The Flivver King: A Story of Ford-America

Ford and his wife arrive at the party. The mansion is elegant and adorned with beautiful old furnishings, ornaments, and art, and Ford enjoys cocktails and a refined meal presented by servants “trained [...] so that everything moved like one of Henry’s perfect machines” (222).

Meanwhile, at the meeting, the chairman tells the audience that “industrial feudalism would not give up without a struggle, and without heroes to make sacrifices for the cause” (221). He introduces Tom to the audience as a blacklisted Ford worker whose “father and grandfather before him had shared the troubles which now the workers of the Detroit area were determined to end” (221). Tom tells his audience “the elementary facts about the condition of the working class under competitive capitalism”: individually the workers are helpless, and the huge oversupply of labor will depress wages, but together, the union can “confront the boss with a monopoly equal to his own” (222).

The hostess of the dinner party faces a social conundrum: Ford is the son of a farmer, a “plain American” (222) unlikely to appreciate her chef’s refined cooking and probably unable to pronounce the names of French dishes. Since Ford is there to teach her and her guests old-fashioned American dances, it seems appropriate to serve rustic, old-fashioned American food.