 The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry, presents the Cavalcade of America. Tonight's star, Cornel Wild. Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade is called Improvement Noted, and here, starring in the role of a life-evil at Denison, is Cornel Wild. Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet, in describing the poverty of a poor merchant, talks of his being surrounded by a beggarly account of empty boxes. How well that once might have applied to me. It was 1844, my little jewelry shop in Bangor, Maine, was in bad shape. No customers, no future to look to, nothing but shelves piled high, a beggarly account of empty boxes. I'm here, Lydia, down behind the counter. What are you doing there? Hiding from my creditors. I brought you lunch. Well, let's eat it quick before the sheriff slaps an attachment on it. No customers today? Oh, lots of them. For every store on the street, but mine. Sliplets. Hmm? What's next Saturday? Oh, June 30th. It's something else. What? Our anniversary. And we're going to celebrate. How? Let's go home to Brunswick. After we close the store Saturday, it'll be a wonderful little vacation. Please? Well, Lydia, I'd like to go home to see mother and dad, but... What is it? Aaron will be there. I had a letter from him yesterday. So, supposing Aaron is there? Don't you want to see your brother? I shouldn't feel this way about Aaron. He's done so much for me, but while he overpowers me when I'm with him, he keeps telling me why I'm not a success, keeps harping on the fact that I have little ambitions, while he thinks big, always big. Oh, now you're being foolish. Oh, sure I am, Lydia. Oh, it's ridiculous. Of course we'll go to Brunswick for our anniversary. We'll have a wonderful time. It's no more than I expected, Elyphelet. I told you not to set up that jewelry shop in Bangkok. I told you you couldn't run a business of your own. I told you you'd wind up losing every cent you ever owned, and I was right. Well, it's all over. I'd rather not talk about it. Well, I'll talk about it. You're too much like father. He's a failure, and so are you. Why? Because you both think small. Both of you. Aaron, can't we stop all this? I haven't the time to think things out. I'm not like a rubber ball that bounces back after it hits the floor. I've got the time to think. I came home to Brunswick for a holiday. Let's not... Oh, let's talk about it some other time. You've got a wife to support and a baby coming. But what do you want me to do? Come to Boston. I want you to run my jewelry shop. Look after it. Oh, what about you? Aren't you going to be in the shop? Not unless I have to be. I've hit on a tremendous idea, Elyphelet. Something big. The kind of an idea that has meat on it. I've decided to manufacture watches by machine. By machine. All by machine. Do you think it can be done? It sounds almost impossible. Anything that requires a little push and ingenuity sounds impossible to you. I wish you'd let me think about it, Aaron. I want a yes or no answer, and I want it now. All right. I'll come to Boston. It settled it. Well... Oh, am I intruding? Lydia, come in. How could you ever intrude? When you walk into the room, the lights go on and the band begins to play. Oh, look at that fancy talk, Aaron. Is that what they teach you in Boston? Never you mind about Boston, Lydia. It's the place for a man to buff his brass. I was just looking for you, Elyphelet. Here he is. And all yours. And all I can say is that the prettiest girl in Brunswick deserves better. I'll leave you two alone. What was Aaron saying? As usual, he took pains to remind me that I was a failure. You shouldn't let him talk to you that way. I shouldn't. As far back as I can remember, he's been able to dominate me. The whole family for that matter. He overpowers you. He doesn't ever power me. He never has. I wish I had your gumption, Lydia. You do, dear. If you only think you don't. Oh, that's true. I'm sorry. Lydia, for the prettiest bell in Brunswick, you sure made a rotten choice. Another piece of chicken, Aaron? No, thanks, Father. Suit yourself. Lydia? No, thank you. Elyphelet? No, thank you. Mother, are you in the mood for a little surprise? A surprise? For me, Aaron? For you. In solemn recognition of all the years you've had to suffer the strain of the dentist and bruise. A little present. Oh, you shouldn't have done it, Aaron. You're just too big-hearted for your own good. Nonsense. Here, Mother, it's for you. Elyphelet, pass along. All right, I... Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry. It dropped right out of my hand. Why are you always so clumsy? I said I'm sorry. Oh, I hope it isn't broken, whatever it is. It's a watch, and you can rest assured it's broken. Well, the box came apart right in my hand. Well, I suppose it wasn't your fault. It happens all the time with those blasted boxes. I send to France, pay top prices, and this is the kind of junk they send me. Disgusting. I'm sorry. Here it is. Let me see. Hmm. Yeah, just as I feared. Stopped. Well, I'm sorry, Mother. I'll have to send you another when I get back to Boston. That's all right, Aaron. I had the same trouble with my jewelry boxes in Bangor. Seems kind of silly to send all the way to France just for boxes. Well, there's no place else to get them, Father. No one makes jewelry boxes in America. If anyone did, they'd find a pretty market. Well, somebody ought to do it. That's right. Why don't you do it, Father? Me? Yes. I'm a cobbler. That's my trade. Not a box maker. Seems to me you're not a very successful cobbler. Hey, Jerusalem! Don't you ever say that to me, Aaron. I'm a cobbler. I am an a mighty fine cobbler. It ain't my fault that them inventors have come up with a shoemaking machine that's putting me out of business. Father, Father, have some tea. Don't offer me tea when I'm in a sample woman. All right, all right. I don't want to start an argument. You started an argument the minute you walked into this house wearing machine-made shoes. I thought I didn't notice today. Fronting your shoes in my face. That's what you've been doing while I've had enough. Where are you going? I'm going out. And I ain't coming back into this house until Aaron takes off them shoes. You get angry too quickly, Father. I've got reason. Aaron had a good idea there, you know? What idea? Make boxes. You too, Leifelet. I'm a cobbler. No, no, Father. We're both in the same boat, flat-broke. Well, we'll find something. Well, maybe this is it. You're handy with tools. You can make boxes. Look here, I've spent a little time soaking this box apart. Nothing but a rectangle of heavy paper with four corners cut out. Then the edges are folded up and a piece of paper pasted around to hold them. That's all. Not interested. If you went to work with maybe a dozen sheets of paper at a time, cut out the corners all at once, you could turn out a lot of them. You still got to cut out the corners by hand? Not if you figure out a machine to do it. A machine? You could make one. Try it, Father. Why not? I won't do it. Well, if you did do it, you made some money out of it, even a little. You wouldn't have to depend on Aaron. Well, that's what I call a sensible argument. Would you do it? I'll do it. How many can you turn out, do you think? I don't know. But if it's a way to show up, Aaron, never you fear. I'll turn out paper boxes, faster than a man with no teeth can spit tacks. Lydia. Oh, dear. Well, what are you doing lugging all these packages? They came to Boston this morning from Brunswick. I'll pick them up. They weren't heavy. I thought I could manage them. From Father? Mm-hmm. Oh, must be the first shipment of the boxes he's been making. Let's take a look. All right. Where's Aaron? Oh, out on his big deal. Oh. Been busy? No. Had one customer in this morning for a watch, but he wasn't satisfied with anything I showed him. Well, these boxes are pretty nice, aren't they? Oh, they are. Give me that little watch on the counter. Let's see if the size is right. Oh, and some tissue paper. Thanks. Oh, it looks so pretty. It fits just right, too. Father's done a good job. Oh, excuse me, a customer. Yes, sir, can I help you? I'm the man who was here before, remember? Oh, of course. All right, where's that watch you showed me? One of the other stores have anything any better. Now, if I was in New York, I could get something really first-class. Here you are, sir. Huh? Oh, you mean you got some more in after I left, eh? Oh, I know. Well, then why didn't you show this to me before? Oh, well, I did, sir. Well, I don't know what you did to it, but it certainly looks a lot better than when I was here before. I'll take it. Very well, sir. How much? Well, same price. Well, all right. Fine. Thank you. That's quite all right. Good day. Lydia. Did you show him that watch before? Of course I did. But this time it was in Father's box, and it looked as good as it really is. I think that's funny. Now I'm convinced. About what? You'll see. Hand me some of those boxes. Now, you stay here and mind the store, Lydia. Mind the store? How can I? Of course you can. Anybody can sell watches. I'm going out to sell boxes. I'll rifle it. So there you are. It's no more than I expected. The minute I turn my back, you're off on some fools' errand. It hasn't been a fools' errand. I've been trying out... I've been trying to sell some of Father's boxes, and I've sold them. Look here, a handful of orders. Some blazes with boxes. But it was your own idea. It was just something I said on the spur of the moment to keep Father quiet. But it's a good idea. It's a piddling idea. How much do all the orders you have add up to? $16. I make more than that selling a single watch. Pennies. You're playing with pennies. The trouble with you is that you haven't got a head for business. You just... That's enough. All my life I've been listening to you say that. All my life I've been