LDING T H E ROUGE PLANT 1 8 1 Never in all hi s tory had such a reward been pa i d for part i ci

pat

i

o^u in a bu

s

ine

s

^s venture ^.

Th e new F^o rd

M

otor Company was capitalized at ^{$ 1 00,} Deta

i

ls ^{o f th e} stock pu^rchas^e wer^e not co^mpleted till late in

t he year ^; meanwhile work went ^{o n} at ^an accelerated tempo ^{. T he} task ^{o f} rearrangⁱng the organ

iz

at

i

on ^{fo r t he} resumpt

i

on ^{o f} pro

duct

i

on brought w

i

th

i

t

i

mportant de^v elopments^,

i

ⁿvolving the comp^l et

i

on ^{o f} plant facilit

i

es along the Rouge R

i

ver^.

As the Eagle boats le^ft the Assembly bu

i

lding^{, e} quⁱ pment ^{fo r}

t he manufac^t ure ^{o f} car bodⁱ es was moved

i

n ^.

Dur

i

ⁿ g the prev

i

ous summer foundat

i

ons had been la

i

d ^{fo r} h^u g^{e o re , S}ton^e and coal bins parallelⁱⁿ g the stream ^. They

w

ere bu

i

lt ^{o f} sohd concrete ^{t wo} feet deep ^, and set ^{o n} p

i

l ^e s s^u n^k in the ground ^{- at} po

i

nts four feet apart ^. D

i

rectly w^e st ^{o f t he} storage yards a great concrete wall and mass

i

v^e dock^- hea^d

w

^e r^e fash

io ne d side by s

i

de^, a sh^{o r}t distanc ^e apart^. On them ra

i

ls were l ^ai d ^{t o su}pport g

i

ant ^{o re -} u^nl oade^rs^, wh

i

ch were ^{t o} p

i

ck ^‘u_p the metal from lak^e boats at the rat^{e o f} t

w

elv^e tons p^er shovel ful ^{, and t} ra^ns fer

i

t

i

nto ^{t he} b

i

ⁿs^.

Wr

i

ters compared ^{t he} scen^{e t o} Panama d^u r

i

ng the p ^e r

i

od ^{o f} con^{st r}uct

i

on ^{o n} the Canal ^. M

i

ngled together

w

ere ^Steam shovels^,

concrete m

ix

ers^, hoists^, p

i

l^e dr

i

vers^, tractors^, trucks^, mⁱ n

i

^{at ur}e

and l

i

fe^{- S} ize locomotives and cars ^; and finall

y

the dredge ^{N iagara} gnawing her way ^along ^{t he} bed ^{o f} Roulo C^re ek^, emp^t y

i

n^g

i

nto

t he Roug^{e .}

J^anu^ary ^{1 9 1 9} found Mr^. Ford

i

ncre ^as

i

ng the m

i

n

i

mum wage h

i

s ^e mploye^e s ^{t o} a ^da_y^.

It also found ^{him t h e} president ^{o f} a publⁱ sh

i

ng concern ^. Dur

i

ng ^{t he} second week ^{o f} January a new periodical appeared

o n the ne

w

s^- stands^, bear

i

ng the name ^{o f} an ^{o l d} local

w

eekly ne

w

spaper^, the Dearborn ^{I nd epe nd e nt .} In many ways

i

t wa

s

1 82 HENRY FORD

unique ^. The page s

iz

e was tw

i

ce as large as that of the ordinary magazine ^; there were few illustrations ^; the articles were largely comments on national or

i

nternational a ^ffairs^. The masthead bore the name of E^. G ^{. Pi}pp as editor ^; two of the full^- page articles were wr

i

tten by another former ace of the Detro

i

t ^{N e ws} ed

i

to rial sta^ff, William J ^{. C}ameron^, who later succeeded ^Pi_pp^.

