Great Falls tribune., 1922-02-21
ALABAMA BID
DELAYS ACTION
ON FORD OFFER
Secretary Weeks Will
Send Power Company
Proposal to Congress.
House Plan Is to Sub
init Joint Report on All
Propositions Before 1t.

Washington. Feb. 2O.-Announce-
ment by Secretary Weeks Monday that
he would submit to congress Tuesday
the Alabama Power eompanys offer
to purchase and lease the Muscle
Shoals, Ala, nitrate and water power
projects. submitted to him last Tues
day, added to the possibilities of fur
ther delay in congress Of consideration
of Henry Ford's offer for the same
properties. J.
The Alabama company's offer, it
was said, would be addressed to the
speaker of the house and president of
the senate and be referred by them
upon receipt, probably to the military
affairs committee of the house and ag-
ricultural committee of the senate, both
Of which are engaged in investigating
the Ford proposal. Chairman Kahn
announced that the house body would
conclude its study of the offer sub
mitted by the Detroit manufacturer be-
fore undertaking hearings on the new
proposal. but would not report them
separately to the house.
Make Joint Report
The plan in recommending accept
ance or rejection Of the offers to the
full membership of the house, the
chairman said, would be to prepare
joint report on all proposals congress
might receive In this manner, it was
explained, the Ford offer would re-
main in the committees hands, pre-
venting action by the house until all
the proposals the war secretary might
submit were thoroughly investigated.
Mr.. Kahn said he expected to con-
clude the hearings on Mr.. Ford's offer
this week and would Immediately be-
gin an examination OF that from the
Alabama Power company, which Secre-
tary Weeks indicated was considered
"a better Offer in some respects than
that of Ford.
The house committee Monday inter
rogated J. o. Hammitt, vice presi
dent of the Air Nitrates corporation,
a subsidiary of the American Cyanide
company of Maine, who defended the
reports of the former concern to pur-
chase nitrate plant No. at Muscle
Shoals upon as favorable terms as the
government might accept from other
private enterprises.
He Submits Contract
He submitted contract signed by
the corporation and war department
officials under date of June s. 1913.
This constituted a solemn and bind
ing agreement" Mr.. Hammitt said, add
ing that il it was violated by the gov
ernment through acceptance of the
Ford proposal, the corporation would
reluctantly instruct its attorneys to re-
sst such action in the courts. He as
serted emphatically that decision by
the government to disregard the agree
ment would reduce the standard of
business morality to a lower degree
than ever had been approached by
private concern.
Mr. Hammitt declared the proposal
to give the plant to man who did
nothing to develop ii, and in addi-
ton give him the cheapest water pow
er on the American continent" would
be a violation OF the governments
pledge to the Air Nitrates corporation.
which, he declared, had placed its every
facility, including its patents and secret
processes for nitrate production, at
the disposal of the country when the
war needs were greatest
To Protect Owners
The witness also explained that the
Air Nitrates subsidiary was formed SO
that the holders Of the cyanide COM
pany's stock might be protected in case
the governments contracts were not
carried out. but added that in each case
the contracts were filled 100 per cent.
'.All we asked for the use of the pat
ents and processes" said Mr.. Hammitt,
was the right to buy the property if
the government decided to sell them
after the emergency. That was a nee
cssary protection to ask, as they rep
resented our greatest assets and we
were anxious they should not be made
available to competitor.