An Open Letter From Henry Ford, Model A History

I had a book I auctioned off early this year....
"The Ford Century"....it was given to all Ford employees for the Ford 100 year anniversary, which at the time, the company I work for was owned by Ford, hence I received one of the books...
Alot of good info, history, neat old pics, etc, in that book....although since it was put out BY the Ford Motor Co......maybe a bit biased.....
I'll see if I can round up another from a fellow employee and post pics.....

 

Right you are, but Henry was the only one to receive The Grand Cross of the German Eagle from the nutzis. Maybe there was something of a kindred spirit they saw in Ol Hank?http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/intern_jew.htm

 

I dunno Mercmad. I think we must be careful not to judge history through the prism of todays reality. I think you must consider the extent that Henry Ford the man was directly responsible for elevating the industrial workforce. Just to name a few, Ford the man and his company were at the cutting edge of automobile manufacturing, agricultural development, hospitals and medical studies, commercial construction, recycling, energy production, shipping etc. One example was that Ford Motor Company was one of the first large scale manufacturers to use steel reinforced concrete in the construction of their factories. Big deal right? Well yeah that was a big deal, because this way the factories were able to be equipped with higher ceilings and large openings for windows and doors. This gave the "light and airy" feel to the workplace. No more dungeon like surroundings. The factories were also better able to be properly ventilated further enhancing health concerns for the workers.

Henry did try to manipulate the workers in a way. He paid bonuses if you lived "clean" Aka no smoking drinking or prostitutes. Remember the times people. Henry was concerned that a man's pay would get pissed away doing these things and never make it to their families back on the farm. A real prick he was.

 

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Witness this poor bugger,no safety gear of any sort!,probably paid off with damaged eye sight,industrial deafness nad stress related heart disease.
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At the risk of being non-political, I look at this pic and wonder if thats MY sedan they're building?

 

You know, I can probably name ANY famous person in ANY background, and someone will find dirt on them too. Yeah, so Ford was cozy with Nazis. I have direct descendants that were killed by Nazis (I'm British), but a car's a car.

And I don't care what engine you put in your car, I care what engine I put in mine.

But hey, that was a good article to read, and a good pic of the Sedan too. Thanks for sharing.
Just my 2 pesos (Im in Mexico this week)

 

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More fascinating history for those that actually can or care to read.....


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Ford's goal was to produce a vehicle from scratch without reliance on foreign trade. He believed in the global expansion of his company. He believed that international trade and cooperation led to international peace, and he used the assembly line process and production of the Model T to demonstrate it. He opened Ford assembly plants in Britain and Canada in 1911, and soon became the biggest automotive producer in those countries. In 1912, Ford cooperated with Agnelli of Fiat to launch the first Italian automotive assembly plants.

The first plants in Germany were built in the 1920s with the encouragement of Herbert Hoover and the Commerce Department, which agreed with Ford's theory that international trade was essential to world peace


Henry Ford was an Episcopalian Christian who opposed war which he thought was a waste of time. Ford became highly critical of those who he felt financed war and seemed to do whatever he could to stop them. Ford felt that time was better spent making things. In 1915, Jewish pacifist Rosika Schwimmer had gained the favor of Henry Ford who agreed to fund a peace ship to Europe, where World War I was raging, for himself and about 170 other prominent peace leaders.



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.....By 1932, Ford was manufacturing one third of all the world’s automobiles.


Ford's image transfixed Europeans, especially the Germans, arousing the "fear of some, the infatuation of others, and the fascination among all".
Germans who discussed "Fordism" often believed that it represented something quintessentially American.
They saw the size, tempo, standardization, and philosophy of production demonstrated at the Ford Works as a national service—an "American thing" that represented the culture of United States.
Both supporters and critics insisted that Fordism epitomized American capitalist development, and that the auto industry was the key to understanding economic and social relations in the United States.
As one German explained, "Automobiles have so completely changed the American's mode of life that today one can hardly imagine being without a car. It is difficult to remember what life was like before Mr. Ford.... For many Germans, Henry Ford embodied the essence of successful Americanism.


Hitler, fascinated with automobiles, hung Ford's picture on the wall; Hitler "Revered" Ford, proclaiming that "I shall do my best to put his theories into practice in Germany, and modeling the Volkswagen, the people's car, on the model T......


In July 1938, prior to the outbreak of war, the German consul gave James D. Mooney, vice-president of overseas operations for General Motors, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, First Class,

While The German consul at Cleveland Ohio awarded Ford, on his 75th birthday, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle -30 July 1938 Cleveland Ohio USA.



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The Order of the German Eagle was a diplomatic and honorary award of Merit given to non-Germans who were considered deserving

The Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle (all Classes Of Merit) Were Awarded to many, among others...