listening to it and almost beginning to believe it. But this time I'm not letting you badger me into believing I can't do what I know I can. Aaron, please, let me work out my own salvation. You are listening to the DuPont Cavalcade of America starring Cornel Wilde as Elifelette Denison, sponsored by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. The DuPont Cavalcade continues starring Cornel Wilde as Elifelette Denison. In those days, in the 1850s, it was hard to convince businessmen that American boxes could stand up to foreign imports. But with Lydia beside me, I kept pushing ahead. Pretty soon the orders were mounting up every month higher from Providence, New York, as far west as Pittsburgh. Shipments were falling behind and so one weekend, Lydia and I went up to Brunswick to see if father could speed up deliveries. Elifelette, I... I do the best I'm able. I have worked out a machine to cut out corners and your sisters, Julia and Matilda, along with all the girls in town, I guess, spend all day pasting the things up. Your father's been working awfully hard, Elifelette. What more do you expect of me, miracles? You've got to move out of Brunswick, set up a factory nearer to where I am in Boston. Move out of Brunswick? Boy, where else would I find such a good house for the fine spring right on the property? You've got to do it. Never. All right, then. Father, here's my offer. Let me buy you out. I'll buy out your interest, your machine, everything. What do you say? Name your figure. Eh... Well? Where are you going to get the money? I'll borrow it. I'll get it. What's the figure? It... $8,000. Very well. Hi, Andrew Denison. What? I never dreamed I'd see the day when you'd try to skin-finch your own son. Once on my own, really on my own, things began to happen rapidly. I set up a little shop in Boston, and slowly I built up my business, a Denison company, hiring first one worker than another. Soon I was able to expand, travel as far away as New York for orders. The trips were exciting, but of course, getting home was even better. Liddy! Liddy, over here! My home again, darling. Oh, it's wonderful to be home. How are the children? Just wonderful. Let me get my valise. Porter, may I have my bag, please? Yes, sir. As soon as I can find it, sir. Here's my baggage check. Baggage check ain't no good. The tags are all torn off. It's a mess like this every time a train pulls in. Yes, I can imagine. Them paper tags are so thin, the cords pull right out of them. Which bag is yours, sir? Huh? Oh, the brown one over there. Sure, now. Yes, sure. It's yours, then. Thank you. The carriage is right over there. Liddy. I've got a favor to ask. Yes? You take the rig home with my bag. I'll be along later. Oh, but you've been away so long now, then. I know, but I want to stop by the shop to see Metcalf and Stratton. Well, will you be late? I don't know. Maybe not. It depends. On what, dear? It depends on how long it takes to figure out a simple idea. Gentlemen, why shouldn't we branch out into something else besides making jewelry boxes? Well, here's our chance. It's in line with what we're doing. A tag. A shipping tag. A tag that won't pull off if someone gives it more than a cross look. Well... Now, let's sit down. The three of us will make up our minds that we're not going to get up until we've got the answer. Can't we do it tomorrow? My wife expects me home. She has an awful temper. We don't leave this office until we work it out. All right. Here's an old-type shipping tag. Look at it and study it. If you want to keep peace with your wife, Metcalf, figure out how to make a shipping tag that'll stay put. I've let it's past midnight. Well, I think of what my wife is going to do to me. We've figured out a hundred things that won't work. Parchment costs too much. Metal costs even more. Metal eyelets around the hole and the tag would tear through even quicker than the cord does. It's such a simple thing. Why can't we find the answer? Uh, heavy paper? No, I won't do the string which still pulls through. What's stronger than a piece of paper? Two pieces of paper. Very funny, very funny. Wait a minute. That's not so funny. That's what I meant. Two pieces of paper are stronger than one and three pieces would be three times as strong. Why can't we do this? Come here. Look at this tag. Why can't we take a round patch of heavy paper, a round patch with a hole in the center, take it and paste it over the hole in the shipping tag, paste one on each side. That would give us triple strength. Oh, no. Why not? It's, uh... Well, it sounds too simple. A thick paper washer, both sides. There's something wrong with it. What? Well, I don't know. Well, there's nothing wrong with it. Metcalfe, get hold of a machine tool, man. Have him design a cutting press that'll shape the washers. Then build a machine. Build a dozen of them. Now, wait a minute, Mr. Denison. Hold in the reins. This company has just been getting by as it is. We