 The DuPont Cavalcade of America, starring Basil Rathbone. Good evening. This is Basil Rathbone. Starting this Friday, spectators from all parts of the United States will again be gathering in a beautiful hillside amphitheater near Williamsburg, Virginia to see the festival drama The Common Glory by Paul Green. Because this colorful spectacle is becoming an annual event, the DuPont Company is proud to bring you tonight a cavalcade play based on The Common Glory. Now, before we begin, here is Bill Hamilton of The DuPont Company. Good evening. Many of you have no doubt seen the paint on shutters or trim of a house fade in a few months or badly discolor from mildew. But that does not need to happen. Dulux Trim and Trellis Enamel was developed by DuPont Chemical Research to resist fading and mildew. Because it holds its color for years, DuPont Dulux Trim and Trellis Enamel adds a touch of enduring beauty to your home as another of the DuPont Company's better things for better living through chemistry. The Common Glory, written by Paul Green, adapted for radio by Eric Barno and starring Basil Rathbone as Thomas Jefferson on the DuPont cavalcade of America. There's a wind on this hillside, a soft wind blowing through the Virginia evening. Around us, the tall dark trees stand brooding and the wind stirs softly through them. Would it be a wonder if we heard in that wind voices? Voices of the many men who have walked before us across these Virginia hillsides. John Smith of Jamestown, our first colony that survived. It was just over that hill there. And the men who fought at Yorktown in a battle that made us independent. It was over Yonder and Thomas Jefferson, architect of our liberties, whose figure moves so often across this landscape. I am here too, here in this corner of Virginia, birthplace of our freedom. Here at Williamsburg, I studied as a young man reading philosophy, and I played my violin and danced the coutillion at the Royal Governor's Palace and lived the life of the young. But then came the gathering storm, the crisis with England. I was embarked now on law and politics. I was a married man with a home at Monticello, there to the west. But I had to leave all that and go north to the Continental Congress, to Philadelphia. I remember how I sat there in a rented room in a brick player's house, drafting a document in the broiling summer weather. I remember. Fred Taylor, come in, come in. Thanks, Mr. Jefferson. I came for the letters. Fine, good. Our supplies are loaded and I start back for Virginia at dawn. Good. Here are the letters. Cherish them with your life. Yes, Mr. Jefferson. And Fred, as soon as you get back to Williamsburg, see that this one is headed off to my wife at Monticello. I will, sir. The last I heard from her was weeks ago. I'm afraid for her health. She's not well. Forgive me, sir, but you need to rest yourself for days you've been doing nothing but writing, writing, writing. Oh, how can I rest? This document is due in Congress on Monday and I can't get it right. What you read to me last night sounded wonderful. This part about property still troubles me. Life, liberty and property. Dr. Franklin and the others will be here to discuss it any minute. It's not right yet. Well, property is important. I know because I never had it. Well, that's just the point. My father died a hireling on a plantation. His life an empty pursuit of happiness he never found. Pursuit of happiness? That's an appraise, Fred. And that's how I die, too, if I stayed in my job. And that's why I'm going to leave it as soon as I return to Virginia and give everything I can to this cause. Good work, Fred. You see, sir, I feel something new is stirring, in which all men will have a chance and not be strangled by ideas of class that don't belong here. Fred, it's men like you I have in mind as I write this declaration. Have you told my cousin Gordon you're leaving his employee? Not yet, sir. How is he, by the way? How does he stand on this issue with the king? I don't know, sir. You know how it is. He's interested in, well, the fox hunt, things like that. He says very little about these other things. I think he considers you a hothead. I know. And his daughter, the beautiful Eileen? Well, what about her, sir? Married yet? No, sir. She's very lovely, Fred. She is, sir, and hearty. Oh, I see. Well, goodbye, Mr. Jefferson. Goodbye, Fred, and good luck. Thank you, sir. Farewell, sir. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Oh, you're back from Philadelphia. Yes, I bought all the supplies your father wanted. I've just settled the accounts with him and said goodbye. Goodbye. And now I'm saying goodbye to you. I came out in the garden to look for you. What are you talking about? You're not leaving again. I'm really leaving this time. But that's impossible. Is it? Why, why, we need you here. You, you've always been here. What's father going to do without an overseer? What about the harvest? I'm marching north with a militia. Oh, that's mad, Fred. Yes, that's what your father said. You've been listening to cousin Jefferson in Philadelphia. I did see him there. Oh, Fred, don't be a fool. There's not going to be any war. Why, this rebellion will blow over by autumn. For the convenience of your social season? Why do you talk like