The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-19
PRESS ON FORD WITHDRAWAL.

~r.. PRESS ON FORD WITHDRAWAL.
 r: The South has been greatly stirred by the Golfers interview in which Henry Ford states that his offer for Muscle
 Shoals is no longer before congress: There is considerable indignation aroused -s over the belief that political machina- lions are responsible for the failure of ,a congress hitherto to come to final de- acision on> this important matter. The de- lay in determining some constructive dls- 7, ,posal of Muscle Shoals so as to give to ,, the nation adequate return on the great public investment there is but another 2 charge chalked upon against the Repup- iican administration. MT. Ford,s With drawal comes at a time peculiarly ad- vantageous to the Democratic cause, TOT the Muscle Shoals project IS a Demo
 cratic achievement which the Republic
 ans have thwarted at every turn and
 even sought to hand over outright to :, privileged interests. It was orlginaiiy . sought by the Republicans to junk the ln- vestment. but public attention directed to :. the situation prevented such an out
 rageous outcome, and the decision was then made to complete the water-power construction. Beyond that there is no plan as yet adopted.
 
 2. cast down, as witness the declaration o1 the Florence Times from the very heart 3 of the Muscle Shoals district, where the people have been earnestly and zealously r supporting the Ford offer, in the we'll founded belief that it is the best yet ad- vanced: "One would have expected that such an announcement would have cast E.sneIl of gloom over this district, but such has not been the case, and the people, ap- E parently, are as optimistic of the future saas they have ever been, and not the slightest lessening in movements ot prog ress and development has been indicated. There still exists the belief, and very .enronerly so, that when congress meets, ,l Mr. Ford will have to be reckoned with in 79 the disposition of Muscle Shoals. No bid 1lhat would mean the use of the Shoals Iy any of the present monopolles will De
 permitted, if facts established at the last
 congress continue to exist, and Ford offer has certainly made It lmposslole i3, for Muscle Shoals to be grabbed OH at a :, trifle, and without consideration TOT the
 American public and the farmers Tn US
 development and operation. There IS no : cause for pessimism at Muscle Shoals ana ma 5 the people know it." That IS the splri' that wifi compel congress eventually to do the right thing by the project
 ,ys From Huntsville, which haH also banked
 on the Muscle Shoals expansion, the ..,Tines declares: "While MT. Ford has
 withdrawn his bid there's not one lota /, of reason why any of us should be dls- + couraged. We still have Muscle Shoals
 and we still have MT. Ford. After the ' November election we opine that every il thing will work out in good shape, and the chances are now that the government
 will have to bid for MT. Ford instead ot him having to fight to get what he should a. have in behalf of the people without I moments delay. Meanwhile, let's bend { all our energies together and wln." IL g is because the cities of North Alabama 3 and neighboring territory have pulled to-
 gether that the project has gained its due measure of national attention. The
 Gadsden Times says: Proving and em'
 phasizing it's sincerity the Alabama Pow
 CT Company announces that it's bid fol the great power plant at Muscle Shoals Stands as made and that it is ready and
 anxious to take the property over atThere is no doubt about the sincerity ot
 the power company's desire to monopollze
 Muscle Shoals.
 .,-, The Selma Times-J Journal thinks that
 the withdrawal twill be constructed as o conflrmatory of the widely prevalent I'm pression that Ford never did seriously . want the Shoals" The same newspaper cites the fact that Ford resisted repeated
 appeals for alterations in his offer a' f further evidence that he did not wan
 the property. However, even MT. Fore 2 could not foresee that congress woulc
 haggle over the matter for more thai y two years, nor that after such long dis
 cussion his offer would be rejected. l
 is not believed that the Selma papers es innate is exactly fair to the people wh,
 have so sincerely espoused the Ford of
 fer, nor complimentary to the intelli gence of the senators and congressmel
 who supported it. It seems also as i
 our contemporary loses sight of the fac
 that the passage of the acceptance meas
 ure by the house indicated strong leg
 islative sentiment in it's favor.
 The foregoing comments are fairl!
 representative of the opinion of editor
 throughout the state, although some hav'
 seized the opportunity to vent some pent up animosity towards the offer of MT s Ford and to suggest the feasibility o.
 now turning to the beneficent powe
 trust for succor. Tennessee has beer