The Washington times., 1918-07-05

Ford is the idol Of the people OF
Michigan. He is just as certain to
be nominated and elected Senator
from the great wolverine state as
the sun Is to rise on November
next
Mechanical genius, business WizaTo'
idealist, war contractor, pioneer In
the movement for more than living
miniuum wage, and the man who
made the automobile possible to the
poor, Henry Ford Is loved both for
his faults and the enemies he las
made A
wall Street hates him. II detests
his business methods, which are not
according to Hoyle. Detroit big busi-
ness men dislike him because tney
say he has unsettled the labor market
by paying a IS daY minimum wage.
Republican politicians, who since
| the civil war have dominated the
State, are now gnashing their teeth
and abusing President Wilson be-
cause Ford was dragged into the
Senatorial race. They fear he viii
upset political traditions.
But the people smile at the dis
comfort OF business and politics.
They have not yet stopped laughing
at Ford's defeat of Senator William
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mAries two years ago. Ford de-
clared his candidacy was joke and
did not spend a dollar. Yet he re-
ceived the primary Endorsement by
big majority. Senator Smith. a
veteran campaigner OF twenty-five
years experience, was Inundated.
.GrIn LIzzie- Foh to Ala.
1t is commonly said that every
owner Of "tin Lizzie in the State
would vote for Henry Ford. for any
office under the sun. and Presidency
preferred. And some day they may
have q chance to vote for him for the
4 highest office in the land. II the opin-
lone Of some Of the political wise
heads is worth anything.
People love Ford as they do Presi-
dent Wilson for trying to keep us out
of war. All but a few of the fanatics
forgive his Oscar II peace ship ven
ture- They regard this as the last
appeal OF a great idealist to stop the
world from being further drencheo
in blood.
Even those who believe the project
iIl-advised, are not too critical now.
They recall that Ford Is dreamer.
He has been willing to venture IN
unknown paths. In all but one such
venture he has won
He Is a great bird lover. and has an
estate which he has stocked with all
varieties of the feathered tribe. These
are not to be shot as game, but just
allowed to live unmolested. This man
who has such q great love Of birds
also has an unbounded love for hu-
manity.
Pays Decent Wages.
1 But wholly aside from his hold on
the workingman through paying de-
cent wages, and the fact of his being
one Of the best advertised men in the
J world, Ford has political strength
He is q millionaire who has made
good
He is also q pacihst who has made
good. He Is perhaps doing more than
any other single big business man to
help Uncle Sam win the war against
the Hun. Having opposed war up TO
the time Of the declaration, he Is now
the greatest hacker of the Admins
! tration in the vigorous prosecution
OF the war.
, In the purchase Of Liberty loan
bonds and war stamps and in con-
ptributions to the Red Cross, 7. NJ C.
A. knights of Columbus, Young
Mems Hebrew Society. and other war
organizations he makes other big
business men look petty.
Furthermore. in his dealings with
the Government he has eliminated
possibility Of the charge of prohteer-
ing. On the day war was declared he
telegraphed President Wilson tender
ing his personal services and those Of
his great corps of experts, together
! with all his Industrial plants. to the
Government
Not once has Henry Ford demanded
a fixed price for any Government
work. When the Government asked
. him TO do certain work he has ans
i wered instantly. And in every case
he has left the matter OF price to be
settled by the Government later. This
was the case when he turned his
. great New England assembling plant
over to the army quartermaster and
when he took every one Of the hun
dred or more contracts for war ma
teriafs.
War Contractor.
Henry Ford is at present perhaps
the greatest war contractor in the
country. His contracts run only
slightly short of half a billion dol
lars. An enumeration OF the Ford
contracts would be almost an impos-
sibility. He has contracts galore
from the Navy Department and from
some twelve or more divisions OF the
War Department They include the
ships known as the Eagle sub-chasers,
farm tractors, tanks, cylinders Lib
erty motor engines. helmets, steel
shells, munitions OF many kinds. am
balances, and last, but not least au-
tomobiles and automobile parts.
Administration leaders look upon
Ford as the mechanical wonder Of
the age. Secretaries Daniels and Ba-
ker have come to depend upon him
as they depend upon Thomas A Edi-
son to solve their problems. He is
their type, that is, a pacihst before
the war. And Furthermore he Is de-
/. liyering the goods in wartime. Mr..
. Ford Is frequently summoned to
Washington by army and navy heads
for conferences. II he were MEM
Der of the Senate, he might be even
? more handy than he now is
Probably Mr.. Ford's greatest
achievement from the Administration
: standpoint is the taking of a con-
tract for 100 ships, something he
never had built before in his life, and
the laying of the keel in record time.
Mr.. Ford was called to Washington
December 81 last by Secretary Dan
iels and told OF the plans to build
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