HENRY FORD ISSUES STATEMENT CRITICAL OF GOVERNMENT SALE OF GORGAS STEAM PLANT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 12, 1923, Secretary of War John W. Weeks* brought along with him to a cabinet meeting a statement issued the previous evening by automaker Henry Ford critical of the government's sale of the Gorgas Steam Plant** (Muscle Shoals properties) to the Alabama Power Company for $3,472,487.
Mr. Ford blamed "political influence" preventing Ford Motor Company's acquisition of the properties.
The War Secretary expressed his resentment of the Ford statement and pledged he would take the matter up with President Calvin Coolidge.
*John Wingate Weeks (1860-1926) was born in Lancaster NH & served as mayor of Newton, Masssachusetts 1902-1903, US House of Representatives 1905-1913, US Senate 1913-1919, Secretary of War 1921-1925.
**Gorgas Steam Plant, located in Walker County, Alabama was closed in 2019. It was the oldest coal-fired plant in the state originally owned by the Alabama Power Co. since the 1920s.
SOURCE
"Grave Charge By Ford Put Before President," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., October 12, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
