The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-07-20
NORRIS REPORT
SCORES FORD'S
POWER PROJECT
Detroit Manufacturers
Offer For the Muscle
Shoals Properties Given
Some Rough Handling

| washington, July ZU.-ln c0mDre-
hensive report submitted to the SEN
ate today by Chairman Norris of the
senate agricultural committee, Henry
Ford's offer for the purchase and
lease of the governments war-initiat-
ed projects at Muscle Shoals, Ala
bama, is condemned in unusually
strong language, while the Nebraska
senator's bill, proposing development
of the properties under a government
owned and controlled corporation, is
described as the most wonderful
plan" that has ever been proposed in
the history of the country.
| On the question of the Ford bid. the
report says, Senators Page, McNary,
Reyes, Gooding, Norbeck. Harreld and
Mckinley, republicans, and Kendrick,
democrat, concur with the chairman.
With reference to the government
ownership proposal, the report gives
the names of five senators, Norris,
McNary, Gooding, Norbeck and Nc
Kinley, who favor its passage by the
senate for the solution of the Muscle
Shoals problem.
| Because of the lineup of the com
mitteemen, the report is characterized
as a minority opinion insofar as it
expresses approval of the govern
ment ownership bill, but is presented
as a majority opinion insofar as it
deals with the rejection by the com
mittee of all proposals for Muscle
Shoals development
The Ford offer is dealt with in I'M
sparing terms. It's adoption, the re-
port says, would put the government
of the United States into business
with vengeance adding that those
who ask congress to accept the Ford
offer ask us, in effect, to lease this
property to this corporation without
any real consideration, and then in
addition thereto, guarantee to repair
them and keep and maintain it in
good condition for a period of one
hundred years"
1T is difficult to harmonic our idea
of Mr.. Ford's fairness the report
continues, with his silence on this
subject, when his name is so often
used in exaggeration and misrepre-
sentation as to just what he does Of
fer to do The country has been Civ
en- to understand that, Mr.. Ford has
guaranteed to reduce the cost of fer
tilizers by one-half He has done
nothing of the kind. He has made no
guarantee of any kind in the way OF
the reduction of the cost of fertilizer.
The country has been given to I'M
derstand that he pays the government
four per cent interest on its invest
ment in the two dams. He does moth
ing of the kind. He has not made any
such offer and no such proposition Is
included in his bid Giving his cor
poration credit for every dollar that
it pays, he will be paying to the tax
payers less than three per cent on the
money which he uses out OF the
treasury of the United States, and
when we consider that this loan runs
for one hundred years, 1t requires
even the stretch of the imagination to
understand the enormous profit that
this corporation secures in this one
item alone.
Assuming that fair interest rate
in the commercial world is six per
cent intertst, this would give his cor
poration during a hundred year pc
Rod. total gift of cold cash OF $685.
25O. 900, and IL this money were COM
pounded as Mr.. Ford asks the govern
ment to compound what he pays, the
profit to the corporation at the end OF
the one hundred year period would be
S14.5 ,O00, 900. This is more than
half our total cost of the world war.
"The country has been given to un-
derstand that the Ford offer provides
for the repayment to the government
within the one hundred year period,
the entire investment that the govern
ment has made. His offer does moth
ing of the kind. On the other hand,
the total payments included In the
) offer of both interest and amortiza-
ton, amount to less than three per
cent on the investment and he never
! paws one dollar of the principal. The
people of the country have been lead
to believe that the Ford offer means
reduced price for electricity to the
consumer. 1t means nothing OF the
kind. He has not agreed to furnish
single kilowatt to any home or 70
any manufacturing concern except his
own. The mighty power at Muscle
Shoals will be devoted entirely and
exclusively to the use OF the great
} corporation which Mr.. Ford will or
ganize.
when we bring together the re-
suits that must follow from these
two divisions Of the Ford offer, the
; mind Is dazed at the unreasonable
[ ness of the proposition, at the enor
) nifty OF the gift. With the expenditure
/ OF no money there is to be turned
r | over to corporation property OF thu
) value Of more than $1,000. OOO. 900, ant
the right and privilege to extort un