The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1922-09-30

Henry Ford in a newspaper inter-
view advised the people of the coun-
trv to ''buy as little coal as possible
now" declaring coal prices are tumb-
ling.
Mr.. Ford granted the interview
shortly after his return from South
ern Ohio. where he arranged for an
uninterrupted movement of coal to
Detroit industries.
Tell the people of the whole world
if YOU cam Mr.. Ford said in his in
terview. "that if they would save
money they should not buy coal IN
any great amount now. Tell them to
buy only enough to get along with.
For coal prices are tumbling and they
will go much lower. They will have
opportunity, later on, to get their
winter coal much more cheaply."
Mr. Ford, in company with his son,
Edsel, president of the Ford Motor
Company, spent three days along the
Detroit. Toledo and IrOnton railroad,
the manufacturers property, and saw
hundreds of thousands of tons OF
coal moving northward he said. They
arranged for an ample supply of fuel
for the Ford plants for the next sixty
days, he announced.
There is enough coal above
ground to run the country for long
time" Mr.. Ford said. "The high
prices were made because the supply
was held back from the market. But
the price is falling rapidly. We
bought 500 ears of coal in Toledo for
SIS ton. That, Of course, includes
che freight rate from the mines TO
Toledo. At Cincinnati Edsel arrang-
ed for sixty day supply of coal for
approximately So ton at the mines.
And that is So ton less than what
the brokers paid for it. The brokers
have held their coal so long that their
profits have been wiped out and now
they must unload at any price. Be-
fore spring comes you'll see coal sell
for good deal below So a ton"
Mine Owners Blameless.
'"The mine owners are not to
blame for the coal situation," said
Mr.. Ford. "The brokers are the rob-
bers, and they are financed by a
group of bankers who participate in
the robbery. If these grafters were
cut off, the price of coal would be
reduced so per cent without reducing
elJnef miners wages VI IuS pIOlito VI
the coal companies.
'If we had not closed our indus
tries the price of coal to household
| ers would have gone to $25 ton this
winter. 1t might have gone to $50
ton. | know domestic consumer IN
city near Detroit who was Informed
by his coal dealer that the price Of
anthracite would be $25 a ton. The
customer was required to make de-
post of $40 a ton before the dealer
would book the order.
81 don't know how others feel
about such grating, but | will not
stand for it. | would have kept our
plants closed sixteen years if neces-
sary to break this artificial coal
shortage. l am fighting for princi-
ple. We could have paid So or 81
a ton more, perhaps, without adding
more than so cents to the cost of a
| car, but if we had paid the graft the
people would have been plundered
| for millions. There is no use of our
paying high wages to our men II
| profiteers are to take it away from
them the next moment. We closed
our plants to protect the public. The
public welfare was the only consider
alton that moved me when | decided
| TO shut down"
Ford is very bitter against Hoover
and the Interstate Commerce Com
mission, blaming them for the high
price of coal.