 The DeFont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better listening through chemistry, presents the Cavalcade of America. Tonight's story, fly high, fly low. Tonight's star, Lee Bowman, as Saddius Low. The time, shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, the place to farm in North Carolina, in the sky above there floats a mysterious round object, glistening in the morning sun. Hey, Pa! Look! Look up there! Is that one of them balloon things, Pa? Yes. What do you mean? Yep, it must be Jim. Look! Look, there's a fella in it! She's in that plastic. Yeah, he's coming down. He's gonna land over our tobacco field. Oh, you think maybe he's a Yankee? Maybe he's a Yankee spy, Pa. Run, Jim, and fish my rifle. Make sure it's floating. That's it. That's it. That's it, young man. Just roll on to the rock, Billy. Blow her more drift when she hits the ground. Talks like a Yankee, Pa. Don't you see I'm a Yankee spy. I'll take hold of the rope, all right? That's it. Easy. Easy now. Just make it fast to that stuff. All right. Well, it feels good under foot. Would you like to see our assistant, gentlemen? Could you tell me what state I'm in? You're in North Carolina, young fella. Oh, North Carolina, yes. I thought so. Gentlemen, I'm Saddius Low from New Hampshire. Very interesting trip. Came all the way from Cincinnati. It's quite a... Your rifle, would you mind holding it for a second? Pointing it. Don't be scared, miss. You're gonna shoot you. No, Mr. Yankee spy. We're going to hang you. Oh, no. I'm a scientific investigator, gentlemen. An investigator? Investigating what? Where the Confederate troops might be? No, no, no. Of course not. My thought to Cincinnati was truly a scientific experiment sponsored by Professor Joseph Henry. You know of the Smithsonian Institution? Yes. Well, anyway, we wanted to prove that the prevailing upper air current in the United States is easterly. All right. Since you made it from here, miss. About 800 miles. How long did it take you to get here? Nine hours. Nine hours? Nine hours an hour. Oh, yes, yes. In a 90-mile wind. It's a hurricane. Thank you, Larry. It's no hurricane. Let's string him up right now, Paul. Uh, that's a very well done plan. Your mind's not open to scientific reasoning. All I can do is... Look out, Paul! Stop him. Stop him. He's ahead and for the blues. No, you don't miss it. Get out of that basket. I leave you so soon, my friends. But here, take your sandbag as a keepsake. Goodbye, gentlemen. All right. He hit me with this bag of sand. There he goes. Right up into the sky. Goodbye. Goodbye, gentlemen. And then, Paddy, as you caught it off-wind... Uh, finally, Professor Henry, it took me to Baltimore where I descended. And then I came back here to Washington by train. Yes, yes, yes. But the experiment, what did you find out? All right, sir. It's just as we're supposed, sir. At 2,500 feet, I found a strong and steady instant current. He's good. I still can't be certain that this air current is always Eastern, can we? Well, let me see. I know. After the magnetic telegraph demonstration for President Lincoln next week, suppose you go further west and north. Professor, I'll be pleased to demonstrate your new invention to the President. But after that, I'd prefer to postpone our experiment first round. Look, why? Oh, that North Carolina farmer was right. I did see Confederate troops. Thousands of them, marching toward Richmond. Oh, yes. And since then, I've been out in my mind. What would it be like to be aloft during an actual battle? Or better, before the battle. You see, I'd be able to avert troop movements from now on. No, sir, dear. Put it out of your mind. Oh, but why, sir? Because the use of balloons in warfare is an untried, even unheard-of idea. And I know how General Winfield stopped heels about new ideas. Remember, Paddy, first of all, you're a scientist and meteorologist. Not a soldier, but the least I can do is offer my skills and services, please. Uh, will you take me to say, General? God bless you all for me. Very well, young man. Will you take a walk over there right now? The sooner he turns you down, the sooner we can get back to our experiments. Oh, Paddy. Was I wrong about the general? I don't understand it. He wouldn't even listen. He thinks balloons are toy. I bet he's never even been aloft. No, Paddy. Don't be unhappy. Our experiments are much more important. I don't just plan another one right after the demonstration for the President. Oh, very well. That's fine. Now, there's nothing difficult about the demonstration. I've engaged the telegraph operator, Yes, Professor. I think I do know what to say. And now, Mr. Lincoln, if you step over here to your window, you can see the balloon now, rising above the trees. There it is. Just beyond that come the trees to the right. Yes, I see, Professor. A mighty pretty sight against the blue. How high did they figure to go? Only about 2,000 feet. That does not tell you that line as we have. And no batteries at their end of the tunnel. And no batteries at their end of the telegraph line either? No, sir. Only electromagnetic coils like the ones at our end. Oh, quite an invention of yours, Professor. Thank you, Mr. President. Oh, look, look. They