* James Mooney, General Motor's chief executive for overseas operations, was awarded Order of the German Eagle 1st Class
* Charles Lindbergh was awarded the Order of the German Eagle with Star 19 October 1938.
* Thomas J. Watson, president of IBM 1938. Watson was also president of the International Chamber of Commerce in 1938;
* King Boris III of Bulgaria
* Risto Ryti, President of Finland
* Jozef Tiso, President of Slovakia
* Henry Ford was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle In Cleveland OHIO USA on his 75th birthday, 30 July 1938.









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I'm Curious? Why didn't you show the pic of the CEO of GM receiving His NAZI medal??



But Lets not bash GM here, Or Lindberg or the Former President of Finland for that matter, any Other of the Many Americans that received an honorary medal unsolicited or unbenounced to them.....






Illiteracy:



The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language to read, write, listen, and speak or Comprehend. In modern contexts, the word refers to reading and writing at a level adequate for communication, or at a level that lets one understand and communicate ideas in a literate society, so as to take part in that society through Comprehension.



Mommy? Why is so hard to read???

(If you can read this, click the above link)










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Yes, Even While GM was Building 1950 Suburbans, There was still no involvement from the newly formed Occupation Health and Safety Act.
Nobody at GM had any better protection than those at Ford or Chrysler.

But the Men at Ford had Much better Wages, As well as A chance For Advancement, Profit sharing amongst the people, The ability as a Black American or as a Jewish American to advance to higher levels not withstanding there social or political or religious backgrounds.

The bottom line was that if you wanted to work for a Superior and Far above industry wage and Above Industry Working Conditions With the Newest and Latest Tooling in Well Equipped Factories... You may want to work hard at conducting yourself in a manor that That was both beneficial to yourself, your fellow employees and the People that Paid your Above Average Wages, Irregardless of skin color or religious association. Then Maybe you could partake in profit sharing either as an employee or through the checks that Ford sent out to customers when the Company did well.


It's funny, I don't every recall the shareholders of GM or Chrysler sending refunds out because they had made good profits at the end of the model year....




The concept of advancing and earning a higher wage is (obviously) a cornerstone of the American society today.

What makes you think that working hard back then wasn't beneficial to Your Well Being and Advancement??
This is irregardless of the non-existent Occupational Self and Safety Act Even at GM until the 1950's





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Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100&#37;"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by cool57

Henry receiving a Nazi medal in 1938.

I like Fords, but henry was an a**hole.
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by cool57
but Henry was the only one to receive The Grand Cross of the German Eagle from the nutzis. Yeah, so Ford was cozy with Nazis. Maybe there was something of a kindred spirit they saw in Ol Hank?http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/intern_jew.htm
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Hahahahahaha

lmao




It's too bad that so many of todays youth didn't actually grow up threw this period....

Yet They are very good at spewing false and mis-information without actually having lived threw, read or understood world history.
Self Serving at best, assholes not withstanding


Good post overall

i enjoyed reading the letter and the words Henry Ford wrote. I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures and information you found.
Cheers

 

I had heard that the Volkswagon was modelled after Ford's car's and Ideals. -A Good long lasting car that was inexpensive and easily serviced and built on quality of parts. The Volswagon was in my opinion a poor car based on a better idea.



By the way, Ferdinand Porhcse also recieved a nazi medal


cheers

 

Somehow I don't find it odd that You were smart enough to find this info
on a Web Blog as opposed to actually reading a history book for yourself.


Your Reference....

http://truthseeker2473.blogspot.com/2006/06/summer-part-2.html






And I don't find it to far out of the ordinary that you take the word of a wingest blog writer over an actual dictionary, encyclopedia or other history Book either. This seems normal for the period we live in




Cheers

 

Alfred P. Sloan, The CEO of General Motors had devised Planned Obsolescence in the early to mid 1920s and fully implemented it by the late 1920's.

The SAE or Society of Automobile Engineers were so concerned with how Sloan and GM were forcing them to build death dates into ever aspect of the GM cars although, They, as engineers had spent years in school to 'make a better mouse trap'..

The SAE's annual meeting in 1930 was highlighted by The New "Sloanism" of designing parts to Prematurely fail, The engineers that attended were outraged but could do nothing at the hands of the CEO of General Motors, Mr Alfred P. Sloan.

What company would you have rather worked for? One that forces you to (still) build things that break by a certain date or one that was trying to build the better car?

GM, '70 years of Planned Obsolescence and Proud of it'

(You may want to check with the SAE regarding the minutes of the annual meetings during the 20's and 30's).

cheers

 

Great read. Too bad about the trivial political commentary. Save it for a site that gives a shit about your political views or pc beliefs.

