The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-05
FORD VOTE POSTPONED SIX MONTHS Shoals Issue To Be First : Order Of Next
 Session LONG STRUGGLE
 IS THUS ENDED Futility Of Demand For Show Down Is
 Realized FINAL DELAY LAID
 TO LA TOILETTE Effort To Block All But Farm Bill Forces Capitulation
 Of Advocates
FINAL DELAY LAID
 TO LA TOILETTE

Associated Press. .)-The Muscle Shoals issue, which has been the center of bitter fight during the entire session of Congress, will not be settled until next December.
 Supporters of Henry Ford's bid, faced with overwhelming odds, to- day withdrew from their stand of demanding a vote at this session of Congress and submitted to an agreement to allow the question to go over to the next.
 Senator Underwood, Democrat, Alabama, obtained unanimous con- sent in the Senate to bring up the Muscle Shoals question on Decem- her 3 and keep it before the Sem atR until final vote is taken. Afterwards he predicted it would be finally settled by December 15.
 Farm Bloc Ends Hope
 Support of the farm bloc had been depended upon by Ford advocates to bring Muscle Shoals to, vote and when yesterday Senator LaFollette, republi- can. Wisconsin, leader of this group, opposed efforts tD get it before the Sem ate,, action &s this session was doomed.
 Even iu the face of this opposition, tiia Ford group held their gronnd and announced in the Senate they would demand a roll call on a motion tp con slider Muscle Shoals. But today they recnnaifared their decision and after conferences with Chairman Norris of the Senate agricultural committee, lead aRH of the fight against Ford's bid, and Senator Lodge, republican leader, an agreement was reached to drop the fight at this session, with the understand ing that Muscle Shoals would be the first important legtslation to come up at the sIfort term in December
 Thus am issue, which has caused much bitter feeling and prompted charges against motives of members of Congress and the administration, is left in sus- pension.
 Stubb0rnIy Fought
 Originating first in the House, the issue was stubharnly fought but SUD-
 -@ of the Ford bid pRsdominated and the Mckenzie bill authorizing ac- ceptance of Ford's bid was passed by a suhstantiaI majority.
 In the Senate. however, a reversal of sentiment was found. Ford supporters were in a minority on the agriculture committee to which the bill was referred and q mass of evidence was introduced against Ford, while the lesser part of testimony favored the manufacturers atfeE.
 Rejects Bid
 After q six weeks hearing, the com mittee rejected the Ford bid and re- partad the Norris government owner ship and operation bill as an amend- mEnt to. the Mckenzie bill. All dur ing the hearing Senators Harrison, democrat, Mississippi, and Heflin, dem ocrat, Alabama, supporters of Ford's offer, continually prodded Chairman Norris to close the hearing but the chairman refused on the ground that the committee required complete testi- m0nE in order to handle the question in teiligentIv
 After the bill finally was reported to the Senate Ford supporters made vigorous but futile effort to get it to A vote. Chairman Norris opposed tbe vote on the ground that there was not sufficient time left to dispose of the measure.
 Charges Hypocrisy
 After 1t was definitely agreed the question would go over to next session, Senator Heflin denounced the opposi- tinn in q speech in the Senate. He accused the farm bloc of hypocrisy to- ward farm relief legislation, declaring they were posing as friends of the farmers when they blocked a vote on Muscle Shoals which would save the farmer billions of dollars in their ferti- Iizsr bill if Ford were allowed to op- crate it.
 Senator Heflin charged that Seere- tary Bfellonl whom he referred to as ''tEe aluminium king of America" ob- iected to Ford obtaining Muscle Shoals because he feared him as a competitor. He assailed Chairman Norris for '-bIOcEing' vote after he 'had promised to cooperate and accused the opposition of playing into the hands of the fertilizer trust and A combination of power companies.
 Senator Brookhart, republican, Iowa, a member of the farm bloc in terrupted to say that the progressive republicans were willing to vote re- lief for the farmers of the south by putting the government fertilizer bill were opposed to turning Muscle Shoals over to, Henry Ford.
 Later Senator Harrison, took a dig ait the farm bloc in a speech in which he accused them of failure to press farm relief legislation and turning against the farmers, by blocking a vote on Muscle Shoals which, he said, vuuIH have been a substantial aid by