Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-14
Religious Prejudice, Sons
War Record, Lack of Pre-
vious Public Service and
Lack of General Informal
ton Cited

the Republican and Democratic nominate
Mr.. Lawrence has just finished a tour OF
tthe western part of the United States with
President Hrading and is now en- route to
Europe to make detailed survey of recon-
StructioE problems there. At the conclusion |
of this series, Mr.. Lawrence's daily cables
from Europe will begin exclusively in Tue
J0urnal.)
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
(Leased Wire Service to The JournAl)
Copyright, 1929
He has dealers in every city and
town in America.
lie makes a commodity that al
most everybody uses-men, women
and children.
He is known from one end of the
country to the other.
You might assume fl ON this de-
scription that Henry Ford is the
man. He is. But these three state
ments fit equally well and apply
to Bill Wrigley, tie chewing gum
liking. Yet neither he nor Gillette,
the safety razor man, is being boom
ed for the presidency.
Needs Record of Service
People who are unfamiliar with
the inside workings of American po-
litical parties have jumped to the
conclusion that all that is necessary
for a nomination is that the man
should be widely known and tina.
ho should have some semblance OF
an organization throughout the
country. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
The history of American politics
reveals that at no time has any pc
litical personality sprung to the
front in a presidential contest with
| out some conspicuous public service
behind him. Even William Jennings
Bryan had served a term in con
gress before his famous "cross OF
gold" speech in 1896. Woodrow Will
SON did not come direct from Prince.
ton university to the White House,
but served a term as governor OF
/ New jersey. William Mckinney,
William Howard Taft, Theodore
Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Grover
Cleveland. Judge Alton B. Parker
all the men who have been ncmlnat-
ed for the presidency in the present
generation either have been selected.
to public office or previously had
| been appointed to some position OF
| importance. /
! There IS much similarity between
! the boom for Henry Ford and the |
movement that swept the country in
1920 fer Herbert Hoover, but even
/ Mr.. Hoover had served in a public |
capacity as United States food adj
! ministrator and while he had no
/ connection with either Of the pCiNi- |
cal parties there was no doubt OF |
his administrative ability when en-
| trusted with a public office.
Assets AMI Liabilities
Henry Ford never has been elected |
to any office of public trust in Amer |
| lea. He has several assets, pOlit-
lcally speaking, but he also has |
many liabilities.
Here are his strong points:
He is a self-made man. He has |
| had a romantic career in business, |
and has done almost the impossible |
~ tie financing of his own business. |
/ he farmers of the country are acn-
! ing for some Moses to lead them |
! out of their wilderness and the name |
| Of Ford catches their imagination.
Here are Henry FOrds po.;tir"l
| liabilities:
The American Legion probably
never would support d man for the
presidency whose SON had been ac-
cused of draft evasion in the World
war. If Henry Ford should become
a candidate for the presidency, It is
almost certain that one or the other
Of his opponents of the political
world opposing him would revive
the controversy over Edsel Ford.
| Religious Angie
| Henry Ford boasts of his bigotry
on religion. His campaign against
the Jews is in conformity with one
of the principles of the Ku xxx
Khan. And whether the khan III
/ dGrsed him or not, it seems almost
certain that he would be given the
label of the khan by political oppo-
nents. Under such circumstances
large numbers of Catholics would oe
antagonized and would be inclined
to oppose any man who was even
/ slightly favored by the khan.
/ There naturally would be a good
deal of ridcule in a Ford campaign,
when for example, in the libel suit
he conducted against the Chicago
Tribune an attorney asked Mr.. Ford
who Benedict Arnold was he replied:
AN English novelist" Opposing
campaign supporters surely would
make use of this to show Ford's
! limited knowledge on American his
tory. !
If the truth were known, Henry
Ford is not anxious to get into the
political limeiGht. He is not ambi-
tious for public office. Rather is
ne the victim of those who are push
ing him forward. This is usually
the case when a prominent figures
personality can be capitalized. Mr.
Ford himself is we'll aware of the
limitations of his career. For one
thing, he would have to give up all
active connection with the Ford
motor enterprises, and he probably
cares more about his business than
he does about politics, anyhow
When he ran for United States SEN
iator in Michigan, there were many
people who believed he would not
serve out his term if he were elect
ed. The popular belief was that he
was put into the race by those who
were anxious to overthrow the Re
publican machine in Michigan.
Might Tangle Party Lines
Would Ford be amenable to the
wishes Of the Democratic party's
leaders? This all leads to the ques-
ton of his uncertain political affilia-
tons and his Indifference to party
tradition and principle. 1t takes two
thirds to nominate at a Democratic
convention, and there are always
enough delegates to constitute a one
! third veto.
Certainly there is no chance for
Henry Ford in the Republican con-
vent1on, as that party is more or
less committed to the denomination
OF President Harding
What are the chances, therefore,
for Henry Ford's nomination on e
third party ticket? Almost anybody