 

Yes,

Why don't we get back to things without the bashing, trashing and mis-information that others have brought here..




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......I look at this pic and wonder if thats MY sedan they're building?[/quote]


Probably not yours, that is unless your sedan body has morphed into a 1932 model.

-Ryan

 

True,but that's putting nice complection on the true way his workers were made to work,mind numbing repetitive tasks,12 hours per day,6 days per week.Ford silenced his critics at the time by paying his workers over the odds.No prostitutes ..
Also,It wasn't Ol' Henry who came up with idea of the mass produced car..that was already underway long before the Ford motor company was incorperated...
It was the same Guy who invented the home garage to keep your car in ..Ransome Ely Olds...

 

I think it was in 1914 that Henry instituted the $5 a day wage which was almost double the wage of others.

Ford also instituted the 8 hour 5 day work week (in 1914) as opposed to the 9 hour 6 day. This didn't sit well with GM or other Manufacturers But Ford thought that a man should have time to rest or spend time with their families. The Business tycoons of the day were furious and criticized the move to a 40 hour week siteing that it would be bad for the economy.

The $5 day was brought about for several other reasons, One being that Ford thought that every man should be able to afford a new car so that they could take pleasure in driving out to their relatives farms and into the country side. The $5 day was also a way of drawing The Best Automotive Mechanics/Engineers/Men to come to work for Ford and more importantly, keep them at Ford. before this, It was the norm to hire 300 men for 100 jobs as people often didn't stay at any one job very long.
At $5 a day and with a 5 day work week, People were fiercely loyal as well as they had much more time off than those over at the competitions.
Although many here have tried to imply otherwise, Ford moved to put an end to slave driving and low wages through good labor practices in 1914 - much to the dismay of the competition.

In raising the wage and instituting a 40 hour work week, He proved, that the workers could afford the cars they were producing and this in turn was good for the American economy.The doubling of the wage to $5 a day in 1914 was Fords idea of Profit sharing rather than "a Raise". That doesn't sound like the asshole that everybody has been slandering..

And as far as R.E. olds goes, he may have invented an assembly line if you can call it that, but it was simply a line of autos parked along each side of the building in which the cars stayed put and the workers moved on to each car. That really wasn't an assembly line, more like a row of cars on each side of the shop....

Ford's first real assembly line evolved from a timed experiment where he set up an isle that two men pulled the vehicle along to each worker/station. The experiment was clocked (stop watch) and proved to be much faster than the standard row of cars that the men usually just walked through as they assembled each part (much like all manufacturers including Olds). Ford instituted actual moving assembly lines in the early teens.





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As far as the later years that everybody refers to as that asshole Ford Labor Years.....

....Edsel Ford was president and CEO of Ford motor Company from 1919 and up until his death in 1943 during the height of the war.

Which Meant that Henry Ford was Forced to return to the helm of the company at the age of 80 years old and during Americas darkest hours.

But Just a few years earlier, The UAW was using strong arm tactics to force GM and others to revert to a 6 hour day at $8 per shift..
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I'll let you read what the Detroit press wrote about the clash That happened over at GM Before the UAW came after Ford with the same strong arm tactics in mind..


-------------------The Detroit Press----------------

[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA][FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA]The labor movement was gaining momentum in the mid thirties, but had had little in the way of success in the industrial heart of the country, Detroit.

Three brothers were instrumental in turning this around: Victor, Roy and Walter Reuther. Inspired by European sit-down strikes, they sought to bring the method to bear on the automotive giants. [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA][FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA] After a successful strike at Kelsey-Hayes, an automotive supplier, the tide seemed to turn against the UAW and it was decided to launch a major operation. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA][FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA]On Jan. 11, 1937, the Reuther brothers organized a sit-down strike at the GM Fisher 2 plant in Flint. After a Violent three-hour battle with police, in which strikers were gassed and shot with buckshot, the workers routed the police with water hoses and makeshift industrial-sized slingshots, hurling two-pound metal hinges. In what became known as the Battle of the Running Bulls, the UAW began an offensive that snowballed.[/FONT][/FONT]


[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA][FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA]In February, they staged an attack on the Flint Chevy Plant No. 4 after a diversionary pass at Chevy No. 9. That successful operation was the final blow to GM, which signed a contract with the UAW. In March of that year, 192,642 workers staged sit-down strikes at their jobs. Chrysler capitulated, then Studebaker and Cadillac.

By early summer, Walter Reuther's West Side Local 174 had grown from 78 to 30,000 members. They had won an hourly minimum wage, abolition of piecework pay, grievance committees, seniority, and most importantly, a voice.[/FONT][/FONT]
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This set the scene for the Reuther Brothers to instigate riots at Ford in the weeks to come of which the peak was the well known "Battle of the Overpass".

