San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-28
Eyes of Country Focus on Ford
Master Mind of Automobile Industry Rider of Successful Hobbies

millionaire Detroit automobile manu-
--facturer through the eyes of hi
friends.
But his enemies-and he has many
vision him as stubborn mechanic
\ whose good fortune IN a. ..ssing great
a.wealtlf has led him into channels Of
race prejudice, egotism and foolish no.
tons.
Any conception of him-whether
good or bad-must be derived. though
from knowledge of his wonderful ""~1-
Ecity for creating ideas and, what is
more to the point, caring them to
completion.
Some have proven to be no more
than vague dreams. later turning into
sad fiascos. Yet the result-creation
of one OF the three largest fortunes
in the world-shows clearly that many
of his plans were workable.
Plenty of Hard Work.
4 Back of Ford's ideas was work.
That was his philosophy of life. He
started at early boyhood with work.
And he struggled through his youth
with il.
! He liked It, too. His particular
hobby was mechanics and he grasped
every opportunity to show what he
could DO IN tnat line.
When only 10. Ford took to expert
nenting. He had been mystified by
the action of the steaming tea kettle on
the stove. One day he stuffed paper
into the spout of an earthenware pot
filled with water. hung the pot over the
fire in the oldfaShioned fireplace and
waited for results.
x They came with a bang. The ex-
,ploding steam scalded his face and a
fragment of the pot cut a cash in his
head.
That was Henry's first experience
with mechanics. His next did not
come for quite a while. For he had
been born on 3O0-acre farm, 10 miles
from Detroit, where he had no chance
to watch mechanical progress such as
was apparent in the city.
~. Spends Life on Farm.
This farm was what developed in
him a sympathy for farmers, which
strengthened in him as he grew older.
His first great invention was for the
farmer. His later work all tended to
help the farmer out of his lonesome
rut. Henry Ford's home still is on the
farm that saw his birth. That was
July 80. 1868.
William Ford. his father, was of
Irish descent. His mother, who was
Mary Litogot, was Dutch.
They had migrated to the small
Michigan village of Greenfield some
time before and had settled on the
Stract Of land which has remained a
Ford estate since. 1t was the only
source of their income.
As soon as he was able TO think for
himself. Henry showed his bent for me-
chanics. He wasn't II when. with
other boys. he built a dam across the
River Rouge. which runs along the
farm. to make the family water wheel
revolve rapidly.
At IL. he took every wheel. screw
and spring out of his chum's watch End
proceeded to put them together again.
He vowed later he would have put
every piece into its proper place had
not his father interfered.
Henry's mother dieh when he was
il. That started him on his yearnings
for the city and its opportunities. He
already had interested himself in me-
chanics and he wanted to, earn q
livelihood through it.
After school and his daily chores, he
would be into the farm shop and work
on a Seam engine he had designed.
When he had il completed he mounted
it on a crude chassis and started il off.
1T did not satisfy him. He would have
to know about engines before he could
go ahead. The city was the place TO
learn.
1t was in the spring of 1880 that
Ford suddenly walked 10 Detroit and
hunted for a job. No one had known
of his intention. He was supposed to
have gone to school, as usual.
In Detroit, Ford went to the largest
machine shop and got job for $3.50 a
week. That wasn't enough to pay his
board, so he got a job working for a
Jeweler at night.
Watch Gives Him Idea.
Ford liked his work. He studied all
angles of the trade until ne knew ii
thoroughly. Then, after nine moiirhs,
he quit his job for another on which he
believed he could learn more.
He was not IS when he changed
jobs, still getting $3.50 a week. But
his pay was raised quickly and he was
soon in a position where he could af-
ford TO buy a watch.
When he got home Ford took the
watch to pieces and studied it. He
had paid SO for it. But there was
nothing in it that should cost that
much. One dollar was enough, he
thought.
Ford figured and figured. Finally
he got his first real bunch. A sud
den turn of events deferred him from
acting upon it, but it was significant
as his first big thought 1t was:
Quantity production.
Henry Ford was IS when he first
thought of quantity production-pro
duction such n mass that the articles
he made could be sold much cheaper
than others of the same class. ThaI
idea has made of Henry Ford one OF
the three wealthiest men in the coun
try and his name n byword along tn,
roads Of every country on earth.
Early Hopes Fell Through
With the pieces of that watch be
fore him, young Ford thought, VIII;
could be rot design machines tina
would stamp out those parts at 81
rapid a rate that he could sci lth,
4 entire product for only 30 cents?
4 He talked it over with some of hi
fellow workers. He juggled figur"
- to show them how easy the who'll
thing was. They were enthusiastic
}, All they needed was the capital.
81 They were trying to figure gu
where they could ATTAIN the none!
sethey needed for the enterprise, whe,
"a call came for Henry to return t