The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-30
EDSEL FORD, PRESIDENT OF FORD
MOTOR COMPANY, SAYS AUTOS
WILL BE BUILT AT LOWER PRICES
tBy Staff Correspondent

/. Aby otaII Correspondent
copyright, 1921, by Newspaper En-
terprise.)
| Detroit, Mich, July 30.-"Do it
yourself-don't depend on others"
| That is the business creed of Ed
sci Ford, son of Henry Ford end the
worlds youngest man-with-the-big-
| gest job
This is the first intimate inter-
view Edsel Ford ever has given. Ed
! sci, not Henry, is president of the
Ford Motor company. You have
read much about Henry, the build
er, but little about Edsel-the man
at the wheel.
'Edsel is the boss" Henry Ford
had told me that while he was
camping with President Harding.
/ Thomas Edison and H. s. Ffrestone.
! No, I'm not even chairman of the
company. haven't got job at all"
Resembles Father.
| Edsel is a quiet, serious-faced,
serious-voiced young man. He is
only % He looks like his father,
with the same sharply chiseled face,
quite thin, with dark complexion,
smooth face. brown eyes and hair
! brushed straight back. He walks
with slight stoop and long strides,
/ like his father.
! Father put me through the mill"
, Edsel told me- Now I'm at the
wheel. 1 have been president two
and a half years. 1t isn't an easy
| job.
Il realize my responsibilities
now, and in The future. The hard
est part is finished. 1t is easier to
+ run something that has been
cranked and started and is running
in high gear.
/ THE. Ford interests have always
been one-man proposition. And
always will be-
That's why father stepped out
and let mA steer. I'm playing his
! game-doing things myself when 1
want them done right.
| Il will not be satisfied until our
plant is self-sufficient We make
nearly everything that goes into our
cars and tractors We will produce
everything ourselves-except tires.
i We have good friends who make
tires,
| Buying the Detroit, Toledo &
1ronton railroad was a step in that
direction. The railroad was an ad-
yenture-and it's beginning to be a
! profitable adventure.
ITO get maximum efficiency we
! will make our own steel. We have
| our ore mines and blast furnaces
and coal Inines And we are going
Into cotton"
To Cut Car Prices.
| Edsel sees an even lower priced
car in the future | asked him when
! reductions might come.
| Not now" he said. But just
wait a few years. We haven't got
outomobilc-build down to the
science we hope to have it. The bot
tom has not been hit yet
| Economy IN prohibition is the
| big thing. That means do every
thing yourself. That's what we're
dong.
so far we have made 100000
carsi And right now production is
ahead of all records. I'm proud of
, that-as president of the company.
1850 Cars Day.
! This month we are making 1850
cars a day And we are doing /;
with $4,000 fewer men than it re-
/ quired to turn out $500 cars day
/ last year. Then we had $4,000 men.
! When we made out our schedule
of what we wanted to produce we
, had that many men to draw on.
| And we foundry close application
| of economy and system-that we
could do the work with 10000 men.
| No, we are not speeding up the
men. l think the secret is that
everybody is over the hysteria OF
abnormal prosperity. We Will have
/ our hearts in Our work.
/ I'VE are on a sounder basis now.
Everybody is. That's why we
weathered what many people
thought was a storm. We got along
without Wall streets money-and
if Wall street thinks we put one
over on them I'm glad of it.
The motor car isn't the only
thing that keeps me busy. There is
the tractor. And the gasoline troll
/ ley.
And a new speed boat we are
building. We are using deTalumi-
mum, the German metal, in the speed
boat, which will have 1000 horse
power. 1t will be 80 feet long and
go co miles an hour.
I'VE are experimenting lot with
, deraluminum now that we can make