 Thirty cents, ninety-one, eleven, carry eight, oh, excuse me ladies and gentlemen, I didn't realize we were on the air. This is Dr. Robert Allison of Grove Falls, sometimes referred to as Jeep's Pop, and recently the proprietor of the Allison National Bank and Trust Company. Incidentally, it's nice to be back after our absence last week. The reason I was mumbling all those figures to myself was, well, you don't ever have to look very far for the reason to anything in our house. It can usually be found in the person of my small relative, my ten-year-old boy, my son Jeep. Yes, it's my son Jeep, the bright and warm hearted adventures of the Allison family of Grove Falls, transcribed by the national broadcasting company and starring Donald Cook as Doc, with young Martin Houston as irrepressible, unpredictable, ten-year-old Jeep Allison. Every once in a while you'll come across an article in the paper about someone who's buried his money in the ground or stuffed it in a mattress because he doesn't trust banks. I suppose that's pretty silly, but last week, if I'd had an old mattress, well, it all started on a Saturday morning. Miss Miller was just showing a patient out of my office. Bye, Mrs. Burke. See you on Wednesday. Well, who's next, Barbara? Oh, nobody here. Just me. No more appointments this morning? Mrs. Burke was your seventh patient, Bob. Isn't that enough? Look at your book. You have eight more appointments this afternoon. Oh, really? Well, that's pretty good. Do you realize your practice has been building steadily just since I've been working with you? It has? Well, never underestimate the power of a pretty receptionist. Oh, don't give me the credit. You're the doctor. That doesn't mean a thing. It's all you're doing. That's silly, Bob. Now, don't tell me. I've watched our male patients giving you the eye. They're like kids. You have to bribe with a lollipop in order to get them to eat their spinach. You're the lollipop. I'm the spinach. Excuse me, Dr. I brought the mail. Oh, thanks, Mrs. Bixby. Got a letter from your sister. Oh, I did? Where is it? Oh, well, that's funny. A money order for $10. Margaret doesn't owe me any money. There's nobody's birthday. Why should she send me $10? Read the letter. Huh? You know any other way of finding out? Oh, well, of course. You never met Miss Spencer, did you, Barbara? No, but Jeep and Peggy have told me so much about her. Oh, well, now isn't that sweet of Margaret. Listen to this. The money order is for Jeep. He can do what he likes with it, but I thought it might be a good idea if you started a bank account for him with it. It never hurts for a child to learn the value of money. After all, you don't want Jeep doing what you did when you were taking... Oh, this part wouldn't interest you. Wanna bet? Jeep and Peggy keep writing about Miss Miller. And now you've taken it up. Your last letter mentioned Barbara four times. Well, this part wouldn't interest you either. This part definitely interests you, doesn't it, Mrs. Bixby? Yep. Keep going, Dr. This letter is addressed to me. Oh, it's not fair to read part of something. Not all of it. Keep going, Dr. Well, all right. I mentioned Barbara four times. My sister Margaret has a habit of exaggerating. It seems to me from reading between the lines that you're getting a little interested. I think that's wonderful. I only hope Barbara feels a... Thank you, Jeep. Like the U.S. Marines, you arrived in the nick of time. I did. That's good. Who's the letter from, Pop? Your Aunt Margaret. She sent you a present. Gee, what is it? Ten dollars. Boy, can I buy a lot of things with ten bucks. Yep. Ice cream, candy, peanuts, popcorn, cracker jack, chewing gum. Maybe I'll get that new tool chest I was looking at. Your Aunt Margaret thought you might like to start a bank account. A bank account? What for? Oh, it comes in very handy, Jeep, when you need money. I've got my piggy bank upstairs. I can put it in there. It won't stay there very long, though. Besides, if you put your money in a bank downtown, it'll grow. Huh? Well, sure, you get interest. What's that? That's what the bank pays you for using the money you deposit. Oh, expect me to let some old bank use my money? Oh, no, I'm gonna use it myself. You don't quite get it, old boy. They use your money, but it's always there when you want it. And the interest is extra. Much