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I. The Ford Halo
- Wayne State University Press
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CHAPTER I THE FOKD HALO I HAVE known Henry Ford for twenty years. For a time he was my parishioner, and then for a time I washisemployee. Given freedom to create a man will reveal himself in what he produces— the painter in his picture, the sculptor in his marble, the writer in his book, the musician in hiscomposition , and the mechanic in his machine. The Ford car is Henry Ford done in steel, and other things. Not a thing of art and beauty, but of utility and strength — the superstrength , power and endurance in engine and chassis, but somewhat ephemeral in its upper works. With top torn, body dented, upholstery gone, fenders rattling, and curtains flapping in the wind, you admire the old thing and speak softly and affectionately of it, because under the little hood the engine —occasionally 4 THE FORD HALO on four, sometimes on three, frequently on two, and now and then on one — keeps rhythmically chugging along, keeps going when by all the laws of internal combustible things it ought to stop and with one weary expiring gasp fall to pieces and mingle with the mire its few remaining grains of rust. But it keeps going, just as he keeps going contrary to all the laws of labor, commerce and high finance. Some years ago I sat in the office of a Ford executive, discussing with him a certain thing the "chief " had ordered done. "It's a fool thing, an impossible thing," said the executive, " but he has accomplished so many impossible things that I have learned to defer judgment and wait the outcome. Take the Ford engine, for example; according to all the laws of mechanics the damned thing ought not to run, but it does." As in the Ford engine, so in Henry Ford there are things that by all the laws of ordinary and industrial life should "queer " him, put him out of the running, but he keeps going. He is an extraordinary man, a personality in the sense that he is different from other 5 [54.234.233.157] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 09:05 GMT) HENRY FORD people, quite different, for that matter, from what he is popularly supposed to be. But however unlike the rest of us Henry Ford may be in some respects, he falls under the classification of ordinary mortals in this: he is not satisfied with what he has and is. He is one of the richest men on earth. He is the most widely known man in the industrial world. But with these things he is not content . He has other ambitions. For example, he not only has the willingness, but has shown a rather strong desire to assume national political responsibilities. And on oneoccasion he voluntarily took upon himself the task of settling the problems of a world at war. His ability to do in other than the industrial sphere may be commensurate with his will, but his efforts in other directions have not been such as to inspire confidence. It is not only the absence of certain qualifications , but the presence of others that make us doubt his fitness for the field of politics. If our Government were an absolute monarchy , a one-man affair, Henry Ford would be the logical man for the throne. As Presi6 THE FORD HALO dent, and he seems to have aspirations in that direction, he would be able to give us a very economical administration, for a Cabinet and Congress would be entirely superfluous if he were in the White House. The chances are that he would run the Government, or try to do so, as he runs his industry, having had experience along no other lines. The Ford organization would be transferred to Washington . That would not be so difficult a matter as it might appear to the uninitiated. It could be accomplished in a single section of a Pullman car, with one in the upper and two in the lower berth. I agree with Mr. Edison, who was recently reported as saying of Mr. Ford, " He is a remarkable man in one sense, and in another heis not. I would not vote for him for President, but as a director of manufacturing or industrial enterprises I'd vote for him — twice." But I doubt if the spark of political ambition in him ever would have burst into flame had it been left to itself. There are those near him, however, who never cease...