The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-12
FORD SHOALS BID
 IS VIOLATION OF
 WATER POWER ACT
Pinchot. e,o By Spon- sorssoSs ssS a 5ut Indefinite
 ss -Believe Motor sS .>Ing Would Amend
By HUGH W. ROBERTS Washington Bureau T.ie Age Herald
 5OQ n.-.tslson Buildiuc

5OU Davidson Building
 Washington. September l1.-GIf- ford Pinchot, who advised the gov ernment to make haste slowly in re- gard to the disposal of the Muscle Shoals property under the terms of the Henry Ford offer, has been round ly criticised by individuals and or ganizations which sponsor that offer. It is even hinted that after an as- sociation with the people for many years, he has entered the camp oi the "plutocrats.'
 MT. Pinchot made three criticisms of the Ford offer. The first was that it's provisions regarding fertilizer were not sufficiently explicit. The second was that the government could not accept the offer as originally written and live in consistency with the federal water power statutes. The third was that the offer did not pro vide payment to the government of a sum commensurate with the none tary value or the property
 The Fertilizer Terms
 Mir. Ford agrees to devote Nitrate Plant No. 2 to the manufacture ot ammonium sulphate fertilizer in gredient. To operate that plant 100, 900 horse power is sufficient. The re- maining 40O,00 to 100000 horse power will in no wise be appropriated tc the production of fertilizer.
 The capacity of Nitrate Plant No. is about 250,000 tons of ammonium sulphate per annum. That amount could be used in several counties oi Alabama. By the terms of the offer the farmers, through their represen- tatives, will determine the territoria disposition of the production. Int 250,000 tons. therefore, would be scat. tered from Dan to Beersheba. If the experimentation is entirely satisfactory, and other plants, oper ated by remaining water power, are devoted to fertilizer. there is nothing in the Ford offer limiting profits ot such other plants to s per cent. These facts. caused Pinchot to declare the bid indefinite. It is believed, how ever, that whenithe condition is called to the attention of MT. Ford he will immediately make appropriat. amendment.
 The Water Power Act It is understood that Secretary Weeks will endeavor to persuade Mir Ford to make his offer conform te 1 the federal water power act After Ia years of discussion, this act was passed in June, 1920, as a compromise between those who held that control of waterpower was a ! state function, and those who be- | lieved that the federal government should control. One of the principal pi ovisions in dispute was the tenure of the grant It was finally fixed al l 50 years subject to recapture by the government upon payment of net in fvestment not to exceed it's fair vali 5 It was provided that rates to con public utility commissionse of the several states. There are provisions l also. preventing the making of ex- cessive profits. A charge is fixed based upon horse power developed i to be credited to the cost of admin istration of the act and applied to maintenance and operation of navi- gation structures, headwaters or other improvement.
 1 The Ford tender would exempt MT Ford and his successor from these so-called safeguard" provisions This explains another reason for the Pinchot agitation.
 Ford Got Franchise
 i Coincidentaly. the first franchfs. granted under the water power act went to MT. Ford. He has authority (Continucd on Page TwO.)