 Ladies and gentlemen, the Railroad Hour. Here comes our star-studded show train. Tonight, the Association of American Railroads presents a new musical version of the great Edward Everett Hale story, The Man Without a Country, starring Gordon MacRae and his famous guest Dorothy Warren Show. Our choir is under the direction of Norman Lubov, and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. Yes, tonight, another exciting story with music is brought to you by the American Railroads, the same railroads that bring you the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the fuel you burn, and the multitude of other things you use in your daily life. And now, here is our star, Gordon MacRae. Thank you, Marvin, and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. For an Independence Day special, Dorothy Warren Show and I bring you our musical impression of Edward Everett Hale's famous story, The Man Without a Country. The time is the turn of the century, the century and a half ago. Thomas Jefferson is President of the United States, and there are 17 stars in the Star-Spangled Banner. Our story begins in New Orleans, Louisiana. There's a party going on at the home of the Territorial Governor. All right, everybody, cheer for your partner! My dear lady, will you be my partner? I beg your pardon, sir. I don't even know you. You think of a better way to get acquainted? Hard and swing! Hard and swing! Balance off! Back to your partners! Back to your partners! All promenade! Oh, you know what else to do, just skip to my loo, my darlin'! Skip, skip, skip to my loo. Skip, skip, skip to my loo. Skip, skip, skip to my loo. Skip to my loo. Skip to my darlin'! Yeah, perky-deedle-dy-do. Perky! Oh, that was delightful. Thank you for the dance, my dear lady. I am not your dear lady. We haven't even been introduced. Easily remedied. I am Philip Nolan, Lieutenant Army of the United States. And you? Lieutenant Nolan, this is not the least bit proper. Not even for a soldier far from home and lonely for a woman's smile? Oh, won't you lend me the sound of your name for just a moment? I'll give it right back to you. My name is Nancy Montgomery. Ah, Miss Montgomery. Would you do me the honor to be my partner in a different temple? Uh, as a favor to an old friend. Why, Lieutenant Nolan, we'd become old friends so suddenly. Mr. Nolan, sir. Yes, Colonel? I have been observing your attentions to my niece, Miss Montgomery. Please, Uncle Frank. Lieutenant, while you remain under my command, I must ask you not to see my niece. May I ask why, Colonel? Are you accustomed to questioning the orders of your superiors, Mr. Nolan? No, sir. You, uh, you will excuse me. Please, Miss Montgomery. Why did you treat him like that, Uncle Frank? I don't want you to see that young Lieutenant. You are not my commanding officer. I demand to know why. Very well. I don't want you to see Lieutenant Nolan because I believe he is a traitor. I don't believe it. Ladies and gentlemen, you will all join in singing the praise and prosperity of these great and growing United States. We may not be true. I watched him, Uncle Frank, as he sang the anthem. I can't believe Phillip Nolan is a traitor. We may know soon, my child, very soon. Why am I called before this court, Marshal? Lieutenant Nolan, are you acquainted with a Louisiana land-holder named Aaron Burr? Is it a crime to be a friend of the Vice President of the United States, sir? Ex Vice President. Aaron Burr is now under arrest for treason against these United States. What? You have been very close to Aaron Burr, perhaps even a partner in his conspiracy. Conspiracy? To seize Louisiana and secede from the United States to make a new empire with Burr as king or emperor. These are the lies of his enemies, sir. General Burr fought for independence. He has served the nation well. And this is how his country rewards him. Lieutenant Nolan, do you owe a deep loyalty to your friend and to your country? The United States, sir, is ungrateful. You pass judgment on the United States. The United States passes judgment on Aaron Burr. And falsely... If you were to choose between Aaron Burr and the United States, I say curse the United States. I never wish to hear the name of the United States again. Mr. Nolan, it is possible that this court may grant you that wish. What will happen to him? Put him out of your thoughts, Nancy. He's not to die. Tell me he's not been sentenced to die. Lieutenant Phillip Nolan passed his own sentence on himself. I don't think you will ever see him again. Welcome aboard the intrepid, Mr. Nolan. Thank you, Captain. There seems to have been some mistake in the issuing of my uniform. These buttons are plain. They don't have the seal of the United States, sir. It was our impression, Mr. Nolan, that you did not wish to be reminded of that country. Oh, now really, sir? They don't mean to carry out that ridiculous sentence. I have explicit orders, Lieutenant. You are