The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-05-15
FORD'S AGENT
INSPECTS SITE
Real Estate Manager Says
Plant Would Make 1000
Cars Per Week.
SEES BIG ADVANTAGES
Claims Ability to Unload Ships
al Plant Door Would Save
Many Thousands Yearly.

The proposed assembling plant OF
the Ford Motor company would give
employment to between 1000 and 5000
persons here in Kenosha, it was stat
ed today.
According to statements made by A.
{. Buckley. western real estate chief
for the Ford company, when he visit
ed the site on Monday, the proposed
plant would have daily capacity of
approximately so carloads of automo-
biles a day. Seven assembled auto
mobiles can be shipped in freight
car, and upon this basis the weekly
output of the plant would be 1000 ma
chimes.
1t was then estimated that between
1000 and 5000 men would be employ
ed to turn out this amount of work.
Mr.. Buckley announced that his COM
pany are merely waiting to see how
the new $10,00O,000 assembling plant
at Hegewich, just south of Chicago.
functions before starting another ex-
pansion project in Kenosha.
Better Facilities Here.
According to statements made today
by Capt. l.. L. Hill, secretary and
treasurer of the Hill Steamboat COM
pany, which owns the dock front in
which the Ford people are interested,
Mr. Buckley pointed out that Kenosha
has features which are not to be had
in the new plant.
Mr.. Buckley stated that just such
advantages as are to be had here were
searched for by the company before
"a Whiln
the Illinois plant is accessible to nine
rail lines, it is necessary to send the
boats approximately $50 miles furth-
err on each trip from Detroit to reach
the Hegewich plant than it would be
q similar factory located here. Under
the present system all parts are ship
ped by water from the Michigan fac
tory to the assembling plants, because
water transportation has been found
to be much swifter and less expensive
At both the Hegewich and Milwau-
kee assembling plants it is necessary
to transfer the cargo from the docks
to the plants. The feature which par
ticularly interests the Ford people in
the Kenosha project is that ships
might tie up here and unload directly
into the factory, thus saving the add
cd cost of the long land haul and the
cost of the double handling of every
ton of parts. This, it is estimated
runs into many thousands of dollars
III years time.
According to Capt. Hill the site at
which the motor people are looking
contains approximately $4,000 square
feet. 1t has a 160-foot frontage on
Main street, 500 feet of dock space on
the Kenosha side of the harbor. with
400 feet on East Water street, and
about 100 feet on Cedar street. This
gives sufficient space for the erection
of a very large plant.
The Kenosha harbor has % feet of
water, which is sufficient depth to
float any boat that now plies the wa
tiers of the Great Lakes.
Mr.. Buckley stated that the Ford
company has made an intensive study
of the relative advantages of water
and rail transportation and that the
showing made by the water haul has
aroused their interest. Load 10000
tons aboard ship and cast off her
lines, then let child throw his weight
against the side of the ship and be-
fore long it will respond, the captain
said. To move this much coal by rail
would require nearly 500 cars. A
child couldn't bulge it, nor could one
gigantic locomotive. This proves that
freight can be moved by water with
the least power.
Now as to speed, it has been found
that water shipments are almost ten
times as fast as rail. The average
haul cross-country is a little better
than 80 miles a day. A steamer will
lay this distance behind in three
hours, and have the other 81 hours to
pile up mileage over the rail freight
All told shipping by water is at least
10 per cent cheaper than by rail.
Capt. Hill pointed out that in the
shipment of millions of dollars worth
OF freight this is an important item,
and for this reason the Ford people
are very much interested in the Ke-
nosha project.