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Heirs Apparent. Edsel sent his own sons to college. Henry Ford II, now 26, of Yale, has much of the courtly air of his grandfather, also his little trick of cocking his head towards anyone talking to him. He showed he had a mind of his own by turning Catholic to marry, is now a lieutenant in the Navy. Benson Ford, 23, alone of the grandchildren, has his grandfather's keen blue eyes and much of his tremendous energy. Rejected in the draft (he is almost blind in one eye) he got special War Department permission to enlist, is now in officers' training school. Both he and Henry II are directors in the company. The youngest son, William Clay Ford, just 18, is a Naval air cadet.
Until war's end, the Ford burden must inevitably fall upon the two most trusted men in the empire — tall, hawk-nosed Charles E. Sorensen, vice president, and squat, nail-hard Harry Bennett. Sorensen, Danish-born, came to the company in 1904, has heard all the dreams of Henry and Edsel, and translated them into cars off the production line, planes winging from Willow Run. Bennett is no production man. Upon his pugilist's shoulders has rested the Atlantean task of protecting the empire from anything which Henry Ford wants it protected from. Hired to guard the Rouge plant against saboteurs in 1917, he stayed to guard the Ford family from kidnappers and later futilely tried to bar the door against collective bargaining.
Of the intense loyalty of Bennett and Sorensen there can be no question. But as to how they will pull together — with Edsel gone — there is doubt. The empire has long been split into two warring kingdoms, with Bennett ruling one, Sorensen the other. Edsel Ford gave his tacit support to Sorensen, counteracting the tremendous influence Bennett has with Henry Ford. The scales are now tipped far the other way. This Tuesday Bennett was made a director (Sorensen was one already) at the same time that Edsel's widow and three other executives were added to the board. But Henry Ford took the presidency for himself.
On July 30 he will be 80. But his blue eyes are still sharp, his mind disconcertingly keen. Hours of his days are still spent dogtrotting through the Rouge and Willow Run shops, poking his long nose into obscure corners, knowing everything that is going on. At no time during the long years when Edsel sat in the presidency did his father permit him to rule alone. As Henry explained: "He knows some things better than I do and I know some things better than he does." One thing which Henry Ford knows better than anyone — while he lives, no one but Henry Ford will run the Ford empire.
* The staff of Henry Ford Hospital formally announced that "death was due to a condition which developed from a former stomach malady for which an operation was performed 16 months ago. Undulant fever was also present." The New York Daily News picked up the rumor that death was due to cancer, pettishly demanded why this was not formally announced, if true. † Stock of the Ford Motor Co, is of two types, voting and nonvoting. The exact ration is on a closely guarded Ford secret, but comparison can be made to the stock structure of Ford Motor Co. of Canada. Of the 1,588,960 Ford Canada shares outstanding, only 70,000 are voting shares, which are closely held by members of the Ford family and top Ford bosses.