 Great Scenes from Great Plays with your host Walter Hamden and starring tonight Mr. Henry Fonda in Young Mr. Lincoln. On behalf of the families of the Protestant Episcopal Church in your own community and the Episcopal Actors Guild, we welcome you to another half hour of Great Scenes from Great Plays transcribed by famous artists of stage, screen and radio. And now your host, the distinguished actor-manager, Mr. Walter Hamden. Good evening. Our play tonight is memorable for its portrayal of one of our greatest men in his youth. It's called Young Mr. Lincoln. Now, though he's already tall and well-known out in Illinois, in tonight's story Abraham Lincoln has not yet cast his long historic shadow on our land. He's just young Lincoln. And our play deals with just one episode in his life. An episode which is an inspiring illustration of his greatness. And here to portray this man for us is the distinguished star of the current Broadway hit Mr. Roberts. I am pleased to have you meet Mr. Henry Fonda. Thank you very much Mr. Hamden. You know, we sort of always think of Lincoln as a sorrowful man of history. You forget about Abe, the young fellow full of sass, country humor and homely beginnings. His downright plainness for one, a kind of twinkling honesty and already that sense of justice burning inside him. That's what this story shows. That's the Springfield Lincoln that came to be America's Lincoln. Yes Henry, our play shows the greatness born of humility. So let us raise the curtain now on Young Mr. Lincoln, adapted for radio by Alan Sloan and starring Henry Fonda. The heart of Springfield in Illinois back in America's youngest days is like most small towns of the time. A public square formed by a courthouse and church, store and tavern, bank and blacksmithy. Plain glad people on the wooden sidewalks, the gentry and smart carriages on dirt roads. But the young man who comes riding in upon a borrowed pony is quite unlike most people. So much so, he's quickly recognized even in the state capital. Hey, hey, what are you doing in Springfield? Going to be a lawyer friend. Oh, what do you know about law? Not enough to hurt me. An ungainly figure, legs too long, pantaloons too short, coat too skimpy, hat too high, horse too small even. And his face. See Abe, I gotta watch rightfully belongs to you. How come friend? Well I said I was to keep it till I met someone uglier than me. Boy, you've won it. If you're going on looks friend, maybe you better throw in the chain too. Young Mr. Lincoln came to Springfield to be a lawyer. Behind him, the rail splitting, the love and the loss of a girl called Anne, the hard study of law in borrowed books, a head, small cases, tall tales told down in the courthouse square. So I told him sure I'm common folks. Lord must have loved the common folks, he needs so many of them. Hey, hey, hey. How's that? Hey, look there, isn't that Steve Douglas walking there with the lady? Sure is, don't he strut though. Ah, look at that, she's gone and caught her parasol in the cottonwood tree. Look at him stretch though. Well now, my legs will come in handy there. Care it Mr. Douglas, do be careful. Excuse me, ma'am, now I'll fetch it down. There. Why, thank you, Mr. May I present Mr. Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Lincoln, Miss Mary Todd. It's a pleasure, ma'am, I'm sure. Thank you, I've heard some mighty fine things about you. Well, ma'am, just don't you believe all you hear. I hear you've got that murder case on for tomorrow. That's true, but I don't hear, Mr. Douglas, that your silver tongue has assisted the state to prosecute. There was a record I wouldn't have a chance. Oh, Balderdash, I had been approached on the matter, but previous commitments... Of a political nature? Interfered. Naturally. Well, ma'am, I'll be leaving now if you'll allow. I hope we'll meet again, Mr. Lincoln. Won't you call? Ma'am, it'll take a court order to stop me. So that's Abraham Lincoln, my... Very quaint. You should see him in court. Oh yes, what is this case you spoke of? Oh, a village affair. Two young men held for the murder of a third. Lincoln is defending the two brothers. The state requested my advice, but to my opinion it was unnecessary. Lincoln can't win. I should like to go to the trial. Would you accompany me and see him make a fool of himself? Why, yes, I'd be delighted. I'd like to see him in court. The State of Illinois is now in session. Judge Herbert A. Ball presiding. All right, Mr. Clerk, let's get started. Yes, Your Honor. The State of Illinois versus Matt Clay and Adam Clay, brothers. Is the state ready, Mr. Felder? May it please the court. The state is ready. Ready, sir, and waiting. And the defense? The defense. Oh, as soon as I fix these galluses of mine, Your Honor, I'll pitch in like a dog into a root. Last of these 12 good men and true, I got a right to challenge his jurors. Mind if I ask you, you drink? Well, yes. Cuss? Well, yes. Got a job? Well, no. Like to loaf? Yes. Ever tell a lie? Why, sure. And you're just a kind of honest man I'm looking for. Take your place. Mr. Prosecutor, it's your move. Gentlemen of the