An

i

nside page bore the name of the pres

i

dent and founder^. Through the eight years of the magazine^’s existence ^“ Mr^. Ford ^’s

Own Page^” continued to appear each week ^. Among other things^, his first mes^s age ^stated

Th

i

s paper e

xi

sts ^{t o} spread ideas ^, the best that can be found ^. It aims to furnish food for thought ^.

I

t desires to ^Stir ambition

and encourage independent thinking^.

A further explanat

i

on was g

i

ven

i

n the introductory editor

i

al The Dearborn ^{I ndepe nde nt}

i

s ^nOt

i

n any sense a trade paper published in the interest of the Ford industries ^; indeed ^, it i

s

a

s

far from that as can be conceived ^{. The} paper owes its e

s

tablishment

t o Henry Ford ^’s desire to serve the new freedom of the future ^. It

w

as someth

i

ng of a para^do

x

for ^{t he} ne

w

publ

i

sher^,

w

ho had suffered during much of his active life from ridicule ^, to turn like the proverbial worm ^, and to seek redress from one of the coun

tr

y

^’s great newspaper

s

by asking damages for libel ^. What roused his

i

re was the headline ^{: F}

ORD

^I s

AN ANA

^{R C}

H

^IS

T

^. It captioned a report that the automob

i

le manufacturer^, back

i

n the days before the World War^, had opposed sending the m

i

l

i

tia ^{o n} a pun

i

tive expedit

i

on south of the border into Me

x

ico ^. In response ^{t o} a direct inquiry from the Chicago ^{Tribu ne ,} an execut

i

ve had replied that the j obs of any Ford workmen who responded ^{t o} the call would not be waiting for them when they returned ^. Two days later Mr^. Ford repudiated the statement^, but

i

t

w

as too late ^. He had al

w

ays consistently opposed war^, but at the same time he felt he did not deserve the brand ^{o f “} an^archist ^.

1 84 H^E NRY FORD

berry^. The ^{Trib u ne} happened to be

s

elected because it was ^re garded as the most powerful new

s

paper in the group ^attacking him ^.

Dur

i

ng the course ^{o f} the trial the courtroom resembled ^a battlefield^, with ho

s

tile armies arrayed ^{o n} either side ^{. E} ach sought to gain tactical advantage

s

^, resorting to legal byplay that had no bearing on the p^{o m t s} at i

s

sue ^. Corre

s

pondents from press services ^and all big newspapers sat entrenched at long tables^, with telegraph boys sauntering in and out bear

i

ng copy^,” and the temptation to steal the headline

s

wa

s

irresi

s

tible ^.

Although the suit had been brought by

M

r^. Ford ^,

i

n ^no time at all it developed that he himself wa

s

the defendant^, that what was on trial wa

s

his Americani

s

m ^.” From the

M

exican border came an ama

z

ing array of ^W itnesses whose te

s

timon

y

was to paint a picture ^{o f} conditions there

i

n ^{1 9 1 6. T} wenty Texas Rangers in full costume^, ten^- gallon ^{so b re ro s,} j

i

ngling spurs^{, b o w} legs ^, and

S ix^- shooters^, paraded up and down the courtroom a

i

sles and through the lobbies of the Mt ^. Clemens hotels^.

Deputy sheriffs flashed silver stars from ^a dozen count

i

es along the R

i

o Graⁿde ^. Floyd Gibbons^, famous war correspond ent^, was called to relate h

i

s thrilling experiences both with Villa and Per

s

hing^. Vainly the Ford attorne

y

s attempted to narrow the tr

i

al to the points at issue ^. The frail victim ^{o f} a

M

exican raid told tearfull

y

how her husband and sons had b ^{ee n} shot do

w

n

i

n cold blood ^.

As June turned ^{t o} summer^, the little courtroom became a ^{t o r} ture chamber ^; the air was stifling inside^, and

w

hen ^{t he} windo

w

s

w

ere opened outside bree

z

es wafted

i

n ^{t he} sulphur fum^e s ^{o f t he} near^{- b} y

M

t^. Clemens baths ^.