haven't a penny surplus. Where are we going to get money to design and build the machines? Tell me, where? How much money have you got, Stratton? Coffee at home. With ten cents to spare for tobacco. Metcalfe? Well, I guess I've got about... $5,000? Good. Get it. Get it tomorrow. I want you to come into partnership with me on this deal. We'll get this tag patented at once. We'll start up a new concern. Call it anything you like. As far as that goes, Denison and company will be all right with me, but... Well, my wife... Well, your wife's going to be mad at you not getting home anyway, isn't she? I am. All right. If you invest your money with me, all that you can do about it is be good and mad. So, what's the difference? No. It's a deal. Main for New York. Order. Afternoon, sir. For New York. Remember me? Can't say that I do, sir. I came in with you from New York the other day. Yes, sir? I'd like you to do me a favor. All right. Well, try these this trip. What's that? A bundle of shipping tags. I got plenty of those. Oh, not like these. They're something special. Put one on that valise there. Now, go ahead, tie one on. Yes, sir. She's all tied on. Now, try to pull it off. All right. Dog gone. Try again. Dog gone again. Pretty strong, isn't it? It sure stays put. Now, those little heavy paper eyelets around the hole do the trick. Yes, sir. They sure do. Here's a whole package of direction labels just like the one on the bag. Use them yourself. And give them to the other porters. Pass these tags along the line all the way between here and New York. See that the boys in New York get something to use on the western hall. Show them around. And tell them that if they want any more, the address is the Denison Company Boston Mass. I'm glad to see you. Come in, come in. Close the door. Hope I'm not disturbing you. Of course not. Seem to be doing pretty well. Oh, we are. This business has been growing like a corn stalk in August, spreading out all the time, making all kinds of boxes now, shipping labels, gum labels, wrappings, everything that goes on the outside of what's inside. That's wonderful. We've got branch offices in New York, St. Louis, even in Chicago. It's even better. How have things been going with you? All fine. Fine. Tremendous. Matter of fact, I'm going to Switzerland next month to settle all the details of my watch deal. Oh, that sounds exciting. Oh, yes. It's a gigantic undertaking. But, well, at the moment of life, I find I've slightly overextended myself. I was wondering if you possibly might be able to let me have a few hundred dollars to pay for my steamer passage. Just a temporary thing you understand. I'll probably cable you to the money the day I arrive in Surrey. Well, three hundred will be enough. Oh, plenty, plenty. Of course you can spare more. Might be a slip up with my letters of credit. Four hundred dollars. Wonderful. And let us know how you make out. Oh, don't worry about me. I won't. Well, I'll be going. Nice business you have here. Small, but just right for me, Aaron. Just right. What's taking you so long, Lydia? We'll be late for the theater. I'm sorry, darling. I've been rushing like a mad woman. It's this new hat. I had such a time getting it to sit straight. Well, do you like it? It's beautiful. And so are you. That's no way for an old married man to talk on his wedding anniversary. Well, let me see how you look. Turn around. Well, how do the years fit? There's been an improvement. The patient has a chance. The patient's doing fine. He's had good care. Oh, Lydia, every, everything we have, the business, our home, this thing called happiness that we've come to know, it's been because of you. You've always stood with me. Sometimes you were the only one with me. That's because the prettiest girl in Brunswick made a mighty sensible choice. Thank you. I've got a present for you. Take a look. Oh. Well, you never did get an engagement ring from me. It's a little late. Oh, life. It's perfectly beautiful. It looks so luscious, so rich. Oh, it's magnificent. Well, I never thought I'd hear you rave about a simple bit of jewelry. Oh, darling, I'm not talking about the ring. I'm talking about the box. Thanks to the inspiration of men like Elyphola Denison and thanks today to its companies, the inventors, engineers, and designers, America's packaging industry is one of the nation's largest. The men of this industry and all industry continue to share the privilege that was Elyphola Denison's, the opportunity to experiment, to venture, and thereby serve their fellow citizens an essential right of freedom. Thanks to Cornel Wild and the Cavalcade players for tonight's story, and now Bill Hamilton speaking for the DuPont Company. Once you are grown up, you have just 32 teeth. It's up to you to make them last as long as you can. Years ago, when a tooth started to give trouble, the usual thing was to have it taken out. Traveling dentists used to go around, out in the country anyhow, in