jury, the good book says, thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. What Matt Clay and Adam Clay did not heed that commandment Two against one. They came at scrub white with their deadly weapons. Scrub white. A man, an American who loved life, loved the blue heavens, the soft caress of the wind, the gentleness of a woman's smile. He loved life, but he is dead. And there, gentlemen, sit his murderers. I tell you, gentlemen, they ought to be wiped out I'm going to charge a state mileage for all that traveling you've done up and down in front of that jury. Your Honor, I would like to call Sheriff Billings as Julie Sworn Officer of the Law. Have you ever seen this knife before? Yes, sir. It's a knife they killed scrub with. Sheriff, did you see him do it? No, but a counsel will voice his objections to the court. Sheriff, what else did you find at the scene? A jug of liquor, about three quarters full. They'd been drinking? As usual, they said. That's all? Your witness, Mr. Lincoln. Sheriff, where's that jug now? In my jail. Any left? Well, some. How much? Who drank it? Well... That's all. Your Honor. Your Honor, I submit that in attempting to discredit the witness, an officer of the law, my worthy colleague is not only casting discredit upon the state, but in so doing is departing the merits of the case itself. I object. Sustained. Mr. Lincoln, I'll ask you to confine your remarks. The trial goes on. Young Mr. Lincoln makes his small points. But the trend of the trial is clear. The state has a case. And so that night, after adjournment, young Mr. Lincoln rides out from town to visit the mother of his two clients. Well, Mother Clay, I'll put you some kindling. People used to say I could sink an axe deeper than anybody they ever did see. Ah, I want you to do something for me. But first you mustn't be afraid of me. Hi. It's for my boys, I'm afraid. I know, but you've got to answer me some questions. You've got to tell me the truth. I... The Bible says to. Yes, I know. Well then, will you answer me straight? I'll try. All right then. Mrs. Clay, which one of your boys killed Scrubwhite? You've got to tell me. Was it Adam? Was it Matt then? Tell me, I'm your lawyer. You can trust me. I can't tell you. I just can't. I don't want to scare you, ma'am, but I've got a fight on my hands. I've got to know what I'm doing. I've got to know. Whose knife was it then? Adam's or...? I can't. I... I trust you, sir, but I can't tell you. Why? Why not? Because it'd be... it'd be like choosing between them to live or die. But what made them both say they'd done it? Well, Matt said it because he's the oldest. And Adam, he said it because Matt's got a wife and baby, I reckon. Mr. Lincoln, I'd like to help you, but I can't choose between my boys. Just one more question. Could I stretch out here in front of the heart and do some work? Work? Writing. Sort of note down some ideas about the trial. I'll have to figure things out and eat some paper, too. Oh, paper. Well, we don't have none, but... could you use this, maybe? I reckon I could, but, ma'am, I hate to take your almanac. Hey, Lincoln! Right here! What's the trouble? Down to the jail. There's a mob down there yelling for blood. They're out to hang the clay boys. You'll have to excuse me, Miss Clay. I better get right down there. We got nothing against you, Lincoln, but get down! What's running is man enough to make me. That's better. I ain't nobody scared of you. I'd find that big mouth of yours here telling others what to do. Get off of that, Lincoln, or we'll give it to you, too! Well, first time I've ever heard of you trying to break into jail. Gentlemen all joking aside, let's look at this matter from my side. You all know I'm a fresh lawyer trying to get ahead. What are you boys trying to do? Do me out of my first clients? Go ahead, eh? It's more than that, though. I can get other clients, I hope, but hanging these without the pomp and show of law, I've... That's a little permanent. The chief trouble is when you start taking a law into your own hands, you're just as apt into confusion and fun to hang somebody who's not a murderer as somebody who is. I'd get so a fella can't pass a tree or look at a rope without feeling uneasy. We sort of lose our heads. Times like this, do things together, and we'd be mighty ashamed to do by ourselves. Why, take Jeremiah Carter there. There's not a finer, more God-fearing man in Springfield. Jeremiah, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to go right home now. Take down a certain book and look into it. Maybe you'll just happen to hit on these words. