The Washington times., 1921-05-29
FINANCE
AND


|
Henry Ford Is At It again. This
time he haS turned wheat grower
and miller. and Is supplying his De-
troit workers with nour At % cents
for twenty-five pounds, or $50 .
barrel. or course, these price, are
below those ruling elsewhere-Ford's
prices always are.
fiaunch into new enterprises and &C
| tivities of every conceivable descrip-
| ton? Is he in danger of over reach
mgr Or has he such a colossal busi-
ness brain that he can become \
! veritable Alexander the Great of in
| dustry7
Ford Is the most picturesque in
dustrial figure in Americas history.
His achievements have captured the
public Imagination more than Rookie
feller's- Whereas Rockefeller incur
red widespread illwill by his busi-
ness exploits, Ford and his activities
have captivated the public. Until he
embarked upon his senSational cam
paign against the Jews, he WAS prob
ably the most popular multimillion-
aire In the land.
make some humping mistaken
was the emphatic advice given
Rockefeller by an adviser whom
Standard Oil consulted regarding
ways and means to improve It's
standing with the people. Ford
hasn't needed that advice. Even his
foibles have usually drawn him nearer
to the common people.
His famous "peace ship" expedition.
derided though II was. gave the mass
es the impression that Ford's heart
was In the right place.
His extraordinary confessions of
ignorance on the witness stand in his
memorable libel suit drew upon bis
head an avalanche of ridicule, yet
many millions felt deep down In their
hearts that they themselves woLld>
have cut little better figure. and they
had a sort of fellow feeling for
poor old Henry"
When the present King and Qu.en
of England were once voyaging to
India a soldier was stationed at tho
entrance to their staterooms. One
day he heard the Queen nagging
his majesty. She kept 1t up for quite
a while. The King remained perfect
ly silent. On and on she went. until
finally his majesty shouted at her:
For Gods sake, woman, hold your
tongue!r 81 felt" related tie soldier
afterward, like going in and saying.
George, old boy. shake felt that
the King was just the same a. the
rest OF US after ALL. Ford, with all
his millions. has made the people feel
that he Is just one of them
Ford's ambit ions are now centered
in his son Edsel. He wants him to
become the greatest business man Of
his generation
That is chiefly why Ford Is branch
ing out into diverse nelds on q
colossal scale.
That is why he has taken to turn
ing out tractors at q rate nevar
dreamed of by any one else.
That IL why Ford has acquired
vast oil lands, invested millions in
his own railroads, bought thousands
of acres of growing timber. turned
his attention to producing q new
type of trolley" car, and plans to
blossom out in other directions.
Organized less than twenty years
ago, with virtually no capital. Fords
company now has assets approaching
$500. 900. 900. During recent years his
income has probably exceeded that
Of any other man in America with
the single exception OF John d. Rookie
Teller.
Ford. however. has relatively little
cash or securities apart from a rath-
err large block of Liberty bonds
and, Of course, his shares In the
Ford Motor Company. His wealth Is
virtually all tied up in his business
enterprises.
That is why he recently underwent
q very trying period financially. But
revival in the demand for automo-
biles has sent . stream OF cash now
ing into his treasury.
mo tree ever quite reaches heaven,-
says a German proverb.
There is a growing feeling In A.
nancial and industrial circles that
success in the past. is branching out
too far and too fast, and that he Is
counting ultimate disaster.
Those most closely associated with
him during his rise have nearly all
parted company with him. They de-
clare that he has become unbcarably
and impossibly headstronK. domineer-
ing. autocratic, that. he will not
listen to reason. that his ambitions
have completely run away with him.
and that unless he pauses and alters
his course. he will inevitably bring
about his own ruin, just as George
Westinghouse did and as so many
other geniuses OF an inventive turn
OF mind have done all through indus
trial history.
And yet-well- Fo.d has always
been q smasher Of. precedents, ne
has always been a law unto himself.
he has always been doing what
others declared to be impossible of
accomplishment. IL may be that he
can still see farther and clearer than
any one OF his associates. Edison
once told me that Ford has a m ost
amazing faculty for hitting upon the