extra. Oh, two and a half cents for every dollar you put in. Let's see how much that would be. Ten times two and a half. She is twenty-five cents, isn't it? Not bad. And don't forget, the minute your money goes into the bank, it starts working for you. Working for me, huh? All right, Pop, let's put my money to work. Hello there, Doctor. Well, come on in. Well, well, so this is the young financier, is it? That's right. Jeffrey, this is the president of the bank, Mr. Poindexter. Hi. I'm very pleased to meet you, Jeffrey. What are you gonna use my money for? What? I told him that when money's deposited, the bank uses it and pays interest for it. Oh, I see. Well, Jeffrey, there's no telling what we'll do with your money. We might finance a new building downtown or buy some bonds with it. Oh, that was my ten dollars. We'll use other people's ten dollars, too. Well, give Mr. Poindexter the money, son. Oh, you're sure I can get this money anytime I need it? Oh, absolutely, anytime, Jeffrey. Well, I suppose I come in tomorrow for it and you send it out to work and it isn't here. How long do I have to wait for it? Are you planning to come back tomorrow to withdraw your money? Oh, I didn't say that. I just said, suppose. Well, you wouldn't have to wait for it, Jeep. But he said it'd be out working. We'd give you somebody else's ten dollars. Wouldn't that get you all mixed up? You'll give me somebody else's ten dollars and they come in and you'll give them somebody else's ten dollars. I don't have the money to take care of everybody, Jeep. You're sure, Pop? Believe me, young fella, your money is perfectly safe here. You have my word for it. Well, if you say so, here. No, wait a minute. No, what's the trouble? Suppose I run out of money over the weekend. How do I get some? The bank's closed. What would you like us to do, Sonny? Keep the bank open weekends for you? Gee, would you do that? Jeffrey, I don't want to rush you, but I'm a very busy man. Jeep, if you need money over the weekend, I'm sure you and I can come to some satisfactory financial arrangement. Now, give Mr. Poindexter the ten dollars. Okay, here. No, wait a minute. What is it this time? Suppose you use my money to build a building and it burns down. Who loses? You or me? Me. I mean I. I mean the bank. Are you satisfied? I guess so. Here's ten dollars. Well, finally, if you will forgive my saying so, Dr. Allison, I never worked harder for less money in my life. I feel like I'd been through a wringer. I know just what you mean, Mr. Poindexter. Jeep usually has that effect on people who meet him for the first time. Did I show you my bank book, Miss Bixby? Six times. We'll see it again? Not now, honey. I'm eating. Barbara, did I show you? Oh yeah, I guess I did. You want to see it, Peggy? I've seen it. Yes, honey, I'll look at it. Okay. Well, good heavens, what have you been doing to this bank book? Nothing. Well, it looks so beat up. You only got it this noon. He's probably been showing it all over town. Pop, I was just thinking, having your money written down on a book isn't at all like having it in your hand, is it? Here I am on Pine Street and the bank's all the way down on Main. Well, maybe they'll open a branch office for you downseller. Anyway, your money's a lot better off in a bank. If you had it in your hand, it wouldn't be working for you. Yeah, that's right. Hey, Pop, how much interest do I have in coming to me so far? Well, you just deposited the money this noon. Oh, you mean it hasn't started working yet? Well, sure it has. And how much have I got coming? By tomorrow you'll have, uh, uh, Barbara. My goodness, I wouldn't know. Miss Bixby? Don't ask me. Peggy? I couldn't be bothered. Shall I call Mr. Poindexter and find out, Pop? Not tonight, jeep. Mr. Poindexter had a hard day. Well, I'll go to the bank tomorrow and ask him. Wait a minute. I'll figure it out. Twenty-five cents divided by three hundred and sixty-five. Um, well, just figuring roughly. It's slightly less than seven one hundredths of a cent. You won't be buying any yachts for a little while. Gosh, is that all? Well, you have to give it time. It's only one day. But by the end of the week I'll have twenty-five cents, though, huh? Jeep, don't you know anything? It's twenty-five cents for the whole year. Huh? That's right, dear. Gee whiz, Pop. Why didn't you tell me that