The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1921-09-02
U. S. WILL LOSE so MILLION
DOLLARS TO HENRY FORD
A Letter from Clifford Pinchot ex-
planning how U. S. Tax payers
will be deprived of an Enor-
nous Government In
vestment.

yestment.
Editor,
The News and Lambertville Record.
Dear Sir:
The recent offer of Mr.. Henry Ford
to take over Government property at
Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River
is SO important that l take the liberty
of laying certain essential facts be-
fore you.
The first part of the Ford offer is
to lease the Wilson Dam and Dam
Number 3 for 100 years. with in
definite renewals. provided the Gov
eminent will complete them and in
stall machinery to produce $4,000
horsepower Mr.. Ford offers to pay
6 per cent on the rs million dollars
which he estimates will be necessary
to complete this work, or 4-10 per
cent on As million dollars, Mr. Ford
own estimate of the whole Govern
ment investment in dams, locks, and
power houses. Even if we add all
other annual payments 1.-THE so-called
amortization payments, and payments
for the repair, maintenance. and oper-
alton or dams. gates and locks. the
total would be equivalent TO interest
at the rate of only 8 6-10 per cent.
Mr.. Ford offers also 10 give the
Government 800 horsepower to oper-
ate the locks.
Please note that for the water
power itself Mr.. Ford would pay
nothing and that he would ne free
from taxes on the property. Other
lessees of water-power rights from
the Government not only bear the
total cost of building their own dams
and powerhouses and pay taxes on
them, but they also pay for the water
power in addition. The Ford offer Is
like offering man 6-10 per cent
on the cost of his factory as rent. and
then asking him 70 throw IN = coal
mine to supply fuel for the engines
for nothing.
There is no allowance for deure-
citation, and the Government would
beyond question have TO pay the cost
of injury TO the dams or locks from
floods or other causes. Moreover.
there is nothing in the offer . indicate
that the Government, in order TO pro-
tect its own property, would not have
to bear the expense of replacing enor-
mously costly machinery when it had
been worn out in Mr.. Ford's service.
The second part of the Ford offer
is to buy Nitrate Plant Number /,
which cost the Government in round
numbers Is million dollars, Nitrate
Plant Number 2, which cost the Gov
eminent in round numbers 20 million
dollars, and other property which the
total cost to 50 million dollars and to
pay S5,O00,000. for it all. The property
for which this offer is made includes
steam machinery to produce 100 thou
sand horsepower, which alone is worth
far more than Mr.. Ford's offer for
the whole. In addition, the Govern
ment is to buy from the Alabama
Power Company the land upon which
certain of the foregoing structures
were built, and to turn that over to
Mr.. Ford also.
In return for the lease, for the pur-
chased property, and for the water
power without charge, Mr.. Ford Of
fers in addition to the payments men
toned above, to do three principal
things:
First, ito maintain Nitrate Plant
Number 2 ready to be operated in
time of War for the production of
explosives" and in the event of War
to turn it over to the Government for
that purpose,
Second, "to operate Nitrate Plant
Number 2 to approximate present
capacity in the production of nitrogen
and other fertilizer compounds" and
in this business to limit his net profit
from the manufacture and sale of
fertilizer products to eight per cent.
Third, the offer as written suggests
producing, but contains no direct pro-
posal to produce, fertilizer for the
benefit of American farmers. That
could, of course, be corrected in the
final contract, for / have no doubt
that Mr., Ford desires to make fertili-
ger at total net profit of eight per
cent. Nitrate Plant Number 2, how
ever, is not adapted to making fertili-
ger, but only cyanimid, one of several
materials used for the production of
fertilizer, and not one of the best at
that
The fact is that the Ford offer is
not mainly fertilizer proposition. It
is seven parts waterpower to one part
fertilizer, even if the fertilizer part
should work out. For, if Nitrate Plant
Number 2 were to be permanently
employed in the manufacture Of fer
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