The Prescott daily news., 1919-07-26
FORD EXPLAINS
 SONS EXEMPTION
Edsel Wanted to Enlist But Stayed to Help His Father in War Work = Turned Down Commissions.

Mt. Clemens, Mich, July 23-Henry Ford had spent less than two hours on the witness stand testifying in his own behalf wher he stepped down from the witness stand Wednesday, but he did not leave until he had cleared tip the point for which every one has been waiting since the trial opened; the exemption of his son, Edsel Ford, from the selective draft. The questions which led up to the subject were introduced by the Trib- une attorney in the last few minutes of MT. Ford's testimony.
 MT. Ford" said Elliott Stevenson, your son wanted to go to war, didn't he?"
 "Yes, he did" replied MT. Ford.
 "He wanted to enlist?"
 "Yes, sir"
 You were opposed to it?"
 T told him he could do more good where he was.''
 Mr. Ford's own attorneys then took
  up the point.
 Did you feel that you needed your son in the war work which your fac tories were Going?" asked Alfred Lucking.
 Yes, he was great aid to me. He personally was willing to go to war as stated by MT. Stevenson? Yes, he was anxious to go."
 "Mr. Ford, was he offered commis- sions in the army which would have permitted him to wear a uniform and stay right in the factory?"
 "Yes, he declined them"
 Would there have been any diff ficulty about getting a uniform for Edsel Ford if he had been willing to take it that way?"
 No"
 Do you remember stating that there would be no camoufiaging about that; that you did not wish him to take uniform and appear to be in service when he was merely attend ing to work in the factory?"
 'Yes, said that"
 It was the first time that a com pfete statement of the conditions sur- rounding the request for the exemp- tion of the young president of the Ford Motor Company has been made.
 Those who had expected grilling attack on the motives of Henry Ford in opposing his sons desire to enlist were disappointed. MT. Ford's in clination to shoulder the responsibil- ity and the revelation of the fact that having taken what he believed to be the correct stand in urging his son to remain at home and supervise the de- tails of the war work being done by the Ford factories, both he and Edsel Ford refused to compromise that de- decision and hide behind military trap pings, completely disarmed the criti- cism which had been generally ex- pected would follow the introduction of the subject.
 Willing, affable and anxious to an swer the questions hurled at him by the Tribune attorneys, MT. Ford be- came exceedingly self-conscious and diffident when his own council took up the examination. He would not ac- cept the effort of his attorneys to draw from his testimony which would reveal the full extent of his patriotic work during the war, of his treatment of his employees or of his hope that he may continue to serve humanity in the future.
 'I want to forget all about my war work" he said once. 'I feel just as the soldiers feel; I don't want to talk about what 1 have done"
 Requests for details which would have cleared up points on which Trib- une attorneys dwelt effectively were denied. Tt is all in the records" said MT. Ford.
 The real reason for the purchase by Edsel Ford of the interests of the minority stockholders in the Ford