before? I thought you understood. Two and a half percent per year. God, how perfectly infantile. All this fuss over ten dollars in a savings account. Roscoe has his own checking account. Who? Father. Every time I mention Roscoe and Twiler's name, you say who. Oh, yes, the boy who took you out on your first date. What's a checking account? Well, when Roscoe needs any money, all he has to do is write a check. Who does he write it to? Oh, it depends. For instance, if he goes to a store to buy something, he makes the check out to the store. You mean he doesn't have to go to the bank to get the money? Of course not. Can he write checks in the middle of the night when the bank's closed? Of course. Why would anybody want to write checks in the middle of the night? Well, maybe he sees better in the dark. Then that's what I want, Pop. What? A checking account. A what? Gee, don't be silly. Don't you think that you should wait until you're just a little older, dear? No, I want one now. But you've already got a savings account. I want to swap it for a checking account. Well, what on earth for? You heard Peggy. Roscoe can write checks in the middle of the night. I assure you there are better times for writing checks. Supposedly it was a matter of life and death, and we needed money fast. Could I call up Mr. Poindexter at his house in the middle of the night? May I ask him to come down to the bank and open up the safe for me? No, I don't suppose you could. Well, then? But look, old boy, you don't really need a checking account. Don't you want me to have one, Pop? Well, it's got nothing to do with wanting. So you and I go back to the bank tomorrow, collect the interest they owe me, and change over to a checking account. Come right in, Dr. Allison. Oh. Hello there, Jeffrey. Did you come down to put more money in your account? Nope, won't take it out. What? Don't worry. I'm not going to another bank with it. See, I already know everything about savings accounts, so now I want to find out about checking accounts. So you know all about savings accounts, eh? Well, I've been in the business for 25 years, and I'm still learning new things every day. Well, anyway, I want a checking account. A what? That's what he wants. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted on seeing you. But a checking account for a child? That's out of the question. You see, son? Why? Why what? Why is it out of the question? Oh, never mind why. It just is. If it's not too much trouble, Mr. Poindexter, would you mind explaining to Jeffrey, you see, I make a point of never saying no to the children without saying why. Oh, well, all right. You see, Jeffrey, the Grove Falls National Bank does not give checking accounts to children. Why not? Because it is against the bank's policy. Why? Dr. Allison, when you explain why to your children, how long do you go on with it? Well, that depends on how long they ask questions, usually for quite a while. I do not have that much time. Now look here, Jeffrey. Yes, sir. Checking accounts are for grown-ups. You'll have to take my word for that. So you go on home and forget the whole thing. Tell me something, Mr. Poindexter. Just as a matter of information, is there a law against children having a checking account? Well, no. See? But any bank president who gives a child one ought to have his head examined. Will you or won't you? What? Have my head examined? No. Give me a checking account. Definitely no. Well, let's go, son. You have to get back to school. Then I want my $10 back. But, Jeffrey... Maybe I'll start my own bank. Then where will you be? Oh, now, wait a minute. If my money is not good enough for a checking account, then it's not good enough to put up buildings with either. Jeep, I still don't see why you took your money out of the bank just because they wouldn't let you start a checking account. You're losing $0.25 a year. I don't care, Ms. Bixby. I like the way they do business. Only grown-ups can write checks. I guess they forget that all kids are going to be grown-up someday. Then where will they be? Who, the children? No, that old bank. Well, you ought to be glad they turned you down. Every time you write a check, it'll cost you a nickel. How come? Well, a bank can't handle checks without getting paid for it. Why not? Aren't they using the money? Well, it's not the same thing with a