T o supplement the newspaper^’s ^{o wn} attorⁿeys E^. G^{. S} te

v

en son^, who had represented the Dodges ^{I n} their su

i

t^,

w

as called in to assist in the examinat

i

on ^{o f} Mr^. Ford ^. Report reached ^{t he} Ford camp that Lawy^er ^Stevenson had boasted he would force Mr^. Ford to read aloud from long docu

m

ents and book

s

with

w

h

i

ch he was not familiar^, proving that he was illiterate ^. For^e

BUILDING THE R^O UGE PLANT ^{1 85} w^arn^e d ^{o f} the plan^{, Mr.} Ford left ^his glasses at hom^{e o n t he} day

he ^' o c c u p^{ie d} the

wi

tness stand and whenev^e r documents were presented ^{t o him t o} read^, he refused ^{t o do so .} The exasperated

M

t ^{. S} tevenson^, w

i

th profuse apologies^, asked blandly ^{: “} Mr^. Ford^, I dislⁱ ke ^{t o} ask thⁱ s quest

i

on but I hav^e heard that _y ^{o u} canⁿo^t read

o r wr

i

te^{. I S} it true ^{? ”}

S harp and b

i

tt^e r was the

w

rangl^e that follow^e d^, b ^e for^e the court quieted the antagoⁿⁱ sts^. The examination turned to Am^e r ican h

i

story^{. “} Mr Ford^, what was the United ^S tates or

i

g

i

nally ^{? ”}

“ Land^, I guess^. That t

i

^m e the laugh was ^{o n S}tevenson^.

Every day ^{fo r} more than a week Mr^. Ford occupied the

wi

tness stand^, while he was questioned about ^adv^e rt

i

sements^, articl^es^, and even defin

i

t

i

ons ^{o f}

w

ords l

i

k^{e “} ballyhoo^{,” “ tre} ason^,” and ^“

i

dealist^{. ”}

One day Mr^. Ford had

w

orn ^{t o} cour^{t an o l d,} comfo^rtable pa

i

r ^{o f} shoes ^and as ^{h e} sat

i

n ^{t he}

w

itness ^{b o x,} he drew from a pocket an ^{o ld} kn

i

fe and idly whittled at a b

i

t ^{o f} leather ^{o n t he} sole ^{o f o ne . O f}f g^{u ar}d_t he

w

as sudde^nl y ask^e d ^{: “} T^e ll ^{t he} j ury

who Bened

i

ct Arnold

w

as^.”

A ^Short t

i

me before Mr^. Fo^rd had been hos^{t t o} Arnold Ben n^e tt^, and he m

i

ght have been ^“t hiⁿk

i

ng ^{o f} h

i

m ^{; o r} he m

i

ght hav^e been th

i

nk

i

ng ^{o f} Matthe

w

Arnold ^{w ho} was also ^{no t} unknown

as a l

i

ter^ary figur^{e .} At any rate^{, h e} looked up from the sho ^e

i

n surpr

i

se and replied ^{: “} Arnold ^{? —} Why^{, Ar} n^o ld was a

w

riter ^!”

What a m^e r^ry headline that made ^! And when Mr^. Ford added that

i

n h

i

s opiⁿ

i

on ^“ History was bunk^,” the correspond ents had all they needed ^. This was ^no ne

w

statement by ^{him .} As far back as May^{, 1 9 1 6,} he had remarked ^{t o} a reporter ^: Rec

ords ^{o f o l d}

w

ars me ^an not^hi ng ^{t o me .} H

i

s^{t o r}y ^is mo^{re ” o r} les^s bunk ^{. ‘} It^’s trad

i

tion^.”

