The Washington herald., 1921-02-02
HENRY FORD SITS
LIKE GOOD JUPITER
ABOVE TEMPESTS
writer Finds Auto Mag.
nateo UncOncerned at
Raging Storm Below.
= CONTINUES POLICY
Seeks Money Only at Own
Terms, Assert Experts
In Close Touch.
BY KARL A. BICkEL.

DETROIT. Feb. Henry Ford
today believes he is sitting on the
top Of the world"
In the seclusion of his country
home Iat Dearborn, Ford is laying
plans to meet changes in the indus
trial world which he believes are
coming, with innovations as sur
prising as those by which he star
tied the business world eight years
ago.
Far From Bankrupt.
Henry Ford is far from bankrupt.
The . gigantic 2OO,0OO,0OO Ford
Motor Company is not in any danger
Of being absorbed by the General
Motors There will De more changes
in the personnel of the higher exec
uuve stan of the Ford Company
shortly. There will not be any rep
resentarive of Wall Street bank
crs sitting on the directorate with
a veto power over Ford's eNpendl-
lures
Ford is in the market for money
but at Henry Ford's own terms
only.
Six propositions have been made
TO him by New York and Boston
financial groups. Another was made
York bond and investment house.
Others. including proposition from
Michi gan syndicate, are expected
;. JD be made in the next few days.
shown to Door.
ne restrictive proposition. made
by a famous New York house, re-
suited in its representative being
CurtIy offered his hat and shown
the door. Another. which provided
for an issue of SlOO,OOO.OOO fifteen-
year 5 per cent bonds, to be sold
at par and to net Ford 9S4, was
likewise rejected.
Ford is in no hurry to close
loan.
II any fnanciers, who do not like
Ford for either business reasons or
for racial reasons, should attempt a
squeeze play" Ford knows he
could. if necessary, stop all produc-
tiun at his plants and simply wait
until conditions adjusted themselves
to suit him.
There i no doubt that FOrd's at
tdcks upon the Jewish international
bankers have aroused intense an
tagonism in Jewish quarters and
have had "A tendency to aggravate
the situation.
Eut Ford is ready to meet this
antaEonlsm. He expected it.
Does No Worrying.
These are the true facts today
in the greatest industrial-fin
situation ever developed in a
, single manufacturing enterprise. A
thorough, direct investigation COW
crinC the last few weeks reveals
that other people do most OF the
worrying for Henry Ford.
The whirlwind Of wild rumOrs and
excited stories. prevalent through
out the country, have entirely
passed over Henry Ford's head. He
does not even know of the existence
Of a greater part of them. He is
the most secluded man in America.
The Pope in the Vatican or Wood
row Wilson in the White House
never succeeded in surrounding
himself with a more impregnable
wall against all corners.
Hard to Reach.
In his library at his home at
Dearborn. where he is seen by only
few Of his most trusted advisers,
he is working out the problems that
h. finds facing his properties. There
is but one way to reach him and
that is through the office Of his
r.nr~al secretary. L. G. LiebOld. and
a-,arnst this serene but Unimpres-
~ronabIc barrier countless men who
n.neve they have business with
Ford have been struggling in vain
for weeks.
Occasionally since F. J. KIinPCa-
smith. former general manager OF
,rnr Ford organization, left the COM
pany. Ford drops in at the High
land Park plant for a few moments.
His COminEs are unheraldCd. The
highest executives at the Highland
Park plant do not know when to ex-
pect him or in whose Offices he will
appear,
Ford believes that he has ample
resources t. clear up all Outstand-
,nc obligations without operating
his plant if j is necessary. As a
final eNpedient. if he desired. he
could place mortgage on his prop
,rly.
Crisis of Men.
The situation that Ford faced last
Dr,.rm bpr-and to degree still
rIceS-was not crisis of dollars,
but Of men.
For the last fvc years there has
been steadily developing inside the
Ford organization an intensely bit
ter ractional contest between two
--oups Of executives, all of them
master minds in Ford plants, con-
lending for two radically different
industrial ideals
The battle has been fought In
stIsnce and under the surface, but
kvIth the utmost relentIessness.
one division is largely personified
nv E. G. Liebold. general secretary
Tor Ford. and without question to-
5sv nne Of the strong men" in the
organization. and G. f. SOrenson, a
production and efficiency engineer.
Out Of the struggle has come an
/ imposing list OF resignations"-
rssualties Of che conflict. The nee
essities Of production during the
world war and the terrible demands
upon the plants for production inn
1ediately following the armistice,
operated to staye ~ the inevitable