The committee which was appointed to find out just how much it would
cost to make armor-plate, has sent in a report which will be presented
to Congress at the earliest opportunity.

It appears that it will cost over three and a half million dollars to
build an armor-plate factory capable of making the amount of armor
required by the Government.

It has not yet been decided whether the factory shall be built, but the
Secretary of the Navy is going to advertise for offers to build it so
that he can lay the whole matter before Congress at one time.

The Carnegie and Bethlehem steel companies have not been idle while the
Government has been making its inquiries.

Krupp, the German gun-maker, has recently invented a process for
manufacturing armor-plate which is said to make a plate that is still
more durable and better than that manufactured by the Harvey process.

The Carnegie and Bethlehem companies no sooner heard of the Krupp
process, than they sent experts to examine it, and finding it to be all
that was represented, they purchased the sole right to use the process
in this country.

The Government, of course, wants the best possible armor for its ships,
and if the Krupp is the best, they must have Krupp armor-plate.

The cleverness of these two firms has, however, made it impossible for
the Government to manufacture this kind of armor for itself. If it is to
be used, it must be bought from the Carnegie or Bethlehem people.