New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-01-14
Ford's Muscle
Shoals Bid to
20 to Congress
Two Other Offers for Power
Project Probably Will Be
Submitted at Same Time.
Officials Lack Authority
Weeks Is Disappointed
manufacturers Failure to
Agree to Less Than 100.
Year Lease Likely Snag

WASHINGTON, Jan. Is. Henry
rords offer for purchase and lease Of
the governments nitrate and water
power projects ut Muscle Shoals Ala
will be referred to Congress for Gn.]
oeo'sion' 1T was announced to-day at
the conclusion of conferences between
government officials and Mr.. Ford. Ac
companying the Ford proposal when II
is transmitted, Secretary Weeks snid
probably would be the two offers re
cHVcd from Frederick Engstrum. of
Wilmington. N. c., and C. c. Tinker.
OF San Francisco.
The decision to forward the three
offers to the Legislative branch of tho
government. it was said. was reached
after consideration of the question bv
executive officials continuing over 2
period of more than six months. Under
inc laws regulating disposition OF real
estate and other properties owned by
the Federal government, it was said.
the department officers lacked author
ity TO take final action and were COM
PEELED to refer the Muscle Shoals pro-
posal to Congress for its consideration.
To Be in Contract Form
Actual transmission Of the proposals
was not expected to take place for at
least two weeks. 1t was explained that
the Ford proposal first would be draft
ed in contract form by law officers OF
the War Department and be submitted
to Mr. Ford for his signature before it
was submitted to Congress.
While the legal departments arc
working on the contract form, it was
said. Secretary Weeks would prepare
%,., 49,
comments" he believed its members
should have for their information.
what my comments are" tho Secrc-
tary said, twill appear when ] send
the offer to Congress, which will be
done as soon AS the papers arc pre-
pared"
Some officials said they believed it
would require week to prepare the
contract and probably another week or
more would be necessary to obtain the
signature of Mr.. Ford. The contract
will be sent to Mr.. Ford in Detroit or
elsewhere for that purpose when it is
drafted.
Weeks Is Disappointed
Explaining the action taken by the
conference, Secretary Weeks said he
was disappointed in that Mr.. Ford de-
clined to agree 70 certain notifications
of his plans which we're held desirable
by his conferees. One OF these was
known to be that affecting the rcduc-
ton Of the 100-year lease period. The
principal modification agreed 80 by Mr..
Ford was that guaranteeing payment
annually Of 4 per cent interest on the
cost Of construction of dams Nos. .
and 3, regardless of the cost, whereas
at first he offered interest only on
$2S,00O,OOO.
Secretary Wecks's statement, explain
ing this agreement. follows:
"Mr. Hoover and have had long
consultation with Mr.. Ford about his
offer for Muscle Shoals and have
brought up for consideration various
phases of it, The only modification
which Mr.. Ford is willing to make is
based on our request that there should
be q guaranty of the limitation of cost
of building dams Nos. 2 and 8 and, in
that matter. he has offered to pay
dams from the time of their compile
ton to the expiration Of the contract
That, Of course, means on the amount
Of money which has not been returned
to the government through the amorti-
cation plan made in tho original pro-
posal.
"The offer of Mr. Ford is going to be
put in the form of contract and sent
to Congress"
Added Task for Congress
1t was explained that Mr.. F'ord's re-
fusal to accept the modification pro-
posed for reduction of the 1O0-yea
term probably would give Congress
an added task in connection with it's
consideration of the offer. Existing
laws regulating lease of properties pos
sessed by the Federal government, it
was explained, limit the period of maxi
mum lease to less than century and
Congress probably would have to
modify the statutes in the event it de-
cided to accept the Ford proposal.
Mr.. Ford, however. was said to have
expressed an unwillingness to agree
10 shorter time, on the ground that
the financial investment he would make
would involve a greater amount Of
money than he was prepared to spend
under any time period less than one
hundred years.
Several members Of both the House
and Senate m..de no effort tonight,
when informed that the contract would
b submitted to them, to disguise their
1ears that both houses of Congress
would be divided on the question when
it reached the stage of consideration
~, tho HoOr