Evening star., 1924-10-14
FORD ASSAILS POLITICS.
Business Cannot Wait, He Says
Explaining Withdrawal
by tho Associated Press.

Ry tic Associated Press.
NEW YORK. October IA Henry
Ford has withdrawn his bid ;or
Muscle Shoals and. according TO an
interview with bim ia the current
ISSUE Of GOLFERS Weekly has assumed
a waiting attitude by puttinE it up
to the Government t" make the next
move If he is tn take any further
action in the matter.
The transaction, characterized by
Mr.. Ford as "a simple affair Of husi-
ness which should have been decided
by any one within = week. he de-
clared, has become "a complicated po-
litical affair" and the bid was with
drawn because productive business
cannot wait on politics.
Muscle Shoals?" Mr. Ford iS
quoted. That is not a live issue
with us any longer. More than two
years ago we made the best bid we
know how to make. No definite ac-
tioR has been taken on Il. \ simple
affair Of business which should haN"
been decided 10y any one withIn week
has become complicated political
affair. We are not in politics and ""
arc in business. w, do not intend
to be drawn into politics,
still Dccpi. Interested.
we have been and still are deep
" Interested in Muscle Shoals as a
national asset. Their" is small prom
ise now that it ever will be national
assst-more than likely it viii he
ONLY an expense That concerns
every one of us as citizens. In tn"
Ford business, once we make up cur
minds 10 do anything. we go right
ahead and do il with the least pussi-
hle waste Of time. energy or money.
& Il vt
way then We find another.
We are moving so fast and the
settlement Of Muscle Shoals future
seemed so far away that We had TO
find other means TO do the things we
could have accomplished at Muscle
Shoals In fact. we have passed Mus
"Ie Shoals. Productive business can
not wait on politics. Therefore. We
arc Withdrawing our bid;''
Asked if that meant withdrawing z
absolutely from Muscle Shoals and
Ford replied:
Wants Government Bid.
Yes" we have made our bid; now
let them make a bid. And they
VIII not have to wait three years
for their answer. We can tell them
in five minutes"
NcStmeut in Muscle Shoals, which
he said was much larger than it
ought TO be. but which could not be
helped because it was rush work done
in war time for war purposes, Mr..
Ford said:
Our bid was intended to develop
method by which the public's
money could he made productive and
eventually returned to the public
Trcausry AT a profit while at the same
time we should produce nitrates at Il
sufficiently low cost To sell them to
the farmers at fraction Of what
they now have to pay. Also, we in
tended TO create a plant which would
not only make US independent of
Chile for nitrateS for explosives but
would give US an independent supply.
possibly equal to that Of all the rest
OF the world put together"
buys kentucky Land.
Mr.. Ford said his company had
completed the purchase of 160.0
acres of coal lands in Kentucky and
after rela ting some of the expert
1nents conducted at the River Rouge
plant said:
I'VE find from our experience at
River Rouge that we can generate
electrical power in these coal lands
TO any extent that we may need and
at cheaper rate than we could un-
der our bid at Muscle Shoals And
also we can generate in our own
way entirely outside of all political
influence or political meddling. That
is why we have lost our interest in
Muscle Shoals"
Asked what he thought ought to
he done with Muscle Shoals, MIR. Ford
replied:
I'm any event. the public must not
permit it to be broken up for
through its nitrate production it can
he our greatest guarantee for peace
on the one hand and for the farmers
on the other. l believe the ARMY
engineers could carry it through if
they were allowed to exercise their
own judgment and work unhampered
for they are a fine lot Of men.
But probably the best course is that
suggested by the President-that is.
TO appoint an impartial commission. -