Dur

i

ng the years ^{t o} com ^e h

i

s r^e m^ark

w

as ^{t o b e} r^e p ^e at^e d mor^e

t h^an onc ^{e ,} unt

i

l the day

w

hen he co^u ld d^e monstrat^e his ^{c o nc e}p

ti o^{n o f} hⁱstory by trac

i

ng the d ^e

v

^e lopm^e nt ^{o f t he} peac ^eful arts

and crafts at Gree^nfi eld V

i

llag^{e .}

L^e ss publ

i

cized

w

as h

i

s d^e finit

i

o^{no f an}

i

d^{e al}

i

st^,

w

h

i

ch sl

i

pped

1 86 H^E NRY ^F O ^RD

o u t d^u ring the cro^ss—e^xamination ^: An ideali

s

t is one who seek^s to make pro

fi

t for ot ^her^{s. ”}

T he right wa

y

to con q ^u er

M

exico ^,

s

aid

M

r^. Ford ^, was b

y

ⁱⁿ

st ru c t i_n

g it

s

people in the co ^{m m} ercial and indu

s

trial art

s

^. People

s

who follow tho

s

e p ^u r

s

^u it

s

and enj o

y

pro

s

perity will not want war^{. I Vhe n a}

s

^k ed ^w hat he ^{w as} doing to f^u rther such an ideal^, he replied ^{: “} Well ^, we have three hundred

M

exican

y

oung men

drawn from all over the var

i

ou

s

^S tates of

M

exico ^, now in my tractor plant le ^arning how ^{t o} manufacture and operate tractors^, so they may carry American ways and methods back to theⁱr homes ^.

Further test

i

mony brought out the fact that these young men had been selected by the ^Pre

s

ident of

M

e^xico ^, and had been ^ad mit^red to thi

s

countr

y

through a spec

i

al arrangement bet

w

een the two governments ^.

T ^he verdict wa

s

promptl

y

reached by the jury and it was in

M

r^. Ford ^’

s

favor ^{. H e} did not need nor de

s

ire moneta^ry ^{re c o m} pen

s

e^, and the award of ^{S ix} cent

s

wa

s

as good as six mi^llion so far

as clearing hi

s

name was concerned ^.

Those who followed Mr^. Ford ^’s act

i

v

i

t

i

es closely ha

v

^e always observed that just when

s

ome new creat

i

on of h

i

s was be

i

ng com

p^{le t e d} his mind had leaped ahead ^{t o} the day when the new would give way to something newer^. As he himself e

x

pressed

i

t^,

on the day a new machine ^Commenced ^{t o} function

i

ts ^{o b so}

l e sc e nc e began ^{. D} esigners must commence plans for the machine that was to improve and supersede ^{it . H e} called

i

t progress through change ^.

E ven as the steel furnaces lifted the

i

r heads

i

nto ^{t he} a

i

r along the Ro^u ge River^, and the tattoo of air hammers told ^{o f} the con

s

truction of a g igantic industrial concentration ^, he was lookⁱ ng forward to the next

s

tep ^{-J de c e nt raliz at i o n . E} m_ployment ^{o f} a vast army ^{o f} men meant an influx from country to c

i

ty^.

l

C^{o n}

gested living conditions ^, dependence on

w

ages^, and helplessne

ss

1 88 HENRY FORD

R

i

ver Roug^e Pl^an^{t .} A foundry

w

as b^egu^n, th^irty ^acr^e s

i

n ^are a^,

t o b _e t he largest

i

n ^{t he}

w

orld ^. T

w

^e nty ra

i

lroad sid

i

ngs wer^e str^e tch^e d across Miller Road ^{t o t he ne w} st^ruc^t u^{re, t o e} l

i

m

i

n^at^e

t he e

x

c ^e ss h^an ^dl

i

ng ^{o f} steel

i

n

i

ts ^e r^e ct

i

on^.