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. That's all I've got to say, friends. Good night. I reckon I'll see y'all tomorrow, though, at the trial. Mr. Felder, you may resume for the state. Your Honor, I should like to recall my witness, Mr. J. Palmer Cass. Mr. Cass. Mr. Cass, just what did you and Scrubwhite do the day of the murder? Objection. Sustained? Or, um, the day of the occurrence? Well, Scrub and me had a little argument and he went off by himself. Next thing I knew, I heard shouting and I run as fast as I could. When I got there, Scrub was laying on the ground and these two fellas were standing over him. Where was the knife? Well, I on the ground between them. Your witness, Mr. Lincoln. Brother Cass, what was this argument about between you and the late Scrub? Rather than I'd say. I'd rather you did say. Well, if you got to know, it was politics. That's so? Yeah. I said I figured you had more sense in politics than Stephen Douglas. And Scrub said you had no more sense than a hand in a duck pod. You see, Mr. Todd, that man Lincoln is hopeless. Yes, Mr. Douglas, I'm afraid he is. Now let's see what further blunders may make. Your Honor, I would like to call a surprise witness. May it please the court, the state desires I call at this time an eyewitness, Mrs. Abigail Clay. Is Abigail Clay? What does she expect to gain by calling her? Abigail. I have to go. Well, I can so. I reckon there's nothing I can do about it. Hey, you stand. You suddenly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to help you, God? Say I do. I... I do. You are the mother of Adam and Matt Clay here? Yes, sir. You love your boys, don't you, Mrs. Clay? Yes, sir. You'd like to save their lives, wouldn't you? Oh, yes, sir. I'm sure you would. Now, you were present. The night Scrub White was killed... I... I've seen him fighting. Don't be afraid of me. I have no desire to see you lose your two only sons. No man could wish that less. So, Mrs. Clay, on behalf of the great state of Illinois, on behalf of the people, I offer you the life of one of your sons. Provided you tell me which of your boys stabbed and killed Scrub White. Don't prompt her, Mr. Lincoln. Let her answer. I... I can't. Mrs. Clay, don't you know that under the law both your boys are equally guilty of murder that they may both be hanged? I... I won't tell you. You can't make me tell you. Don't you understand? I'm offering you the life of one son. Take it and tell us which one killed Scrub. No! No! No! Don't you know that this court can make you answer that you can be sent to jail yourself? That by your mistaken affection you're deliberately sending both boys to the gallows? Don't you know, Abigail Clay? That's enough of that. Your honor, I protest against the prosecution's attempt to force this woman to decide which of her sons will live and which die. In her eyes, those boys hold equal place. Your honor, the law! I may not know much of the law, Mr. Prosecutor, but I do know what's right and what's wrong. And I know that what you're doing, what you're asking is wrong. Your honor, look at this woman. A plain, ordinary country woman can't even write her own name. But is she no feelings, no heart? Your honor, please. Mr. Lincoln... Gentlemen of the jury, I've seen Mrs. Abigail Clay only three times in my life. But I know everything there is to know about her. And so do you. We've seen women like her hundreds. Working in the fields, working in the kitchens, nursing the sick and helpless children. And I will tell you that such a woman will never answer the question that's been put to her here. It will take a higher court than man can summon to force her to do that and a higher justice to judge her. Mrs. Clay, I'd rather see both your sons taken from you than see you break your heart by saving one at the expense of the other. So don't, Mrs. Clay. Don't you tell them. May it please the court. The state wishes to spare the jury any more harrowing outbursts. And so I call to the stand one other eyewitness to the murder of Scrubwhite. Recall Palmer Cass to the stand. Very simply now, Mr. Cass, where were you at the time Scrubwhite was killed? Well, a hundred yards away, I reckon. You saw the killing with your own eyes. Yes, sir. I saw it. Will you tell us how you happened to see so clearly? Well, it was moon bright. I see. Moon bright. The moon was full. Sure was. Bright as day. Therefore you could clearly see which boy pulled the knife. Yes, sir. The defendants will stand up. Now tell us, Mr. Cass, which of the defendants did you see stab and kill Scrubwhite? That one. The big one, Adam. Shit me! Mr. Lincoln, your witness, if there is anything you can think of to ask him. Oh, I can now think of something. Brother Cass, can you read? By sure. That's good. But first, you were sure it was Adam Clay you saw killed Scrubwhite? That's what I said. Yep. The reason you could see him was it was moon bright. Moon bright it was. All right. That's all. And now, Mr. Todd, he's hanged his clients. What do you think of your Mr. Lincoln now? I think I'd like to leave, Mr. Douglas. Would you be so kind? Cass! You said you could read. Read this. This page. Just a line I got marked with a pencil. Read that line, J. Palmer, Cass. Read it clear and strong to the court. This here? That there. Read it. Right from the almanac. Well, I... I don't hanker, too, but... On the evening of April 16th. The night of the killing that is. John, read. The moon will be in its first quarter. It will set at 10... 