never to hear the name of your native country or see its shores or hear news of what is happening there. Why? Why, that's preposterous. Am I never to see the United States again? Never to receive news from home or from loved ones? And long some sins I crossed the hill and o'er the moor and valley. And nearly away won't travel doubting, clearing why this cost is serious. Such heavy thoughts my heart to fill since parting with my Nancy. But now I'm bound to sell the seas. May heaven's favor send me safely back on their knees. Just a moment to act, too, of the man without a country. Perhaps you've heard it said, you don't make milk by stinting on the feed. Well, this familiar old saying applies to business as well as to farming. For you must continuously feed investment into plant and equipment in order for a business to grow and to improve its products and services. And this applies especially to regulated industries like the railroads, as was pointed out by Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks, who said in an address recently, and I quote, if the regulated industries are to render their full services to the nation, it is my judgment that the regulatory bodies must allow earnings adequate to attract and support the equity capital they can use effectively for economies, improvement and growth, end of quote. Important as investments are in making possible better railroad service to the nation. The railroads in short have not found it possible to attract all the equity capital they could use effectively to this end. The reason is their generally low earnings, which for more than 30 years have averaged less than 4% on their net investment. Nevertheless, by drawing heavily on their reserves and by sharply increasing their obligations for the purchase of equipment on the installment plan, the railroads have put into service since the end of World War II more than 500,000 freight cars and almost 18,000 new diesel electric locomotive units. For these and many other improvements, they have spent more than $8 billion in the post-war years. Yes, great things have been done by our American railroads, and greater things are yet to be done. If only there is opportunity to earn the rewards of inventiveness and the courage it takes to risk great sums for future improvements. This means allowing the railroads a chance to realize adequate earnings. For as Secretary Weeks reminds us, you don't make milk by stinting on the feed. Now here is act two of the new Lawrence and Lee version of The Man Without a Country starring Gordon MacGray as Philip Nolan and Dorothy Warren-Schole as Nancy Montgomery. My dear Miss Montgomery, I am riding this at sea aboard the Corvette Enterprise, which is for a few weeks or months my home. I cannot hope to hear from you, or let us address to Philip Nolan who are never delivered if they bear the post-war USA. The sentence which I pronounced upon myself has been carried out with great thoroughness. I am never allowed to see a newspaper which mentions the United States, and whenever the ship on which I sail draws near to that country, I am transferred to another vessel outbound from her shores. My comfort is in my memories of dancing with you, dear Miss Nancy, and of the glorious music of America, the names of the rivers and the songs that have echoed in their valleys. Yes, these recollections are treasures to me. Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you Oh, Shenandoah, I can't get near you Away, away, so far away Bust the wide, Miss Who Oh, Shenandoah, I don't know where Bust the wide, Miss Who Bust the wide, Miss Who How long can a plant live with no earth to hold its roots? How long can a man go on without home or country? Oh, it's not human, Uncle Frank. The punishment is too great. The sentence was his own wish. Oh, because of one thoughtless statement, must poor Lieutenant Nolan spend all his life a man without a country? Why does it matter so much to you, Nancy? Oh, I may have loved him once. I know I could have loved him, but I care for Philip Nolan because he is a human being, wandering back and forth across the oceans of the world with never a port to call home. Isn't there something you can do, Uncle Frank? Appeal for mercy? I've done what I can, Nancy, but the world seems to have forgotten about Philip Nolan. Welcome aboard the intrepid, Mr. Nolan. Why, Captain Masterson, we have not sailed together since the beginning of my exile. How many years ago, Mr. Nolan? I've almost lost calm. Tell me, my old friend, what news of home? Who is the president now? We have our orders, Mr. Nolan. Yes. Of course. I should not have asked. Please, Mr. Nolan, we'd like to have you read us some more. Yes, please do, Nolan. Yes, Nolan. How often can we celebrate a new volume of poems by Sir Walter Scott? Very well, gentlemen. The lay of the last master, Canto V. Is there a man with soul so dead who never to himself has said this is my own, my native love