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30 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. [Jan. 22, - AWARD TO CRAMPS PROTESTED. The recommendation of the naval board of construction that the contracts for the two new armored cruisers Tennessee and Washington be given to Cramps has caused a protest to be filed by other bidders. The New York Ship Building Co. is especially hostile to the recommendation of the board and has sent the following letter to Secretary of the Navy Moody: : "The report of the board of naval construction has just 'come to our attention. We formally protest against the recom- mendations of the board to award the contract to the William Cramp & Sons' Ship & Engine Building Co. for the following reasons: -- ; ; "First--The bids were made by formal proposal, sealed, delivered and opened at a certain time in accordance with the adveitisement, circular and instructions to bidders. "Second--The attempted offer of the Cramps company to substitute Babcock & Wilcox boilers at the price of their inferior plans, viz., $8,000,000, is a violation of the conditions under' which we were invited to bid, and would be, if considered, a new bid. 'lhe changing of the plans to secure the contract under the low bid is practicclly the same as changing the price for the government plans to $4,000,0c0. "Third--The government of the United States cannot, with becoming dignity nor in good faith to bidders who have at great expense and trouble submitted tenders under government speci- fications, permit a. substitution of prices or alteration of plans' prior to awarding of the contract by the government. "Fourth--To allow the substitution of plans or prices would be grossly unjust to the lowest bidder, because it would permit of an unfair practice of putting in all sorts of alternating bids to test the position of a bona fide bidder following the require- ments and conditicns, and would ultimately become a source of much embarrassment to the government itself in reaching its decisions. ' "Fifth--Neither should such practice be permitted for the purpose. of forcing a reletting, because it would give other bidders an unfcir advantage, the prices having been made public. "Sixth--No amount of precedent on the part of the depart- ment nor argument that such changes of plans and reduction of prices are favorable to the interests of the United States can be maintained as just; involving, as they would, the favoring of one bidder to the great detriment of the other. Should the Cramp company's bid of $4,000,coo each (which specifies Nic-° lausse boilers) for the two cruisers be accepted, with the in- tention of subsequent substitution of Babcock & Wilcox boilers, it would be unjust to all bidders and would destroy the intent in asking for. sealed proposals. "Seventh--The beard's recommendation that the contract be awarded to the Cramp company on account of a shorter time of completion is not justified by past experience, as the Cramp 'company has never built a cruiser or battleship within. the specified time. The New York Ship Building Co. has better facilities than any other ship yard in the United States, and constructs these cruisers within the shortest possible period. "Bighth--The New York Shin Building Co. is the lowest bidder on plans acceptable to the government and was known to be in full operation and fully equipped at the time of making the bid to turn out the cruisers in the least possible time, and, having a capacity much larger than any other bidder, should be allowed to get its share of the work, so that every large ship yard in the country with proper capccity mav be familiar with the construc- tion of government work, in order that in case of war the full resources of the' country may be used by the government. "Ninth--If a bona fide bidder cannot secure a contract with. the-government by the ordinary, plain, straightforward method of tendering according to the instructions to the bidders and form of prcposal, such bidder would naturally be reluctant to bid again, especially if the government, through a false method to economize, should lend itself to such practices." The letter is signed by Mr. Henrv J. Morse, president of the New York Ship Buildine Co., who says an important public questicn is involved in the controversy. | WANT THE ALLEN LAW RE-ENACTED. The Atlantic Coast Seamen's Union has become so powerful in New Yoik, according to the ship masters engaged in the coastwise trade, that skippers are compelled to pay ordinary sea- men in some cases as high as $5 per day for the run to Boston; and otherwise the situation, the ship masters say, has become so intolerable that they have taken measures to bring to the atten- tion of this session of, congress the Allen bill for the re-enact- ment of the old legislation bearing upon the enforcement of the sailor's contrect, which has lain in committee since its presen- tation in congress last year. In 1898 the law, which has existed for a century, was superceded by experimental legislation aimed at the crimping system and other abuses which the American sailor was suffering under. The skippers say that the experience of the past four vears has shown that the new law has put them entirely at the mercy of the sailors, and that it defeats its own purpose as far as crimping is concerned. In a circular stating their grievances, which the ship owners have issued, they say: "Crews shipped before United States commissioners are transported at their