The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-09-26
FORD PLAYS IMPORTANT PART
NRECOVERY PROGRAM issue
By BYRON PRICE
(Chief OF Bureau, The Associated
Press. Washington)

Press, w asnln8tonI
The case of Henry Ford fur
nishes a prime illustration of
how the incidental enmities with
in industries, as well as the ira
ditional and overshadowing en-
nifty between industry and labor,
have been raised to white heat
in the great melting pot of the
NRA.
Like steel, coal, oil and all Of
the other great pillars of Ameri-
can commerce, the automobile in
dustry is passing through a test
from which it may never emerge
the same.
Ford has been looked upon as
the worlds leading personifica-
ton of rugged individualism in
business. He has eyed his business
rivals from far distance, never
aspiring to be zone of the boys"
always managing to be different.
Through his Lincoln motor COM
pany, he does hold nominal men,
bership in the National Automo-
bile Chamber of Commerce, the
trade association which drafted
the automotive code, but he has
no representation among the
chambers officers and takes no
part in it's conduct.
Some years ago he went so far
as to attend one of the chambers
annual banquets in New York
to all other motor manufacturers
the great event of the year. He
was welcomed with trumpets, and
made the lion of the evening. He
did not appear to like it, and he
never went again.
So with his employees, whom he
views as individuals rather ttHn
as class. And everybody
knows how he broke with the
bankers a dozen years ago, and
set up a Ford treasure chest in
Detroit, to finance his operations
in a manner all his own.
Ford In Dilemma
There has been a keen under
standing in Washington of the
dilemma confronting Mr.. Ford
when his competitors and others
in the trade got together on
code. Some strong words have
been spoken, but in the main the
attitude toward him has been one
of noticeable restraint.
As officials of the NRA heard
the story, Ford found himself in
threefold difficulties.
He was asked to cooperate with
the rest of the trade, possibly to
end up by opening his books to
the N. A. C. c., and that was
against his whole philosophy.
He saw the possibility of such
a scrambling of interest as might
eventually drive him back to the
accepted form of bank financing,
which he swore long ago to have
none of.
He envisaged unionization of
his employees on scale entirely
destroying the individualism he
had fostered so zealously for so
many years.
The more thoughtful around the
NRA were not surprised when he
hesitated and took time to think
it over.
Watching And Waiting
In the midst of the thinking
over, word trickled into flashing
ton that Mr.. Ford might find it
possible to go along, as a patriotic
sacrifice, if the president would
preserve the individualistic touch
by Openly sending for him and
more or less publicly asking for
his help.
The president was in Hyde Park
General johnson. anxious to get
Ford in, but uncertain how far to
go, got on the telephone. Mr.
Roosevelt did some thinking over
of his own, for a great many
things were involved. Not the
least was the potential resent
ment of the great majority of the
trade, should Ford be singled out
for special attention.
+ Another Angle
One other element should be
taken into account to round out
the picture: Some of the beSt-in-
formed in Washington believed
from the start that whether Mr.,
Ford came under the Blue Eagle
or not was less important than
appeared.
s