wagons. They set up a chair in the public square and pulled a tooth for 50 cents. And sometimes they carried a banjo player along to raise a racket when the patient howled. There are some people to this day who have a tooth extracted if it begins to ache. This is changing for the better, however, thanks to the splendid educational work of the schools, the dental societies, and your local dentists. Nowadays, more people have their teeth fixed instead of having them removed. You enjoy food more with your own teeth, and your health may be improved since bad teeth are the cause of many disabling diseases. We know now it's better to keep your own teeth as long as possible. Preventive dentistry is far wiser in the long run. One of your dentist's best aids in this preventive work is the x-ray. DuPont and other companies have spent years in improving dental x-ray films. These films make it possible for your dentist to x-ray your teeth and tell you what he finds in a matter of minutes. When your dentist suggests an x-ray, he's placing a great scientific invention at your service. It helps him to do the best job he can to help you. The small cost will be repaid many times over in longer life for your teeth, perhaps even longer life for you yourself. DuPont x-ray films, DuPont x-ray chemicals, both aids to your good health, are among the DuPont company's better things for better living through chemistry. Next week, the star of the DuPont Cavalcade will be Ray Milland. Our play, Sir Gallowhead in Manhattan, tells the moving story of Dr. Marion Sims, one of America's great surgeons and humanitarians. Be sure to listen. Tonight's Cavalcade was written by Irv Tunic and Phil Lewis. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Voorhees. The program was directed by John Zoller. This is Cy Harris speaking. Don't forget next week, Ray Milland on the DuPont Cavalcade of America, which comes to you from the Belasco Theater in New York and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Stay tuned to your NBC stations for the latest election returns. It is now 26 minutes past 8 o'clock in New York. This is Robert Trout speaking from NBC's election headquarters. In the House of Representatives, the Democrats have won 72 seats, all except 10 of these 72 in the South. The Republicans have won 11 seats and are leading in two other districts. 218 seats are needed for a majority in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the Democrats have definitely elected five senators and are leading in the race for six others in addition to those five definite ones. The Republicans have not won any Senate seats definitely yet, but are in the lead for three other seats in the Senate. Altogether, the Democrats must win 18 to maintain their control. The Republicans must win 20 to win control. In the race for the governors, the Democrats have elected three governors and are leading in four other states. The Republicans have elected one governor and are leading in two other states. The total's there for the governor's 18 to the Democrats leading in definite six for the Republicans leading in definite. A few details now, though the returns are too scattered to indicate anything at all yet. Early returns from the highly important state of Connecticut shows the Democrats leading in all three races, Senator William Benton, 46,000, Prescott Bush, the Republican candidate, 35,000. Senator Brian McMahon, the Democrat, 47,000, Joseph Talbot, the Republican candidate, 32,000. Democratic Governor Chester Bowles, 87,000, Republican Representative and candidate John Davis Lodge, 72,000, the Democrats leading in Connecticut. Very early returns. In Ohio, returns for Senator from only 43 of Ohio's election places give Senator Taft, 55,000, Joseph Ferguson, 3,200. Those are very scattered returns. Of course, we'll have more definite results as the evening goes on. But so far, that is the top of the election results across the country. And across the country, we are finding the reasons why Election Day 1950 is seeing a record off here of vote. In Goshen, Indiana, Charles Howard arrived at the voting place today in an ambulance. His leg had been amputated after an auto accident last week. He was not allowed, but not my vote. In Rochester, New York, James Hard showed up to cast a ballot. And it was the 85th time Mr. Hard had done just that. The nation's oldest Civil War veteran at the age of 109, Mr. Hard voted the first time in 1864 at Nashville, Tennessee for Abraham Lincoln. At the other end of the scale is Miss Aphrodite Fenalis, who voted today at the age of 20 in New York where the minimum voting age is 21. But Miss Fenalis had the final say. She showed election officials a person becomes of age for voting purposes the day before the anniversary of his birth. Miss Fenalis will be 21 tomorrow. Gosh, she said I'm getting old. This is Lockwood Doty, and that's the election news to now. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.