that, Fred? Well, perhaps there's some bitterness in me. As I came out of the garden here looking for you, I couldn't help remembering how we grew up together and ran together in those fields, always together. And then we grew apart and there was a wall between us. Fred, is that my fault? I remember how you went to England to be received at court. Would you blame me for all this? No. But I'm joining the militia. I see. Goodbye, Irene. Fred. Someday I'll be back. I feel that someday you will need me and I'll be there. Come here, Irene. Fred, don't. Come here. Fred. For years I've been wanting to do that. I love you, Irene. Don't. Don't say that. Goodbye, Irene. Goodbye. After the time of goodbyes came the years of struggle. And during those war years, I was to see Fred Taylor many times of the long campaigns, the endless withdrawals and the work that was never finished. I was called back to Virginia for tasks that had to be done there in the state government. There's a time of long separation from loved ones and of quick, desperate reunions. Mr. Jeff. Matthew. Thank heaven you was home, sir. I came as soon as I heard it. How's my wife? Better this evening, sir. She's sitting in there by the fire. Help me with my coat, will you, Matthew? Yes, sir. Will you be staying here at Mandichello now, Mr. Jeff? Oh, through Christmas anyway, and after that, as long as I can. I'm glad, sir. Tom. Patty. Oh, Patty, darling. Tom. Tom. Patty, my dearest, how are you? Better, I think. Now I know I feel better. I hope my letter didn't frighten you. It well if it did. It brought me quickly to you. Oh, I haven't seen you for so long. Let me look at you. Sit here with me by the fire. Oh, oh, Patty, to be home at last with you at Mandichello. You know, so many times I've sworn that after the next job I'd come home, but always there was something else that had to be done first. Oh, darling, they haven't let you alone, have they? There's so much to do, Patty. A new constitution for Virginia, bills for education, religious freedom, equal justice. It's now we must frame these laws. Delay would be fatal. But must you do all this work, Tom? Can't they ever let you rest? Oh, Patty. Oh, even now I can see your hand moving nervously as though busy with a pen. You're tired, aren't you? Yes. Yes. But now I'm going to stay here as long as I can. How long will that be? Mr. Jefferson. Yes, Matthew? There's a gentleman to see it, sir. Oh, does anyone know I'm here? Well, I think he's from Williamsburg, sir. Name is Mr. Burton. Burton? Burton from the House of Delegates? Oh, Tom, whatever they want of you now, don't do it. You must stay here now at home. Show him in, Matthew. Yes. Oh, Tom. Don't worry, Patty. Don't worry. Nothing on earth can drag me away from here now. Just tell them it's a military command from your wife. Come in, sir. Thank you. Oh, good evening, Mr. Burton. Mr. Jefferson. Welcome to Monticello. This is my wife. Welcome, Mr. Burton. How do you do, ma'am? I've been riding all day, Mr. Jefferson. I was appointed a committee to wait on you, but missed you in Williamsburg. Oh? I thought to catch up with you, but you came too speedily. I had reason. But what brings you all this way? As you know, sir, Patrick Henry's term as governor is ending. Yes, yes, yes. Poor man, his health has broken under the strain. We want you, sir, as our next governor. Oh. Oh, no, no. We've gone into it thoroughly, sir. The majority wants you. We wish to settle the matter before the Christmas recess. Yes, but it's impossible. You need a military man just now. We do not agree, sir. Then, well, I mean, someone who understands finance, the state is bankrupt. Our money worthless. You need someone who's. I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson. Our cause is splitting with quarrels and feuds on all sides. Only you can bind us together. How do you know I can? If anyone can. You can, sir. No, no, no, no. I can be more help here, raising crops, sending supplies to Washington's troops. I'm sorry, sir, it must be you. Then the answer is no, I can't do it. Is that your last word, sir? Yes, sir. Yes. Mr. Burton. Yes, ma'am. My husband will do it. He will, ma'am. Yes. He's never broken faith. I'm sure he hesitates because of me. Tom, will you do it? Patty, all these months, I've worked to get intolerable burdens off my shoulders and. Listen. Listen, the field hands singing. They've come to sing carols for you, Tom. They've been preparing for it for so long. Addesty Fidelis. Come all ye faithful. Slaves singing in Latin? Never heard of that before. Tom taught them, Mr. Baden. And now they're showing me the way. Mr. Burton, I'll do it. You are listening to Basil Rathbone as Thomas Jefferson in the Common Glory, Paul Green's festival drama of our nation's early struggle to be free, brought to you by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. And again the years went by. The fighting and the work that were never finished. To Jefferson as governor of Virginia came constant messages from General Washington. Both North and South, the Continental armies pleaded for men's supplies and arms. Congress seemed unable to supply them. So Virginia sent what it could. Then as Savannah fell and Charleston was threatened, fear came to Virginia. And one day in Williamsburg, a committee called