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Show m m EXPENSE 10 BBtl RECORD EXPECTED TO BE SIXTY-SIX MIL, LION DOLLARS IN EXCESS OF 1917 TOTAL. Contracts for Armor Plate Awarded, Two Concerns Sharing the Business, Busi-ness, Prices Being About the Same as Three Years Ago. Washington. While Secretary Daniels Dan-iels was awarded contracts on Monday Mon-day for armor date for the four battle ships authorized at the last session of congress and approving plans for an ammunition ship, the last vessel designed de-signed for the ly 17 building program, the appropriations sub committee ot the house naval coinmiltee began work on the 1918 estimates, the heaviest heav-iest In American history, to be presented pre-sented to congress this winter. The navy department's 1918 figures contemplate construction of half of the ships yet to be built in the great three-year program, and show total appropriations ap-propriations of $379,151,701, or more than $66,000,000 in excess of the record rec-ord total appropriated last summer. Contracts for the armor plate, which will go on the battleships Colorado, Maryland, Washington and West Virginia, Vir-ginia, were awarded to the Bethlehem and Carnegie Steel companies, each receiving half of the work. A statement state-ment analyzing the icontraots says that despite the unprecedented European Euro-pean demand for plate, the prices offered of-fered were approximately the same as those paid three years ago when the Pennsylvania was being con- structed. |