checking account. Yeah, it's all pretty complicated, ain't it, Jeep? Yeah. I guess you better keep this $10 for me, Pop. I might come to you when I need some of it. You mean you want me to be your banker? Yeah. Hey, that gives me an idea. Almost anything gives you an idea. You'll be the bank, Pop. And I'll have a checking account with you. Then when I owe some money, like when I borrow from Peggy, I can write it on a piece of paper, just like it was a check. Peggy can come to you for the money. No, no, she can't. Why not? Because I'm not going to be the bank. Oh, Pop, why? Never mind why. I'm just not. You told Mr. Poindexter that you never say no to us unless you explain why. All right, Doctor, explain. All right, I will. Go ahead. Well, wait a minute. I'm trying to think of a reason to do that. Well, there's too much trouble. Oh, well, not really too much. It's just, well, all right, I'll be the bank. What are you laughing at? I was just thinking, even when you argue with yourself, you lose. So you'll be the bank and I'll write checks on Pop. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Matter of fact, I think I got an old-check book. I ain't used in years. Gee, Miss Pixby, can I have it? Don't see why not. I think it's out in the kitchen. OK, hand over the $10. Huh? The $10. Come on, if I'm the bank, I have to have your money. Oh. It wasn't a matter. Don't you want to give it to me? Do you want to call the whole deal off? No, but I haven't written any checks yet. I don't want to have to give you money to all my new checks. Because the Allison National Bank & Trust Company has a strange policy. No money, no checks. OK, here. Yep, I found it. Here you are, Jeep. Thanks, Miss Pixby. Can I try it out? Oh, why not? I've got the money. Here. Here's a pen. What do I write? Well, I put the date up here. That's right. Now, down here where it says, pay to the order of, you fill in who the checks for. Oh, I see. Shall I make this out to you, Miss Pixby? Sure. All checks, gratefully received. That's it. Now, how much is the check for? Let's make it out for 25 cents. Since this is your first check, let me show you how. You write the figures here. And you write the full amount here. No dollars and 25 cents. There. Now, you sign it. Now give it to Miss Pixby. OK. Here, Miss Pixby. Much obliged. Here, doctor. Oh, you want a quarter, all right. Here. Now, you've got to give the quarter back to me. Yeah. What for? I didn't know it to you. Oh, that's right. You didn't. Here. Well, I give the quarter back to you, Pop. That's right. Thanks. All straightened away now, huh? Yeah. Put the quarter in my account. Well, why? The quarter belongs to me. Oh, it doesn't. Well, what are you talking about? I just handed it to Miss Pixby. But you've got a check for it. Well, certainly I take that quarter out of your $10. No, I didn't know anything to Miss Pixby. Oh, that's right. You didn't. So now I have $10.25 in your bank. Oh, now wait a minute. What about this check? Oh, I forgot all about that. That's another $0.25. Now you owe me $10.50. Gee, you can make money with these checking accounts. Somewhere, somehow, something is crazy. I'm beginning to understand why Mr. Poindexter said no. Pumper. Paid so cheap. Anything I can do for you? Well, the new issue of incredible stories just came out today. I've got to get a copy. It costs $0.35. Well, I'll lend you the money, dear. You don't have to. I've got a checking account. But I can't write the check to the drugstore, so I'll get the money from Pop. Well, then write a check and make it out to cash. Huh? Where's your checkbook? Here. Why? You don't have very many checks left. Well, I've been pretty busy. Oh. See right here where it says pay to the order of? You write the word cash. That's all you have to do. Gee, that's pretty good. When you need money, you write cash on the check, and you get cash. That's right. Oh, I'll get the cash from you. Well, anybody will give the check, too. You can give it to me. And you'll give me $0.35. Correct. Oh, I get it. You'll give Pop the check, and he'll give you the money. Go to the head of the class. Sure can do an awful lot with a checking account. I don't ever get along with that one before. Okay, here. Here's your $0.35. And here's your check. Barbara, there'll be a messenger coming by from the hospital to pick up those x-rays. Oh, hi, son. You