Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1931, Page 66

s s _—~ [ comm—— ———. | ——————— Henry Ford’s Mysterious New Hobby THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JULY 26, 1931, s e “ o "riother Ford Museum for antiques. Standing on a vast ‘experimental farm, the old Pennington house, ahowmg the wide expanse of lawn thet has been created about it, while the house is being restored to’its old condition. The Detroit Motor Magnate, at 68, Has Taken Over T hree Thousand Acres of Michigan Farm Land and Begun to Experi- mentinal.avish Way. HE latest and perhaps the greatest of all the hobbies of Henry Ford is now b being worked out in Macon Township, ‘ Lenawee County, Michigan, 45 miles from Dearborn. Here one of the world’s richest men, king of the most stupendous industrial organ- jzation in the world, is endeavoring to prove to the farmers of the country that their methods have been wrong and their markets inadequate. Born and brought up on a farm in Dearborn Township, this mechanical-minded genius has always cherished the notion that he could produce crops by an easier method and for more diverse purposes than have ever been utilized. Now he has acquired several thousand acres of land in an ancient agricultural settlement in the northeast cormer of Lenawee County, and he has begun the work of experimentation that he thinks will revolutionize the business of raising crops. Mr. Ford believes the solution of much of the present dilemma of the farmer lies in the matter of providing new uses for farm products. ‘Too large & share of the farmer's output has been used for food and little or mone of it is used for industrial purposes. For a long time he has talked about his plans for creating new uses for farm crops, and for some time he has conducted experiments on hic farm at Dearborn. He thinks he might be able to raise crops that will furnish the raw material for automobiles and perhaps for a multiplicity of other industrial products. He has devoted much of his land, for instance, to raising cantaloupes—not for the market, but to make industrial alcohol for use in his factories. Rumor has it also that he will raise golden- fod for rubber. In this field his associate and friend, Thomas Edison, has conducted experi- ments for many years. It is predicted that the Macon farms will be used for the growing of poldenrod, but thus far there is no evidence pf it. The truth of the entire matter is that Mr. Ford thinks something should be done about “this farm situation.” He is merely groping around for some sort of a solution. He has the money, the time and the inclination—and he is using all three. It was last November that the farmers of that section were startled and aroused by the Mctivities of a mysterious land buyer who gave 2he name of Charles King. Mr. King had been there before two or three years ago, and had promised to come back soon and close a dot of deals for the purchase of farms. He @igd not come back then, however, and it was ot until last November that he actually began to pay out money. ‘The price ranged from about $90 to $150 an facre, and the man seemed to have his mind made up in advance as to the price he would pay. As soon as an agreement would be reached he would make a down payment, sometimes $500 or $1,000 in cash. At 68, Henry Ford still can show his farm hands how to work. Here he is shown swinging an ax with all the vigor of a young man. UMORS spread through the surrounding territory. Some of the rumors spread to distant ‘towns and cities and a great many inquiries were made at the Ford office. Then Mr. Ford’s connection with the enterprise was established and residents discovered that the new owner had bought tractors and a good deal of farm machinery and had actually started work. Many of the residents had been hired at a base wage of $5 a day and new men were being put to work almost every day. Things were indeed beginning to happen. Mr. Ford is deeply interested in the project— s0 much so that he visits the scene almost every day. It was a distinct shock to some of the farm- ers of the neighborhood to see him tramping acrass bis newly acquired flelds at 5 o'clock in the morning. Here was no sickly millionadre. He is a rugged, wiry fellow who knows what is takes a keen, almost childlike in doing it. In fact. he is very much ke a boy with a new colt. Mr. Ford is 68. - He ks 80 rapidly that even his huskiest [ cannot keep up with him. At first the farmers would enjoy the privilege of talking to “the richest man in the world.” They wanted to tell him things about this country in which they had spent their entire lives and in which their Tathers and grandfathers had been born. They soon discovered he knew a good deal about the land himself, and he took a great deal of pride in his knowledge. They also found him to be & “very tough old codger.” My. Ford Is Trying to Find a New Use for the Over-Supply of Farm Products, Thus Increasing Demand and Solv- ing Farm Relief. One day Mr. Ford came upon a gang of men mowing hay on one of his fields. He watched for a few minutes and then stepped up to a young man who was handling a scythe. “Could I borrow that scythe for just a moment, please?” Mr. Ford asked. The young man handed it over very politely and stepped back to see what would happen. Mr. Ford took a few trial strokes, hitched his shoulders in his characteristic manner, ran his fingers along the edge of the scythe—and then started to work. He took long, even strokes, rhythmical, easy and eflective. . He worked for 10 minutes or more—then handed the scythe to the farm hand—and walked past the villagers to his luxurious auto- mobile. They looked at each other for a moment and then one of them slapped his thigh. “Well, if that don't beat the Dutch.” Mr. Ford seemed to enjoy the experience im- mensely. In fact, he seems to enjoy it all. He often spends hours tramping about the place, like any other farmer. 'HIS is one of his many hobbies. He tells his executives, those with whom he comes into close contact, that he is endeavoring to discover some of the hidden truths of agri- culture. He tells the farmers the same thing—when he meets them on the road or in the village store. He talks freely to them—tells them what he hopes to accomplish, how he intends to do it and what he thinks of tractors, com cures, maple syrup and the back 40 on the old Conklin place. Mr. Ford thinks nothing at all of jumping into a ditch to show the workmen how to dig. He often does it. Or else he will take an ax away from a wood cutter and swing it for half an hour or more. He never shows any sign of fatigue afterwards. “Farming,” said Mr. Ford one day, “ought to be run more like industry.” He was standing on the porch of the house that furnishes a headquarters for the Macon Telephone Co. “I was brought up on a farm and I learned a good deal about it. I always figured it was too hard work for what was accomplished and I was interested in saving labor as much as possible. But I was more interested in other things, so I left the farm. “Now it seems to me that the farmer ought to work closely with the manufacturer. The two ought to use the same methods and ought to help each other. They should work together much better than they do.” T the Ford offices in Dearborn, it was explained, Mr. Ford's activity is the ex- pression of a long felt desire to do something tangible for the farmer. “Mr. Ford has always felt that the farm could gain a great deal by maintaining a closer . relation . with industry,” it was said. “Not only will the farmer be able to sell his product for industrial uses, but he can take a leaf from the book of industry in the matter Continued on Thirteenth Page