 In just a moment, we will bring you an original story, Danger, Women at Work, starring Faye Baker on the Cavalcade of America. But first, here is Gane Whitman with information on another of DuPont's Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry. If you have ever worn a raincoat or a sport coat after it has been cleaned and made the annoying discovery that the coat has lost its water repellency, you'll appreciate the protection that DuPont Z-Land durable repellent finish offers. For Z-Land continues to give protection, even after many washings or cleanings. Look for the tag when you buy rainwear or sportswear. DuPont Z-Land. It's one of the DuPont Company's Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry. America, the pony express. The covered wagon. America, the motor truck express. America means skyscrapers and haylofts, home sweet home and basin street blues, the glare of a blast furnace against the midnight sky, a land where freedom is not just a word stamped on a coin. America is your story. America is you and everyone you know. Tonight we present Faye Bader in Danger, Women at Work on the DuPont Cavalcade of America. This is a song the truck drivers hear. We're grinding a break. It's a shifting of gear. Song of the wheels and the well-traveled grooves. Coastline to coastline, America moves. Chemicals, catalogs, handkerchiefs and seeds. Song of the cargo America needs. Go here and cotton and thanks for themselves. Chickens and onions and apples and belts. Robert and Colby and coffee and tires. Barnards and hay and molasses and wine. This is a story about trucks and truck drivers, but particularly a story about a woman and a truck painted red. I knew them both pretty well and I admired the way they worked. I guess it started back in, let's see, in 1928 when Bill Clark, Iowa farmer, bought a new red truck. His wife Josephine, not much of a hand at driving, was taking a lesson. Now watch it, Josephine. Keep over to left. I'm all right, Bill. I'm doing fine. Look out for the ditch. Cut your wheels. Cut it. Oh, Bill, I'm sorry. Are you hurt? No. Women drivers. Your lovely red truck. Never mind. But you'll need a new fender. As long as I don't need a new wife. How much will it cost? Defender, more than we've got. Then we'll take the money in the cookie jar. Well, that's for your new coat. Who wants a new coat? A fender will last forever. Not if you drive. Oh, don't worry. I'll stick to a woman's work after this. Joe Clark did drive that truck again. It was a year or so later after her husband died and left her with two little girls and a small boy to take care of. Seem as if the children wanted a lot of things she couldn't give them. Mom, can I get some candy? I'm afraid not, Katie. Not today, anywhere. Mom, can I go to the movies this afternoon? Mary Ann, I'm sorry. No. Mom, Eddie's got one of those new jackets. She'd like to have one. Tell me, I'd like a new coat, but I'm not going to get one. There are other things we need more than coats and jackets. Mom, I need school books. We'll see about it, Katie. Please, Mom, can I have some candy? No, dear. Mom, would I really? Well, not this week, Tommy. Oh, please, Mom, I want to have it. Josephine Clark listened just so long and then she got out the little red truck. She didn't worry about driving in any ditches this time. She was going places. She called on the farmers who live nearby and talked to them one by one. You mean you're going to be a truck driver? Yes. And I'll handle all of your odds and ends of produce on a percentage basis. But trucking's a tough business without experience. I've had experience. Handing odds and ends of business? Yes. Oh, what is that? Vegetables? No, babies. I'd sure like to help you, Mrs. Clark, but now I go to market twice a week myself. Look, Mr. Edwards, what you can't take into market will be liable to spoils. But if you get it in the town, you can sell it. Oh, that's right. Mrs. Clark, you've got yourself a deed. Well, I don't know, Mrs. Clark. I'd feel kind of funny letting a woman handle heavy stuff like you'd have to if you hauled for me. Mr. Collins, I knew what I was doing when I went into this business. I'm not afraid of work. I know, but... Oh, I knew you'd see it my way. I'll start this afternoon. That's the way Joe Clark got started. Kind of a rural express man. She won over the farmers. But there was a tougher job of winning over coming up. On one of her first all-night hauls, she stopped off at a dog wagon known for its heavy truck traffic, where truck drivers picked up a bite and a cup of coffee. Hey, wait a minute, fellas. I'd like a cup of coffee, please. Yes, sir. I drove my truck onto your lot. Is that all right? Huh? Oh, yeah. Yes, okay. Truck. I must be giving trucks his bridge prizes now. Is there a place to wash? Count back. We'd known she was coming. We'd have fixed up that powder room. You want to order some meat, lady? Oh, yes. Hamburger. Rare. Rare? My goodness. Are you gentlemen always so polite? Lady, did you say you drove a truck? Yes. I'm a truck driver. And I've got a load of 40 pigs out there. 40 pigs? So what? Oh, how do you like that? A dame. Look, lady, this is a tough business. It's for men. What are you doing in it? May I ask you a question, mister? Uh, call me Red. All right, Red. My name's Joe. Okay, Joe. What's the question? Have you any children? Two. Why? I have three. I also have a truck my husband left me. The truck was the only way I could give my children a home. The only way I could ensure their future. Now, why do you drive a truck, Red? Uh, well, I... Exactly for the same reason I do. May I have the catcher, please? Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure. Here you are. Uh, look, Joe, could you give me a lift into town? What for? Well, I got a three-hour layover and I... So? So I can just as well give you a hand unloading those pigs. Joe Clark did pretty well that first year. He was able to buy another truck and she hired an assistant. He was an accountant because the facts and figures involved were supposed to be too deep for a woman. His name was Sam and he had a head for figures. Sometimes Joe wondered if he had a head for anything else. Sam? Uh, yes, Miss Clark. I'd like to know how much business we did last month. Oh, we had bad weather conditions. Yes, but what were our earnings? Well, it depends on whether you mean truck miles. Ton miles. Does it matter? Our truck mile earnings are the total earnings divided by the miles haul. Now, our ton mile earnings would be the truck mile earnings divided by... Sam, I just want to know how much money we made. Well, not counting our truck taxation and highway fees and thermal costs and motor insurance. Count them. What were our profits? Clear. Well, none. Sam, you're fired. I can make that much money by myself. Joe Clark had learned one of the fundamentals of an American business. You can't get help till you know what you're doing. So, she learned the facts and figures for herself. Meanwhile, she brought up the kids, giving them most of the things they needed. But there was one thing she found she couldn't give them. Not by herself. Mom, is anybody there by the moon? No, Katie. It's too cold up there, isn't it, Mom? Yes, Mary Ann. Yes? Yes, I think so. Mom, what makes the ocean salty? I don't know, Tom. Maybe the women watching their men go out to sea made it salty with tears. Hey, is that true, Mom? No, darling. Then what is the answer? I don't know. I don't know, Tom. But someday you will, because you're going to college. I promise. Us? Are we going, Mom? Are we, Mom? Yes, yes, all of you. But, Mom, they're girls. It isn't a man's world anymore, Tom. America belongs to the girls, too. This is where I enroll for college. You're going to college? No, not me. I'm the mother. Name of the student, please. The last name, first. Clark. First name? Tom. Katie. Mary Ann. You wish to enroll all three? Yes, three. Ages? Seven, nine, and ten. Seven years old. Aren't you a bit early? I have to plan ahead. I want to know what I'm working for. Father's name? Bill Clark. He's dead. Mother? That's me. Joe Clark. Josephine. Occupation? Housewife? Truck operator. What? I'm a truck driver. That's what I want to be. But my children may want to be president. So, Joe Clark worked against the time when her children could go to college. She worked until her whole body and brain ached with the ice cream and noise and boredom of the road. From sleep, snow, rain, glaring sun, dust, and mud. She worked around the clock and around the year. Chemicals, candles, candles and seeds, songs of the cargo of American people. Oh, Heron. December, pick up a load of 200 Christmas trees. March, 200 saplings to land Carlson's. June, Carlson's cement for the new bridge. September, 200 barrels of apples. November, 300 crates of turkey. Yep. That's the way Joe Clark worked. Joe, along with the other drivers whose trucks moved night and day, whose roaring motors and singing tires made the music of the road. The start of the motor to sound of the gear. This is the song of the truck driver's gear. Song of the cargo of American people. Chemicals, candles, candles and seeds. Song of the wheels of the well-traveled crew. Both lines are both lines. Oh, Mary, oh, Mary. Coming to Fay Bader as Josephine Clark, truck operator in Danger, Women at Work on the Cavalcade of America sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Now to get back to Joe Clark and her truck line because she did end up owning a truck line of her own. But not that new coat she always needed and never got. I like to tell you about the night Joe Clark met Gus Evans. He was a motorist on his way to Chicago when he ran out of gas. You know how most drivers are about stopping to help anyone in the middle of the night. The cars kept whizzing by while Gus hopped up and down on the road waving his hand and calling. Hey, hey there, stop! Stop with your hood! Oh, sure, that's fine, fine. You hear all night. Uh-oh, here comes the truck. Stop! Trouble about trucks, they lumber along, get in the way, hold us up on him. What did you say? We want to get the trucks off the road, sure. But on a dark night when there's trouble in the passenger cars all rushed by, who stops to help? You guys. I've got an extra gallon of gas, you can have it. You're a woman. Do you want the gasoline? Yeah, yeah, I was just surprised. Seeing a woman without any warning. Next time I'll rattle first. Huh? Sure. Say, driving across country in a big truck like that, how do you do it? Grandma did it in a covered wagon. Yeah. Well, it's a great country for getting ahead in the world. This is a great country. Sure is. Land of opportunity. Say, you don't know where I could find a job, do you? Doing what? Making money. I worked for my uncle a while. He was a shipper. Why did you leave? He was my uncle. How'd you like to work for me? You? That's right, I'm a woman, but I'm not your uncle. And I needed a