The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-02

! the war department nWted various engineers to make inFes .igations and recommendations At Mr. Worthing- toms request MT Ford was invited
 to consider the proposition. He be- came interested MT. Warrington called on Mir. Ford. After short conference with him and the Ford engineers, Mr. Ford decided to go to Muscle Shoals for an inspection. The result is known. Mir. Ford filed his proposal,
 Manufacture Fertilizers
 Mir. Worthington said some persons were insisting that Mir. Ford could
 not manufacture fertilizers, and If he does it will not interfere with the present prices. He mentioned that persons failed at first in their efforts to perfect flying machines, but fly ing machines have been perfected; that people laughed at Alexander Graham Bell when he was working on the telephone, but the telephone is in operation and voices may be heard for thousands of miles. MT. Worthington said it is more impor- tant to manufacture fertilizer than i: is to fly, and Mir. Ford will do it.
 He declared that Muscle Shoals will furnish the power for the manu- facture of fertilizers and that the American people are determined that it shall be used for the manufacture ] of fertilizers. He said he was not in favor of repeating the exemptions all ready given to water power develop ment and declared that North Caro- 1 lima had received it's position be- cause of the development of it's 1 natural water power
 MT, W0rthinRtOn declared ha uunui1 ! return to Washington much en- couraged as a result of his attendance at the meeting and predicted that MT.
 Ford, if he gets Muscle Shoals, will l do everything he planned to do He
 also declared the people believe Mir Ford will do what he has promised o'Neai Follows
 1 Governor OEeal followed Mir. Worthington in an address in which
 he aroused great enthusiasm at the | beginning by his attack on the Ala
 bama Power company. He insisted d
 that the people of Alabama would rather let MT. Ford have Muscle | Shoals on his own terms than to let
 the Alabama Power company have it on unusually favorable terms.
 If the Alabama Power company should succeed in defeating the of | fer of Mr. Ford, it would be a na- | tional calamity he said You peo- l pie gathered here are not seeking pleasure but are here because Of your desire to do something to fight the slimy tepaeles of this nnonopiy. which is seeking to deny to us this great opportunity.
 He said the rejection of the Ford offer would mean that the profits of
 Muscle Shoals would be turned into trn
 respondence with Thomas W. Martin, in which Mir. Martin said he had done the Alabama Power company an injustice by charging that it is a foreign corporation. He referred to the report of the congressional com mittee which said the common stock of the company was owned in Eng land and Canada. Wouldn't it he
 folly to entrust the manufacture of
 nitrates in time of war to Englan l or any other foreign capital" asked Governor O'Neal. This question brought loud cheers from the audi ence.
 Governor o'Neal also charged that the Alabama Power company, dur ing war times" eoerced from the gov ernment contract which has been branded on the floor of Congress as an unconscionable contract"
 | He also said Mr. Martin had said an injustice had been done the com pany by Governor O'Neal's statement of report that r members of the | state senate are on the pay roll Of the power company. He said there are only. two senators and three rep resentatives on the company's pay roll" commented Governor O'Nea1. l That's five too many. We elect representatives of the people and not of the corporations The representa- tives who are on tho pay roll of the power company may be above such thing. but I recall to mind that bit of scripture: The ass knoweth it's masters crib" This statement brought roar from the audience. The GorsAS Plant
 Governor O'Neal said Secretary Weeks. Colonel Williams and Cover nor Kilby insist that the govern ment is under a moral obligation to sell the Gorgas plant to the Alabama
 Power company Again he took up the report of the congressional com
 mittee in answer to the statement,
 He said the government employed
 the Alabama Power company, as agent to erect the Gorgas plant and paid it s225.o 900 for it's services and !