Next cam ^e the construct

i

o^{n o f} a batt^ery ^{o f} co^{k e} o

v

^{e n}s^. Coal wh

i

ch cost ^{t he} company appro

xi

mat^e ly a ^{t o n de hv}

e r^e d at ^{t he} plant^,

w

as ^{t o b e} con

v

^e rted

i

nto cok^e and by ^—products yⁱ eld

i

ng from ^{t o} a ^{t o n.} Part ^{o f} the black fuel was

t o y

i

eld ^{t he} sno

w

^-

w

h

i

t^{e a}mmon

i

um sulphat^{e ,} h

i

ghly regarded as a f^ert

i

l

i

^{z e} r^. En^ough gas

w

ould ^{b e} generate ^{d t o} heat the o

v

^e ns and l^e av^e mor^e than fifty per cent ^{fo r} outs

i

d^e sal^{e . O} nc ^{e t he} ov^e ns

w

^e nt

i

nto operation^{, t he} process ^{o f} h^e at

i

ng from gas _p^ro

du c e d

w

ou^l d ^{b e} cont

i

nuous^. Tar^, b ^{e n}zol and s^t

i

ll o^t h^{e r} by p^{ro d}uc^{t s}

w

ould ^{b e} obta

i

n^e d ^.

Th^{e n} cam^{e t he} Ford comm

i

ssa^ry s^t or^e s^. Becaus^e pr

i

c^e s

w

^e r^e

, at new h

i

gh le

v

^e ls^, ord

i

nary necess

i

t

i

es ^{o f} l

i

f^e cost as much ^as lu

x

u^r

i

es form^e rly d

i

d ^. In ^{t he} sam^e dw^e ll

i

ⁿ g

w

her^e a down sta

i

rs ^{five -} room flat had rented ^{fo r $ 14} a month

i

n Detro

i

t back

i

n ^{t he} ups^t a

i

rs flat ^{no w} command^ed ^{$4 5} mont^hly^. A ^{mo d}

e rn ho^{me in} a good res

i

dent

i

al d

i

st^r

i

ct then^— cost from ^{$ 60}

t o $ ^{85 no w .} Dressed turkey had raⁿg^e d from ^{1 8C t o 25C a} pound ^{; no w} l

i

v^{e t} urk^e y

w

as ^{44 0} and ^{4 5}c ^; ch

i

ck^{e n (}lⁱ v^{e ) had} gon^e up from ^{1 2C} and ^{1 3 C t o 3 1 C} and ^{3 2C .}

The mo^t to ^{o f t he} Ford com^m

i

ssary stor^e s

w

as ^{t o b e :} Br

i

ng

t he dollar back ^{t o} _p^ar.” Pr

i

ces ^{o n} su

i

ts and ov^e rcoats

w

^e r^{e t o}

b e low^e r^{e d five t o} ten dollars ^{b e lo}

w

^’o u t sid_e pr

i

ces^{. S} ho^e s w^e r^e

t ^o b e s old at pr

i

ces from ^{o ne} doll^{ar t o} fif^t y c ^{e n}ts less ^. Cok^e from ^{t he} R

i

ver Roug^e Pla^{nt was t o b e so} ld ^{at 60} p^er c ^{e nt o f}

t he pr^e

v

^a

i

l

i

ng pr

i

c ^{e .}

O

v

^e r the count^ry a buye^rs^’s^{t r}

i

k^{e was} gath^e r

i

ng mom^e ntum

ag^a

i

^{nst t he} con^t

i

nuat

i

on ^{o f} war pr

i

c^e s^. Early

i

n ^{1 9 20} a fa

i

lur^e

w as re port^e d h^e r^e and ther^{e ,} a bus

i

n^e s^{s o r} manufacturing con

BUILDING ^{TH E} R^OUGE PLANT ^{1 89} c ^{ern. S} o^{o n t} h^e

i

r ⁿumb^e rs

i

ncr^{e a}s^e d^{. The} buy^e rs^{’ st r}

i

^{k e} gr^e w ^; it was o^nl y ^a m ^att^{er Of t}

i

m^{e b efo fe it}

w

o^uld ^affe c^t sal^e s ^{o f} auto mob

i

les also ^.

