The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-12-15

That have come out of the Mr..
Ford proposes ITO salvage the plant
that was intended to take nitrates out
of the air, produce fertilizers, furnish
h~ydro-electric power, and perform
other useful purposes. 1t is a worthy
suggestion, and the government might
take it up except for the fact that
Mr.. Ford's offer asks the United States
to spend forty OK fifty million dollars
OF new money, and then turn the
whole thing over to him in the sole
hope that he will "wizardize' Muscle
Shoals a good deal as he has wizard
lied" Ford automobiles. An examina-
ton of the Ford proposal shows that
about all the Detroit man has to offer
are big promises. Naturally govern
ment officials pin considerable faith TO
Ford promises, and were it not for the
fact that the acceptance Of his offer
would make him sole master of another
huge monopoly, he might gain favor
able attention. In view Of the fact
that the government has just COM
pleted a s~uperpower survey of the
eastern states, and is using every ef-
fort to develop hydro-electric plants
throughout the country that will "tie-
in" to one another, and distribute
power over hundreds, and thousands
of miles, through establishing inter
connections, he is likely to draw a
blank. The established policy in pub
lie affairs Is to secure cooperation in
industry, and to discourage monopo-
lies. The visions the democratic MI.
Ford has, as he travels in his private
railroad car, appear to possess too
many shadows of monopoly; and n
is reminded of the spellbinders who
once advocated fat money, when we
read his statement condemning the
participation of stockholders in his
various enterprises because their
money does not represent what he
calls production Having plenty Of
money of his own Mr.. Ford assumes
that whenever he makes any Of it
work that it is all productive" Thus
has the mechanic Of Detroit evolved
into a champion Of monopoly.
From November % to December 5
is not much of a recess for congress
to take. When men like Uncle Joe
Cannon, still in congress, were first
elected, the congress often met in De-
cember, recessed most of the time un-
til after New Years and then worked
until March 4, when adjournment was
taken until the following November.
That was the usual process OF n
"short session." During the "long ses-
sion'' congress sometimes remained on
the job until late in June. But as the
country grew in size the sessions be-
gan to lengthen. Finally there came
a time when the appropriations for the
session were a billion dollars. Answer
ing the storm of protest Speaker Thos.
B. Reed said this is a billion dollar
country"
Nowadays a billion dollars is only
an incident, and because there are so
many of these billions Of dollars laid
the backs Of the taxpayers the world
is trying to shake off some of its sur
plus ornaments. But with the growth
of the country and its institutions the
necessity for longer working periods
has been demonstrated. AS a result
congress is in session on an average
of about ten months out of every year,
and during several recent years there
has been no letup except for brief re-
cesses like the present one.