want to see me? No, so Barbara took care of everything. So long. See you later. What'd you take care of? He needed $0.35 for another science fiction magazine. So he wrote me out a check. Well, doesn't that kid do anything but write checks? I have five here. You owe me $1.46. Well, what's he doing? Bringing you a check every hour? He just brought in this last one. His friends brought in these others. His friends? They've been coming here to the house? In droves. Oh, I had no idea Jeep was writing checks outside the house. Jeep has been writing checks everywhere. Now, let me see. Paid to the order of Boots Douglas, $0.18. Tommy Barton, $0.11. Skeeter, $0.09. Skeeter, Skeeter who? Doesn't he have a last name? Bobby Frazier, $0.73. Bobby hit the jackpot. Cash, $0.35. Well, who's this kid, Cash? He doesn't seem to have a first name. Oh, Bob, come on. Well, look, Cash, K-A-S-H. It is supposed to be C-A-S-H, get it? Oh, well, why didn't he spell it right? I have to be a bank. I don't have to be a mind reader. You still owe me $1.46. Well, I wish I'd never started this whole thing here. Thank you. Well, if it gets any worse, I'll have to hire a bookkeeper just to take care of Jeep's account. Doctor, you owe me $4.05. I already gave you the household money for this week. Oh, it ain't that. I've been paying on Jeep's checks. Again? Still, been going on three days. Ms. Bixby, don't you think you're cashing too many checks for Jeep? Now, what am I supposed to do when they come to the door and ask for money? Who? Oh, I don't know half of them. But every 10 minutes, it seems like the doorbell rings and there's another child with another check. Well, one thing you have to admit, Bob, Jeep's certainly not hoarding his money. Well, how many checks have you, Ms. Bixby? 12. 12? Well, what's he buying, the Taj Mahal? All I know is he's brought home more marbles and toys in the last few days than I ever saw before. Anyway, you still owe me $4.05, Doctor. Well, you'll get it. When? Oh, here. Thank you. Now, if anybody else shows up with a check, I'm going to tell them the bank's closed for the day. What do you suppose Jeep wants with all those marbles and the toys? Maybe he's trying to corner the market. 5 cents. I know, you've got one of Jeep's checks. Well, how did you know? I took a wild guess. I'm glad you appreciate my wit. Here, Peggy, pay to the order of Benjamin Franklin. Oh, no, now this is going too far. Oh, what's the matter with that, Father? Well, a joke's a joke, but do you happen to know who Benjamin Franklin is? Well, certainly. Do you happen to know that Benjamin Franklin is dead? Oh, Father, don't be ridiculous. I saw him in school this morning. You saw Benjamin Franklin in school? As a matter of fact, we walked partway home together. You walked home with Benjamin Franklin? Yes, I did. Well, you know, and Father, his family runs Franklin's meat market. Oh, well, that Franklin, well, I was thinking of somebody else. Oh, in all my months in this house, that was the weirdest conversation I ever listened to. Very funny, I'm sure. How did you happen to get this checked, Peggy? I cashed it for Mary Patricia Pearson. Well, how did she happen to get it? Well, Mary Patricia cashed it for her brother. Here we go again. And her brother cashed it for Boots Douglas's brother, and he cashed it for her friend. Oh, never mind, I get the idea here. Here's your 30 cents. You've already paid me, Father. You see how mixed up I'm getting? Oh, why didn't I have the strength of character that Mr. Poindexter showed? Why didn't I say no? 73 cents, 16. Here's one for nine. What in the world can you buy for nine cents? I don't know, Bob. Three, three cents stamps? 75, eight, one dollar. You know, Barbara, Jeep never tossed money around like this before. I guess the checking account went to his head. It may have gone to his head, but I've got the headache. 