are rising faster now. Here, use my glasses. Oh, thank you. Yes, yes. I see them in the basket. The tall ones, Mr. Low, and the other is Mr. Fogarty, the telegraph operator. This is his first balloon. Oh, wonder how he likes it up there. Swinging and swaying in that little basket. If it were me, I'd expect I'd be hanging on for dear life, wondering how soon the rope on the ground was going to break. Over there is a 4 out of 5 in Mr. Fogarty. A spectacular view, isn't it? Oh, oh. I was wondering, Mr. Low, just the rope ever break. Now, then, nothing serious. We'd merely deflate the balloon and descend. Oh, yes, yes, to be sure. My, what a sight. See there? The White House is only a tiny dot now, in that little patch of green. Mr. Fogarty, are you all right? Yes, yes, yes, I'm fine. Time to send the message now, Mr. Low. Yes, I believe we're high enough. Well, if you'll dictate it, I'll take it down and then send it. Very well. Now, President Abraham Lincoln. Sir, I am Mr. Fogarty. Mr. Fogarty. Mr. Fogarty. Sir, I am honored to send you the first message ever telegraphed from an aerial station. Now, let me see. 40 miles to the north, great clouds of dust indicate the approach of marching troops. They are, of course, Federal troops. Federal troops. Yes, now, get this part carefully, Mr. Fogarty. But may I point out, Mr. President, how valuable this message would be were they Confederate forces marching from the south. It is my belief, sir, that observation balloons can contribute materially to the winning of battles, and I earnestly wish to demonstrate in the field. Perfectly, Saddius Low. Now, I said, Mr. Fogarty, send it on its way. Doesn't look like we're going to get an act. Doesn't? No, I guess not. They've had time enough, I'd say. Might be pretty few. I should have known better than to try I guess we might as well signal a man below to pull it down. Just another minute, Mr. Low. You know, once you get used to it, it's really quite pleasant up here. Yes, gives one a sense of power, so to speak. And I was thinking, if Mr. Lincoln sends you to war, you'll be needing a good telegraph operator, won't you? Not if the President listens to Professor Henry, I won't. I'm afraid if they know. Oh, but perhaps Mr. Lincoln will know better. I'd be pleased to go with you, if I might. I'm a good many years too old for regular service, but I do want to do something for my country. And I'm getting quite partial to ballooning. Quite partial, yes. Well, I'd be pleased to have you with me, but I'm very much afraid. A message, a message. I'm getting it, Mr. Low. Yes, it's from the President. It is. Wait a minute, wait a minute. He says, Professor Henry agrees with me that... I was afraid of that. I'd be pleased with me that you should have an opportunity to demonstrate your belief. What? You will report to General McClellan with the Army of the Potomac immediately. Hey, Lincoln, well now may I shake your hand, Mr. Low? You certainly may, Mr. Fogarty. Here's to the team of Low, Fogarty and McClellan. And if you ask me, McClellan's lucky to be in it. Pardon me, General McClellan. Yes, yes, what is this? I'm glad he's low, General. So? I'm the Eleanor, sir. I'm here with my balloon. You're the what? Your balloon. Yes, General. What do you mean you're here with your balloon? Is this a joke? I don't need a balloon. Who sent me a balloon? President Lincoln, sir. I didn't ask for a balloon. What am I supposed to do with it? For purposes of observation, sir. I plan to make captive ascensions with it and report what I see to you. This was letter from the President. Let me see that. Whose idea was this? Mine, sir. To begin with. You're a civilian? Yes, General. I thought so. Well, go ahead and attend, Mr. Low. Oh, thank you. I'll need about 20 men, sir. 20 men? What for? To help with the ascensions and demand The President mentioned them in his letter, sir. All right, Mr. Low, you'll get the men. Thank you, General. I'll go up as soon as possible, yes, sir. And I'll telegraph you as soon as I see anything. Yes, by all means, Mr. Low. Now, will you excuse me? I have to attend to some important matter. Oh, yes, yes, sir. Very well. Well, Mr. Low? Come on. We're about as welcome here as a swarm of bees in a New Hampshire town meeting. I know what you mean. So, it's Low and Fogarty alone, is it? Alone and aloft, Mr. Fogarty. We're going up and we're going to prove McClellan wrong. We may spot feathers doing it, but we're going to prove he's wrong. Tonight on the Cavalcade of America, Lee Bowman is starring as Thaddeus Low, the young American aero-lot, and Parker Felderly is featured as Mr. Fogarty, his telegrapher. Three days have gone by. Determined to prove the value of observation balloons to General McClellan, Low and Fogarty made numerous ascensions, but so far, all they have seen is an impenetrable wall of rain. Storm seems to be moving south now. Yeah, and high time. Look, look down there. See what three days of rain have done to the Chickahominy River. Look at it. Roaring along, almost as high as the bridge now. Well, perhaps the clouds are left and we can see something. Mr. Low, Mr. Low, the bridge. Maybe it's my eyes, but the bridge down there, it seems to be moving. Moving. Good