The Washington times., 1921-12-05
MONEY WOLVES
BLOCK FORD IN
SHOALS BUYING
Edison Heartily Approves OF
Auto Kings Plan to Acquire
Power Reservation.

BY ALLEN Il. bENoUN,
Copyright. 1884,. by. international News
Service.)
FLORENCE, Ala. Dec. 5.-Henry
Ford and Thomas A. Edison left for
Detroit at II o'clock this morning
after having spent two days In the
inspection Of the Muscle Shoals prop
critics. The purpose Of the trip.
which was taken at the suggestion
of the Secretary of War. was chiefly
to enable Mr.. Edison to give an opin-
ion as to whether the Government
should accept Mr.. Ford's offer.
Mr.. Edison told me that he was
alphabetically in favor of passing the
properties to Mr.. Ford for what he
has said he is willing to pay. Mr..
Ford, however, will not Immediately
report to the War Department the
opinions of Mr.. Edison and himself.
He said he intended to let a little
time elapse to enable his currency
proposition to soak into" govern
mental heads in Washington.
Wants Plan to "SOak In" Here.
Mr.. Ford's currency idea il q plan
to enable the Government to complete
the Muscle Shoals project without ap-
propriating any money or Issuing any
bonds.
what is the chief objection to my
plan, as It stands?" he asked. THE
objection is that the Government
would have to sell bonds to get the
necessary money. which Government
engineers estimate at $4b,o00.000 to
$50, 900, 900, though ! am sure / could
do the work for much less.
Suppose the work could be done
for $50 100000. If thirty-year bonds
were sold at per cent, the Govern
ment would have to pay total sum
of see, 900, 900. of which $36.000,O0c
would be interest. There Is no use OF
letting anybody graft on the Govern
ment like that. l suggest that the
Government issue 100000 900 In cur
rency, based upon the value and IN
come of the Muscle Shoals property
and pay for completing the project
with the currency"
Mr.. Edison strongly approves Mr.
Ford's currency plan.
As an instance of how big men look
at things, II Is interesting to note that
both Edison and Ford regard as small
the 100000 horsepower hydraulic
project at Muscle Shoals, which every
one else considers big.
'It is but q ea-bite," said Edison.
AS compared to what should be done
to develop this country's water
power"
There should be perhaps hundred
more dams on the Tennessee river
alone" said Ford, who has set the
country to talking by trying to gsr
possession Of two dams on the Ten
pessee.
Somebody asked Ford II Edison was
"a nj a
Muscle Shoals.
mo, he was not" replied Ford. IL
is not very easy to surprise Mr.. Ed
son."
Old Stuff To Edison.
borne home to him on the trip across
the river to inspect the big dam. He
pointed to q rock crusher, which he
said was the most powerful In the
world, and stopped the train SO that
those who might wish to might get
out and inspect 1t. Edison aignteo
and clambered UP to the crusher. the
army officer at his side. Edison
looked at the machine minute ana
said to the officer:
TITS out Of date. I have a machine
that will crush a solid rock as big
as that water tank" at the same time
large as the army officers machine.
Mr.. Edison Is greatly impressed
with what Mr.. Ford, with Muscle
Shoals in his control, would be able
10 do for agriculture by the fixing OF
nitrogen and the manufacture OF Ter
tiliZers.
"At the centennial exposition In
1876" he said, II remember seeing a
section of Iowa soil five feet deep. all
Of which was suitable for growing
crops. Neither Iowa nor any other
State now has much soil. we nave
been exporting our soil-converuns IL
into meat and grain and shipping our
products away without replenishing
the soils fertility.
Great Need Is Fertilizer. :,
1.-THE great need Of American land
Ia fertilizers. This Is particularly
true of the South, the soil OF which
never contained much humus. Our
cotton is not what 1t used to be De-
cause Southern land il becoming
poorer every year. The market price
of long staple cotton is about three
times that of short cotton. yet the
South every year raises more snort
cotton and less long.
Ford could take this muscle
Shoals plant and produce every in
sredient of fertilizer except potash.
He could produce potash, but what
would be the use of making it when
he could buy 1t from Germany for
less? That is the kind OF foreign
trade I believe in-the kind that
brings in something that we cannot
well produce at home. 1 would i'm.
port potash just the same as l would
import bananas"
Realty Men Go Into Action.
As belief gains ground that Ford
eventually will get Muscle Shoals,
certain humorous features are de-
yeloping. Real estate dealers from
as far away as st. Louis, Chicago
and New York were here in force
when Mr.. Ford arrived in an effort
to sound him out as to just where
the town is to be in which his