The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-26
FORD's FITNESS FOR THE JOB

Those who favor Henry Ford's offer for Muscle Shoals have something far more sub stantial than sentiment on which to base their support. They believe that MT. Ford's program includes the rounded development of all subsidiary and secondary activities and potentialities inherent in the Muscle Shoals situation. The reason for this belief is MT. Ford's record in other places along similar industrial lines. They know what he has done in his leading industry, produc- ing an efficient article at moderate price and giving it remarkably wide and thor ough distribution. They know what he has done with railroad that seemed to be on it's last legs Of course, there are many who say that Mr. Ford's own merchandise con- tributed to the profitable tonnage of that road, and that the example does not prove anything. On the contrary, it proves a great deal. Ford's road made money during the time when some other roads were having more than they could haul yet were losing money. The opportunity was there ana Ford turned it to his advantage and to the advantage of his business. Incidentally, he contributed to the relief of the car shortage by withdrawing his business from congested lines, as far as practicable.
 It is now known that Ford is beginning to manufacture his requirements from the raw materials. He owns the principal sources of aluminium. He expects to manufacture aluminium an economic basis. How he went into Michigan's upper peninsula and successfully undertook reforestation and timber conservation policies in connection 1.,it known. Now he goes down into Kentucky and acquires coal and timber lands. He says that he will make every lump of coal do double duty. How this may be done is well illustrated by Birmingnam's develop ment of coal by-products. And while he is mining his coal he purposes to let the 12O,00O acres of surface above his mines produce it's maximum of timber. Not only will he conserve the timber there already, but he plans to put reforestation experts to work replanting the denuded portions and replac- ing less valuable growth with timber species of more value. MT. Ford Is not only an exploter of natural resources and opportu- mites; he is also a conservationist, who be- lieves in maintaining sources of supply for the future, future beyond his own possi- ble span of years, and in replacing exhausted supplies, wherever practicable.
 For these reasons the people of Alabama and of the Tennessee Valley are confident that MT. Ford's program for Muscle Shoals would result in the maximum industrial de- velopment of which the project is capable. It is not hero-worship, as some have charged; it is confidence in his industrial ability, his willingness to found his operations on tried economic principles, and his financial ince- pendence which enables him to go ahead without being subject to influences that could club him into forsaking of his pro- gram because of conflict with other special and approved interests seeking to maintain supremacy for the sake of monopolistic control of essential commodities. If Wall Street, as is commonly reported, is opposed to MT. Ford's Muscle Shoals ambitions, that opposition is popular argument in his fa- vor The job lies there at Muscle Shoals waiting for some one to handle it. MT. Ford is the only one willing to tackle it. It needs to be tackled. Why not let him do it?