The Monroe journal., 1922-11-10
HE WANTS HENRY FORD
TO have MUSCLE SHOALS
Copies of His Speech Urging That
Detroit Manufacturer Be Allowed
To Make Nitrates Received
THE BEST PRESENTATION ON
THE SUBJECT" SAYS HEATH
Seventh District Congressman De-
clares Thai Fertilizer People and
Power Corporations Refused TO Bid
on Big Project Until They Saw Mr..
Ford Was Going TO Get Ii.

on Big Project Until They Saw Mr
Ford Was Going TO Get II.
Fertilizer manufacturers were ac.
cused Of selling farmers So pounds OF
''inert matter" sand and dirt, with
every l00-pound sack of their prod
uct by Congressman W. c. Hammer
Of this district, in his speech in favor
Of leasing Muscle Sholes TO Henry
Ford. This deliverance. copies OF
which have just been received here
was described by Major W. C. Heath
IL bis speech introducing Mr.. Hammer
10 his audience at Waxhaw, "as the
best presentation Of RE subject he
had read"
Eytrac.s .rom the S7each read:
1T was in 1855, the year OF cur
war with Spain, that Sir William
Crooks. then president of the British
Association for the Advancement OF
Sc.ence. called the attention of the
scientific world TO the fact th2; we
were rapidly nearing the end OF our
available supply of nitrogen. and nj
trcsen is one Of the most essential
clemens necessary 70 maintain life
in any form on this planet. We are
all familiar. or should be. with the
history Of what followed the nitrogen
experiment that we tried few years
ago. We know how the nitrogen in
dustry was driven out of the United
States by the veto of President Taft
when an attempt was MADE to locate
such plant on the Coosa River in
Alamaba. and the air tiXation nj
trogen industry from that day to
this has been a beggar at the con-
gressional doorway seeking supply
OF cheap hydroelectric power that is
necessary for a maintenance Of the
industry.
whether at home or in foreign
lands nothing is so inspiring to a
patriotic American as to behold he
flag of freedom, and | am glad this
is so. | am glad that we have an
Ar1er,ca we can all be proud of, and
a flag that we worship with spirit
Of devotion, bat bow my head in
shame when | read the nt:ogen rec
ord Of this great country OF ours.
"ln spite of the fact that during the
year 1917 we imported from Chile
two hundred and fifty three 5,001-ton
shiploads Of nitrate Of soda the Ord
nance Department in October of that
year was confronted with a very
large deficiency in the supply Of ex-
plosives of materials for explosives,
and finally, II months after Congress
had provided the way and the means
for the solution of the wartime nj
trogen emergency, the Ordnance De-
partment turned 10 the only people
on this continent with commercial
experience in the business which they
were trying to develop, namely. the
American Cyanamid Co.. and nitrate
plant No. , at Muscle Shoals. with
its annual capacity Of 10000 tons
Of ammonium nitrate, containing
$4,000 tons of rure nitrogen-eQuiva-
lent of 250.000 tons of Chilean nj
tra;e, which is the amount Of nitrate
used in a normal year by American
agr culture. This great plant was the
result, but II months Of priceless
time had been lost due to misguided
or incorrect views as now in the
light Of time fully appears. and when
the plant was ready "a offer the re-
lief and make available the great
tonnage of explosive material that
was necessary the sacrifices had been
made and the war had been won.
"Then followed the breaking up Of
a great war machine, a period Of sal
wage. and the return to a peace-timc
basis. The administration, appreciat-
ing the fac. that Congress had SAID.
in making the original appropriation
for the nitrate nlants, that these
plants should produce "'nitrates and
products for munitions Of war and |
useful in the manufacture Of fertili-
zer, and other useful products,
sent experts to Europe to work out
a plan for the utilization Of the
nitrate plants.
The Special Interests lntervened
Meanwhile certain special interests |
which FOR years had been doing out
to the farmer his nitrogen supply in /
this country looked wi h no small con-
cern at the prospect Of the building 1
up a great nitrogen industry in
America, but they knew that the /
plant was an explosive plant, that for
its conversion to manufacture Of fer |
tilizer products would require the in |
vestment of many millions Of dollars. /
These interests then decided that the /
United States nitrate plan should |
not be operated by anyone in the /
production of fertilizer.
"A ready answer, therefore, await
ed the Federal nitrate director. DR.. !
Arthur Graham Glasgow, when he /
the presidents OF the
great fertilizer companies. lie offer
ed them the use of these nitrate
plants free of any rental CT other
charge whatever until they should
earn per cent on such capital as
they might invest, and thereafter, he
that they divide any addi-
tional profits with the Government,
but with one accord they turned him
down coldly.
IAN effort was also made to get Ger.
tain nananciers in New York to un-
der AXE to form company TO operate
these plants. Scant consideration was
given to the scheme and no invest.
cations undertaken; an appeal was
likewise made to the coke oven in
.erests with the same result.
Ford's Thunderbolt
So, as a last resort Government
was proposed by the ad-
under what was known
Is the Wadsworth-Kaha bill. These
interests, having declined the oppor-
.anity to operate the plants them