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To Lawyer Marshall, Mr. Ford had sent two of his agents (Earl J. Davis of Detroit, onetime [1924-25] Assistant Attorney General of the U. S., and one Joseph Palma of Manhattan). They asked Lawyer Marshall how Mr. Ford could most efficaciously erase the Jewish animosity that he had created against himself. Mr. Marshall, speaking for all U. S. Jews, asked for a clearly defined, written recantation of the Dearborn Independent and "International Jew" articles.
Mr. Ford's answer to this was last week's statement, a copy of which he sent to Arthur Brisbane with the instructions: "Here's a statement that I have made. Write around it in any way you like." Editor Brisbane with a newspaper "scoop" in his hands, forebore using it exclusively; shared it with all press associations and Manhattan newspapers.
"Dearborn Independent." William J. Cameron, editor of the Dearborn Independent, last week professed to find Mr. Ford's statement unexpected. The current issue of that weekly mentioned no change in policy. Said Editor Cameron: "It is all news to me, and I cannot believe it is true. This is the first time I have heard of any such intention on the part of Mr. Ford, and I most certainly will get in touch with him and find out what is behind it."
Motives. Despite Henry Ford's plain words, some newspapers imputed base motives to him. The New York World published: "Looking for material motives, some ascribe political ambitions to the automobile king. "Mr. Ford's action is taken by political observers at Washington to be the first step in a move toward entering the 1928 campaign for the Presidency. The fact that he chose the Hearst newspapers as the initial vehicle for putting his change of heart before the country is interpreted as indicating William Randolph Hearst will push his candidacy.
"Others believe he is alarmed by the Ford Motor Co.'s striking loss of business in the last few years, although this has been due largely to competition of other manufacturers."
The Chicago Tribune, more circumspect, quoted an anonymous "Jewish financier and industrialist";
" 'I think that Ford has at last realized that he has been making a boob of himself. He knows Jews won't buy his cars. Even if they did not they are only 3,000,000 out of 118,000,000. But this is a funny country, the majority are inclined to take up for the under dog, and it is very likely that Ford's attacks on Jews did hurt his business with the vast number of Gentiles associated with Jews one way or another.
" 'Ford has been operating his plants as little as two or three days a week lately—a most expensive way to operate—and since he is under every compulsion to sell his new car, he cannot afford to indulge in any hobbies which create enemies and sales resistance.' "