Henry Ford is in the Henry Ford Hospital undergoing treatment for injuries received in an auto accident last Saturday night, it was announced here today by counsel for Ford in the million-dollar libel suit against him by Aaron Sapiro.
News of the accident was being withheld from the public although Mr. Ford’s accident was reported to Judge Raymond Monday morning, it was learned. A “tip” received by a local newspaper forced William J. Cameron, editor of the “Dearborn Independent”, to make a statement about the accident to the newspapermen.
“Because of the lawsuit now in progress and the unavoidable and unfounded references that may be drawn.” Mr. Cameron said, “the facts were withheld from the public. Mr. Ford strongly deprecates the suggestion that the accident was the result of intent on anyone’s part. At present Mr. Ford is resting easily and no serious complications are expected.”
The accident, according to the statement, occurred when the Ford coupe in which the billionaire was riding alone was sideswiped by another car and forced into a ditch. He was knocked unconscious for a while but recovered sufficiently to walk to his caretaker’s lodge, from where he was rushed to the hospital. It is expected his condition will not interfere with his testifying at the trial.
While he lay in his private room in the hospital today, closely watched by his physicians, his numerous and expensive group of counsel at the Sapiro lawsuit were busy defending their progrom of secrecy concerning the accident.
“Yes, we tried to keep it quiet, although we informed Judge Raymond yesterday,” said Fred L. Black, the business manager of the “Dearborn Independent”. “No one will be permitted to bother Mr. Ford in the hospital.”
Senator Reed today continued his cross-examination of Aaron Sapiro, begun late yesterday afternoon. Senator Reed concentrated on the fees which Aaron Sapiro said he earned from 1916 to 1926–a sum alleged to be $400,000.
Senator Reed asked Sapiro how he split fees with Philip Ehrlich, San Francisco attorney, in 1916. Sapiro said he got 60 per cent and Ehrlich 40 per cent. Questioned as to his share of all receipts in all other law firms in which he was associated, Sapiro said he usually got 60 per cent.
Senator Reed objected late yesterday afternoon to Sapiro’s answering questions relating to income purely from his memory, and asked the court to instruct Sapiro to bring in his account books. Sapiro telephoned his brother, Milton, in San Francisco, after court adjourned yesterday, and the required records are now on their way to Detroit in his possesion.
In answer to Senator Reed’s motion for introducing Sapiro’s account books into the trial, William Henry Gallagher, Sapiro’s counsel, declared this morning that some of the papers asked by Senator Reed were not in Sapiro’s possession and therefore could not be introduced. A hearing on this point was delayed to give the Ford counsel time to reconsider their motion.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