on the governor. Governor Jefferson. Yes, Mr. Burton. These gentlemen and I have been appointed by the House of Delegates as a committee to bring you a message. You are welcome, gentlemen. Thank you. What word do you bring? We, uh, trust we find you well, sir. Oh, well enough. And you're a good wife. No, not well. Worse since we came to Williamsburg. I am sorry, sir. Your message? The militia, sir, whom you're assembling here in Williamsburg, where are they for? By General Washington in the north. So, Mr. Jefferson, we are sent to demand that the militia be kept here in Virginia. No, they shall not. So long as there is one musket and one man in Virginia when Washington asks for help, I shall send them. And the same for our forces in the south. And we tell you, sir, that you have so weakened our own state that she lies helpless for any invader. There are some in our midst who are forming themselves into bands to aid the invader. Can we even protect ourselves against them? I have prepared steps against these traitors in our midst. Another proclamation. Mr. Jefferson, Virginia is already left like an empty bag. Empty, I tell you. Of course. I have heard you can catch things in an empty bag. The invader comes into our commonwealth, perhaps the two armies we have struggled to keep alive can turn upon him, one from the north and one from the south. And if the French fleet could arrive on the eastern coast at the same time, then... Mr. Jefferson, this is the first time I have heard that the way to conquer an enemy is first to let him conquer you. Where is this French fleet? Has anyone seen it? Gentlemen, the order stands. Then, sir, we are instructed to demand your resignation or you will be impeached. Impeached? Mr. Burton, when you asked me to take this office, you spoke of our need for unity. Is this your unity? The order stands. Good day, gentlemen. Congratulations. Tom. Patty, in Mrs. Neym, you are to bed? I heard what they said to you. Oh, my darling, they're killing you. Oh, no. Come here, my dear. You paste the floor at night. You never get enough sleep. But you won't resign, will you? You won't let them beat you down. No. With you to stand by me, I'll keep on somehow, in spite of disunity, and treason. Treason? That too, Patty. For some time it's been clear that evil forces are at work here in Virginia, spreading rumors of defeats, scuttling boats, looting supplies. One man is directing all this. Who? My own cousin, Robert Gordon. Oh, no. Yes, I have proof. Intercepted messages. At this very moment, Captain Fred Taylor is on his way to arrest Mr. Gordon. This I must do to my own kin. That's how we're torn apart, my dearest. With treason and strife. Are you ready, man? I'm ready. We'll break in and seize him. I hurt no one else. Search the house for further documents. Aye, we understand. All right. Now, what's the meaning of this outrage? You're under arrest, Mr. Gordon. Fred Taylor. By authority of the governor of Virginia, seasoned men. How dare you! Hold it still. You'll be punished for this, Fred Taylor. Silence, before you search the house. Yes, Captain? The rest of you take the prisoner to jail. Father? Father? Yes, daughter. You see what has become of me? A midnight raid by a band of ruffians, led by this. Oh, Dan, what does this mean? I'm sorry, Eileen. Your father has been aiding the enemy. We arrest him as a traitor. Father? You'll hang for this young man. The day is coming when you and Jefferson, no arrest, will pay with your necks for this rebellion. Take him, men. The court is lost. You must already. You must. I had to do this, Eileen. How dare you even speak to me? He's my father. I came along to make sure he wouldn't be hurt. And that you wouldn't be hurt either. So this is it. How you would come to me to help me. Go away. I hate you. I hate you. And that's how we were torn apart. Friendships broken, loves divided, family sundered, kin against kin. Through it all, fear and uncertainty. With my aid, Fred Taylor, I often rode out to inspect the garrisons. This is the place, Mr. Jefferson, here by the old Jamestown churchyard. Yes, but where's the garrison? Well, I don't know. Hello? Wasn't the garrison ordered to stand guard at this very spot? Night and day, yes, sir. Hello? There's no one here. What time is it? Almost midnight. They have left all right. More desertions. Now, of course, he is melting away, as cousin Robert said they would. What in heaven's name shall we do? Shall we go on, inspect more garrisons? No, no, not tonight, sir. You're worn out. You need rest. Yes, get worn out, finished. The end of endurance. All right, let's sleep then. Here, by this graveyard, so dark and quiet. Rest here, sir, underneath this tree. I will. You sleep first, and I'll stand guard. Thank you, Fred. Oh, so tired. I'll take care of the horses. So tired. You have a good rest, sir. Jefferson. Come. Who are you? Death. I live here. Oh, gentle death. I am the end you have been seeking. This is the victory for the tired struggle ahead. The weary wayfarer. Death. The battle over. Peace. Peace. Come, Tom. Come. Come. Yes. Yes, death. Do not harken to death, Tom Jefferson. Who are you? Captain John Smith, in the Jamestown Colony here in this very place, I fought for freedom from tyranny. And I am Booker Haunted. I saved this