The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-31
Members Point Out He Is Not Speaking For
 Chamber Of
 Commerce
SHEFFIELD AMAZED, BY VIEW EXPRESSED
Directors Confer And Send Nasty Message Repudiating
 Presidents Assertion
ONLY ONE RESOLUTION
 IS MATTER OF RECORD
Former Mayor Drennen Says 99 Out Of Every 100 Alaban1-
 ians Want Ford

When R. l. Ingalls,, president of the Birmingham Chamber of Com merce, in testifying to the Senate col mittee on Muscle Shoals in Washing ton Tuesday, denounced the Ford of-x fer as against the interests of Ala<e bama and Birmingham he was not speaking for the Chamber of Com merce.
 He was speaking for himself / as-1 president of the Ingalls, Iron works and as an individual, and his opinion was not at all that of members of the organization of which he is president.
 This is what, in essence, O. l.. Bum, secretary-manager of the chamber, told the Sheffield Muscle Shoals Chamber of Commerce in answer to their query late Wednesday night.
 The telegram followed hurried conference between six members of the board of directors of the Birming- ham chamber and Mir. Blmn. The message sent, to the Sheffield body was as follows:
 "Your wire date. President Ingalls, evidently misquoted. Chamber of Commerce has never taken definite sc- ton in the matter. He was not speak ing for the organization" The members of the board who talked informally with MT. Bum i'm mediately before the latter wired the Sheffield Muscle Shoals chamber we're W. J. Adams, Ed S. Moore, Carl Wittichen, Henry J. Porter, Jr., John c. Henley and Sam Earl
 Decline To Be Quoted i None of the board members would either affirm or deny that Mir. IngaIls expressed the wishes or opinions of himself either as member of the chamber or as an individual. The query from Sheffield to the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce As to whether or not Mir. Ingalls, repre- sented the organization in what hs said follows: M ''The Aee-Herald this morning car ried statement that the president of your Chamber. of Commerce. Mr. ;Ingalls. appeared in Washington u sps I posision to the Ford offer. Would rr- quest that you advise if this is tho truet sentiment of Birmingham people. The Tennessee Valley has always fought for. the advancement and the development of Alabama as a whole !. this action on the part. of Birming- ham Chamber of Commerce president belittling the efforts of the citizens of Alabama in their attempt to havs Ford develop Muscle Shoals is con sidered in this section islander against the entire state. We would like to know the true sentiments of your people and their attitude toward their supposed official mouthpiece."
 Mr. Bum admitted that nearly SoO0O had been raised by the cham Der at one time toward a fund raised by the Tennessee Valley association to push the Ford bid.
 Only Formal Action
 He said that the only resolution in connection with the disposition of the shoals was one passed practically a year ago. The resolution, in substance, follows:
 First. Muscle Shoals ought to he and must be improved.
 Second. The improvement must be done by private or government money
 Third. We prefer private means of developing. We request our sena- tors before whom all contracts are placed to call in government experts capable of interpreting the contracts and to award the contract to the party whose ownership would mean more to Alabama first; the south. second, and the United States, third" @
 Majority For Ford
 Prominent members of the Chamber of Comnerce when questioned as to whether or not MT. Ingalls, represent ed their opinion and wishes when he told the Senate committee that it is unthinkable to me that Congress would subsidize Ford for competition against men who have in good faith invested their moneyin Alabama" said they did not care to be quoted.
 . While reticent to express themselves it was found that the greAt majority were in favor of Ford's offer and re- sentful of Mir. Ingalls, speech.
 Tt is no exaggeration to say that 99 out of every 100 persons in As bama want Ford to have Muscle Shoals" said W. Melville Drennen, former mayor of Birmingham. "This applies to Birmingham as well as to other cities and counties of the state They want him because they realize what great thing it will mean for all parts of Alabama. The Tri-Cities will get great benefit but even to Bir- mingham the benefit of his coming into the northern part of the state will be immeasurable."
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