Show I I I 1 I lilLEY LOADED I II WITH FIGURES Electric Boat Company Gets Fancy Price for Its Craft I COST AND PURCHASE PRICE FACTS BROUGHT OUT AT THE THES S FORMER FORM R HEARING Washington March 20 In support of his hi assertion that more than 1000 of or unnecessary profit had been paid by the United States government to I the Electric Boat company In the pur purchase purchase purchase chase of ot submarine torpedo boats and i that similar high profits were contemplated contemplated contemplated plated In pending contracts proposed to be to that company Rep ReI Representative Lilley of Connecticut has prepared for submission to the special submarine Investigation committee of the house certain statements compari comparisons sons soils and conclusions The statements include extracts from the hearings before the house naval affairs committee in 1901 and 1902 when Rear Admirals Melville ONell ONeil and I Bowles were examined as s to io the cost of construction of submarine torpedo boats In Admiral ONeil ONell said that from his own observation he thought each would be a very price for tor the Holland boats the contracts for which Mr Lilley com corn complains plains call for a purchase price of per pr p r boat Cost Comparatively Low I Admiral Melville testified testified d that the I probable cost of the manufacture of a Holland boat was between and This statement was made In 1901 when the Holland was feet long and it was proposed to in increase Increase increase crease this length to eighty feet These new boats aid ald Admiral Melville would also have a greater storage bat battery batI battery tery and would naturally cost more money mone probably as much as Admiral Bowles explained that the department had estimated per boat as a proper appropriation on ac account account account count of ot the probable cost of conduct conducting conductIng ing lag experiments to satisfy the depart department department department ment of ef the efficiency of ot the boats be before before before fore acceptance In a note accompanying these quota quotations quotations quotations Mr Lilley says At the time Rear Admiral Bowles made the foregoing statements he was chief of the bureau of ot construction and repairs of ot the navy nad departments f l and aJI necessarily had much muth to With the t construction of craft of ot this charac character I tOE ter Hug Profits Shown x I Continuing Mr Ir Lilley says There Therefore Therefore Therefore fore basing calculation calculations upon the fig figures fi figures ures of Admiral Bowles which he says would give a handsome profit to the builders of the Holland boats namely mel J for a boat or per I ton tonIt it will readily read I be seen by b comparative comparative statements that there has been I an extra handsome profit of since the United States contracted for fort forthe I the Uie t e first Holland boat the Plunger in March and It will be seen that I the excessive profits to be made on the eight boats which it is now proposed to buy from the Ele tr Boat company com pan I would be I I submit a comparative c statement of the bids submitted by the Electric Boat company and the Lake Torpedo Boat company compan for the construction of submarines on April 30 20 1907 from froin which It appears the submarines to be constructed by the Electric EleC Boat com corn company company pany are to cost on an average about per ton more than the prices of offered offered offered by the Lake Torpedo Boat com corn company compan pany pan und r guarantees required by the navy department and subjected to the performance prescribed prior to ac acceptance acceptance acceptance By B this statement it will also be seen that the lowest price of the Lake Torpedo Boat company c is per ton which approaches very closely to the price given by Admiral Bowles Boats No Good Anyway The foregoing facts and conditions Influenced me to introduce house red reso resolution re lution 10 o and ana it is believed that an statement of the facts there therein th re reIn in asked d for tor would go a great way to disabuse the illusions in the mind of t the Boat company and their agents and representatives technical and as to the practical merits of the boats they claim are so good i 4 Mr Ir Lilley Lill y concludes with the declaration atlon that these boat boate have been most I expensive implements of be f warfare with without without out return rendering any an practical value in in j |