spatcher. Well, I'll take the gas and much of lies. And the job? No thanks. But he did take the job. In fact, Gus Evans eventually became a partner in the business. He and Joe got on well together. They never agreed on anything. That way they covered both sides of a problem. But it was tough going the first few years. Once when they just landed a good contract, they lost it because one of their trucks broke down and they didn't have another one to make a replacement. You know what it means to us, Joe, losing this contract? Yes. We've got to retrench. We've got to cut down expenses. Well, well, don't just sit there. We've got to do something. All right, Gus. We'll buy another truck. Buy another truck? But you said we were losing money. So we celebrate. We spend some more. Why did we lose it? Because we needed another truck. Woman's logic. Excuse me while I go shoot myself. Gus, wait. Can you lend me $25? Sure, sure. You're going to make a down payment on the new truck? I want to buy a dress for Marianne. That's fine. You need a new coach. You tell me you can't afford it. But a dress for Marianne? What's that for? For her first dance, Gus. Yeah, Joe is always spending money on unnecessary things, according to Gus. Still, she worked hard, made contacts, and tried to get herself known. Once Gus even got her an opportunity to make a speech at a church assembly of the town fathers. Now, don't forget, Joe. You want to make your talk quiet, dignified. Yes, Gus. These are important people. You want to impress them. Yes, Gus. They can throw some real business our way. Gus, is the truck ready? Truck? What would you do without me? You'd go to church in a truck. But I need the truck. Joe, you only talk off a truck when you want to get elected. But I'm not going to talk. If you're not going... I'm not going to make a speech. I won't have time. I promise to take 20 or 30 children on a Sunday school picnic. That's fine. Big advertising. We'll do our business with children. Do the children have money? No, but they have parents. Joe was right. The children had parents with business to give, and business grew, or seemed to. But Joe Clark still had troubles. There was another trucking company owned by a man named Lockwood that seemed to handle twice the volume of business. One night, Joe found out why Lockwood was able to handle more business. She and Gus were testing out one of their new trucks on a straight stretch of road. I wish we could get away from that car and back. That's the truck. That's the truck. Jay, do you want to lock with big trailers? His headlights keep getting into my mirror. I'll pull over, let him pass. I'm trying to. He keeps weaving around. He acts drunk. Gus, take another look. He might be asleep to wheel. asleep? Let's try your horn. How can he sleep? Overwork exhaustion, God help him. He's going off the road. Get out of the way. I can block him. Let him go, we'll be right out. He's got to stop him. I guess that woke him up. He's okay. What about you? Oh, I'm all right. Yeah, we're all fine. Only look at the truck. I know. It's fate. What is? Every time I get hold of a new truck, I drive into a ditch. Crock truck line. This is John Lockwood speaking. Oh, he is. Well, I'm glad you called. I ran into one of your drivers last night, or rather, he ran into me. That's the most fun. And there's a limit to the amount of work you can put on your men. Your drivers are exhausted. They're working over hours. You're not conducting a business. You're operating a suicide bureau. I don't know why you bothered to call me. Mrs. Clark. King, I'll tell you, I didn't plan to kill off any of my truck drivers. I still don't. I'm glad our man didn't come to any harm last night. Thank you for saving him. What? There's room in this business for us both. Yeah, but I think we have a bad connection. Well, under the circumstances, I think it's remarkable that we've made any connection at all. Joe Clark connected right along the way. Even a woman came to the Smart Alex, the fly-by-night cutthroat operators who didn't hesitate to use force. One of these was Ernie Baskin. He simply shoved the Clark drivers off the road with these big heavy-duty trucks. You see, there was a prize at stake. Ward Mitchell, a rich excavating contractor, was clearing out a river bed. It'd be a big haulage contract. So, Joe went to see Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell, I think there's more than damp earth in that river bed. I think it's full of heavy blue clay. Well, what about it? Well, I think I can handle the job. That contract's going to Ernie Baskin. You like him? I like his equipment. He's got the heaviest trucks in the county. I know. He's been trying to push me off the road with them. Why don't you push back? My trucks are too light. And get heavier ones. That takes time and money. Mr. Mitchell, I only came to ask you one thing. Yes? Suppose it rains. What? Suppose it rains. Ernie Baskin will be so busy looking for chains to haul his trucks out of that river bed, he won't have time to haul anything else. My trucks are light, but they'll step through that sand like ducks. Suppose it don't rain. Mr. Mitchell, you may have influence in high places. Mrs. Clark, I'd like to ask you one thing. Why don't you get married and raise a family? I have. My husband is dead. Well, you're not a bad-looking woman. Good eyes. Nice figure. They're other men. My husband is dead. Oh. You have a family? Children? Three. Then why aren't you home with