Show TO BUILD SHIPS AT COST PRICE Belble hom steel steal will make offer to uncle sam ON 16 INCH NAVY SHELLS no chance for profit in them under present tests grace says possible explanation of the prices made by an english firm which bids bid under all american manufacturers speaking recently before the terrapin club of 0 philadelphia eugene G grace president of the bethlehem steel company said bald in part in a peculiar sense bethlehem steel serves the american people for example though we have teen been able to obtain in europe almost any price we have adhered in our charees to the united states government to the basis of prices established bece the war began we agreed it if the government would abandon its plans for a federal plant to make armor amor for our navy ol at any price the government itself might consider fair i 1 our ordnance plants are at the disposal of the ae nation at a fair operating cost plus a small margin thus savins saving the government investment and depreciation one of the special needs of the new navy Is sixteen inch guns guns sixty feet long an and capable of hurtling a 2000 pound baliell with such power and accuracy as to hit a CO W loot square target fifteen miles mies away we have uDder undertaken taken voluntarily to construct at a cost of a plant fitted to build sixteen inch guns under no conceivable circumstances can orders which we may recel receive tle for this plant pay even a fair return on the investment considerable comment has been made upon the fact that a brutish recently bid less than Ameil can manufacturers for sixteen and tour four teen inh shells for the navy I 1 aro am unable to state the basis upon which the english bid was made it 11 should be remembered however that this bid was for a shell sa samples m of which are being sent over 11 for test a test not yet made two years ago wo we tools took an ordet for 2100 2400 armor piercing shells at at a contract acL price of bwy to he be delivered within a certain time or we hail bad to pay a large penalty the only specifications for mal making g these shells are that they shall be of a ceitlin size and must pierce armor plate at a certain velo rily vily on irn pact it is impossible to foretell the exact conditions of the tests we had bad made large qu antilles of chell in the past which hild been accePt accepted cd hut but in placing chiq patt lular older tile the department altered alle reil the on ansle le at which the tested i must plene armor plate the result however has been absolute inability on our part to produce in any quantity shells which will wili meet those novel tests in fact we know of if no process of mik ing in through which it is possible to pro duce in quantities shells which will conform to the the alio result is tb thit it up to now on that contract of 7 we have put into actual expense 1 S AL and have been for nou non jephery a total of with no receipts whatever such was the experience in the 11 lit of which ue tte wore were enfiled en lied nen recently to hid bid for sixteen inch shells wo we bill on these shells at approximately the same rate tier per pound as that of a fourteen lach inch shell liell contract of one year aso ago upon which the government awarded contracts we ve have not tile the slightest idea what profit there win will be in the making of these shells sli ells wo we do 10 not know hilow that there will be any there Is no certain ty tv that it would bo be possible for us to deliver a shell to meet the test for officers in I 1 he file navy t to assume a sume that any bit bid made under such conditions is ia exorbitant Is utterly unfair we bid on the new battle era lera sums gums which navy nary department experts after examination of our books boolin found found would yield a profit of less than ten per cent we agreed to assume risks for increased costs cost of materials mater laIg and la bor that made it possible that these contracts might yield no profit whatever the costs run beyond the amount appropriated p by congress on the basis of the cost estimates made a apar aso ago and because shipbuilders ship builders could not alter the inexorable cost facts and reduce bids to early estimates of the navy department the prices are called exorbitant it would be a real advant advantage aize to be relieved reli elved of tills naval construction the profit rom it cannot possibly amount to mu much chand and the responsibility Is edior moil a we have determined to make this offer to the american government if you will build two of the battle cruisers in government navy yards we will build the other two at the a as t cost of building the ships ship i to the government yards without adal tlona expense or commissions of any kind we will also contract to have our ships ready for service ahead of the government thipa ships |