Americus times-recorder., 1919-06-02

ry Ford. meant.
Down in the hotels they began to
move furniture out of whole suites
of rooms.
Over in the business block they be-
gan to clean out whole floor.
Trucks and vans of office furniture
began to appear as if by magic, all
coming overland from Detroit.
Desks, typewriters, chairs, dicto-
graphs, filing cabinets, heaps of sta
tionery, large council tables, various
cases of all sizes and shapes bulging
with papers came under guard of a
small army of men.
Linemen were soon busy putting in
special telephone and telegraph wires.
The vast volume of Ford business be-
gan to roll back and forth across
thine. Swift motor cars kept the road
between Detroit and Mount Clemens
hot with their traffic.
Then a corps of personal repre-
sentatives, secretaries and clerks ar
rived.
Move Offices i'm Day.
In less than days time the CEN
trail office of a great $300,000,000 in
dustrial concern had been transported
bodily from Detroit to another city,
and was running as smoothly as if it
were in it's specially arranged offices
at home.
Mt Clemens is famous for it mineral
baths; but in its widest dreams of
greatness it never hoped to be the
headquarters of the Ford industries.
The Ford business has outposts in
every country in the world. Just now
new motor factories are being planned
here and there in Europe to help give
employment and encouragement to
that distracted continent. But the de-
cisions made, say about a new factory
at Cadiz, Spain, or new factory at
Copenhagen are being made in hotel
rooms at Mt. Clemens, Mich.
The Ford Motor Co., the Fordson
Tractor Plant, the Eagle Shipbuild-
ing Plant, the various banks which
exist principally to handle the Ford
finances, the Dearborn Realty and
Construction Co., through which
homes are constructed for Fordson
employees. the Dearborn Independent,
which is Mr. Ford's magazine of opin
ion-all these were surprised to find
their headquarters moved within one
day to comparatively small city.
This was Henry Ford's way of say
ing, concerning his libel suit, Well
fight it out on this line if it takes all
summer"
1t had been said in irresponsible
quarters that Ford doesn't care
whether he wins or loses; We'll hard
ly see anything of him out here" and
while they were yet talking the head
management of all the Ford industries
moved in and settled down.
In order that the whole truth about
the trial shall go to the whole coun-
try another decision was made which
illustrates the Ford habit of doing
things with dispatch. The city
swarms with newspapermen, who were
sent here to report the trial. But Mr..
Ford remembered that there were
thousands of smaller papers which
could not afford to send representa-
tives here and maintain them FOR a
lengthy period and which would other
wise be compelled to take their re-
ports secondhand.
News Service Established.
So it was decided to give a news
serbice to every newspaper in the
country. In one day whole floor in
a business block was occupied. Spec
ial wires and other equipment were
installed. Verbatim reports of the
trial were ordered. Lists of thous-
ands of newspapers, city daiiies and
country weeklies, were prepared ard
finding its way by wire and mail tc
Send the uncolored TRUTH" was the
order 1t so happened the first week
that the major part of the material de-
veloped in the trial was denunciatory
of Mr.. Ford as "a didydedin-thew
anarchist But that did not alter the
orders; it was sent out with all the
sting left in it. The Ford News bu
reau plays no favorites, not even Hen
ry Ford himself.
Thus it happens that Mt Clemens,
known for many years as a place for
rest and recuperation, IS now the Of
fee of the greatest industrial organi-
zation in the world as well as the
scene of what promises to be the most
important libel suit in legal history.
And it was all done with such smooth
dispatch that few of the residents
have vet awakened to the fact.
And Henry Ford takes his cross
country walks and thinks out his
plans.
People naturally think that Henry
Ford is kept busy running his bust
ness. Not at all. He is still planning
new things. as if he were just start
ing. He doesn't feel that he has quite
/ L An Ofld