....Ex Navy Man and Fighter Harry Bennett was in charge of security for Ford Motor Company. Bennett employed his own Body Guards and always carried a gun.
Bennett used strong arm tactics and intimidation to get his way.. and not only did he intimidate Acquaintances and the Workers, He also Intimidated Edsel and Henry Ford and their families.. often flashing his Gun when Ford would disagree or attempt to fire the man or persuade him to leave quietly. Bennett never went anywhere without his Pistol Carrying Body Guards.

It was believed that Bennett was responsible for more than a few murders in his home town of Clair Michigan during the 30's. Many bodies went missing in 'Lost Lake' (Bennett's home residence and hunting cabin)

Harry Bennett was 45 years old and carried a gun and was known to use it. Henry Ford was 72 and did not. The Intimidation and threats kept the frail old man from dismissing Harry Bennett.




When The UAW Finally brought the violence and clashes to Ford's plants, Bennett organized 25 car loads of thugs to guard the property.

Two hours before the UAW got involved in Riots, just like they had previously done over at GM, Bennett warned then not to set foot on Ford Property.

The rest is automotive history as to the riots that ensued that day At Ford's Rouge plant.
Bennett and his men rushed the Reuther Brothers and their strongmen in an attempt to rid the rouge property of trespassers. Trespassers who had been sternly warned two hours earlier. The Riots ensued just as they had some months earlier at GM's Fischer Plant #2. (not to mention, Chrysler, Cadillac and others)

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It's funny how no one ever mentions the Bloody Riots that the UAW started over at GM prior to the riots at Ford.

...... How selective our memories are when we want them to be...






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Henry Ford suffered several Heart attacks between 1937 and the end of the war.
By 1945 and At the age of 82, He turned the company over to his Grandson, Edsel Ford II..
By 1947, only a few months prior to his 84th birthday, Henry Ford was dead.


It is strongly believed that WW11 would have been lost if not for the Ford Willow Run Pant...

President Franklin Roosevelt called Detroit the "Arsenal of Democracy."
Up until Ford, the Massive B-24 Liberator Bombers were being produced at a rate of 1 per day.
Henry Ford would Build the Massive Willow Run Plant in 1941 with out of pocket money and set the plant into production of the Liberator Bombers at the rate of 20 per day or 600 per month.

Henry Ford never asked for or received any renumeration for his efforts in building the Massive Aircraft Facility (willow run) nor did he take profits from the American people or the Government in supplying the war machine with B-24's Liberators, Tanks or Jeeps. The initial costs were covered by the Families Bank accounts and the cost was never recovered from the American people.

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Whatever his flaws and however unacceptable his opinions and views to us now, Henry Ford was a great man.

It is beyond doubt that he had a real interest in the welfare of his workers. Indeed, he had been criticized for starting the 40 hour work week and a minimum wage.

Maybe his interest was paternalistic, maybe he wanted to improve the lot of workers to improve his business. He was like Wedgewood, Titus Salt and Lord Lever in this respect. But whatever his motives thousands of workers enjoyed a better standard of living. His profit sharing scheme was based on men not drinking and gambling. This was a real benefit to the women and children of his men. In the 30's my grandfather would be paid on Friday and not return home until Sunday afternoon when the ale houses closed. He would then beat my grandmother and fall down in a drunken stupour. What ever money they found in his pockets was what they had to live on. It was a different world back then. Easy to judge him as a right wing tyrant now - back in the day he was enlightened and maybe even a bit of a closet socialist.....

 

I think was must be accepted is that Henry's views changed over time. He was enlightened early on as you can see by this article and the other issues brought up like the $5 per day wage back in 1914 (I don't recall who wrote about that above). Think about this though, at the time of the Rouge plant riot in 1937, Ford workers were only making $6 per day, 23 years later. Something changed in Henry (or should we say in the way Edsel ran the company, but one can find easily enough his writings on Jews -- that was another reason Hitler liked him).

I liked the early Henry in a lot of ways -- not everything but he did do a lot of good things. I don't like the later Henry when he was just doing what everyone else was doing, i.e. hiring thugs to beat his workers.

As for the WWII stuff, many big American companies were helping the German war machine, right up until the day we entered the war. At that time they all supposedly divested of these operations. It is odd thought hat GM and Ford were still earning their profits from the German operations throughout the war. Many of the companies were even reimbursed by the US for the bombing damage that Allied attacks caused during the war -- go figure.

If as was claimed that the companies did actually divest, I think Ford got the worst of the bad publicity though. US soldiers like my grandfather would get pissed that the Germans army was using Ford vehicles, while companies like GM had German specific divisions like Opel which didn't get tied as quickly to the GM name.