New Ford miracle needed to create jobs

Henry Ford is credited with producing the first everyman — or everywoman — car and perfecting the assembly line.

In the second week of Jan 1913, he did something that was far more significant in helping create the consumer society.

Detroit was the hub of automotive manufacture in the US and the world. Men worked on a mainly ad hoc basis for an average wage of $3.36 per day. One hundred years ago, Henry announced that Ford workers would be paid $5 a day. There was consternation in economic circles. It was claimed it could not be done; it would bankrupt Ford and possibly others who might feel obliged to follow suit.