colony. And there are Nathaniel Bacon and others. All of us fought this fight, Tom Jefferson. Thousands of us lying in the ground, some famous. Wake up. What is it? What is it, Fred? I don't know, sir. It sounds like cannon from the south. Cannon? Are you sure? There it goes again. Here comes someone through the field. Who's there? Captain Fred Taylor, who are you? I just heard news, Captain Taylor. There's a rumor enemy forces have landed in Portsmouth and are headed this way. May not be true. But we must try to find out. We thought you'd left your post, soldier. We did, sir. The men decided to quit. But when I heard the news, I started back here. Some of the others are coming, too. Good for you. I'm glad to hear it. Have we got a chance, sirs? Have we? I wish I knew. If we all hold firm, perhaps Sun, round up this garrison, hold the men together. Yes, sir. Come on, Fred. We must go on. We must verify the news and get word to General Washington. At last, after months of rumors, invasion came to Virginia. We were helpless. Richmond fell. And finally, Williamsburg was captured. And now, at that low Eberbar fortunes, there seemed a chance, just a chance, that our flimsy hope might come true. Washington swore the chance and took it. Under cover of darkness, he moved his small army across the Hudson and marched south. The French fleet came from the West Indies to blockade from the sea. Lafayette and Anthony Wayne cut off retreat to the south. The invader was surrounded in Virginia. And now the Virginia militia, including Captain Fred Taylor, closed in and stormed Yorktown. And afterwards, over that hill there in an old barn, they set up a hospital for the wounded. There. You'll be all right. Who are you? Just someone binding your wound. Go back to sleep, Captain. Eileen. It's Eileen. It isn't. It isn't just a dream. No. But it's like a dream. I've dreamt it, too. Oh, Eileen, then you don't hate me. No, Fred, I know now you were right. But lie back and rest and let your wound heal. Have you heard what happened to your father? Yes, he died in prison. Do you still hate him, Fred? No, no, I don't hate him. I did once, but I don't now. Oh, I'm glad, Fred. But lie still now. I won't leave you. I won't leave you. How's your patient, cousin Eileen? Oh, much better, cousin Tom. He just woke up. Mr. Jefferson. Yes, Fred. Rest easy, Fred. Rest easy. We've won the battle. We can't fail now. Has peace come? It will before long, but the struggle, the struggle, Fred, for what we believe, the common glory, that has to go on without rest. We must keep faith through the years ahead and the generations ahead. All that we have to hope for, all that we have hope for, may live on. Here's Bill Hamilton of the DuPont Company. Are you old enough to remember ironing days when the irons had to be heated on the kitchen stove? On Tuesday morning, usually, out came the irons, at least two of them, or even half a dozen. First they had to be cleaned. Then they were heated on the stove and laboriously lifted on and off dozens of times. And all the while the ironing went on, they had to be rubbed with a piece of paraffin tied in a scorched rag. Today, your electric iron is silvery bright when you buy it and stays bright because it is plated. Many a June bride this month received beautiful, durable silverware. Plated silver is now priced within everyone's reach because of electroplating. Even tin cans are not really tin. They're made of steel coated with tin by a modern high-speed plating process. Electroplating is a process which protects and beautifies metals that might otherwise rust or corrode by covering them over with more resistant metals. The plate may be tin, zinc, or cadmium, or it may be nickel or chromium with an undercoat of copper. For instance, as many as 60 or 70 parts of a modern automobile are plated. The 1948 Industrial Finishing Exposition and Convention of the American Electroplater Society opened today at Atlantic City, New Jersey. An educational society for the advancement of the science of electroplating, it's more than 5,000 members work constantly to improve the things you buy with better metal finishes. Working with them are the research teams of our DuPont laboratories, seeking new ways to improve the processes and chemicals upon which plating depends. Electroplating chemicals and metals, developments of chemical science, are among the many DuPont better things for better living through chemistry. Next week, Cavalcade presents the popular young Hollywood actress Rosemary DeCamp in the Exiled Heart. It's a tender and romantic love story of Louisa May Alcott, who wrote the beautiful American classic Little Women. Be sure to join us next Monday night then for the Exiled Heart starring Rosemary DeCamp on the DuPont Cavalcade of America. The music for the DuPont Cavalcade is composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Brian. Basil Rathbone can currently be seen in the Broadway stage success, The Eris. In tonight's Cavalcade, John Rabie played the part of Fred. This is Ted Pearson inviting you to listen again next week to the Exiled Heart starring Rosemary DeCamp. Cavalcade of America is presented each week from the stage of the Longacre Theater on Broadway in New York and is brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.