them instead of fussing around in a man's world? Because in any world, we have to eat. You've got to gotten help from the government. Maybe. I've always figured I'd like to help my country, not the other way around. And where are these children farmed out? They're in college. Good day, Mr. Mitchell. Wait a minute. Well? I take it you never went to college. No. But you can read and write, can't you? Yes. And come back here and sign this contract. I'd like to skip now to a day in 1946, a special day. Here it is, Mom. Best present for last. Tom, what is it? Open it up. Well, it's such a big box. Well, it's your mom. You're a big girl now. Oh, man. Katie, will someone help me with the knock? No, don't get excited. I'll cut the string. Now hurry, Mom. Wait till you see it. Oh, I hope it's fit. Well? Well, Mom? But it's a... a fur coat. Come right out and say it. Oh, hey, if you're going to cry, we'll take it back. No, Mom. And I don't want it to change. Mom, try it on. Go ahead. You'll be a knockout. You can wear it to the office. Every day, Mom. I got to love it. Mom, say something. Thank you, children. Thank you very much. I've always wanted a nice warm coat. Most of the story, the little red truck has grown into a fleet of 24 trucks and 30 semi-trailers. And the Clark truck line is operating over 4,000 square miles of territory. These are the facts, just as I gave them to you. Oh, of course, I'm prejudice. You see, I'm Tom Clark, the kid she took care of and put through college. And I think my mother's won a great fight. What do you think? ...our star-favainter will return. But first here is Gain Whitman speaking for DuPont. Today, a country's wealth isn't limited to the land and the things that can grow on it or be grown upon it or dug out of it, like minerals and coal. A country nowadays has another resource. It's technical ability. In plain words, how well it makes and distributes the things it needs. Our way, the American way, is the wonder of the whole world. Our scientists, our technicians, our businessmen, free to tackle a job any way they think best and encouraged by knowing they'll make a profit. If they give you what you want, whether it's a better lollipop or a better steam shovel, create a national income that is now well over a hundred billion dollars a year. It's no wonder people in Europe and Asia struggling for a bare minimum of food and clothing believe every American is rich. You'd think so too if you lived on rice and went barefoot in winter. Every American, compared with the people of other countries, is rich. Part of this new national resource, this miraculous productivity of modern technology, the whole range of thousands of compounds and products added to our national wealth, is provided by Chemical Science. This is National Chemical Week from September 8th to September 15th. The scientists of the American Chemical Society, meeting in Chicago this week, play a dynamic part in building the vastly improved world we live in today. We of the DuPont Company are happy to express our appreciation of their work, and we know every American who believes in progress is grateful for what they have accomplished, in health, in agriculture, in industry, and even more, for what their splendid achievements of the past indicate they will accomplish in the future. We of DuPont, an industrial chemical company, are proud of our contribution to America. The many products that merit the name of DuPont, Better Things for Better Living, through chemistry. So here is our star, Faye Bainter, who wants to say something about the play tonight. Thank you. It was a real thrill to play this unusual and stimulating story of a woman who owned and operated a truck line. I found it especially heartwarming, for I've always believed that in an emergency, we American women can face any situation and handle most any job as well as a man. And I believe American men respect women like Josephine Clark. Women who possess that same pioneer spirit that sent Grandma across the country in a covered wagon. It's that same spirit today that makes us say like Josephine Clark. It isn't a man's world anymore. America belongs to the girls, too. That's what I wanted to say, John. Good night. Good night, and thank you, Faye Bainter. Next week, the DuPont Cavalcade brings you another of your favorite Hollywood stars in General Benjamin Franklin. It's a story of still another of the many sides of Ben Franklin's rich and colorful life. You'll meet Benjamin Franklin as a courageous Indian fighter, an officer who commanded with the wisdom of an experienced warrior and the daring and courage of a young soldier. Be sure and listen next Monday to General Benjamin Franklin. The music for the DuPont Cavalcade is composed and conducted by Robert Ambruster. Tonight's play was written by Doris Frankel. In the cast with Faye Bainter were Howard Duff, Bill Johnstone, Anne Whitfield, Tommy Bernard, Ken Christie, June Foray, Bill Conrad, Franklin Pinky Parker, Fred Howard, Horace Murphy, Virginia Gregg, and Junius Matthew. This is John Heaston inviting you to listen to the music for the DuPont Cavalcade. The music for the DuPont Cavalcade is composed and conducted by Robert Ambruster. This is John Heaston inviting you to listen next week to General Benjamin Franklin on the Cavalcade of America brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The Cavalcade of America came to you from Hollywood. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.