The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-26
MIR. WEEKS CAPITULATEs

velopment is marked by certain in- constituencies. In the first place, it is recalled thatsM MT. Ford made his of fer in response to request by the war department. Instead of acting on that offer in a straightforward manner, the department appears to have used it as a trading basis for negotiations with other concerns. h. deed, there is suspicion that the hos tility aroused among the fertilizer manufacturers and the Alabama Power Company by the Ford offer has been of greater influence in shaping the governments course in the premises than has the public welfare.
 All this has resulted in great delay and in blocking the reconstruction of the fertilizer plants to conform to more modern methods of nitrate and chemical production. This chemical production should have been, in the eyes of the war department, most outstanding concern, for the expe- rience of the last war showed how vitally important are the sources of explosives. Inasmuch as MT. Ford s offer provided for the keeping of the nitrates plant in state of constant readiness to turn out explosive essen- tials in quantity, that feature should have been paramount in the view Of the war department, particularly as no other offer gave any such guaran- tee. The fact that the sale of the Gorgas plant makes it uncertain whether MT. Ford will now bid for the Shoals project should disturb and entirely destroy any complacency Mr. Weeks may otherwise have felt over the transaction, for refusal of MT. Ford to proceed would mean the sac. rifice of the tremendous prepared ness asset of an efficient and ca- pacious nitrate plant. The hope is that Mir. Ford will not be deterred from his purpose to acquire and develop the industrial and chemical potentialities at the Shoals.
 The attitude of the Alabama Power Company was, as usual, oblivious to the public and official desires and interest. Without any good reason therefor, the power company refused the trivial extension of time asked for, and apparently bluffed the secretary of war into accepting it's offer for Gorgas, under threat of withdrawal of that offer. Or, if Mr. Weeks was not bluffed by that threat, he at least seized upon it as a ready excuse for the transaction.
 Let us consider for moment the actual potency of that threat of with drawal. The bid of $3,450,O00 for Gorgas was the climax of a gradual boosting of the successive prices of. fered by the power company, the orig inal offer being not more than half that. Under pressure of MT. Ford's offer, the power company raised it's bid several times, thus revealing it's readiness in the beginning to pay only nominal sum, regardless of the ac- tual worth of the property.
 But, in yielding to the power cohl- pany's insistence, has MT. Weeks profited the government in actual cash? The answer is that he has net altered the cash value to the govern ment. For, according to MT. Weeks own proposition, the sum paid for Gorgas is to be deducted from the amount Ford offers for the entire project. Therefore, MT. Weeks can claim no credit for having made the government any money by the deal. The deal may actually have cost the government money and been a great and costly blow to the public welfare if it alters MT. Ford's desire to have the Shoals project. Besides, it jeopar- dizes the governments preparedness to manufacture nitrates, which should be the war departments chief con- cern.
 The fact also that the claim of the Alabama Power Company to the Cor gas plant was weak and had many ar guments against it's validity subtracts further from any fancied worth in Mir. Weeks equalization. Undoubt- edly the fact that that claim was weak had something to do with the com pany's refusal to extend the time limit and it's threat to withdraw it's offer. The American people are greatly dis appointed that the secretary of war did not follow the wiser course of testing the contract instead of adding his weight on the side of the power company's evident and unwelcome pro- gram of monopolizing all the water power of Alabama and placing this whole state and adjoining states in it's tribute. The situation thus created is challenge to Alabama's people, Ala bama's government and Alabamas del egatlon in congress to enter the fipht