The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1921-08-30

to take over government property at
Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee river
is so important that | 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 No.
3 for 100 years. with indefinite re-
newals. provided the government will
complete them and install machinery
to produce $4,000 hon sepower. Mr..
Ford offers to pay 6 per cent on the
twenty-eight million dollars which he
estimates will be necessary to com
plete the work. or 4-10 per cent on
~ million dollars, Mr.. Fords own es
innate of the whole government in
vestment in dams, locks and power
houses Even If we add all other an
nual payments (the so-called amorti-
cation payments. and payments for
the repair, maintenance, and opera
ton of dams, gates and locks), the
total would be equivalent to interest
at the rate of only $40 per cent
Mr.. Ford offers also to give the gov
eminent 1900 horsepower to operate
the locks.
Please note that f)r the water
power itself Mr.. Ford would pay moth
ing, and that he would be free frofl
| all taxes on the property. Other les
sees of waterpower rights from the
government rot only bear the total
cost of building their own dams and
powerhouses ard pay taxes on them.
but they also pay for the waterpower
In addition. The Ford offer is like
offering a man $40 per cent on the
cost of his factory as rent. and then
asking him to throw In coal mine
to supply fuel for the engines for
nothing
There is no allowance for depreci-
alton, and the government would. be
i yond question, have to pay the cost
of injury to the dams or locks from
floods or other caIsea. Moreover,
there is nothing In the offer to indi-
cate that the government. in order to
protect its own property, would not
have to bear the expense of replac-
ing enormously costly machinery
when it had been worn out by Mr..
Ford's service.
The second part of the Ford offer Is
to buy Nitrate Plant No. l. which cost
the government in round numbers
Il million dollars; Nitrate Plant No
., which cost the government in
round numbers 20 million dollars,
and other property which brings the
total cost to IS million dollars. and to
pay five million dollars for 1t all. The
property for which this offer Is made
includes steam machinery to produce
100 thousand horsepower. which alone
is worth far more than Mr.. Ford's
offer for the whole. In addition, the
government Is to buy from the Ala
bama Power Company the land upon
which certain of the foregoing struct-
ures 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
NTH oh Mr. Eord IF
fers in addition to the payments men,
toned above. to do three principal
things:
First. ito maintain Nitrate Plant
No. 2 to be operated in time of
war for the production of explosives"
and In the event of war to turn II
over to the government for that pur-
pose.
Second, ito operate Nitrate Plant
No. 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-
posals to produce. fertilizer for the
benefit of the American farmers. That
could, of course. be corrected In the
final contract. for / have no doubt
that Mr. Ford doa{rac ~ yoata farttit-