whose heart hath there within him burned as home his footsteps he has turned from wandering on a boat such their breeze go, mark him well for it shall he forfeit various from whence he sprung on web. Dear God of mercy, how long? How long? I hope you don't mind my sending a shore for you, ma'am, but we have a passenger aboard the intrepid who's been asking for you. Is it? Old plain buttons we calling. Mr. Philip Nolan. But how is it he's allowed to stay on a ship that docks in New Orleans? I thought... He's very sick, Miss Montgomery. He wasn't strong enough to be moved to another vessel. What does the doctor say? Nolan won't allow anyone in his quarters, but I think he'll want to see you. Thank you for calling me, Captain. Follow me, please. Who's that? Who's there? I'll wait outside. Who's there? The light's so dim I can't see. Don't you remember me, Philip Nolan? The face. The voice. Is it really Nancy Montgomery? Oh, lie back, Philip. Rest. Nancy, look around you. I know the light is faint, but you can see here I have a country. Yes, I see. The picture of Washington, the flag. I made that myself. The map I drew. It's rather good, don't you think? I'll go get a doctor. No. I want to be alone with you, Nancy. I want you to tell me something of home. Surely it can do no harm now. What do you want to know, Philip? There are 34 stars in the flag. What are the names of the new ones? The last I know is Ohio. Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin. Texas. What's happened to the Texas country? Yes, it's one of the stars in the flag. Must be one of the biggest stars, eh? One of the biggest. California is a state too. They've discovered gold out on the Pacific coast. California. From ocean to ocean. From sea to shining sea. Nancy, tell me whatever happened to Aaron Burr. He died. In disgrace. In obscurity. As it should be. For Aaron Burr, obscurity would be worse than disgrace. Oh, Philip. Philip, what's the matter? I'm getting sleepy. Before I go, dear Nancy, open my Bible where the bookmark is and read me the text. All right, Philip. They desire a country, even a heavenly one, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. He hath asked them to bury me at sea. Oh, Philip. It has been my home and I love it. But let them put up a stone in my memory, here in New Orleans, so that my disgrace may not be more than I ought to bear. What shall it say, Philip? Let it read. In memory of Philip Nolan, he loved his country as no other man has loved her. No man deserved less at her hands. Sing to me, Nancy. Sing to me of home. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Lovely Dorothy Warren, she'll be back in just one moment. And meanwhile, our thanks to her Butterfield and Fred Shields and to our entire company. Man without a country, based on the Edward Everett Hale story, was written for the railroad hour by Lawrence and Lee. The railroad hour is brought to you each week at the same time by the American Railroads. Marvin? Next Saturday, we in the United States will celebrate the 177th anniversary of our nation's independence. And on Wednesday, Canada, our good neighbor to the north, will also celebrate the anniversary of her founding as a self-governing nation. The friendliness and solidarity that exists between these two nations are demonstrated in many ways. But one good example of this is the way in which the railroads of Canada and the United States work together through mutual and cooperative agreements, making possible a continent-wide flow of raw materials and finished products. The exchange of ideas, raw materials, and finished products, thus made possible, is an outstanding example of international cooperation. Thank you, Marvin. Wasn't it exciting, Gordon, to relive the adventures of Philip Nolan? Well, it certainly was. And by the way, next week, Dorothy, we're going to tell the story of one of the world's best-loved poets, Robert Louis Stevenson. And here's one of the songs we'll all be singing. Songs my mother taught you. I love that one. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the words for many of the songs of our childhood. He called them his Penny Whistle Poems. And that's the title of next week's story, Dorothy, Penny Whistle. And who do you think is going to play RLS? Why, a G, McR? Mm-hmm. It's all right. See you next week, Dorothy. Good night, Gordon. All aboard! Well, dear friends, it looks as though we're ready to pull out, and so on till next week. And the world premiere of Penny Whistle on behalf of the other members of the cast and of the American Railroads, this is your friend Gordon MacRae saying, good night. Gordon MacRae can be seen in Warner Brothers' The Desert Song in Technicolor. Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff, and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. This is Marvin Miller saying goodbye until next week for the American Railroads. Now stay tuned for your Monday Night of Music on NBC.