35 cents, 90, 12, five. Oh, this is taking up too much of our time. I'll have to give up something. Either my patience or Jeep's checking account. Well, go on, read off the rest of the checks. Well, there aren't any more. Well, that's funny. I could have sworn I'd paid off on more checks than this. Didn't you keep track of them? Are you kidding? I defy Einstein to keep track of them. Are you sure there aren't any in on your desk? No, no, I brought them all out. You did go to the bank yesterday, Bob. I wish I could do with it. Well, couldn't you have deposited some of Jeep's checks along with yours? Barbara, occasionally I may be a little harassed, but I'm not yet completely crazy. It was just a suggestion. Well, okay, what's the total? I know he's overdrawn, but how much is it? Ten dollars and seven cents. Is that all? Oh, he's overdrawn more than seven cents. I'd swear to it. That's what they add up to. Are you sure there aren't any more checks lying around someplace? I'm sure. Are you sure you didn't take any to the bank by mistake? Well, do I look like a complete idiot? Don't worry, if I'd done such a ridiculous thing, Mr. Poindexter would have been over here long ago. Doctor, somebody to see you. We don't have any patient scheduled now. It's Mr. Poindexter from the bank. He wants to see me? Was he sick? No, just mad. I wonder why. As if you didn't know. Dr. Allison, banking history was made today. Oh, if anyone had told me that I would live to see the day when a citizen, a respectable citizen, upon being refused a checking account for his 10-year-old son, would have the temerity to deliberately encourage his son to write spurious checks in order that those checks could be passed off in the father's account, well, I wouldn't have believed them. I'm sorry. Sorry? Well, I should think you would be, doctor. Do you realize the extra work our cashier was put to? It was a mistake. You can say that again. Once is enough. Yes. Yes. Yes. Who you thought you could palm off these checks on us? We're too wide awake at the Grove Falls National Bank for that. Here they are. I leave these with you as a reminder that crime does not pay. And you might tell your son that cash is not spelled with a K. Is that all you can say? What's more than you said? Why didn't you explain it to him? Well, he was mad. I'll go in tomorrow when he's cooled off and get it straightened up. Blood. Huh? You and I are going to have a man-to-man talk. Okay, but before we do, I want to let you know, giving up my checking account. Huh? You took the wind right out of your sails. Now we can have a man-to-man talk. Well, you've just had it. Huh? Why are you giving up your checking account, Chief? Well, I was getting too complicated for me. For you? Yeah. You never know how many checks you got out or who's got them. Besides, with a checking account, you spend money too fast. Well, you can say that again. So you give me all the money that's left over. Money left over? Well, you owe me. I do. It's only about two dollars, dear. Take it out of my allowance, Pop. Well, thanks so much. There, Bob. Everything's straightened out. Not quite. Take a letter, Miss Miller. To whom it may concern, due to an extraordinary run on our premises, this is to announce the immediate and permanent closing of the Allison National Bank and Trust Company. My Son Jeep was created and written by Walter Black and William Mendrick and directed by Dan Sutter. Tonight's cast featured Lynn Allen as Barbara Miller, Joan Lazer as Peggy, and Leona Powers as Mrs. Bixby with Frank Behrens. And introduced young Martin Houston as 10-year-old Jeep. Starring in the role of Doc is one of America's finest actors and most versatile comedians, Donald Cook. Currently starring in the Broadway hit, The Moon is Blue. Ladies and gentlemen, beginning next Sunday, May 3rd, and every Sunday thereafter, My Son Jeep will be brought to you one half hour later than our present time over your same NBC station. Consult your local paper for the exact time in your vicinity. And now this is Fred Collins inviting you to be back with us again next Sunday at our new time. Don't forget, one half hour later, for the next transcribed visit with America's favorite family, Allison's of Grove Falls and My Son Jeep. Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Allison and his family would like to remind you that today most cancer can be cured if proper treatment is started soon enough. We just will help stop the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives by supporting the American Cancer Society and its three vital programs of research, education and service to cancer patients. Mail your contribution today to cancer, care of your local post office. That's simply cancer, care of your local post office. And tonight here, Theatre Guild on the Air over NBC.