By Jun^e s^al^e s

w

^e r^{e d}roppⁱⁿg s^e r

i

ously^. Ev^e ry^t h

i

ⁿg b ^e gan ^{t o} slow do

w

^n, _y ^{e t} suppli^e rs ^{o f} ra

w

materials

w

ould ^{no t} cut the

i

r pr

i

ces^. Theodor^{e Mac Manu s and} Norman Beasley related

i

n

Me n

, Mo ne y ^and Mo t ^{o r}s ho w Kⁿudsen and others call^e d ^{o n t he} steel plants

i

n ^{an e} ffort ^{t o}

g

^et a reduct

i

on ^{fo r} Ford^.

Eve^ryth

i

ⁿ_g

w

as don^e by ^{t he} Ford company tha^t co^u ld ^{b e} don^{e t o} k^{e e} p bus

i

n^e ss mo

vi

ⁿ g ^{and i t s} a^rmy ^{o f e} mploy^e d ^. A bonus ^{o f}

w

as pa

i

d

i

n Janu^ary^.

T^o set an e

x

a^mpl^{e a} pr

i

ce sla^sh was announc^e d ^{at a t im e} wh^{e n t he c} ompany had ^{o n} hand ^unfi ll ^e d o^rd^e rs ^{fo r c ars}

and t ractors ^{fo r}

i

mm^{e d}

i

at^e del

i

very^.

Com

i

ng at a dramat

i

c momen^{t, t he cu t} caused ^a s^e nsa^t

i

o^n.

S om^{e e} d

i

tors^, real

i

z

i

ng that u^nl ess s

i

mⁱ l^ar act

i

on was ta^k en dr^as t

i

c steps

w

oul ^{d b e a}dopt^{e d} by banks ^{t o} d^e flat^e c^re d

i

^{t ,} ha^{il e} d ^{t he} mo

v

^{e .}

J

The Ch

i

c^ag^{o Tribu ne} d^e cla^re d th ^{at the} d^e c

i

s

i

o^{n o f t he} Ford Motor Company ^{t o} reduc^e the pric^e s ^{o f}

i

ts cars ^{t o} pre^-

w

ar lev^e l^,

i

s an

i

mportan^t con^{t r}

i

but

i

on ^{t o t he}

w

or^{k o f re} s^t or

i

ng ^{t he} country

t _o a ^sound ^e conom

i

c and

i

ndustr

i

^al basis ^.”

“ In th

i

s ^S t^rok^{e ,” s}a

i

d ^{t he} Ne

w

^{YOrk S u n,} H^{e nr}y Ford ^has po

i

nted ^{t he} way ^{fo r} all oth^e r producers^, all other merchan^t s^.

The cou^ntry ^is h^{e ade d fo r} lo

w

^er p^r

i

^ce s^, _p^{re -}

w

ar pr

i

c^e s ^{o r} th^e r^e abouts ^.”

S

i

multa^ne ously

wi

th ^{t he} pr

i

c ^{e c u t it w as} anⁿounc ^e d tha^t

w

ag^e s would ^{no t b e} dropped ^.

W

_ork

_w

_{as cont}

_i

_{nued at} ^{t he ne w} _plant^, _prepar

_i

_ng ^{fo r e} _mploy

m^e nt ^{o f} more and s^t

i

ll mor^{e m e n.} F

i

res were lighted

i

n the firs^t

o f t he t wo bl^ast f^{u r}nac^e s May ^{1 7, 1 9 20.} Mr^. Ford^’s grandson^, H^{e nr}y Ford II^, touched a match ^{t o t he o il-} soa^k ed ^e

x

c ^e ls

i

o^{r and}

from

i

ts blaz^e product

i

on began ^.

Abov^{e t he} powerhouse now rose g

i

ant smokestacks ^{3 25} f^{e e} t abov^e ground^{, t w o -} th

i

rds as high as the Washington Monumen^{t .}

1 90 H^E NRY FORD

C ontinuance ^{o f} employment and the attack ^{o n} high pr

i

ces were onl

y

part of the progra^{m. E} xpan

s

ion wa

s

on a scale greater than ever^. A railroad wa

s

bought outright ^; coal mines were pur

cha

s

ed ^{; a} great timber rese^rve wa

s

obtained ^. All these were to have their part

i

n the lowering ^{o f} the cost ^{o f t he} car^, truck and tractor ^.