heavens, you're right. It is moving. It's breaking loose. Yes, sir. There she goes. Rushing down river is pretty as you please. But that's the only bridge. That means that the half of the army across the river is cut off. They can't retreat and they can't be reinforced. The Confederates will attack for sure if they learn anything. We've got to tell McClellan. And one, are you ready, Mr. Fogarty? I'm ready, Anita, Mr. Low. Two, General McClellan. Yes, just observed that bridge across Chickahominy River has been washed out completely. For you, General, from the balloon, sir. From Low? Now, what does he... Well, I'll be a operator. Send this message to that young fool up there. Yes, sir. Thank you for the information. But look carefully, and you will see my headquarters 50 feet from washed out bridge. Do you think I'm blind? Do not answer, as I want telegraph lines clear. Also, get that infernal gas bag out of the sky and stop revealing opposition. Also, prepare to return to Washington immediately. McClellan, you got it? Yes, sir. Send it. Revealing our position and prepare to return to Washington immediately, McClellan. Well, Mr. Low, we seem to have fallen into temporary disfavor, you might say. Wait a minute. Put down there, Mr. Fogarty. What? The trees. The way they're bending with the wind toward the north. But up here at this level, the wind is thudderly. That's unusual, is it? No, no, fairly common. But, Mr. Fogarty, how would you like to take a little trip? What do you mean? Look carefully. If we drop our rope and telegraph wires, the wind will take a stop over the Confederate line. What? Now, now, wait a minute. And then, when we've seen everything, the enemy's up too, we can really drop down to a lower level and catch the northerly wind. It'll bring us back here somewhere and we can tap the telegraph line and report what we've seen. You're not serious, Mr. Low. Oh, it's not a difficult maneuver. I've done it a hundred times. In enemy territory, we've no uniforms, you know. If they caught us, they'd shoot us as spies. And I can't say I'd like that. Yeah, I... I don't blame you, Mr. Fogarty. I shouldn't have asked you. I'll take you down, let you off. You're going alone, you mean? It's my last chance, Mr. Fogarty. It's the only way left to prove that observation balloons can be of value. Otherwise, I'll be sent back to Washington, a fool. And our experiment with balloons is failure. But it's my responsibility, not yours. Not mine. Are we a team or are we not? Cast off the rope, Mr. Low. I'll disconnect the telegraph line. Very well. Cast off, Mr. Low. Very well, Mr. Fogarty. Hold on. There we go. Yes. On that road winding up the hill. I see. There's more Confederate artillery. Four, six, eight cannons. And isn't that their cavalry down there? See, sneaking around the hill on the low road. Yes. And look, way off to the southeast. A long line of infantry. Uh-huh. Moving up, so as to attack McClellan from the left while the cavalry and artillery strike from the right. McClellan isn't wounded. The next half hour he'll be trapped. You think we've seen enough? Yes, yes. We're going back. We'll go down to a lower level, pick up the northerly wind, then we'll try to land near a telegraph line and report to McClellan. Stand back now while I open the hydrogen valve. McClellan, here we come. We're getting the northerly wind now. You feel it? We're moving north. Fast. Mr. Low, can you steer this contraption? Sir? No. Look ahead on that stretch of road. The Confederate infantry. We've come around behind them. Thousands. But we're going to pass right over them. 100 feet above the head. Can't we drop a sandbag and get up out of rifle range? But if we go up higher, we'll catch the wind that takes us south. And we've got to get north to McClellan before it's too late. We've just got the chance of Mr. Fogarty. Quick, get down in the basket. They can't see us now. But I can see them through the basket. They're right below now. They're looking up. They see us. They see us. They're shooting at us. That was close. Hit the balloon, Mr. Low. Hit the balloon. I know. Just a slow leak, Mr. Fogarty. And we're passing now. We can stand up. Well, we made it. But we're dropping, Mr. Low. We're dropping. That's all right. We merely compensate for it by making sketches in these sandbags. There. Now, you see, the gradual loss of hydrogen will be compensated for by a gradual loss of sandballot. And we'll keep it at the same height. Remarkable, young man. Remarkable. Except what happens when all our sand is gone. Well, let me see. If my calculations are right, we should run out of sand just inside McClellan's line. Yes. And if your calculations are wrong, we'll be captured and shot at spies, eh? Well, young man, I hope you had a first-rate mathematics teacher. Sand's almost gone, Mr. Low. We're getting lower and lower. Look at those trees ahead. Yes. Do you think we're in Union territory? I can't tell. Wait. In those bushes. In soldiers. Well, are they ours or rebels? Look out. Oh, my gracious. The trees. We're going into the trees. Oh. You all right, young man? Your head. It looks like a cub is bleeding there. I'm all right. If I just get loose from these branches. All