Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1922-01-11
(By Associated Press)


It was while the automobile man
ufacturer and the inventor walked
about over the great water powe,
development, which the government
built here during the war, that Mr.
Ford expressed for the first tint
what he declares is his real purpose
in seeking to buy Muscle Shoal!
from the government.
The government, as yet, has no
completed the development. Severa
great dams, locks and other work!
are to be built. To date about $50,
100000 has been spent on it. Ac'
cording to government figures, $50,
100000 more will be required tc
complete it so that Mr.. Ford car
take it over and operate it, develop.
ing power and manufacturing nj
trates, aluminium and other activi-
ties.
Congress so far, in keeping with
its policy of economy, has been
averse to raising the $30,000,O00 by
taxation. The only apparent alter
native is for the government to issue
3O-year bonds and sell them to the
highest bidder.
"If you take over Muscle Shoals"
Mr.. Ford was asked, "what effect
will it have on your Detroit indus
tries and Detroit as a whole?"
Mr.. Ford didn't reply for mo-
ment, and then it was question.
"Why do you think l want Muscle
Shoals? ?" he asked. at can't be
money that l want out of Muscle
Shoals. 1t can't be more business
that / want. We're now turning out
more than a million cars year, and
we are ready any time to put out
that number of tractors. So it can't
be a greater expansion of operations
that I'm after in bidding for Muscle
Shoals.
"There must be some other reason
and there is. If Detroit, or the
south, or any other particular local
ity is benefited by my taking over
Muscle Shoals, good-that's fine
but it's incidental. My purpose in
taking over Muscle Shoals is not to
benefit US or our business or De-
troit or any other part of the coun-
try-my one purpose is to do GER
tain thing that will benefit the whole
world"
"In what way?"
"Just this way" the manufacture
er answered, as he came to the cor
ner of a great abutment. Pointing
his finger for emphasis, he said: "It
the government accepts my offer for
Muscle Shoals as we have made it
and will consider completing the
dam according to financing plan
which l have in mind, We can here
do epochal thing-literally, ]
mean tan epochal thing. We shall
eliminate war from the world"
Tut how" l queried.
Howl" he asked in return. "Just
this way. It's very simple when yor
ana,yze it. The cause of all wars i:
gold. We shall demonstrate to thu
world two things-first, the prac.
ticability; second, the desirability o,
displacing gold as the basis of cur
rency and substituting in its plac,
the worlds imperishable natura
wealth."
81 don't quite follow you," 1 ven
tured.
81 didn't expect you would" MI
Ford came back. "Most everybod
in the world except the newspaper
recognize that civilization has en-
tered on a new era-the newspaper
and the bankers. The newspaper
don't see it and the internations
bankers don't want to see it
would mean changes in world Fl
nance and bankers always oppos
changes"
II can't see the connections"
said, between a river in Alabam
and the elimination of war"
"But there is connection" M
Ford answered. And then abruptly
"You don't want war, do you? c
course not. If you ask your neigh
Dor, you'll find he doesn't want wa
an d his neighbor and the famil
next to him feel the same way.
"And if you went out and knocl
ed at every door along every stre'
and road nthe world you'd find e'
cry grown man and woman in tt
world giving the same answer: N
no, God save us from war; Then,
all the families in the world are o.
posed to war, why, in the name {
Heaven, do we have wars? Did tn;
question ever occur to you? We
there's a reason. There's profit
wsr. / don't mean moral profit {
religious interest or spiritual upif
through trial by fire, nor any of thu