The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1922-01-24
Doom of Great Cities Is Seen If
Henry Ford's Three Dreams Come
True; Back to Soil, Is Principle
Doing Away With Metro
polls; An Abundance of
Water Power to Furnish
Heat and Light; Revis-
ion of Financial System
are on Slate.
by NORRIS QUINN

DETROIT Henry Ford is trying
to make three dreams come true.
Those dreams have been behind
every massive business move Ford
has made or planned in the last year
even his bid to buy the undevelop'
ed power plant at Muscle Shoals
Ala.
And if you watch closely you'll
see these three dreams behind every
Ford enterprise in years to come:
ONE-Doing away with the neces-
sity for great cities and getting the
people-even industrial workers-bacl1
to the soil.
TWO-Hastcnlng the arrival OF an
era when heat. light and power will
be so abundant that 'it will be
wasteful not to use them"-thiS by
intensive development Of water pow
er.
THREE-Revising our financial
system so money won't have the
power to stop things"
Ford told all about his three
dreams and how he hopes to make
them come true in an interview
here.
Doom of Great Cities
"The great cities are doomed" the
auto magnate said. He made a ges-
ture as if he were actually sweep
ing the cities away.
II don't mean they'll fall into
ruins Immediately. But they'll go
sooner than you think. A few will
stay. They'll be big distributing and
assembling poirts--not congested cen
ters.
"The people will go back to the
farm and small town--they're headed
that way now.
THE city's served q useful purpose.
It's taught people how 10 live In
groups and close communities. When
they go back to the country they
won't tolerate unpaved streets. badly
equipped schools, defective santa
ton.
"The coming small town will have
all the advantages of the big city
llOHc vi oN
Then will factory workers com
mute TO and from their work."
mot at ALL" Ford answered.
Their work will commute to and
from them. They'll complete the work
In their village worlSship-then it
will be sent to one of the big as
sembling and distributing points.
Already IN Accomplished Fact
Now l want TO hear someone say
1t can't be done
Because I've already done IT.
I'm experimenting in several
small Michigan towns. Not 80 miles
from Detroit I've established a
small shop run by water power In
an old mill. Work is sent down
here.
"Thc workmen live under semi.
rural conditions. They have gard
ems. They may keep chickens and
cows. II they wish.
Entertainment? The social life OF
the small town will adjust itself
all right. People will get up their
own shows, develop their onw en-
tertainment. There'll be fewer spec
tators and more actors.
Water the Golden Fluid
Ford caused. He'd been talking
rapidly. Then
II spoke of using water power tc
operate the little experimental plants
In Michigan" he went on.
Let me tell YOU water is the gold
On fluid of the future. 1t will give
us our light, our heat, our power.
And We can't exhaust It. As LONG
as Il rains, rivers will flow and
they'll supply power ceasclessly.
"Whea water power possibilities
really are developed, the supply oi
heat, light and power will he sc
great It will be wastcful NOT to use
all you can.
And II will cost little. A river
charges nothing for flowing. And
It costs but little TO make the pow
er and deliver II TO the user"