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Show BIOS OPENED FORJRUISERS Six 35-knot Scout Ships of Exclusive Armor and Armament Arma-ment Planned. SHIPBUILDERS MEET Large Fleet of Merchant Vessels Ves-sels to Be Built as Soon as Possible. WASHINGTON. March 14. Bids were opened at the navy department today for the construction of six 35-knot 35-knot scout cruisers, to cost $6,000,000 I each, exclusive of armor and armament. arma-ment. Seven of these vessels were authorized author-ized by congress to cost $2,000,000 -ach. but as the department was able that figure, the limit of cost was rais ed to ?6.000.000 each for the other six. Representatives of the ship builders submitted bids today in response to I advertisements sent out for the third I time by the department The president is authorized in an emergency to require private builders to construct vessels, but navy officials hoped that such action would not be necessary in this case Ship Builders Meet. Builders of wooden ships throughout through-out the country met here today at the call of the Federal Shipping Board: to devise means of constructing as speedily as possible a large fleet ofj American vessels for trans-Atlantic trade. The board has in mind stand-j ards of ships ranging up to 3,600 tons to be used not only for ordinary commercial com-mercial needs, but also for transporting transport-ing supplies to other nations whose interests would be identical with the United States, in case of war. In building wooden ships unskilled labor could bfi used to a large extent to replace skilled labor needed at other oth-er trades in time of war. The conference considered plans for cutting hip timbers and other materials mater-ials of standard dimensions at mills all over the country for shipment to a selected number of yards. Immediate Placing of Contracts. Bids on six 35-knot scout cruisers, received at the navy department today, to-day, probably insure immediate placing plac-ing of contracts for all the ships. Four companies submitted figures. With the exception of the bid of the Cnion Iron Works rompan of San Franc), i o, all were direct and within the $6,000,-000 $6,000,-000 limit set by congress. The Cramps, Philadelphia, lowest bidder, offered to construct two ships at $5,950,000 each, one in 30 months and the other in L!2. Modifications in design propo.-' d l. ihe company would reduce the price to $5.ffl0,000 each. Eight-Hojr Ddy Basis. The Seattle Construction and Dry-dock Dry-dock company, which already has a contract for one .similar ship at less than $5,000,000. offered to build another an-other in thirty months at $,975,04)0 Figures were submitted on the basis of an eight-hour day and the government would assume the coat for any speeding speed-ing up e xpenses The Fore River Shipbuilding corn-pun) corn-pun) proposed to build two ships in 30 and 31 months time at $5,996,000 etch. The proposal of the Cnion Iron works stated that because of high freight rates and cost of labor on the Pacific coast, the ships could not be built there within the $6,000,000 limit. As an act of patriotism, however, the company proposed to undertake construction con-struction of two at a flai price of $6,- ich in .," and 31 months. ' The t ramp- hid was based on the understanding that the company would not also be required to construct a battle bat-tle cruiser, as its plants are not of sutfici. ni capacity to build both scout cruisers at the same time. To Meet Emergencies. New York. March 14 William Den-man, Den-man, chairman oi the federal shipping board, left early today for Wa.-h n-ton n-ton to actend a meeting of .shipping experts which will discuss the standardization stand-ardization of wooden ship construction on a large scale to provide tonnage for mooting war emergencies Mr Den-I Den-I man oaM th.it mnHoio for . k .kiu . ma i-i .iu.u rilips would be wooden vessels, now used on the Pacific seaboard, to carry 3,600 tons dead weight. The plan of the board, as explained by the chairman, is to standardize the parts of such ships so as to allow them to be cut at various mills in the timber regions on the Pacific coast, the south, or the New England coast. Mr. Denman said that one of the difficulties in the way of such a pro-' ject was the scarcity of ship carpenters. carpen-ters. "We have planned, however," he said, "to get the services of house ! carpenters with a skilled ship's carpenter car-penter over every seven or eight of them.:' |