The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-04
OFFER FORD ONE
BILLION DOLLARS
FOR HIS FACTORY
SO Testifies Prentiss;
Ford Refused
Continued from page y.

Continued from page -.
States bonds, and sight drafts,
amounted to SS,065,5 while on July
/, 1919, these had increased to $685.
sol 500 During these periods cur
rent liabilities increased from $9ll,-
COS to S103,362,536.
BIASED on the efficiency of the
management, and the popularity of
the product, stock in the Ford Motor
Co. was worth $4,000 per share in
1872 Paul Clay, vice president Of
Moody's Investors Service, testified.
BY efficiency Of the management" y
Clay probably was referring to the
"speed-up" system, so highly devel-
oped by the Ford personnel engi-
Leers.
Government Sues For S3s,OO0,0O0
The valuation placed by the minor
ity stockholders in their income tax
return was $9,409 The original tax
raid by the minority stockholders was
ON a basis of S3,547 per share. If
The government valuation stands, the
defendants must pay S36,O0O,OOO
more taxes.
DR. David Friday, economist,
characterizing the Ford business as
the eighth wonder of the world"
tlaced the value Of Ford stock on
March /, 1913 at $4,000 a share.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb, g.
Henry Ford's plant and trade are
worth a cold one billion dollars, ac-
cording to expert testimony given to-
day in the case of the governments
tax suit against Senator Couzens and
associates who sold their stock to
Ford, and perhaps undervalued it to
the government. Last month, accord
ing to the witness his firm, Horn
blower and Weeks, offered Ford
billion for his firm, and were re-
fused.
Business Secrets Out.
The Couzens tax case court room
today became whispering gallery
for the weird tales of high finance.
John w. Prentiss, of New York, one
Of the partners in the investment
banking concern of Hornblower &
Weeks, told of towering fortunes,
scraped up from the millions Of COM
mon and mostly poor people, who buy
some patented article Cheap.
Woolworth's ''fiv eand ten" stores,
the business of dispensing "Castoria"
and "Syrup of Pepsin", he mentioned
with respect. Their product may be
humble, but the rake-off is fine.
They are magically growing, modern
big business.
But Ford Is First.
But, says Prentiss, Henry Ford
eclipses them all. His car may seem
cheap to the buyer, be that as it may,
but there is rafting fine profit in
that same Cheap" car. His firm, so
he swore on the witness stand, offer
ed Henry Ford half billion dollars
for his outfit in 1916, and Henry Ford
paid for the lunch, and laughed at
him.
In 1925 he tried to get hold of
enough stock from Edsel Ford to con-
troll, but Edsel consulted with the old
man, and laughed at him too.
Price Goes Up.
Then within the last thirty days,
Hornblower and Weeks offered Henry
and Edsel a round one billion dollars
for the Ford Motor Co. He did not
say whether that was laughed at.
Probably it is sacrilege to laugh at
one billion dollars. But Ford did not
SELL
Other profits of big automobile
business were revealed by Prentiss.
His firm bought into the Chevrolet
and bid for a share of the Dodge
plant. He said the Dodge Company
earned $17,O00,000 in 1923 and the
Chevrolet made big money too.
A WhOpper of Trust.
Prentiss explained that had Ford
accepted the billion dollar offer a syn
dictate Of the most powerful banks in
the country would have been formed
to finance it.
The valuation of the Ford plant in
1913 was only $25O,OOO,OOO, Prentiss
said, but if the property could then
have been bought for $3.50, 100000 it
could have been capitalized at bill
lion dollars, through the public offer
ing Of S20,000000 shares of stock, and
still afforded a moderate prof ton
the investment.
Any high grade American indus
trial concern, Prentiss said, is figured
to be worth ten times its average an
nual earnings over a period of years.
Thus, as Ford's earnings were esti-
mated at $100,O00,000 annually, the
Ford concern was figured by the
bankers to be worth billion dollars.