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14 MARINE REVIEW. [August 9, A NEW STEEL MILL. ONE WILL BE BUILT IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLANT OF THE NEWPORT NEWS COMPANY--A TALK WITH COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON. Mr. Collis P. Huntington has spent the greater part of the past week at Newport News and has definitely made the announcement that a $1,- 000,000 steel mill would be established there ifor the manufacture of the material used in the immense ship yard of the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co. It will be devoted exclusively to structural steel and will not manufacture armor plate. In this connection it is interesting to note that the new $1,000,000 dry dock in the ship yard will be ready for use by Dec. 1. Mr. Huntington was accompanied in the inspection of the properties by President C. B. Orcutt of the ship building company and Mr. R. P. Schwerin, vice president of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. A careful inspection of the work on the two great Pacific Mail liners, now in course of construction, was made. Mr. Huntington in discussing his visit and plans said: "I am down here simply to look over the plant and see what progress is being made on our ships. A sort of regular trip, you know. I like Newport News above the new ones recently completed. That will give us facilities for building two more large ships in addition to those we now have. The big dry dock is a very important improvement and that will be ready by December at the latest. There are always times when ship builders feel the need of more than one dry dock, and when the new basin is com- pleted we will be better equipped in this respect than any other yard, Our present dock is large enough to accommodate the largest of the merchant ships built in this country and the large majority of ships in the foreign trade, but they are now building 700-foot ships abroad and we must have a dock large enough to receive them. This will be the only dock, in fact, that can accommodate these leviathans. While I cannot say that we will always have sufficient repair and new work to keep both docks busy, we are continually feeling the need of another basin and there will be considerable activity around both docks after December." "Does the Pacific Mail contemplate building any more ships very soon?" "Well, hardly, at this time. You know, we purchased three farge ships a short time back and we are now having two palatial vessels built here for our China trade. I made a trip through the yard noting the progress on the new dock and the ships under construction. The work JOINER, CARPENTER AND WOOD FINISHING SHOPS AT TI'E BATH IRON WORKS, BATH, ME ' . and always look forward to my visits here with a certain degree of pleas- ure, though my time is pretty well taken up with matters of business. The city today is more than what I expected of and predicted for it. Here you have the natural location. It is in the right place and is sure to forge ahead to the place it deserves." "Has the ship yard any new ship contracts in sight?" "Well, to that I can say that it has and it has not. Some want us to bid on ships, and we may do so. At this time there is nothing to give out. Of course, a lot of government contracts will be let very soon, but there is not much money in them. They serve, however, to keep the men busy and we shall bid on some of the ships. In 1894 I lost more than $100,000 on the first two government ships we built, but, of course, I bid low on them purposely and kept the men at work." ae a ae you submit 'bids on all fourteen of the new warships to be "Hardly. I would like to build the five battleships--that is the ber, I 'believe. We may bid on the six armored i but a plane are not definitely laid yet and I do not care to say too much concernin sie . can take here as many contracts as I want, as I an oo oe north without difficulty and keep on building Pp ' y , I 'I e : y . those now under way? a d in addi "None to speak of. I shall build another steel ship crane out there on the Pacific Mail liners has been very satisfactory and in from six to nine months one of them should be in service." cay a developments in the steel plant project?" rene Tao ae plant, but I will not say when just now--not that eta Eee ha do not care to. I have selected the site and it will 2 coe opposite the ship yard, The plant will cost $1,000,000 or ore and will probably be built on either side of the tracks leading from the Chesapeake & Ohio into the yard." a soe eae a ns pla ment! It was reported that you would sea aa acture of warship armor in conjunction with oe be ee ak to build an armor plate plant? A ship builder Hah a making armor. Tf he did embark in that he would not ee ee a kK i: or it outside of his own plant, as the other yards would Lge a noe some time ago that Carnegie intended to ee nly i 5 has no idea of doing so, and his reasons are purely oe 1e ship builders have enough to do to turn out ships." pe oe regard the ship building outlook in general?" ahi eee a, The prospect is good for unprecedented activity in ia ee nave not the merchant marine we should have, and ee : He when we will take rank as one of the leading nations s respect. To do this we must build ships. Then, too, our navy is small yet and must be incr 1 5 be increased. -The American ship yards s kept busy for some time to come." SE EA at