employer's, expense to the port where the vessel is waiting, and then refuse to go on board until extra money has been paid them. As the law now stands, there is no redress; for the sailor is the one class which the law specially 'exempts from the penalties of obtaining money under false pre- tenses. Men ship for a round trip, take the vessel from a port where crews are plenty, and as soon as she touches where crews are not to be obtained without great delay and expense, desert; and in many cases vessels after being delayed at great loss and remaining many times in peril; have been compelled to pay ex- horbitant bounties--sums like $25 per man for a three days' sail. The fact that the existine law makes it impossible for the vessel to discharge a signed crew without incurring severe penalties, while the sailors may desert with impunity whenever they can reach the shore, demonstrates clearly the injustice of the present law." Under the old law a sailor who deserted or even refused to join a vessel he had signed to serve on, could be arrested with- out warrant and brought aboard. The ship masters want this re-enacted, or a similar law passed. which will give them some sort of a hold on their men. NOTES FROM NEW YORK. New York, Jan. 21.--Messrs. Wynant & Ejiswald, naval archi- tects of 15 Whithall street, New York, and also of Providence, R. I., are, in addition to their other business, designing the two vessels for the quartermaster's department of the army, the coa- tract for building which has been awarded to the Perth Amboy Ship Building & Engineering Co., of Perth Amboy, N. J. These vessels will be similar to the Gen. Meigs, now in service in New York harbor, and will be fitted with compound engines. Each will be supplied with two Scotch boilers and an enlarged electric generating set which will include a 13-in. projector. The arrangements, as lcid out, provide for a large saloon aft; on the main deck, with the waste of the vessel enclosed for the accommodation of trocps in transport. The upper deck will be provided with pilot house and chart room, with officers accom- modations immediately aft, while in the fore hold ample space is provided for freight. It is the intention to build these vessels so that when completed they will receive the highest rating known in the American Bureau of Shipping. They are to be finished throughout to compare favorably with some of the later built yachts. The contract calls for their delivery to the government in the early summer of the present year. There is more or less comment being indulged in by ship builders along the Atlantic coast, at the present time, on the wide difference as to price and time limit for building government vessels. 'That such should be the case is not to be wondered at in view of the bids lately opened in the depot quartermaster's office in this city by Maj. I. W. Little, acting quartermaster for furnishing two steel' vessels for harbor service of the depot quartermaster's office, as these bids ranged from $52500 to $94,083 in price per vessel, and from 130 to 300 days for delivers, as follows: Baltimore Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., one vessel, bidder's specifications for engines, $94,c83, or two vessels, $91,000 with delivery in 152 days for one vessel and 204 days for the two; Townsend & Downey, $89,700, with delivery in 239 days for one and 270 days for two; New York Ship Building Co., $85,400, delivery of one vessel in eleven and two in twelve months; Crescent Ship Yard, $86.s00, delivery of one vessel in 180 and two in 210 days; Gas Engine & Power Co. and Charles L. Seabury & Co., Consolidated, one vessel, $87,300, or two $84,000 each, with delivery of one vessel in 130 and two in 160 days; T. S. Marvel & Co., one vessel' at $83,000, or two at $81,c00 each, with delivery of one vessel in eight months and two in nine months; Marine Construction & Dry Dock Co., one vessel, $74,225, delivery in 275 days; Perth Amboy Ship Building & Engineering Co., one vessel, $54,000, or two vessels at $52,500 each, with delivery of one vessel in 120 and two in 130 days. Where time is given in days it means so many working days. Thus it will be seen there is room for comment as the bids on this class of vessel should not vary in price and delivery time as here shown. Tne New York Asbestos Co. has built a new and enlarged plant at Payntar street and Van Alst avenue, Long Island City, which is equipped with all the latest machinery and appliances for turning out the company's finished product, the leading staple of which is asbestos aircell sectional coverings for steam pipe, etc. The company expects to move from its present plant in Brooklyn, which the business has largely outgrown, to the new plant about Feb. 1. The American Line steamship St. Louis reached New York on Saturday last, six days overdue. There was never the least doubt of the steamer's safe arrival but her non-arrival on time made a number of persons very nervous. 'The cause of the delay was the inability of the boilers to supply the requisite amount of steam, so that the steamer scarcely made 50 per cent. of her normal speed. There appears to have been no discom- fort aboard; there was sufficient of evervthine: the stecmer was never for an instant in danger; but a number of the pas- sengers felt it incumbent upcn themselves to pass a series of resolutions condemning the management of the line. The steamship was late and that was merely all there was to it. Ba OS a sae ealanuion