right, Joe. Come down, man. Take your hands off. Soldiers. Well, nice to have known you, Mr. Low. Mr. Pogli. Look. They're in blues. They're Union troops. We're safe. Oh, good enough. Come on, Mr. Pogli. We've got what to do. We've got to find a telegraph line and fast. Well, is that for me, General McCollum? Yes. Yes, indeed I did. How are you, Low? Glad to see you. This is Mr. Pogli, General. The telegraph operator who flew with me the other day. Pleasure to meet you, General. How do you do, sir? Well, gentlemen, I don't mind admitting it. As I told the Secretary of War, the information you brought back the other day meant the difference between victory and disaster. Well, what do you know? We were glad to be serviced. And I have a message here from him. Inform Mr. Low, he says, that if the suggestion of President Lincoln he has just been appointed to the newly created post of Chief of Aeronautics, United States Army. Chief of Aeronautics. That's a fine sound entitle, sir. Yeah, but there's more. It goes down to say, he will proceed immediately to organize a United States Army balloon corps consisting at first of five balloons and the personnel necessary to operate them in the fields. My congratulations, Mr. Low. And to you, Mr. Fogart. Well, thank you, sir. Well, thank you, sir. Well, just don't stand there. The Army wants a balloon corps, and they beam the Army at once and immediately. What are you waiting for? That's quite right, General. Come along, Mr. Fogarty. It appears that there's a war to be won. And they need a little assistance from us. An almost forgotten pioneer of the air, whose thousands of balloon extensions, many of them under heavy enemy fire, were to prove a tremendous value to the Northern Army. By his enterprise in bravery, Chief Arnold Low revolutionized the theory and practice of military observation. And the tiny balloon corps he founded was eventually to grow into the mighty air services with which America safeguards our freedom in the frontiers of the sky. It's the lead woman and the cavalcade players for tonight's story. Fly high, fly low. And now Bill Hamilton speaking for the DuPont Company. In pioneer days, it took nine people working on a farm to produce enough food for themselves and one person in a city. At late of the year 1830, three and a half hours of back-breaking hand labor were necessary to harvest a bushel of grain. Then the reaper was invented, and other farm machines followed. They were crewed by present-day standards, but even so, by 1896, the labor necessary to harvest a bushel of grain was reduced from three and a half hours to ten minutes. A hundred years ago in the textile mills of New England, men, women and children worked 14 hours a day. Then one improved machine after another followed. The spinning Jenny, the cotton gin, and the power loom. The working day dropped to 12 to 10 to eight hours. Not only that, but the work became easier. Today in America, hard manual labor plays a smaller role than it did only a short time ago. Diesel dig our ditches. Electric hoists lift our loads. This is what invention and industry have done for us in a century and a half. Just the length of time they depart company has been in business. For 1952 is DuPont's 150th anniversary. Now, we Americans are proud of our technical progress, and we are proud of our social progress, of the laws which mark our social gains, the laws which help us to live better. And that raises an interesting question, which came first, the laws or the machines? The machines came first, they had to. It is worth remembering that all the legislation, all the government in the world cannot bring about a single reform until the technical knowledge and progress make it possible. Helping to make many social gains possible is the continuing progress of the American business system, which brings you, among other things, the DuPont company's better things for better living through chemistry. Next week, the DuPont cavalcade will present the Yankee and the Scales, the story of a dramatic challenge in a man's life and his struggle to turn a dream into reality. Our star, Mark Stevens. Be sure to listen. Tonight's DuPont cavalcade, Fly High, Fly Low, was written by Warner Law and based on materials from the book Lost Men of American History by Stuart H. Holbrook. Original music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Voorhees. The program was directed by John Zoller. In tonight's cast, you heard Lee Bowman starring as Thaddeus Low. Parker Fennelly was featured as Porgerty. Others in the cast were William Potmore, Melville Ruick, Jimmy Lipton, Bill Adams, Clark Ryder, and John Harbour. Ladies and gentlemen, today more than ever before, the great scientific minds of our country are hard at work solving the mysteries of cancer. To continue and expand the tremendous research program, money is needed. Join the 1952 Cancer Crusade. Your contributions should go to cancer. Care of your local post office. Mrs. Sy Harris speaking. Don't forget next week, our star, Mark Stevens. The DuPont cavalcade of America comes to you from the Velasco Theater in New York and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Next, it's Barry Craig, confidential investigator on NBC.