The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1918-07-26
FORD ASSAILED
AS FOES DUpE
DETRoiTER's RECORD AZ PAc'-
FIST NFLAVEo ~ sEcuRiTv
LEAGUE.
CANDIDACY FOR SENATE SEEN
AS PERIL TO PREPAREDNESS
ny William Herbert Hobbs, Member
Executive Committee, National
Security League.
Reprint from the Detroit Free Press
of June %, 1913.

Reprint from the Detroit freo rreos
of June %. 1918.
The National Security League as a
result OF unanimous action by us
Executive Committee has undertaken
to inquire into the records or can
didates for Congress at coming cleo
tions. Mr.. Elihu Root, Honorary
President OF the League and a iife-
dong Republican, states with great
~earnestness, Il don't care whether
man Is a Democrat or Republican
or Progressive or Socialist or
Prohibitionist or what not, he must
have a loyal heart or 1t Is treason
TO send him to Congress So far as
Michigan Is concerned do not be-
lieve that a candidate known to be
siisloyal would be so rash as to oner
himself for political office; but there
is far more involved than the ques'
tion OF loyalty. To quote from an
announcement by the Security League
under date OF June 9Th:
"The conduct of the war and, in
fact, the very future Of America, are
dependent, not only upon the cleo.
ton of a war Congress that will enact
necessary laws, but upon the pres
.ence in the National Legislature OF
men of vision, ability and broad ex'
perience, who are the best qualihed
of our citizenship TO correctly solve
the great internal and international
questions which will come before the
pavt ConoracS
Inasmuch as vision" and dream
are sometimes synonymous terms, II
IS we'll 20 stress the fact that the aim
of the Security League is not to put
dreamers into office, but rather men
who can understand the relation be
tween cause and effect in the politi
cal world and have vision, discern
ment or prescience-call it what you
VIII. 1t is the statesman, as opposed
TO the mere politician who possesses
this gift, and it would be the undoina
of the nation to admit any other into
its councils in this crisis.
propose to examine the record OF
Henry Ford since he came into poll
teal prominence; in doing which ]
shall make use of events, dates and
interviewed statements as. they ap
pear in the columns OF the New York
Times. 1t is essential to determine
whether his record indicates that he
possesses vision in political matters
and whether he Is in other respects a
worthy and safe candidate for the
United States Senate. 1t is time tc
sry mems souls, and a man of stern
fibre as well as one OF foresight and
wise judgement is what the crisis de-
smands.
In political affairs, Mr.. Ford first
came into prominence through his bit
ter hostility to the movement for pre-
pairing the nation to meet the great
struggle in which it Is now engaged
in September 1915 he contributed The
sum OF one million dollars to the cam.
paign which the Kaiser's agents
German alien residents. German
American citizens and misguided paci
Sists-were conducting in order to de
feat preparedness and he promised
S10,000,000 for peace propaganda. On
September 18th it was announced that
ne was to consult concerning HE
peace policy Hermann Ridder and
Jeremiah OLeary; the former the edi
tor of the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung
and the latter connected with the
American Sim Fein movement. who
has edited an abominably seditious
newspaper and who, fleeing from jus
tice under the sedition law has now
been captured. Somewhat later, IN
November 1915, Mr.. Ford came under
the influence OF Madam Schwimmer,
had much to do with planning his
notorious peace argosy David Lamar
confessed upon trial MAY 16, 1917
that he had sent agents to Mr.. Ford
who had been able to influence him
In favor OF nefarious peace ventures.
No sane man believes that Mr.. Ford
was other than the dupe of these
agents of the Kaiser, and the facts
are mentioned here with view
merely to show how easily he was
exploited because Of his abnormal
penchant for impractical peace
schemes.
On September Is, 1915, Mr.. Ford
was visited by General Nelson A.
Miles, who somewhat later with AID.
rniral Blue made public statements
contrary to those generally held by
military and naval experts regarding
the danger OF invasion OF the coun.
try, and these statements ware ex.
itensfvely made use of for peace pro-
'paganda.
On September 18th Mr.. Ford came
out in open opposition to the United
States loan to the Allies, and was re
ported to have said that he would
withdraw his deposits from any bank
which subscribed to the loan, a threat
like those openly made by prominent
Germans throughout the country. His
action in this respect aroused great
resentment Ia Canada, and q threat
teing made officiarly to boycott the
Ford firm and cancel itsn Canadian
army contracts. Mr.. Ford himself
Subscribed 10 ihe ,Osnadaan loau and