While the plant was under ^{c o nst ru c t io n ’t he} gove^rnment had a ^sked the ^D etroit^{, T} oledo and

I

ronton Ra

i

lroad to replace its old bridge acro

s

s the ^{R Ou} g^e with a new one ^. Unable to ^Stand the expen

s

e^, the railroad a

s

ked Mr^. Ford to financ ^e a half^- million dolla^rbond i

ss

ue ^.

“

M

a

y

be

i

t would be better to buy the raⁱ lroad ^, he repl

i

ed ^. Alread

y

the line ^{h ad} been reorgani

z

ed twenty^- s

i

x times ^, dur

i

ng

a period of

fi

fty year

s

it had never paid a dividend ^. Yet ^{I t} o ^ffered a direct ro ^u te to the coal

fi

elds of southern ^Ohio ^, We

s

t Virgiⁿia and Kentuck

y

^, avoiding conge

s

ted centers ^. By securing it and at the sa^m e time p^u rcha

s

ing large coal holdings in the f

i

elds men

t i_o ne d Ford would be ^{m a}de practically independent so far as that re

s

ource wa

s

concerned ^.

The director

s

of the railroad made an o ^ffer

w

h

i

ch ^allowed the

s

tockholder

s

nothing on t ^h eir inve

s

tment ^. Ford increa

s

ed the amoun^t a

s

ked

s

o that all could get a return on their money^, and bought it for assuming a mortgage ^{o f}

more ^.

T h e railroad ^’

s

e quipment was in bad shape ^. Part ^{o f} the track was too light^, badly worn and bent ^; it wa

s

replaced by

tons of heav

y

rail ^{. T he} tie

s

were just as bad ^{. T e n} engines were

s

crapped ^, together with ⁸⁰⁰ flat and coal cars ^, too old or too light to repair^. Altogether^, more than was ^Spent ^{t e}

building the road after the purchase ^.

I

n order to learn for him

s

elf e ^xact ^{c o ndit I Ons,} Mr^. Ford made a per

s

onal inspection of g^rade

s

and bridge

s

over the ^{4 54} mile

s

of ^m ain track ^. In his ^au tomobile he traver

s

ed a con

s

iderable length of the line^, vi

s

iting to^w n

s

along it

s

route ^. He made a

1 9 2 H E NRY FOR^D

T hat is^{, it} put a value of on ^S tock^, raw and manu

fac t u re d_, that had co

s

t it ^{$ 1 05} Other manufacturer

s

de

c l are d that

M

r^. Ford wa

s

cra

zy

^.

T o

s

ome extent the cut brought ^{t he de sire d} re

s

ult ^{. ‘S} ales took

a bound upward for a few weeks^. Other manufacturer

s

cut prices too ^, but it was only temporary^{. T} here was no reduction in inventory values or in prices of supplie

s

^. One plant after ^an

other over the country closed down^, and a

s

wiⁿter

s

et ^{I n} the cessation ^{o f} industr

y

became general ^{. T he} Ford plant alone con tinⁿed ^{t o} operate at full capacity^.

S ales did ^{no t} warrant the large production ^, but the company kept ^{o n} making it

s

monthl

y

quota of car

s

^, manufacturing

S tock into automobiles ^. Looking ahead ^,

M

r^. Ford saw that a cra

s

h was coming^, and he wanted to convert as much ^S tock a

s

possible ^I nto motor cars before ^{I t} arrived ^.

S upply concerns ^Still refu

s

ed to lower price

s

^, and ^{I n} the end Mr^. Ford reali

z

ed that if the process wa

s

to be ha

s

tened^, a move must be made that no ^{o ne} could fail to under

s

tand ^.

I

n De^c em ber he closed the Highland Park Plant^, determined not ^{t o} resume production until the company could buy material

s

at peacetime prices^. He thought two weeks would ^{b e} su^ff

i

cient ^; as it turned

out^, si

x

were required ^.