The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-18
The Peoples Forum
Mir. s. A. Hobson on Ford Offer

To the Editor of The Age Herald:
 Unless something quick and drastic is done Fords chance to get Muscle Shoals is hope lessly lost. Why deceive ourselves any longer? Didn't the senate vote to adjourn after our leaders had, with ''damnable itera- tion,' repeatedly assured us a vote would be taken? Can we believe such utopian op- timists now when they tell us victory is sure December 3. On the contrary, defeat is in evitable unless we bestir ourselves at once Didn't Capper, the farmers one and only friend" who had shrieked for Ford for years turn recreant? Didn't Ransdell, the Dem ocrat, do the same? Didn't scores of alleged Ford adherents, not merely Republicans, but Democrats as well, vote to adjourn without vote on the Ford bill? Didn't Coolidge let the session commit suicide without a word to the senate-Coolidge, who we fondly trusted, had a tacit gentlemans agreement one of those sweet 'songs without worlds" with Ford-I say we fondly so trusted him because he made a virtual recommendation as a sop to Ford, even though he tied to it another committee-investigation string, a dis crepancy which "us optimists' thought mere ly meant a lapse of inadvertance; for, even the divine Homer nodded sometimes
 The whole farce of the thing developed when Norris, knowing the fight was won so far as the present congress, even with the possible December vote, is concerned, had the audacity at last to stick out his cloven foot and, with the aid of his recent convert, Ransdell. prepare that monstrous abortion of so-called amendment the proper title of which would be, a bill to give Muscle Shoals for practically nothing to the allied power companies. Ford people, let's fetch up right now with a jerk, quit fooling ourselves, and go to it right.
 But is it worth while? silly question, truly. Who is it that wants it? Henry Ford. But what is Henry Ford in such behalf? It is to laugh. Those who oppose him know only too well. He now probably doesn't use over 100000 horsepower, and is he doing anything at Detroit? If he had Muscle Shoals. with ten times greater supply of raw materials (minerals particularly, and I know whereof I speak. for I speak by the card) in far less average distance than the Detroit district-with navigable river all his own what wouldn't he do with 100000 horse power generated at minimum of cost? Moreover, he wants it for a full 100 years Such are the stupendous fundaments of the propostion-and q blind fool ought to be able to read.
 So what the upshot? The Ford bid should he thrust four-square, and at once, into the national campaign as n platform issue. By whom? Us, Administration else, pray?
 let our delegates, as honor bound, vote for Mir Underwood to the last infintesimal fraction of a lightning flash, so long as he has an actual honest-to-God chance. Thus every delegate would
 "Dare do all that may become man
 Who darcs do more is none"
 And if, unhappiIy. EIr Underwood cant be nominated, then let our delegation go solid for McAdoo-and put the Ford bid in the platform, prominently and explicitly, without fail.
 But why McAdoo? Simply because he is the only logical man, after Conner. He ab- solutely dovetais with Ford on the railroad questions, the labor questions, the farmer question-practically all the main questions and moreover, in the public press has had the courage to declare for the Ford bid. Ford would push the cart with a campaign of education such as this old world never dreamed of He would jump at the chance for he now knows full we'll that his enemies have already nominated their man for pres ident. He knows McAdoo's size, too. He knows what it takes to run one railroad, and he knows that when mems souls were tried to the limit, McAdoo ran the United States treasury and at the same time every single railroad in the United States, and ran them right-not, of course to pay salaries to higher-ups or even dividends to stockholders, but to win the worlds greatest war for our country.
 Not only has Alabama more at stake in this matter-a thousand times more-than the mere transient political fortunes of one, hundred or a thousand of her great sons, but Alabamians know what they want and if instruction should seem needed, let our delegates remember the 700 to 1 vote of even far-away Mobile and act accordingly, how ever the shoe may pinch some of them. K S. A. ROBSON.