The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-27
'Sadler Tells Why Ford
 Offer Is Best For Nation

W. H. Sadler, IT,, Birmingham at torney-at-law, recently delivered before the College Women's club of Birming- ham the following argument in behalf of Muscle Shoals development by Henry Ford:
 A brief preliminary review of the situation is essential to a proper under standing of the questions involved in xthis discussion.
 Muscle Shoals are situated in the Tennessee river, in the northwestern portion of Alabama. They constitute an obstruction to navigation upon that important river. Before the commence ment of the recent development there, the government spent upwards of five millions of dollars in the construction and operation of wholly inadequate canals and locks-money all but en- irely wasted.
 The national defense act, passing in 1916, authorized the construction of dams and locks and plants, where the President should determine the best location to be for these two purposes, namely, the fixation of nitrogen, in time we were at war and the need of fertilizer in time of peace. The Presi- dent selected Muscle Shoals. At that time we wer at war and the need of nitrogen, an essential ingredient of Ammunition, was vital, and our un- preparedness in the matter of nitrogen supply was even then proving costly and dangerous. We were then, as al- ways, almost wholly dependent upon Chilean deposits for our nitrogen. Chile is 4,000 miles away. Right dur ing the time when we needed ships so imperatively for other purposes it was necessary to devote 12S of our avail able 616 ships soley to the transporta- ton of nitrogen from Chile. It is alarming to contemplate the possible result of the enemy's being able to cut off that precarious source of supply To allow that situation to continue to exist is inexcusable folly.
 Not only for war purposes is nitrogen essential but the importance of it to our agriculture cannot be exaggerated. Theodore Roosevelt attributed the de cline of nations largely to loss of fer hlity of the soil. We have not ob- served the operation of that principle in America because heretofore as lands under cultivation have lost their fer filty, there have been virgin lands available, (and the abandonment of cultivated lands proceeds at 8 very rapid rate)-but this condition is about at an end now and certainly cannot continue indefinitely. The population of the country as a whole is increasing but the population of the farms is decreasing-which means that less labor must produce greater crops. The solution of those difficulties lay fin the increased use of fertilizer, and the ability to increase sufficiently the use depends upon the ability to pur- chase it at less cost.
 The fertilizer bill of the nation now is approximately three hundred and fifty millions of dollars annually. The export duty on nitrogen paid by this country to the Chilean government is approximately $12,00O,000 annually. It Is agreed that the capacity of the equipment now at Muscle Shoals is 10000 tons of nitrogen annually, an amount equivalent to 250,000 tons of Chilean nitrate-the total annual im- portation.
 It is also agreed that by reason of the improved methods, low cost power, proximity of other essential ingredients, fertilizer costs can be reduced by the Muscle Shoals operation at least one half. This probability is made more certain when we consider thnt the present fertilizer contains a large bulk of inert matter (from S4 per cent to S8 per cent) and the fertilizer made at Muscle Shoals will be cencentra ted effecting a large reduction in freight charges! "
 The nitrogen which the plants can now produce is sufficient to maintain, in action, 12 divisions of the Amer ican army organized as it was when the armistice was signed.
 To be free of dependency upon . foreign nation for nitrogen and