Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 30.djvu/428

 FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 234. 1898. 389 . gas oil, and introduction and maintenance of electric lights; straw for bedding, mattresses, mattress covers, pillows, sheets; wire bunk bottoms for enlisted men at various posts; furniture for Government houses and repair of same, and for all emergencies and extraordinary expenses arising at home and abroad, but impossible to anticipate or classify, thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars. INCREASE OF THE NAVY. Nlncrease of the 8Vy. That for the purpose of further increasing the naval establishment i·,i.°¥éspésL?t?iasstst. of the United States the President is hereby authorized to have con- *·*°¤***P¤- structed by contract three seagoing coast-line battle ships carrying the heavigst armor and most powerful ordnance upon a displacement of about eleven thousand tons, to have the highe t practicable speed for vessels of their class, and to cost, exclusive of armor and arma- -¤¤¤*- ment, not exceeding three million dollars each, one of said battle ships to be named the Maine; and tour harbor-defense vessels of the monitor ammo type, each having one or two turret, and to cost, exclusive of arma- vessels. ment, not exceeding one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars "°°“"· each; and sixteen torpedo boat destroyers of about four hundred tons tf<¤P¢·l·> \¤>=* •i¤— displacement, and twelve torpedo boats of about one hundred and fifty 8 Tdsggdo boats. tons displacement, to have the highest practicable speed, and to cost "“°“‘- in all, exclusive of armament, not exceeding six million nine hun- . dred thousand dollars; and one gunboat to take the place of the th§{{*§;>g,{.i¤ r>P;¤¤¤ ¤f United States steamship Michigan, to cost, exclusive of armament, not .ss.¢,sts.1g°”' - more than two hundred and sixty thousand dollars, said gnnboat to be constructed on the Great Lakes or their connecting waters: Pro- __QQgf:;M° to sx_ vided, That said construction of said gunboat shall conform to all istlng msn". existing treaties and conventions. And not more than two of said °"“"“°"· battle ships, and not more than two of said harbor-defense vessels, and not more than five of said torpedo-boat destroyers, and not more than tour of said torpedo boats shall be built in one yard or by one contracting party, and the contracts for the construction of each of said vessels shall be awarded by the Secretary of the Navy to the lowest best responsible bidder, having in view the best results and most expeditious delivery; and in the construction of all said vessels all of the $¤¤{¤;,=j¤¤¤jg:- provisions of the Act of August third, eighteen hundred and eighty- °' p' ' six, entitled “An Act to increase the naval establishment," and amendments subsequently made thereto as to materials for said vessels, their engines, boilers, and machinery, the contracts under which they are built, except as to premiums, which are not to be offered, No vr¤¤¤i·¤¤¤¤· the notice of any proposals for the same, the plans, drawings, and specifications therefor, and the method of executing said contracts, shall be observed and followed, and said vessels shall be built in compliance with the terms of said Act, save that in all their parts said vessels D¤¤¤¤¤¤·¤¤*~¤¤1¤- shall be of domestic manufacture except that no proposal for the torpedo vessels shall be considered unless the bidder is already in possession of adequate plant, and that the advertisement relating to the ,E¤i¤¤i¤e wrvmlu proposals for such vessels may be published for three w eeks only; and, P Q`;`;,:;,';;?;,,;,, 0,, pa. subject to the provisions hereinafter made one and not more than one ¤*”¤ •>°·¤*· of the aforesaid seagoing battle ships, and one and not more than one of the aforesaid harbor·defense vessels, shall be built on or near the. coast of the Pacific Ocean or in the- waters connecting therewith: Pro- Prvvivvrided, That if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the President of the "°'°1’°`"’°’°‘ United States, from the biddings for such contracts when the same are opened and examined by him, said vessel, or either of them, can not be constructed on or near the coast of the Pacitic Ocean at a cost not exceeding four per centum above the lowest accepted bid for the other battle ships or harbondefense vessels provided for in this Act, he shall authorize the construction of said vessel, or either of them, elsewhere in the] United States, subject to the limitations as to cost hereinbefore provided. Cousraucrron mn mscnmmnvz On account of the hulls and out- m§_{;‘,{;§g!{“°” °°*‘ fits of vessels and steam machinery of vessels heretofore and herein