Arizona republican., 1922-06-21
FORD OFFER
MUSCLE
SHOALS IS
CONDEMNED
Eight Republicans Sign Re
port Denouncing The
Proposal AS unfair To
The Nation"

WASHINGTON. June 20.-Eight
Republican members of the house
military committee today signed re-
port, submitted to the house by Rep
resentative Kearns of Ohio, de-
nouncing Henry F'ord's offer TO pur-
chase and lease the governments S
projects at Muscle Shoals, Ala. Their
action increased to four the num-
ber of reports emanating from the
committee and marked another divi-
sion of opinion among the 21 men,
bers over the question of Muscle
Shoals disposition.
The eight members are Represen-
tatives Kearns of Ohio; NORM, Crago
and Ransley. Pennsylvania; Crow
ther, New York; Hill, Maryland;
Parker. New Jersey, and Frothing-
ham, Massachusetts.
None of the signatories to the new
report was willing for congress to
accept the Ford offer. either as rec
commended recently by the so-called
majority views presented by Acting
Chairman Mckenzie, or by those who
endorsed the report written by Repre-
sentative Parker, Republican, OF New
Jersey, and endorsed by Representa-
tive rockingham, Republican, of
Massachusetts, both of whom signed
the Kearns document today, was in
effect merged with the new report.
The Kearns report stressed the i'm
portance Of getting Ito the country
clear. fair and unbiased statement of
facts" concerning the Ford proposal,
declared that wicked and paid"
propagandists were scattering prop
aganda throughout the country that
is often void of truth and attacked
the Ford offer in a way that left none
of its provisions free from hostile
criticism
At the same time the report as
serted that the Alabama Power COM
pany, which submitted an offer to
develop the power projects at Muscle
Shoals, had always dealt fairly with
the government and was offering
81, 100000 for its interests in the
steam plant at Gorgas, in accordance
with the terms of the contract ev-
ecuted with the war department when
the plant was erected.
Says Offer Inadequate
In another part the report sum
married. the cost prices of the projects
which Mr. Ford would purchase for
$4,000 600. A total expenditure of
S5,343,296 was claimed on the Waco
inquiry, the Gorgas steam plant and
nitrate plants Nos. 1 and 2, while the
amount offered was held to be
wholly inadequate
Among the other provisions OF the
Ford offer which were attacked by
the report We're those proposing a
lease of the water power projects for
100 years, that fixing the terms OF
the amortization plan for repaying
the government for building dams
two and three, that offering $4,000
annually to the government for MAIN
tenance and repair of dams: that
providing for the manufacture of fer
tilizers during the 100-year lease and
the failure of the Detroit manufac-
turer to agree to pay interest on the
$17, 100000 already spent on the Will
son dam.
Lengthy explanations of each of
these features of the Ford offer were
contained in the report which pointed
out the belief that the taxpayers of
the country would revolt if congress
accepted the offer and voted appro
priations totalling $50,000,000 to carry
out it's terms.
A tabulation of the entire cost to
the taxpayers of the United States
of the Muscle Shoals project up to
the present time also was presented,
showing a total of $167 1853, 296, in
Guiding $13,320,O00 for interest on new
money required at dams two and
three.
'.Some say that Mr.. Ford is honest
the report declared, "and that he has
said he wants to make fertilizers, and
they are willing to take him at his
word whether it is in the contract or
not. What they say about Mr.. Ford
is not endowed with perpetual life,
although some members or the mill
tary affairs committee would give
him this water power lease in per-
petuity.
Mr.. Ford cannot live throughout
any considerable part of the terms
of this water power leasehold and
when he is gone and all the men that
he may have surrounding him will
have passed away, we do not know
in what unconscionable hands this
plant will fall, and neither does any
man know who is living today"