The Washington herald., 1915-12-03
Henry Ford. Mission.

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Innocent as a babe though he may be of what
is actually going on in Europe, Henry Ford is a
man of brains And because he is, it becomes in
creasingy plain that he must have received more
encouragement to prosecute his chimcrieal scheme
than has been made public. 1t is not difficult to
present the shadow without the substance of au-
thority. One can say: "Of course l cannot men,
tion names, but you may take it from me that /
have received positive assurances from those able
to speak that such and such a government is
strongly in sympathy with your efforts. and will
support them openly when the time comes"
Nobody of course believes for moment that
any belligerent power has the rcmotest idea of
conducting peace negotiations through Henry
Ford, either now or at any other time. But il the
Ford peace movement can be used to the ad-
vantage Of of the belligercnts it is likely that
it will be used. Our suspicious, OF course, fall
upon Germany, chiefly because she has done so
much in this country that is suspicious All she
could hope to gain by secretly encouraging the
Ford peace mission would be to create in this
country ill-w towards Great Britain. For. in
the natural course of things, the task of admins
tering the first and perhaps the final snub to the
Detroit philanthropist will fall to Great Britain.
And there are hundreds of thousands of rustic
minded persons in the United States who will think
it mighty arrogant and selfish of Great Britain not
to comply with the wishes of great and good
man like Henry Ford. Then there is the added
possibility that Ford himself may take rebuff
unkindly and thereafter be ardent German
ophilc, for whatever it may be worth. To an
American all these possibilities are
ridculously remote, but they quite important
in the eyes OF the German, who has a most dis
tended idea OF his ability to make people think as
he wishes them to. When remember the
propaganda upon which Germany has spent mil
lions with no valuable result it does not un-
likely that few entcrprising Teutons German
Americans at no cost to themselves should adopt
the idea OF using Henry Ford for their pur
poses. II nothing comes of it it is only Henrys
roll that is depleted thereby. and several worthy
sympathizers with the Teuton cause will have had
nice little ocean trips.
1t would appear that the decision of former
Representative Richard Bartholdt to withdraw from
the expedition rather initiates against this theory
On the other hand it might be argued that Bar
tholdt, having given the affair his immediate sup
port the theory that, like most of the socalled
peace movements in this country, it was pro-
German effort, has received hint that for
hi1n-thc worst kind OF Prussian fre-eater-to
go on a neutral peace mission would be altogether
too raw and would in fact give the show away
at the start But who are the other persons who
are identified with the expedition? Rose Schwim-
mer is an Austrian. Mr.. Lorchner sounds like a
German. The other members of the expedition
will be of all nationalties, some of them British.
That is a minor detail. The only thing that mat
ters from the German point of view is to have the
crusade start Its failure is assured whoever COM
poses it.
OF course, if the British government were
really intelligent they would offer Henry Ford
every facility personally for going among the SOL
ders in the trenches and the sailors in the gun
rooms, for observing with his own eyes and for
with his own heart to the tremendous
moral and spiritual impulse, the heroism and self
sacrifice that has enabled the British Empire and
all the warning nations to take up the great burden
Of war for that they deem just and right
Were that done verify believe that the SNUG
and profitable conplacency that is reconcng so
many Americans today to peace that, if not actu-
ally dishonorable is least strongly utilitarian
might not strike the modern Don Quixote the
most desirable thing in the world.