21. And the murder by your own testimony took place at 11. So it couldn't have been moon bright. Could it? You couldn't have seen it. Could you? You didn't see it, did you? Did you? No, you lied. You weren't trying to save anybody's neck with your own, Cass, were you? No, no, I didn't lie. I'll tell you why that argument you had wasn't over politics, me and Douglas. Everybody knows what you and Scrub argue about. It was liquor and women and money. No, no, sir, you're wrong, sir. It was nothing. It was a friendly fight. I'll tell you what you did. He was my friend. You were dry. You saw a fight. You saw Scrub fall. You ran over and he was still living. No, no, I don't remember. I was drinking. I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing. Because when you saw that knife Matt dropped, a knife he had used in self-defense, you picked it up and you stabbed Scrub in the back and killed him. I don't remember. These two boys, Matt and Adam, each knew he didn't do it and each thought the other did and that's why each confessed. And their mother couldn't say because she didn't want to hang them both. They were helpless because you killed him. You lied and your own lie tripped you up. Now deny you did it now, can you? Answer me. I didn't... I didn't mean to. You didn't mean to. But you did. That's all. You're witness, Mr. Prosecutor. Mr. Lincoln, sir. That's all right, Mrs. Clay. It's gonna be all right now. We ain't got much, but after what you've done, I... I want you to take this. This. Now, man, there's no call to... Why, thank you, ma'am. Hope all my clients pay off as fast. Mr. Lincoln. Well, howdy, Steve. My congratulations. And mine, Mr. Lincoln. Well, Miss Todd, you've been here all this long while? Yes, and I must tell you... Very masterly, Lincoln. Very well handled. I reckon either one of us better underestimate the other from here on out. I imagine not. Now, Miss Todd... Mr. Douglas, if I might speak to Mr. Lincoln. Well, yes, yes, of course. Alone. Well, well, I... I bid you good day. Good day. Mr. Lincoln. Ma'am. Mr. Lincoln, I saw everything. And I think... Well, I'll just say... thank you, Mr. Lincoln. Well, I thank you, ma'am. Would you... Would you accompany me home? I'd be proud to someday, ma'am. Right now, I... I reckon I'll saddle up and kind of ride out a bit. I want to get the smell of the country in my nose. I'm riding out. Won't be far. Good day, Miss Todd. Good day, Mr. Lincoln. Not far. I think you'll go far, Mr. Lincoln. Then... very far. In tonight's powerful drama, young Abraham Lincoln's resourcefulness changed an almost certain legal defeat into a triumph. A triumph that saved the lives of two innocent brothers and brought a vicious murderer to justice. So it was that throughout his entire life, Lincoln's resourcefulness often enabled him actually to do the good he knew in his heart ought to be done. Yes, it was Abraham Lincoln's determined resourcefulness, along with his love of truth, his courage, his deep sympathy for people, and the firm foundation of his faith in God that enabled him to do so much in making a better world as he constantly made himself a better man. How can we show our resourcefulness? What can each of us do right now to make ourselves better individuals and thus help in building a better world? Well, one answer is to give freely of our hearts and our time to the one institution that must grow stronger and stronger if the world and our present civilization are to be saved from destruction. That institution is the church. If you are already a church member, you know how much the church has done to help you build a stronger and more secure life. It will help you find the warm and welcome companionship of Christian neighbors. If you are not a member of any church or one long inactive, we urge you to be resourceful now and find out for yourself just how much active church membership can do for you. In choosing a church, you may find what you want in the Episcopal church. Of course, you are always welcome at your nearest Episcopal church and its clergyman is ready to meet and talk with you to explain to you what the Episcopal church stands for and how it offers you a faith to live by in these trying times. Why not decide right now to visit your nearest Episcopal church at morning services next Sunday? That will be a resourceful first step toward building a better world by making yourself a better person. I'd like to thank our guests and especially you, Henry Fonda, for a stirring performance. Next week, friends, it will be Christmas Eve. In the significant spirit of the evening we'll have the privilege of presenting two distinguished stars in an inspiring program you will long remember. We call it Christmas Carols. Our guests will be Miss Gladys Swarthout and Mr. Lawrence Tibbet. I hope you'll join us. Music on tonight's Christmas Transcribe program was composed and conducted by Nathan Clough. Now an invitation from the church. You're cordially invited to attend services this coming Sunday morning at the Episcopal church nearest your home. If you're not familiar with its location or of the hours of service you'll find both listed in your local newspaper or church directory. Your rector will be happy to have you join his with us. Thank you.