under which they can be made.
 The ''novel tests" referred to are simply those to which armor projec- tiles are submitted in Great Britain, Germany and elsewhere. A statement issued by Secretary Daniels a few days after the Bethlehem companys advertisement appeared, points out the importance of having superior armor-p piercing shells.
 It says in part:
 There Is. however, an even more serious consideration in this particu-